Dynamom

I looked at the result and put it out of my mind... It's taken me this long to actually read my reviews: VG/E VG/VG E/E =HM (again, last year to apply) I think the third reviewer goofed and put the other reviewers' names and actual + z-scores in the review: (Name) 42 0.43 (Another Name) 36 0.13 Good to see they're not perfect either! Congrats to the winners! I didn't win any of the scholarships I applied to, so I'll be leaving with the door prize (MA), but have to be grateful for that

Crazy to think within 8 hours I'll know whether I can get a doctorate or not.

Ditto. I stink at this waiting thing. I'm putting my money on April 2, too.

spouse: but you have a good job, how are you going to make money in grad school? me: how about I only go if I get funded. spouse: but will they give you enough to pay rent, utilities, and groceries for us? me: <<shrug>> maybe enough to get by, but not much more...you know, I think there are two able-bodied adults in this house, though - since you're done with school you ***could*** try looking for a job... spouse: yeah but...how much will you make when you get out?

Tip for your wife - if she's decent with kids, she could work as a part time sitter/after-school care provider. The wife of a foreign grad student babysat my kids - she was happy to earn fair pay and I was happy to have my kids on campus for a reasonable rate.

I listed 5 recommenders...2 submitted a couple weeks ago, but 3 of them submitted this afternoon!!! Holy heartburn. Excuse the religious reference, but I heard once that sometimes, if you're a David you get a Saul in your life to teach you how NOT to be... This stress is a great thing to remember going into a career where we will (hopefully) be asked to write recs.

For the research plan I used the passive voice (e.g., subjects will be... preliminary research indicates...), and saved "I" and "the lab of Dr. X" for research experience paper. I have a professor that has asked me to write my own recommendation letter. Uggh! Does anyone know of sample rec letters? Have tips? Thanks so much...

Wow. App due tomorrow and I actually feel ok about it. It's not earth shattering or transformative - I actually liked my last year's project better - but it's good and original, I listened to reviewers, and I'm a better applicant. I feel like I should be more optimistic - having been through this process last year, however, I can't help but think about the 6 months of anticipation then the let down of not winning, then the encouragement of at least getting HM, then the daunting task of starting over... I'm a pretty resilient person, but I wonder about the psychology/character needed to make a career of this sort of thing (funding dependency)... I suppose, if we remain committed to an academic career, we get battle-hardened?

Scrolling through past pages I found this entry - that is very helpful! I certainly know how I want to use my training, if not able to do so now between work, school, and parenting... Thanks for sharing!

sigh! Last year I got an Honorable Mention. This summer I decided to give up on a doctorate and just be happy to finish up in June 2013 with my Master's and support my family... I've got another good project, and I think I'm a stronger applicant now... Dare I go through this process again? (rhetorical)

Nope. looks like I'm 0/3 on the big grants I applied to. I don't think anyone on Grad Cafe won this one last year, either... hmmm.

After rejection from Fulbright and "Honorable Mention" (no $$) from National Science Foundation, I'm very anxious to hear about this one. 33 hours or less!

GREAT IDEA Hope one of us remembers to re-post this in next year's thread. I added the other posts from this page plus my own... IM - whether proposal has a clear hypothesis/question it is trying to address - whether proposal is novel/innovative - whether proposal is original (your own) - whether proposal is transformative (rare) - whether proposal is well-written - whether access to resources is addressed in proposal - whether expected results are addressed in proposal - whether validation of results are addressed in proposal - whether proposal is sufficiently detailed (this is a tough one... too detailed and it might not be well-written/clear and have no room for other objectives) - interest of proposal among scientists - strength academic record - publications - presentations - research capabilities, independent and in team - leadership potential of applicant, including personal qualities such as persistence and drive - strength of recommendation letters and what they say about all of the the above - relation of research to theories of founders/experts in the field - whether the outcome measure is well-related or "distal" to the intervention (likely more of an issue in social sciences) BI - whether proposal integrates/supports science education with research - whether proposal integrates broadening diversity with research - whether proposal benefits society or some large group outside major field - potential of research to support "citizen science" - applicant's plan to disseminate results broadly, especially with non-science stakeholders if applicable, but further too - applicant's activities to increase science education and recruit young scientists - applicant's activities to broaden diversity in science - applicant's leadership roles in broader impacts activities (including TAing) - quantity of applicant's BI activites (e.g. reviewer lists lots of examples or length of time) - applicant's plan to -continue- broader impacts activities - specifics for BI activities - "unique perspective" due to unusual life circumstances which gives applicant insight into the needs of underserved communities

