Jimbo2

Definitely would not include it.
#1 It's pretentious no matter how you slice it. Might as well include the admission statistics for your program in the signature.
#2 Anyone that's actually seriously considering you for any sort of advancement or opportunity will have your official CV, which will include the fellowship.
#3 Anyone that's familiar with the NSF GRFP knows that luck/diversity plays an enormous part in receiving the award; from my personal experience, people that make a point of letting you know that they are fellows are the ones that have benefited the most from luck/diversity rather than actually being the top students in our program (not trying to be offensive, just objective). To be honest, including "NSF Fellow" in a signature looks like someone's compensating for weaknesses elsewhere.
#4 Four line signatures in chain emails are annoying; your boss probably won't like it.

So yeah, I'd omit it.

The subject of my NSF GRFP offer in 2013 said "2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Notification." You may be thinking of the Fastlane website, which tends to update before the emails go out, and it will say something like "Welcome Fellows" if you are offered the award and "Welcome Applicants" if you are not.

The subject of my NSF GRFP offer in 2013 said "2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Notification." You may be thinking of the Fastlane website, which tends to update before the emails go out, and it will say something like "Welcome Fellows" if you are offered the award and "Welcome Applicants" if you are not.

Dear Professors,
If you were to informally canvass your retired predecessors and ask them what the most rewarding experiences of their life were, none of them will answer with the hundreds of hours they sat per week in front of a computer by themselves in an office. I suspect they're all male because a certain sex is more predisposed to take responsibility for supervising children should people actually try and have a family, which puts them at a productivity disadvantage relative to the other sex. You'll be getting 40 hours a week, up to 60 depending on special circumstances involving rigid, uncontrollable deadlines. If placement is so difficult following graduation, perhaps the field as a whole should be ponzi scheming training less Ph.D.s and using the leftover money to pay its graduate students a reasonable salary.
Thanks,
Students

P.S. lol@$20,000 annual salary for 100 hours of work a week. Shame on you.

As a rule of thumb, I don't bring up being a Ph.D. student with people outside of my department unless they ask me about it first, e.g., "what do you do for a living?" and then I tell them; the idea being that if you're modist about it and realize that it's just a job like any other, then there's no implication of "I'm better than you because I'm more educated." For me, this boils down to the same situation as back in high school where people try make you feel bad for taking difficult classes. People are always going to get on your case for stuff like that. As long as both of you are contributing to society, there's no reason for one to be demeaning to the other because of their education, but that's life. 

Just in case people don't know what the holy grail looks like (anything to keep this thread active)

