aofthe1000days

Thanks for the responses everyone. I suppose what I'm really looking for is someone who has actually transferred (whether after receiving a master's or not). I know several people who have transferred *in* to my program, but I don't really feel comfortable discussing the nitty-gritty details of it with them for obvious reasons. I've had a hard time finding much information about this online either, but I'll keep googling. As it stands now, I'm doing very well in my current program, but I'm just not happy. I suppose in the long-run that's a minor issue. (Hopefully) I'll be able to choose where to do a post-doc or get a job based on my liking of the community rather than how much money they're throwing at me. :/ Thanks again! Anne

Six weeks in to my Ph.D. program at a highly-ranked competitive private university and I'm wishing I'd chosen the state school. When I made my decision to go to my current program, it was largely due to the pressure of time constraints and money (e.g. waiting to hear whether or not I'd get the NSF and thereby equalize my three choices financially). As much as I loved the people and community at the state school, I simply could not afford to move and subsequently live off what they offered. Now that I've had a chance to save up from my summer job + large stipend from private university, I desperately want to transfer programs next year. There's nothing particularly *wrong* with anything at my current university, but I always find myself thinking of how great things were at the other school. I'm fairly certain that this isn't simply buyer's remorse as I have no desire to transfer into any of the other programs into which I was admitted. Has anyone else been in this position? What did you do? During my graduation, one of the faculty from my current dept. (I was an undergrad where I'm now a grad) talked about how important it is to do what makes you happy. Is transferring in grad school really a good option? I know people who have transferred into the program at my school, but I know of no one who's transferred out. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Today is the 473rd anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution (the inspiration for my login name). I call 473 extra awards tonight.

Ooh, there's a facebook group? I missed the boat on that one.

So what is everyone doing (besides drinking) to pass the time tonight? I'm sipping a Bombay & Tonic and starting to read a book. Hopefully I don't finish before 2am...

"At this time we do not have an approximate timeframe for additional announcements. We will update this page as soon as we have a likely timeframe." -NSFGRFP.ORG OMG :!:

So even though you can't go into details about your situation, can you tell us how you received the information that you won? If not, I completely understand. I'm just wondering if you found out somehow specifically to your field? (One of the professors in my home department is a CO and she has said that for her field (not the one I applied for) there have been no announcements re: new awards and that students would find out via email or the online list before professors. She also said that to her knowledge no one knows the total number of awards yet and that the earliest we can hope for is May -- but I hope she's wrong.)

Congratulations if you got it! But I'm skeptical because everyone has 30 days to accept the award -- and 01 May is less than 30 days from today...

Thanks for all your input! I am glad to hear that it really is more the quality of work rather than the name, but whether or not I want to work outside of academia isn't something I'd considered, so thanks for raising that point. At this point I'm rather happy in my tower, so I suppose it won't matter as much. The quality of research at State is actually a bit better than Ivy, although the quality/amount of research at the Ranked school is better than both. At this point, I'm thinking that Ivy is out (too bad, since I would have loved to say I'd gone to one) and it's between State or Ranked. Hopefully I can figure this out within the next seven days...

Are you actually that much of a self-entitled smarmy prick to have your only post asking me this? Guess so. I suppose I'd forgotten how difficult it is to convey tone of voice over the internet, but clearly saying things like "ma'am" and "thank you" are considered the height of rudeness these days. And to everyone who thinks it's rude that I called: I know we're all on edge waiting for this thing, but if people feel the need to criticize the fact that I tried to find out more detailed information in a polite and perfectly acceptable fashion, please feel free to PM or email me. Thanks.

Seeing as it seems highly unlikely that we'll find out about the NSF GRFP awards prior to the 15 April deadline, I'll have to make my decision without the great equalizing force of $30k/year. I've been accepted to 3 cognitive psychology Ph.D. programs: an Ivy League school, a top-three ranked Cognitive program, and a strong state school. I've received full funding, tuition wavers, and health insurance at all three. I felt happiest at the state school, but was impressed by both the Ivy League and top-ranked schools and could see myself at either. How much does going to a name-brand school matter when applying for jobs 4-5 years from now? (Provided that the economy actually improves in that amount of time.) Is one's future career dependent more upon publications/quality of work or one's graduate institution? Any thoughts?

Bad news, kids. I just spoke with one of the NSF call center managers on the phone. Here's what I found out: Q1: "I was wondering whether the NSF has set a more specific date than "early April" for announcing the NSF GRFP awards? It seems that students are frequently being told "soon," or "by the end of X week," and we still have nothing to show for it." A1: "No, the NSF has not set a specific date. Traditionally results are announced no earlier than the middle of April This year will be no different." Q2: "Actually, ma'am, in past years results were announced by the end of March or very early in April." A2: "Be that as it may, there are no specific dates. We hope to have results up as soon as possible." Q3: "Could you please give me a specific reason for this delay?" A3: "Unfortunately, no. We at the NSF GRF line are hired by the NSF to take calls related to the GRF. We do not know the reason for the delay." Q4: "According to various sources, you have given several different reasons for the delay, ranging from 'more awards this year' to 'it's complicated.'" A4: "The NSF has given us several reasons to cite for the delay including (1) an award/honorable mention list has not been finalized, (2) the exact number of awards/honorable mentions has changed, (3) complications as a result of budget issues, (4) an unusually high number of applications were received this year. We do not know whether all of these are true or if none of them are." Q5: "I see. So no one at this line has any actual knowledge of when the awards will be announced or the actual reason for a delay." A5: "That is correct. You would need to contact the NSF for an answer, and I can guarantee you that no one will speak to you about the GRFP -- we have already received several calls back from applicants who tried. Do you have any further questions?" No, thanks for your time. So it seems that calling is pointless after all and we might not be finding out until next week. Yay. PS: I spoke with a representative named "Jess."

The "Statistics and Past Recipients" link is down as well. Oh boy.

Not necessarily. Two applicants from my school who had high GREs and GPAs each received 3 reviews that said "perfect" or "great" or "includes everything -- good luck next year" and neither received either an HM or the award. So who knows...

I tried the "forgot your password" trick and I still keep getting "Access to NSF GRFP rating sheets is now closed..." as well. I applied to Psych though.