SlickMcFavorite

Well, for all of you who submitted your applications, MAKE SURE TO ADD ALL nsf.gov EMAIL ADDRESSES TO YOUR WHITE LIST

Can anyone tell me how to see the reviews for a previous application? I applied last year (didn't get it), but never got reviewer comments -- do I have to look at them online? If so, WHERE on the fastlane site do I look!?

I still haven't heard back since the initial "You're still being considered" email. Also, I am not currently able to log in to the NDSEG site -- anyone else having problems? PS: If you're accepted for the NDSEG, are you obliged to do the research you describe in your proposal? I may be joining a lab that doesn't have much to do with my original proposal...

Has anyone actually heard back about a final decision re NDSEG

When do people who were not accepted sent the reviews of their applications?

I prefer the Ampad 22-157 model, but have only been able to find the Ampad 25-451 recently. Wire bound, cardstock cover, 4x4 1inch grid. She is a thing of beauty.

Seconded: You want to provide a brief overview of why you're into them and give them enough info that they'll be able to figure out if they're interested in you. You DON'T want to send them a block of imposing text because they likely won't read it -- your email should take, at most, a couple of minutes to read.

Make sure your emails to profs are personal -- boilerplate emails will likely be ignored. Do some research on a prof's interests and then mention areas of interest you and the professor share. Showing that you have the ability to think and talk about research will be a major plus.

First check out: Why are those the schools you'd like to go to? When you're being accepted to a PhD program, they want to know that you're capable of doing the work BUT (and this is just as, if not more, important) they also need to know that you're someone they can work WITH. Find and contact faculty members whose research you like. Make sure your personal statement lets them know about your personality and not just your credentials. You don't appear to have any dealbreakers in your raw stats -- it's the intangibles that will make or break you.

Agreed -- you should include anything that will make you look good. Having a manuscript almost ready to go is not something everyone can claim...ergo you should claim it.

I am in my first year of graduate study, currently doing rotations. The research I'm doing at my first rotation is pretty cool and I think it's certainly possible that I might end up in the lab. That being said, I'm not SURE that I want to stay in this lab and certainly want to do at least one or two more rotations. My questions: If my current rotation PI writes one of my three letters of reference for the NSF GRFP and I'm awarded the fellowship, am I kind of obliged to stay in her lab? I understand that there are no rules saying that I HAVE to stay -- I'm more interested in your opinions regarding if this is good form or not. Thanks!

I talked to my payroll dept and they would give me zero information as well. As far as I can tell, you are NOT a 1099 contractor while you're on fellowship nor are you a W-2 employee. The income might be exempt from certain taxes, though, as was indicated by TakeruK. Also, don't forget that you also get the "standard deduction" (unless you're married) of just under $6000 that you can subtract from your taxable income. So you'll only be taxed on (30-8.7-6) 15,300 of your income at the federal level. I'm not sure what the rates are in California, but probably similar.

This is the first clear answer I've found to this question! Thank you very much. No one at my school seems to know the answer to this question either. The payroll people just kept saying "We are not legally authorized to give personal tax advice"

Great thank you! As it turns out (I should have known this), the school just took a little while longer to process her financial aid info than it took to let her know she was admitted. Still, it's lame that there are no subsidies for graduate loans. I certainly don't want to be heavily invested in the student loan industry when this bubble bursts!

For life-science related labs, you can search the NIH database: http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm Also, many labs will list some/all of their grants on their webpage. Finally, if you want to do some research, you can look up some papers from the lab and count how many different grants are mentioned.

So, can you consolidate a Sallie Mae loan?

Hi everyone, My girlfriend was just accepted by the graduate program near the one I am attending! Hooray! except... She applied late (long story) and missed the "Priority Deadline". The school has her FAFSA, and the difference between her expected contribution and the cost of attendance is significant. Unfortunately, the school does not list ANY awards or offers. Other schools where she was accepted had federal loans listed in this section. I know that, by missing the priority deadline, she missed the opportunity to get grants and whatnot. Still, I didn't think this would exclude her from federally subsidized loans! Do you have to get subsidized loans through your school, or can you get them directly from the Dept of Education? Any information about this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone, I asked it like "Are you open/able to take on a new graduate student" and the professor was very forthcoming. I agree with TakeruK that it is better to risk a PI but know funding status than to go in blind.

Thank you for all your responses. I understand abberant's point about PIs not wanting to talk about funding issues and would rather I be into the science. I am totally into the science, but I am also four years out of my undergrad now, and stability is pretty important to me. My fiance is moving with me (and making some major sacrifices) so I can attend this program and I intend to bust my ass and get my PhD as efficiently as possible. I have heard too many horror stories of grad students stranded in their 3rd year and whatnot. While circumstances are never entirely within one's control, I can at least avoid putting myself in a bad one.

So, would a point-blank question read like: "I am interested in doing one of my rotations in your lab if you are able to take me on" or more blunt: "I am interested in doing one of my rotations in your lab if you have the funding to take me on as a graduate student" It seems a little forward, but I've been a PI's employee for the past few years...perhaps the student-PI relationship is more frank...

I am currently in a lab with no coordinator and I have taken on some aspects of that role. I can tell you that having a person dedicated to coordinating lab tasks, experiments, instruments and supplies in invaluable. If the coordinator is good, they can recognize opportunities to make everyone's work easier. For instance, a lab coordinator might remember that a previous lab member had started an experiment very similar to one you're thinking of and be able to give you the person's protocols and/or unfinished work.

Thanks Eigen, I'd just like to make sure that I limit my rotations to labs that are financially able to take me on as a student -- I kind of imagined that as the point of the rotations, to find a lab you can thesis in. I've done a search with the NSF and the NIH now, and still can't find any grants for one of the labs. I know it must have some kind of funding, because professors are required to, but I'd like to know what it is (and its duration).

Hi everyone, I am in the process of trying to figure out which lab I'd like to do my first rotation in. I'm weighing a lot of factors, but I think the most important is: Can the PI afford to take me as a grad student for the long haul I am looking at four labs, all the labs have at least one R01 grant from the NIH except for one. Should I rule out the lab without an R01 or are there other, comparable, funding awards from other agencies? Is it rude/inappropriate to ask the professor about their funding situation? How would I go about asking these kinds of questions? I know the R01 is the "gold standard" of grants but perhaps there are tons of PIs who do just fine with a bunch of grants from other sources...

Thanks for the responses, everyone. The reason my commute will be in hour is because my fiance and I are attending grad school at the same time and her schools are a ways away from mine. Hers is a Masters program, though, so hopefully we'll be able to move closer to whichever school I go to once she is done. At this point, I think the professors at Scripps match my interests the best, they've offered me the best financial package and have the best name recognition. It's still a bit of a risk since the program on the Florida campus is less developed, but they seem to really know what they're doing.

First, you should probably not take on more debt than is equal to your career's expected starting salary -- this is especially true if your career path is a competative one (I have no idea what the job market for Entertainment Management is). If the debt from USC still seems manageable, then you've got to move on to level 2 of decision making. This is going to depend a lot more on you, of course, but here's where you've got to consider where you'd like to end up (geographically) eventually. If you need to be in LA for your career, you might be well served by getting your degree there and utilizing the connections that USC provides. If you don't NEED to be in LA, then staying by your family and making connections in that part of the country could be a pretty good bet. Good luck with your decision -- I'm trying to puzzle out a similar one myself!