National Science Foundation Division of Graduate Education 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22230 DATE
APPLICANT NAME ADDRESS CITY, STATE ZIP COUNTRY
Application Number: APPLICANT ID Dear APPLICANT:
Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive a 2011 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship. Your selection was based on your outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well as your potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the US science and engineering enterprise.
The stipend rate for 2011-12 is $30,000 per twelve-month fellowship year, given in increments of $2,500 per month. Fellowships are funded for a maximum of three years and may be used in any three, 12-month units, starting in Summer (June 1) or Fall (Sept 1) over a five-year period that begins in 2011 (your award year). Please see the next page for Fellowship terms and conditions, responsibilities, and instructions to formally accept your Fellowship and to view your rating sheets.
We encourage you to consider additional opportunities offered through the GRFP. Email notifications and “Dear Colleague Letters” are the typical vehicle for communications of this nature. We look forward to hearing about your achievements and contributions during your graduate study and beyond.
Again, congratulations on your selection as a Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellow. We wish you success in your graduate studies and continued success in achieving your career aspirations.
Sincerely,
James Lightbourne, Ph.D. Division Director Division of Graduate EducationDear Fellow,
On behalf of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), the Program Directors would like to also congratulate you and extend a warm welcome to the NSF community. Please read the information below and take action as appropriate.
Regards,
Gisele Muller-Parker, Ph.D. Carmen Sidbury, Ph.D. Sheryl Tucker, Ph.D. GRFP Program Directors
• Fellows must be enrolled in an accredited US university, college, or non-profit academic institution of higher education offering advanced degrees in science and engineering by Fall 2011. Confirmation of acceptance in an NSF-approved graduate degree program is required at the time of Fellowship acceptance, May 1, 2011.
• Acceptance of the Fellowship is an explicit agreement that the Fellow will be duly enrolled in an NSF-approved graduate degree program in the field of study indicated in their application by the Fall 2011.
• By May 1, 2011, you will need to formally accept and agree to the terms and conditions of the Fellowship. The “Information for Graduate Fellows” link opens the NSF GRFP Administrative Guide for Fellows & Coordinating Officials. This is a crucial document that includes terms and conditions that apply to your Fellowship, in addition to the eligibility requirements (citizenship, degree and program of study requirements, and field of study) and Certifications that you have already attested to in the application. Visit the NSF GRFP FastLane website (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/) to review the eligibility requirements, certifications, terms and conditions and to electronically accept this Fellowship, no later than May 1, 2011.
• You should familiarize yourself with the NSF GRFP FastLane website (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/), as most GRFP actions and requests are handled through this site. The NSF GRFP Administrative Guide for Fellows & Coordinating Officials is found here, and you are strongly encouraged to take time to read it carefully.
• You should contact the GRFP Coordinating Official (CO) at your intended institution of graduate study to inform her or him that you have accepted an NSF GRFP Fellowship. The Coordinating Officials Directory may be found at the link above. The CO will assist you in effectively managing your Fellowship and should be your first point of contact in the event the “Information for Graduate Fellows” does not answer your questions.
• Following acceptance of the Fellowship you will need to declare your Tenure Status by May 1, 2011. Please note that you will need to declare your tenure intentions each year by May 1 of that year. Failure to declare tenure can result in delay of stipend payments or revocation of the Fellowship altogether.
• You are required to provide an Annual Activities Report that documents your activities, accomplishments, progress, and productivity upon completion of each Fellowship year, whether you were on Tenure, Reserve, or Forfeit status. The NSF GRFP Office uses Activities Reports extensively to demonstrate the productivity of Fellows for a variety of audiences, including media outlets, NSF administration, and Congress. You will not be allowed to submit a tenure declaration for a given year until your Activities Report for the preceding year is submitted.
• In response to the America Competes Act, all Fellows are required to receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. Please check with the campus CO about the Responsible Conduct of Research training requirement at your (proposed) institution.
• You are responsible for obtaining appropriate permissions and complying with all institutional policies concerning human subjects, hazardous materials, vertebrate animals, or endangered species and copyright and intellectual property.
• All publications, presentations, and creative works based on activities conducted during the Fellowship must acknowledge NSF GRFP Support:
"This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. (NSF grant number)."
• NSF Fellows are also eligible to apply for supercomputing time. Cyberinfrastructure resources available to GRFP Fellows are described in the NSF GRFP Administrative Guide for Fellows & Coordinating Officials.
• Please ensure that the following email address is not subject to a spam filter: grfp@nsf.gov. The GRFP Office will send out notices and updates using this address. It is also important that you keep your contact information and email addresses current, as NSF will use your email address to communicate with you on a regular basis about related opportunities (e.g., Nordic Research Opportunity (http://www.nsf.gov/p...073.jsp?org=DUE) webpage and NSF GRFP Engineering Innovation Fellows Program pilot (http://nsfeifp.asee.org/) website).
Applications were reviewed according to the NSF Merit Review Criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. To view the rating sheets, please ...(insert new instructions).

(the following is in no way meant to disparage any previous posters)
 
While I'm sure that on occasion reverse academic snobbery exists, I think more often than not it's a phenomenon much like "reverse racism" - in that the very people who feel they are being wronged are in fact simply worried they will not get the advantage they feel they are owed.  I'm not an anti-intellectual, and there is certainly a strange cultural undertow which sometimes makes me feel as if I'm swimming upstream when I strive to be well informed, articulate, and logical.  For example, the constant need for politicians in America to make a big show of being "plain spoken" and folksy.  So in a broad sense, yes, I think culturally there is an annoying smart vs. "real" perception problem. 
 
But, on an individual basis, I have to assume everyone is trying their best.  I just assume an intentional posture of niavete in order to not become an ass-hat myself.  Because for me it is better to assume if someone boasts to me that they would never be bothered to read a book that perhaps they have an undiagnosed learning disability, or an incredible strength in art, or simply a strong preference for auditory learning but they listen to pod casts religiously - whatever, than to assume they are just a big stupid idiot who hates smart people.
 
I barely graduated high school, I'm the only one of my friends from that period of my life who did finish high school, I married a high school drop out, and I spent much of a decade working in a hair salon.  Many of my clients were college students, graduate students, law students, or scientists from the nearby national lab.  The most articulate, interesting, and accomplished people also tended to be the people who just spoke to me like I was a person and were completely unconcerned with impressing me or impressing upon me the importance of education.  Occasionally I had a jackass in my chair, and it's 50/50 that person thought I was an elitist high brow snob or an uneducated idiot rube.  
 
