smalltownwater

I saw someone say on another thread that choosing NSF makes more sense if you're interested in academia because you'll have a relationship with NSF which may be important/favorable when grant writing in the future.

...that doesn't make sense

Environmental Engineering - Honorable Mention VG/E, E/E, VG/VG Undergrad applicant so I'll be trying again, but I'm so confused. Lol the reviews don't really help me understand what I lacked.

Honorable mention...Not getting it is painful, but i'm not alone and my work is still meaningful. *Takes deep breaths Congratulations to the awardees. Celebrate like there's no tomorrow!!!!

Does anyone know if the GEM funding from the sponsor can be used for the second year instead of the first?

And there goes my anxiety spiking again...How is it possible that I feel excited and sick at the same time???

I was doing pretty okay, but stalking this thread recently is increasing my own anxiety. ?

Not sure if this is helpful but... I did my undergrad at Georgia Tech. Alot of faculty of have industry connections since it's in Atlanta. Personally, I enjoyed the environment. I will say it can be a very intense and competitive place if you don't build a support team. As far as NC State, when I visited I liked what I saw. There appeared to be alot of camaraderie of the faculty and a culture of being eager to support and mentor students towards whatever goals they have. Most of who I spoke to were on the environmental side of things, though.

As someone who did not receive the fellowship and knows someone who did, I recognize that the people who received the fellowship are very much deserving. I think believing that they aren't is going to encourage you to go off. Maybe first reconcile that those who received it are deserving. You can also do this while believing you are equally deserving because I put a good amount of work into my own application. What helps me is that I truly believe the things that are meant for me will be mine. If I was looked over then there is a reason for that. Did the reviewers not give any tips on strengthening your application? I also got good reviews, but they talked about my strengths so I payed attention to what wasn't mentioned as an area of growth for when I apply next year.

why does knowing I made it to the last round just hurt more? ?

So were there more than 5 reviewers? Or would 5 mean you made it to the last round before final decisions?

Alternate as well. Congrats to the awardees!

I was notified of my admission on January 29th. I didn't hear anything about funding though.

@EricWang98 Funny timing, I just got an official email about it this evening. Are y'all just shelling money out of pocket for this or receiving some support? My POI told me support may be available but that was a couple of weeks ago...

People attending the Berkeley Open House: Were you all sent a direct invitation to the open house?

I've applied to each of these schools for a PhD focusing on Environmental Engineering. I'd love to hear perspectives from others on the benefits of one school over another. All of them have offered me pretty good funding packages so finances aren't a huge determinant separating one school from another. On the other hand, my POIs at Berkeley and UMich are senior faculty with busier schedules and more responsibilities, but have big names that carry weight. My POIs at Rice and NC State are very young assistant professors that are in the early stages of building their groups, but are high energy and very supportive and hands on. I'm interested in a career in academia so i'm torn between having a big name behind me and having the experience of working along someone building and growing their lab as I will have to do in the future. All of the professors are nice and friendly with research that I find intriguing although some are more field based and others are lab based. Any insight helps. Thanks!

Yea, I see this by one of my schools as well.

@CivilGuy My bad. Meant to tag you in that earlier message I sent about Rice! @ChenJin I applied for the PhD (concentration in Environmental Engineering)

@ChenJin Thanks! I got an email about my status changing. And when I logged in, I saw the admission letter. Dated February 4th. @EricWang98 I received admission into Rice on February 1st and visited last week.

@Impastpatientlywaiting I haven't heard from UW yet. @ChenJin I got accepted into Berkeley but no word about funding.

My background isn't in Electrical Engineering, but I graduated from GT. Based on my experience, GT has very rigorous programs and there is A TON of support and resources in place for students to be successful. I really valued the opportunities that came from just being a GT student. Also, the fact that GT is in Atlanta helps when making connections outside of the school. Idk if this helps you decide, but honestly I don't think there's a wrong decision here.

@Fun-Grad I submitted my application January 4th. (All my recommendations were submitted closer to January 15th.) I had an admission decision around January 24th, so the turn around wasn't too long for me.

Question: I've been accepted by Berkeley, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and North Carolina State (Environmental Eng PhD), but none of them mentioned funding. Anybody know if these schools have sent out information about funding packages yet?

Anybody have updates??? I'm still waiting to hear from the University of Wisconsin Madison... Recently got more acceptances and some mention funding which makes me realize I really don't understand much about funding packages lol.

@PartyEngineer It went well. I had previously met the professor at an event while I was in undergrad, and she remembered me. I got an acceptance email a couple of days ago. She didn't mention if they were interviewing everybody and when decisions would be made. I think she was calling students who had an interest in her lab in particular. I would hold out hope because I'm pretty sure they are still making decisions!