Josh70

Can we all go back to worrying about when they're going to announce winners yet?

This. So much bitching in this thread.

Meh.  It's pretty pathetic to get all worked up about it, too, though.

I don't understand how that is entertainment for others though. Seems to me only a sad and pathetic person would see that as entertaining. 

First the "additional 1 pg statement" hoax and now this?  What good does lying do for these people?  Maybe they get some sort of weird joy from seeing all these other people freak out, I guess.

That's seriously impressive. He must have been an incredibly qualified applicant, far superior than any other GRFP applicant. Not going to lie, I still checked fastlane. Hangs head in shame. 

The first round of emails sent out at 5:30 P.M (central time today)
I just got my acceptance letter! Thank you GOD!
So blessed 
"Dear fellow" OMG screamed out loud 
I feel like i just won the lottery
Good luck guys/gals

No one believes you dude...lol

PIs understand that the GRFP is an NSF venture that requires more than a little bit of luck. I'm sure your PI has applied to umpteen grants (probably lots from NSF) that he or she has not received. You should celebrate your awesomeness if you happen to get an honorable mention or an award, but if not, at least you got some experience with NSF out of the deal. Any reputable PI understands the grant writing x-factor (x="random"); The GRFP  is largely roulette.
 
...Hopefully this isn't too fluffy for you, but let's everyone take a minute of perspective and pat ourselves on the back, yeah?... We got into grad school. Be kind to yourselves and try not to obsess over what is out of your control. You and your science already have worth with or without the GRFP, and on top of it all, I'm sure you wrote a kickass proposal, otherwise you would not have submitted--no shame in that! Good luck to you!
 
[...gets off of soapbox and resumes twiddling thumbs while PCR runs...]

This is wonderful. I think it is a little too easy, particularly when enrolled in stressful graduate programs, to allow that stress to manifest as pointed anxiety about benchmark decisions. But building up the meaning of these results doesn't serve us very well, as receiving an award or or not is distinct from any measure of self-worth. Thanks, iheartplants, for the reminder. Time to do some reframing :-) The worst that happens is that nothing changes, and disappointment will pass in time. Feeling better about the wait already!

I've been watching these posts for a while now (and by that I mean taking a peak every few hours).  I guess it is a form of self-affirmation to remind myself that I am not the only one who is on edge.
 
Good luck everyone! As those before me said, our work as scientists and researchers is far more important than any quantifiable fellowship.  So let's just all keep our heads up, regardless of the outcome.  

Honestly, a lot of people (about ~25-30%) get HM or an award now that they've raised the # of awards to 2,000 from 1,000 a few years ago. Last year they issued 2,000 awards and 1,700 HMs.
 
But think about it, what goes into a funded application? A lot of it is related to hard work, but its not so straightforward. A lot of people have parents willing to dish out $3,000 for a 'humanitarian/volunteer trip to Africa' every other year that maybe you and I couldn't afford. There's so many people that get to do this 2-3 times because someone else paid. They go there for a week or two, do a minimal amount of 'group labor', and cite it as some moving leadership experience that reviewers gawk over. Similarly, many students don't need to get a part time job during the school year because their parents are paying most/all of their tuition. Not having to work makes pulling a 3.5+/4.0 that much more obtainable. Anyone can pull off a 3.5+ if they are willing to 'work' at least 20 hrs a week. It also makes getting into undergraduate research labs easier since you have more time on your hands. Some people have an awesome proposal because their advisors wrote it for them almost entirely. Many applicants are dishonest in their applications. Reviewers are also WILDLY inconsistent. I'm not saying that people who get the awards fall into these categories, I'm just saying that any one of these things can upset the 'fairness' of the award. Just ask yourself - Have you been working hard towards something great, or have you been sitting at home watching TV 8 hrs a day and just stop by the lab for a few hours a day? If you can answer that to yourself honestly, you'll know how to feel regardless of whether or not you get the award.
 
We will all have a lot of chances to prove ourselves during our PhD program and afterwards. This NSF GRFP award seems important now, but its really just a drop in the bucket - unless you don't have an RA or TA alternative. In which case, you haven't been looking in the right places. RAs and TAs are so so so easy to get now. They are available to almost everyone willing to take one who is at least mildly competitive (3.0 gpa, some work/research experience at some point in their lives). At least, this is the way it is in the hard sciences and engineering.

So I am curious if any other current graduate students feel the same way I do. I so anxious about the NSF GRFP because I feel like if I don't at least get an honor mention is will be embarrassing. I am not sure why I think this but I just dread not getting at least an honorable mention and then having to tell my PI and all the people that help and encouraged me to apply that I got nothing. I know that rejection is a huge part of science funding but I guess I am just worried since it is my first time.   

You shouldn't be embarrassed about not getting something that most people do not get.  There's a reason these fellowships are considered competitive.  If you don't get it, just try to learn from your feedback to make your next application (next year's GFRP or any other application) better.  

Is everyone crossing their fingers for an announcement on Friday, or is it just me? Regardless of the results, my productivity will soar after the announcement... 

Waiting till this Friday I can handle. Next Friday... "I CANT EVEN" hahah. 

I remember this time last year, I was incredibly anxious about hearing the GRFP results. This year has been much different; a week ago, my boyfriend and I adopted two adorable seven month old kitties, and they've kept me so distracted that I've barely even thought about the results coming out soon. It's great! Plus, their habit of waking me up every night at 4am when they start chasing each other around the apartment like maniacs guarantees I'll be awake to see the results the moment they're posted. I think it's the perfect system.

So to any future applicants wondering how to cope with result season stress: adopt cats!

I think tons of us feel just like that. It's the nasty old impostor syndrome where you don't think you are good enough and so if they are accepting you there must be something wrong with that school. I felt like that all the time during acceptance and still feel like that in graduate school some days. 

I think tons of us feel just like that. It's the nasty old impostor syndrome where you don't think you are good enough and so if they are accepting you there must be something wrong with that school. I felt like that all the time during acceptance and still feel like that in graduate school some days. 

I think tons of us feel just like that. It's the nasty old impostor syndrome where you don't think you are good enough and so if they are accepting you there must be something wrong with that school. I felt like that all the time during acceptance and still feel like that in graduate school some days. 

Lets be clear on LORs. If even one of your recommendors sounds anything but excited to write a letter for you, don't put them down as a recommender. I know a person who got a crap LOR from former professor who said pretty much said that, "this person is smart, but he/she is lazy and needs to be pushed" or "this person got an A out of my class, but was just ok in lab". Statements like these can really screw any application, regardless of GRE scores or transcripts. The guy had a 1450 GRE and a 3.8 GPA (UG), 4.0 (MS) and got rejected from all but one of his target grad schools. He got into Vanderbilt for Cancer Biology, but that was only because he did an REU with one of the profs, and he had to pull the student's application and fight for his admission into that year's cohort.