E/VG VG/VG VG/VG =HM I would actually say those scores "look like" an HM. I'm too chicken to actually read what they wrote at this point - maybe after a glass of wine. Although I'm feeling encouraged to try again, I'm not really sure how, between work, school, and raising 4 kids, I'm going to fit in any extra outreach.

So... is there a way to find out how many applicants there were? Especially by subject? I guess you're going to do the best you can regardless of who else applies, but it would be nice to know... and might give us (me) some sympathy for the lengthy process...

Honorable Mention. What were those "it'll be ok" mantras again? Oh yeah: 1 more year left to apply (know what I'll be doing this summer) I'm in an MA program, at least I can put HM on my doctoral program apps With more time in school, I've developed new interests - now I can write a proposal more in line with my thesis I'll be more competitive next year - my grad school GPA is way better than my undergrad GPA (yay sobriety), plus I've got a publication and 2 presentations under my belt I now have grad school professors to get refs from Maybe next year is the year I can walk out of my job with middle fingers extended. For now, I can say that getting the HM gives me a lot more confidence to keep going in my grad career and apply to doctoral programs.

Since April 15 is on a Sun day I emailed them to ask about the exact date - got a response that it will be April 13. 14 days and counting!

Wow, this is good entertainment. All the anticipation of childbirth with none of the physical pain (mental anguish about the same). THAT would be a good proposal.

This wait is seriously crazy-making. Sigh! I keep telling myself I'll be ok as long as I at least get an HM since I have one more year to apply... oh, and that as long as the reviewer comments are constructive, I can even take rejection... any other "it'll be okay" mantras out there?

I applied - Career Development Grant - it would make a HUGE difference for me and my family so I really have my fingers crossed. I'm getting antsy, too...

Has anyone else started doing or saying things out of anxiety? I changed my TGC name. Now that I've got kids, I think I'm too old to be Dynamutt. Being young and single was fun... but I'm Dynamom now. Today one of my classes addressed the UC Davis pepper spray incident. I totally launched into a stress-and-caffeine-fueled rant. The worst part is I have the minority opinion. Now I REALLY hope I'll be abroad next year! 64 hours...

Yeah... I keep trying to remind myself that I'll be thrilled with an honorable mention. The worst part is I bet there are less than 150 apps for science education - it's not like I'm in Biology or Computer Science. Even if the committee was comprised of 2 people, I'm sure they could get through that many apps in 2 weeks, tops.

Yeah... even our professors "lose" on national awards. On the NSF Grad Research Fellowship forum, I've heard the longer you stay in grad school the more used to rejection you get. There's likely a dissertation there on persistence, resilience and coping strategies among graduate students. Hmmmm....

18 days, maybe less. Then, if we're lucky, another 2 months or more. Uggh, this is worse than pregnancy - at least I knew I'd have a baby at the end. My Plan B is to maintain the status quo - I work 1/2 time and am in the 1st year of a 2 year MA program; however, I would much rather finish it on the Mediterranean . It's kind of do-or-die for me this year; I think going any later would be too disruptive to my kids' schooling.

I turned down grad school right after undergrad for the same reason - it would have doubled my student loan debt. Turns out, working for a few years (which turned into a decade) really clarified my focus - I ended up actually changing fields. It also gave me a skill set and a "real world" perspective that is extremely valuable. If you've got your BA, you can substitute teach. I did that until I found work as a research assistant. Now, as a university employee, I get a 2/3 break on my tuition. Best of luck to you!