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The NDSEG website says a little bit about how proposals are judged: So basically, do something one of these DoD sponsoring organizations likes. If one of these sponsoring organizations has an active program in the area you describe your interest in, that would sound like a pretty good bet. But there aren't really any consistent standards, and who knows what these DoD folks like to see in an application.

You will know soon enough for sure, but in every case I have heard of for PhD students, a 50% TA or RA comes with full tuition remission.

To quote the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421.html

It looks like the consensus of the internet is that fellowship income is NOT taxed as if you are self-employed. But you do still have to pay federal income tax at the normal rate.

Funding for future years depends highly on your field and institution. There's really no way to find out other than to ask current graduate students in the program.

I would contact the organization behind your first scholarship offer and inform them of your situation. Most likely, they will allow you to decline their scholarship. As a general matter, I cannot imagine that promises to accept a financial offer (or matriculate at a particular institution) could be legally bending. I am sure they can still find someone else who would be happy to accept it.

Honestly, I don't understand why the NSF doesn't already follow the lead of every other federal agency in allocating fellowships based on its research priorities. Blindly supporting every discipline based strictly on the number of applicants seems like a poor way to encourage research falling under the NSF's mandate. As near as I can tell, the appropriations bills don't specify exactly where money is going for the NSF. But it looks like the passed version of H.R.3288 included $872.76 million for education and human resources for the NSF, a full $15 million more than $857.76 in the 2010 budget request. That $15 million (over the $122 million requested) could pretty easily be covering 350 more fellowships.

My guess is March 29, but almost certainly within the following week. This year the NSF got the GRFP budget they asked for, so there won't be any reason for the huge delays like last year.

ursprache -- Living in Oakland is a great option for Berkeley (it's what I do), but accordingly to Google Maps it's going to be roughly a 50 minute drive to Stanford each way (without traffic). I can't see the commute situation being much better from SF, although at least then you have public transit. Honestly, I would consider getting separate living situations near school and seeing each other on weekends.

Don't expect helpful comments, except insofar as you may be told that you did better on one of the criteria than the other. My first year I learned I didn't take broader impacts seriously enough. My second year, the comments I received were essentially useless. The reviewers need to look for intellectual merit and broader impact in all parts of the application, but the general advice for the NSF is to consider the personal statement to be all about broader impacts. I did that this year -- we'll see how it turns out.

GSI pay at UC Berkeley is generally significantly less than $28,000/year. If you work a standard 50% appointment for both semesters (10 months), you would make only $16,637/year. That would be $19,964 total if you GSI over the summer, too (unlikely but possible -- usually you should be able to find a GSR over the summer at least, and there are fewer classes available to teach). This website has GSI pay rates: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/pay/uawwg.htm Here is what you need to find out: 1) What is the GSR pay in your department? At Berkeley, these rates are set by individual departments. In sciences with good funding, these rates are generally significantly higher than standard GSI rates (for example, physics is about $25,500/year). 2) What is the availability of GSI appointments in your department? Some departments always need extra GSIs -- others do not. 3) What is the availability of GSR appointments in your chosen subfield and with faculty you would want to work with? Ask the professors and the student affairs officer in the department you got into, but ask grad students for the real scoop. Berkeley has many bio PhD programs and they differ wildly in funding availability. The people I know doing microbiology are doing quite well. My friend doing ecology is in a constant struggle for funding.

Try the Federal tax estimator at H&R Block, and look up California tax rates: http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_tips_calculators/ http://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2009_California_Tax_Rates_and_Exemptions.shtml If you earned $14,000 in 2009, you would owe $65 in federal taxes (after subtracting $400 thanks to the Making Work Pay tax credit) and $184 to California (after the $60 renter's tax credit). That's only $250 in taxes for 2009. Note that the Making Work Pay tax credit will expire after 2010 when you'll owe an extra $400 per year (you're taxed at 10% over $9,350 in income). You might get additional credits due to the student loans -- I'm not sure (I was giving you the standard deduction). Fellowships are NOT tax exempt unless you use them to pay for tuition, mandatory fees or books, even if taxes are not withheld. But at only $14,000 per year you will owe hardly any taxes anyways.

The Hertz fellowship is for "applications of the physical sciences." One of the application questions is explicitly how your research falls into this category. I do not think human computer interaction would cut it. If you can make a compelling argument for that essay, then you should apply.

sundevil2013 -- my understanding is that the main reason why listing the category you are applying under matters is that it determines the committee which reads your application. Since you applied in Mathematics, your application will be read by mathematicians (and probably only those in specific subfields). I suspect (but do not really know) that the question for you is more if mathematicians would appreciate your research than find it mathematical (a subtle distinction). The category you pick also matters because awards are also awarded by category.

This depends highly on the particular program and source of funding. As a TA or RA, I am paid monthly. However, several of my friends in Sociology with department or university fellowships were paid in a lump sum at the start of the academic year. You should ask particular programs -- there is no one answer to this question.

This is a change from last year. I have a friend who deferred his first year of grad school (and the NSF) last year to travel.

Not likely -- once you win the NSF or another major fellowship, you can use it to leverage acceptance almost everywhere, even places that have already turned you down.

The number 1,654 is pretty exact for the expect number of awards. When I looked into appropriation bills a month ago it seemed pretty certain that the NSF got its requested budget for the GRFP. So I would expect very close to 1,654 awards, which, fortunately, is significantly more than last year! (Obama's plan to have three times more NSF GRFP awards is apparently being rolled out over several years.)

DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship (SSGF) For students pursuing a Ph.D. in areas of interest to stewardship science, such as high-energy density physics, low-energy nuclear science, or properties of materials under extreme conditions. $32,400/year for four years Senior undergraduates and 1st and 2nd year grad students ~5 new fellows/year Deadline: January 12, 2010 http://www.krellinst.org/ssgf/ DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) For students pursuing a PhD in scientific or engineering disciplines with an emphasis in high-performance computing (i.e. supercomputers). $32,400/year for four years Senior undergraduates and 1st and 2nd year grad students ~15-18 new fellows/year Deadline: January 14, 2010 http://www.krellinst.org/csgf/

I was contacted six days ago on Monday. I know another grad student in my department was contacted this past week, as well.

Last night I thought I was in limbo, but I got my rejection this morning at 11:21am PDT. Damn. Next year, I suppose?

Two more of my friends just won the NSF! This is starting to get ridiculous (I already have several close friends who won previously). Ironic part: neither of these friends expected to win at all. I guess I can be thankful I'm not yet rejected? This is really down to the wire. 45 physics awards so far, slightly up from last year. I still have a chance?

Note: negotiate on deferring the NSF with your school before you enroll. I have a friend who was required to use it instead of his first-year fellowship.