guttata

Are the grad hours listed on your UG transcript and do they count toward your undergrad degree? If so, they are actually UG hours that happened to be taken at the graduate level. Do not list them separately. I'm basing this off of 4 years of working in a registrar's office during UG and the Q/A you listed here.

A "degree-granting institution" is a school that offers degrees, not necessarily one you graduated from. This is meant to exclude certificate programs and short workshops. You need to submit transcripts from each accredited school you attended, whether you withdrew, transferred, or successfully graduated.

Be careful to avoid using it too much, so that it loses its significance, but I have bolded important or key elements to make a point in this and other applications.

Typically the fellowships require that you be accepted to or enrolled in a graduate program. You're allowed to apply for the GRF as a senior undergraduate, for example, but you must be accepted to a graduate school for the following fall to accept the award.

Figure captions may be as well IIRC but I've yet to see a proposal that included one.

Citations can be put in 10 pt font, but not in the footer as that puts you outside the 1-in margins. I have a post on the previous page that details my citation format, and I'd be impressed if there's a format that gets any shorter.

You are not permitted to hold two federal fellowships simultaneously, including the deferral years. You have 5 years to utilize the awarded 3 years of support, giving you up to two years to defer.

Box for title and keywords are always on the application. That's my justification for not including keywords or a title on the proposal itself as they're just space-eaters.

Here's a sample of how I formatted my citations (Biology). Never received a negative comment about them and had VG - E on my IM scores. Birds have wings1. Birds can fly2. Birds also eat worms3. (Bottom of page, 10-pt font) 1. Smith. 1980. Anim. Behav. 32: 20-9. 2. Smith and Jones. 1983. Science 2: 324-34. 3. Jones et al. 1978. Nature 34: 3-13.

In case you hadn't noticed, the entire government has been shut down for 2 weeks.

This seems a little odd to me as so much of the application is built around communication with your prospective host - Summary of discussions, letter that they will host you, IACUC/IRB approval from your institution and the equivalent from the host school... How does that work?

http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools/types/international So, yes, you'll need to fill out a FAFSA. Google is a cool thing.

There was a request in another thread for documentation that is no longer available while NSF websites are disabled. Here is what I've got available: Solicitation: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/101723524/nsf13593.pdf Application Guide: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/101723524/Apply_Guide_2014.pdf Australia Handbook: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/101723524/Australia_Handbook.pdf

You mean #2699.

I know of a couple with 3.1-3.2 UG gpas but not any under 3 off the top of my head. I wouldn't be surprised to see a strong research background, grad gpa, and justification for low scores could overcome that, though. As your prof mentions, however, I imagine it would be less and less likely as the score in question drops.

FYI the DDIG is a research grant, not a fellowship, and cannot be used to pay tuition/stipend for those last couple semesters.

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5284 Thread for anyone applying to this program this year. I've made contact with a PI and received a tentative agreement for hosting, but I'm happy to see a later deadline this year (Nov. 25) as I'm prepping a DDIG and GRF proposal prior to said deadline. I'd welcome any tips/tricks/hints/stories from previous EAPSI applicants/fellows as well!

Not out of the running for NSF. Mine was lower and I had very favorable reviews last year. Guy in my lab was in the 3.1-3.2 range and received the fellowship.

If I'm understanding you correctly, your posted link refers to tax exemption for your tuition waiver, which is NOT your stipend. Your stipend is earned income (at least, it is for me - everything is reported on a W2 and taxes are withheld on each check). Your tuition waiver, on the other hand, is money that never passes through your hands and is the reason you don't get a bill for tuition. You are not being taxed on that. TL;DR - Stipend != tuition waiver

The above quote is from the solicitation. Figures are acceptable but count against your page limit and must remain within the margin boundaries, so they represent a significant sacrifice of space. Make sure it is absolutely essential and conveys something you otherwise would not be able to.

Apologies. I assumed you had one since you made a comment specifically about getting a letter from your advisor. My second assumption is that you're doing a rotation, and recommend that your rotation PI write one. S/He should sit down and talk with you about what you've done in the past and what your plans are going forward (e.g., review your NSF research proposal). The important thing is that, while they haven't known you long, you should have shown them something in this time frame to prove that you've got potential. Step one in that was getting admitted to the program. They should be able to write a letter for you regarding your intelligence, work ethic, etc, even if you've not had the chance to go wire to wire on a project with them.

You should absolute have your new graduate adviser as one of your letters. If YOU were a panel member, what would you think of a student who's own adviser wasn't recommending their research for funding?

From Fastlane, in the application: If you have applied for any other fellowships this year, please select them from the following list. NSF is interested in this information for statistical purposes only. Submission of the requested information is voluntary and is not considered during the review process. If a particular fellowship is not in the list, select 'Other (please specify)' and specify the other fellowships in the box provided. Note: The Graduate Research Fellowship may not be accepted or held if the individual accepts or is supported by another federal graduate fellowship. Included in the following list is the Ford Foundation fellowship. HOWEVER... it looks like you may have a point as they re-emphasize federal and the Ford is not considered federal, just significant. You may be able to defer while you hold the Ford. Apologies for jumping to conclusions. However, as the Ford is ALSO 3 years, you might consider continuing to wait a year to maximize your potential funding, in the event your program is expected to take 6 years.

You are not allowed to hold both simultaneously. If you are already an NSF fellow and are awarded a Ford Fellowship starting next school year, you would have to decline your NSF fellowship and would lose it for subsequent years as well. You are no longer (if you were ever, I'm not sure) allowed to use any of the delay years for the NSF to hold another national fellowship. Seeing as it would be insane to turn down a $32k fellowship for a $20k fellowship, hold on to your Ford eligibility until you use up your NSF support. There is nothing to be gained by applying before the final year of your NSF.

A heads up for those of us in IOS and DEB: This year's new deadline is Oct 10.