Bernt

You should reach out to the program you were accepted to. My friends and I are in the same boat, and the responses we've gotten are: Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit doesn't matter as long as you get your degree P/F or CR/NC is acceptable but prerequisite (ie, biochemistry for a bioengineering program) classes require a letter grade (or you have to retake the class in grad school) P/F or CR/NC is acceptable but they require your letter grade (prior to taking the pass/credit) to be above a certain threshold (ie, B- or above for one school) Programs are pretty understanding of the situation, so you should be fine. However, just to be safe/certain reach out to your program director and ask what they require. They'll be super understanding of your question.

Got mine at 11:22PM EST from the info@nsfgrfp.org email address.

I have never heard of programs/schools you didn't apply to offering you an acceptance after receiving GRFP. I imagine the top tier schools (MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, etc) already have such a large pool of applicants (many of whom probably were rejected but received GRFP) that they wouldn't extend offers to people who didn't apply. Smaller schools/programs may extend offers though (but I'm not sure). Don't beat yourself up for not applying to top tier schools! Applying to graduate school is a messy and confusing (and expensive oof) time. Even if you get GRFP it's not a guarantee you'll get in, they're uber competitive and you can apply to 20 and only get accepted to 1. I'm sure you'll find success wherever you go. Rank and name isn't everything, the labs and vibes at a school are just as (if not more) important!

There have been many instances of schools rejecting applicants and then changing their mind after the applicant gets GRFP. A professor at my school was originally rejected from Stanford, but Stanford changed its mind and accepted her once she got GRFP. Schools care a LOT about money. Having your tuition & stipend (mostly/completely) paid makes you look very nice to them. It can't hurt to reach out to programs that rejected you letting them know you got GRFP and asking if that may have any impact on their previously made decision.

Congrats on getting into and choosing BU. I am finishing up my BME undergrad at BU right now and it's a fantastic school! Best of luck

I got it! My advisor recommended I apply as an undergrad since the competition is lighter and I'm glad I did! The grad program I'm attending gives you extra money as an incentive if you get outside funding, so graduate school is shaping up to be very nice for me. Super proud of everyone else who applied too! GJ everyone!!!

My LOR writers also wrote my graduate school recommendations so I have a ton to thank them for I might do a small amazon gift card (~$15), and then offer to take them out for lunch when I'm in town and this is all better.

What are you guys gonna gift your LOR writers? I was gonna gift them baked goods but since everything is remote that's not really an option anymore

The MIT BE PhD program is having their interview weekend 3/6-3/7. Acceptances will come out after that.

I still haven't heard anything back from UW BE. I interviewed and haven't been rejected/accepted. Wish they would just tell me I'm waitlisted/rejected instead of ghosting Has anyone else in the same situation emailed/heard back from UW?

For my interviews at other programs, they asked me for 6-8 faculty I was interested in, then I was assigned 3 interviews. They ask for a large amount so they have some freedom with scheduling; some profs may not be available for interviews, some may be a popular interview request, etc. Three interviews seems to be the standard for in-person interviews, at least in my experience.

I had the chance to meet with an MIT BE professor during an interview with a different department. Apparently they invited 42 people for interviews this year and expect to admit 22-26 students. Good luck to everyone else I'll be seeing at the interviews!

I received an interview with University of Washington BE but haven't received an official acceptance or rejection from the admissions office. A bunch of people have posted their acceptances/rejections from the program but I haven't heard anything. Is anyone else in the same/a similar situation? Is it worth reaching out to admissions/my POI or should I wait it out and assume I'm waitlisted?