klox

The fourth wasn't with me today. Didn't get the NSF either. I was told I would get the SMART by my interviewer, but haven't received the offer letter yet. I just told him last week I wouldn't be able to accept it anymore because of my graduate schedule, so hopefully someone here gets it. GL to everyone else.

I received VG/VG, G/G. The first reviewer criticized: "The proposal would benefit from indicating specifically how diversity will be promoted." My broader impacts focused on tutoring undergraduates, teaching, and K-12 stuff, but I didn't specifically bring up diversity (doh). The second reviewer gave me a lot more criticism. He brought up: 1. Under IM: My undergraduate GPA of 3.54/4.0 from u of illinois urbana "is not very high". I have minors in mathematics and physics. I should have explicitly said my technical is 3.8 in my essays, but I didn't. That might have helped me out. Forewarning to future apps if you've got similar numbers. 2. Under IM: Lack of publications: "However, he don’t [sic] have any publication record up to now and is a weak applicant compared to the others." I wasn't aware that electrical engineers should have publications by their first semester of their graduate track. I probably won't have any publications next year either (switching focuses, don't have an advisor, and playing catch-up). I did have an undergraduate senior thesis and gave several presentations to undergraduates, but I guess those don't count for much. 3. Under BI: "However, the applicant is weak on the leadership aspect and publishing his research findings. His research plan needs to state broader impact more clearly." My broader impacts were focused on mentoring, tutoring and teaching, which I guess isn't considered leadership. I wasn't a part of any organization as an undergrad. My personal essay is where I focused most on the broader impacts. At the end of my research paper I included a small section outlining the technological benefits (one of the broader impacts criteria), but I think I should have discussed mentoring/teaching again. I didn't really think publications were a part of broader impacts, but I guess it was a big issue for this reviewer. Overall pretty frustrating. I thought I was good on the broader impacts criteria this time around (my second time) in my personal essay, but I guess I should have included more in my research proposal. Hope this helps someone.