I have strong feelings about this, because I've been on both sides, and have been perceived as being on both sides the entire time depending on who I was with and what I was doing.  In the end I found that as with anything, you won't change anyone who isn't interested, who has their guard up, and the more you push the more they will build up a defense against you and what you represent.  If you have a jackass in your salon chair, or in your life, treat them well until you get get them out the door and don't let them back.  And if you're dealing with a non-jackass, don't push an agenda or a belief system, and if someone is interested in your views, your beliefs, or your value system (including placing a high value on education) they will see that in your actions and ask you directly if they want to know more.  (All this is, of course, just one blue collar lady's opinion)

As a rule of thumb, I don't bring up being a Ph.D. student with people outside of my department unless they ask me about it first, e.g., "what do you do for a living?" and then I tell them; the idea being that if you're modist about it and realize that it's just a job like any other, then there's no implication of "I'm better than you because I'm more educated." For me, this boils down to the same situation as back in high school where people try make you feel bad for taking difficult classes. People are always going to get on your case for stuff like that. As long as both of you are contributing to society, there's no reason for one to be demeaning to the other because of their education, but that's life. 

As a rule of thumb, I don't bring up being a Ph.D. student with people outside of my department unless they ask me about it first, e.g., "what do you do for a living?" and then I tell them; the idea being that if you're modist about it and realize that it's just a job like any other, then there's no implication of "I'm better than you because I'm more educated." For me, this boils down to the same situation as back in high school where people try make you feel bad for taking difficult classes. People are always going to get on your case for stuff like that. As long as both of you are contributing to society, there's no reason for one to be demeaning to the other because of their education, but that's life. 

Note for next year's folks.... Uploaded at 3:30 AM EST

I called NSF today and they said that they are making the final selection now and the result will be released in the first or the second week of April...

Dear Professors,
If you were to informally canvass your retired predecessors and ask them what the most rewarding experiences of their life were, none of them will answer with the hundreds of hours they sat per week in front of a computer by themselves in an office. I suspect they're all male because a certain sex is more predisposed to take responsibility for supervising children should people actually try and have a family, which puts them at a productivity disadvantage relative to the other sex. You'll be getting 40 hours a week, up to 60 depending on special circumstances involving rigid, uncontrollable deadlines. If placement is so difficult following graduation, perhaps the field as a whole should be ponzi scheming training less Ph.D.s and using the leftover money to pay its graduate students a reasonable salary.
Thanks,
Students

P.S. lol@$20,000 annual salary for 100 hours of work a week. Shame on you.

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Don't let grad school consume you. Have lots of hobbies, play sports, and hang out with friends. Put in a good 40 hour work week, rather than a loose 60 hour work week, and never work from home to keep work and play separate. Just do the work and everything will be fine. Remember that everyone is going to seem more knowledgable than you because they are always going to know more about the topics that they study, and therefore talk about, than you do. 
 
Be product oriented and get in and get out. Be upfront with your boss what the expectations are to get your Ph.D. and just hammer out those products. An 8 year Ph.D. is excessive. 
 
Play to your lab's strengths. Your boss is likely a (world class?) expert in a specific field, so do what she/he is the best at, and you will produce the best products and receive the highest quality education. 

Dear Professors,
If you were to informally canvass your retired predecessors and ask them what the most rewarding experiences of their life were, none of them will answer with the hundreds of hours they sat per week in front of a computer by themselves in an office. I suspect they're all male because a certain sex is more predisposed to take responsibility for supervising children should people actually try and have a family, which puts them at a productivity disadvantage relative to the other sex. You'll be getting 40 hours a week, up to 60 depending on special circumstances involving rigid, uncontrollable deadlines. If placement is so difficult following graduation, perhaps the field as a whole should be ponzi scheming training less Ph.D.s and using the leftover money to pay its graduate students a reasonable salary.
Thanks,
Students

P.S. lol@$20,000 annual salary for 100 hours of work a week. Shame on you.

Dear Professors,
If you were to informally canvass your retired predecessors and ask them what the most rewarding experiences of their life were, none of them will answer with the hundreds of hours they sat per week in front of a computer by themselves in an office. I suspect they're all male because a certain sex is more predisposed to take responsibility for supervising children should people actually try and have a family, which puts them at a productivity disadvantage relative to the other sex. You'll be getting 40 hours a week, up to 60 depending on special circumstances involving rigid, uncontrollable deadlines. If placement is so difficult following graduation, perhaps the field as a whole should be ponzi scheming training less Ph.D.s and using the leftover money to pay its graduate students a reasonable salary.
Thanks,
Students

P.S. lol@$20,000 annual salary for 100 hours of work a week. Shame on you.