ringo2009

Oh my! Are there really 80,000 people who want to labor in academia? I thought we were a rare breed :-). If that is the case then selecting around 4000 combined Awards and HM is a pretty great accomplishment!

Does anyone have any idea about how many people apply for the NSF GRFP each year? I know they give out a lot of awards and HM, so it makes me wonder how big is the rejection pool as compared to those who actually get the fellowship?

Thanks everyone for replying and shedding some light on this process. It is completely foreign to me as a newly admitted grad student. Do you all think NSF will make their announcements earlier than last year? I think last year they sent out announcements early April?

do you think they will let me keep both?

Quick Question - Does anyone have any idea how it usually works if you get more than one funding source? Say for example you are admittes to your doctoral program with full funding and then you also get a NSF GRFP, Javitts or other external funding. Will the university let you combine them? Will they make you choose? Can you do a hodge podge and take maybe 1/2 of the university funding and all of the external funding? Also, in the event that you take external funds would you still be gauranteed a GA or RA to maintain that faculty connection?

What happened in 2008?

Hi - Does anyone have any idea how it usually works if you get more than one funding source? Say for example you are admittes to your doctoral program with full funding and then you also get a NSF GRFP, Javitts or other external funding. Will the university let you combine them? Will they make you choose? Can you do a hodge podge and take maybe 1/2 of the university funding and all of the external funding? Also, in the event that you take external funds would you still be gauranteed a GA or RA to maintain that faculty connection?

Sorry it didnt work out for you so far cmjacob. Its tuff and feel free to complain and vent, it will help to clear your head and get a game plan together for your next steps. Because one thing is clear you are a hard worker and probably not a quiter. What I would suggest is once the application seasons blows by, if in fact you dont get any positive responses. Reach out to the Grad Directors at one or two of the schools you applied to and ask to meet with them or have a phone conversation about your application. It will give you a little certainty as to why you were not selected and perhaps help to give you a little more direction in planning next steps. Some of the greatest academics in the world have not succeede their first time around, but went on to greatness!

Ok, cool good to know. Were you offered admissions? If so any funding?

Hey how do you know it was just the top 15 candidates? I thought it was a bit less in the first round.

Hi Everyone - FYI, UMDCP SOCY started calling first round candidates for admissions extensions Valentines day weekend. I dont think they had finished reviewing all applications by that time though, so some more acceptances may be coming down the pipeline. Good Luck, its a great program!