NSF GRFP 2019-2020

[Bernt]

Just now, trollsloot said:

I got the fellowship but was REJECTED from every school I applied to except one. Any advice on what to do?

There have been many instances of schools rejecting applicants and then changing their mind after the applicant gets GRFP. A professor at my school was originally rejected from Stanford, but Stanford changed its mind and accepted her once she got GRFP. Schools care a LOT about money. Having your tuition & stipend (mostly/completely) paid makes you look very nice to them. It can't hurt to reach out to programs that rejected you letting them know you got GRFP and asking if that may have any impact on their previously made decision.

[Michelin]

1 minute ago, trollsloot said:

I got the fellowship but was REJECTED from every school I applied to except one. Any advice on what to do?

i would recommend emailing some (or all) of the schools that rejected you and let them know that you have external funding and thus reconsider acceptance. Hope you get into some!!

[CeXra]

3 minutes ago, trollsloot said:

I got the fellowship but was REJECTED from every school I applied to except one. Any advice on what to do?

Contact the schools possibly and let them know about your funding offer... if they still pass on you, then I say that go into the school that accepted you... You never know, you may love it.. And its great you have this offer, since you can't defer NSF I hear...

Congratz!!!

[trollsloot]

6 minutes ago, Bernt said:

There have been many instances of schools rejecting applicants and then changing their mind after the applicant gets GRFP. A professor at my school was originally rejected from Stanford, but Stanford changed its mind and accepted her once she got GRFP. Schools care a LOT about money. Having your tuition & stipend (mostly/completely) paid makes you look very nice to them. It can't hurt to reach out to programs that rejected you letting them know you got GRFP and asking if that may have any impact on their previously made decision.

Does this work if you didn't apply to the school? I got discouraged by my program and advisers to not apply to schools...like Stanford and MIT. I can't believe I won the NSF, this year was really discouraging...

6 minutes ago, Michelin said:

i would recommend emailing some (or all) of the schools that rejected you and let them know that you have external funding and thus reconsider acceptance. Hope you get into some!!

Thanks, who would you suggest emailing? Program director?

3 minutes ago, CeXra said:

Contact the schools possibly and let them know about your funding offer... if they still pass on you, then I say that go into the school that accepted you... You never know, you may love it.. And its great you have this offer, since you can't defer NSF I hear...

Congratz!!!

Yeah, I definitely need to take advantage of it. Finding it hard to believe I won after all the crap I went through this year...and getting constant rejections from schools.

Edited March 31, 2020 by trollsloot

[jasbee]

Didn’t get it (or even honorable mention). I guess it’s not nearly as painful as what a lot of people are experiencing right now with the current epidemic or watching my dog die while I pet her in our vet’s parking lot this morning (due to covid we wouldn’t have been allowed inside with her and they had a bed set up for her outside which was probably much better for my dog than the vet office she absolutely hated). My PI’s funding situation is a disaster rn so at this point who knows what’s next for me. I’m not surprised I was rejected since I’m a second year with zero publications, but today just really sucked. 

[Bernt]

Just now, trollsloot said:

Does this work if you didn't apply to the school? I got discouraged by my program and advisers to not apply to schools...like Stanford and MIT. I can't believe I won the NSF, this year was really discouraging...

Thanks, who would you suggest emailing? Program director?

Yeah, I definitely need to take advantage of it. Finding it hard to believe I won after all the crap I went through this year...and getting constant rejections from schools.

I have never heard of programs/schools you didn't apply to offering you an acceptance after receiving GRFP. I imagine the top tier schools (MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, etc) already have such a large pool of applicants (many of whom probably were rejected but received GRFP) that they wouldn't extend offers to people who didn't apply. Smaller schools/programs may extend offers though (but I'm not sure).

Don't beat yourself up for not applying to top tier schools! Applying to graduate school is a messy and confusing (and expensive oof) time. Even if you get GRFP it's not a guarantee you'll get in, they're uber competitive and you can apply to 20 and only get accepted to 1. I'm sure you'll find success wherever you go. Rank and name isn't everything, the labs and vibes at a school are just as (if not more) important!

[Hydrobiogeochemist]

26 minutes ago, joingradswe said:

Not a single person who applied in the category I did got awarded the fellowship, based on what's published online (Geosciences - hydrology). But 10 of us got awarded HMs. Anyone else check the stats for the category they applied in? 

I'm also Geosciences - Hydrology. I got the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, which is much more competitive than the NSF GRFP, so I was a little surprised to receive an HM. I would have had to reject the GRFP even if I received it, but it still would've been cool to get it. 

[Physicsisphysics]

3 minutes ago, jasbee said:

Didn’t get it (or even honorable mention). I guess it’s not nearly as painful as what a lot of people are experiencing right now with the current epidemic or watching my dog die while I pet her in our vet’s parking lot this morning (due to covid we wouldn’t have been allowed inside with her and they had a bed set up for her outside which was probably much better for my dog than the vet office she absolutely hated). My PI’s funding situation is a disaster rn so at this point who knows what’s next for me. I’m not surprised I was rejected since I’m a second year with zero publications, but today just really sucked. 

I'm really sorry, I can't imagine what you're feeling. I just want to say I hope you take time for yourself and feel better soon <3. Sending love.

[struggleknot]

honorable mention! senior undergrad in chem, so i'm very happy. I can't wait to try again when I have more experience under my belt.

[iheartscience]

AWARD OFFERED (STEM Education) - WOOOOOO!

[Vaudevillain]

Holy shit! I got it (2nd year in Ecology). I'm still shocked. I've been in knots about it for months and was bracing for the worst but I got it! Does anyone have a sense of when reviews will be posted? I know it'll be in the next couple of weeks, but timeframes from past years?

Edited March 31, 2020 by Vaudevillain

[struggleknot]

2 minutes ago, Vaudevillain said:

Holy shit! I got it. I'm still shocked. I've been in knots about it for months and was bracing for the worst but I got it! Does anyone have a sense of when reviews will be posted? I know it'll be in the next couple of weeks, but timeframes from past years?

The website said April 21st!

[Vaudevillain]

Just now, struggleknot said:

The website said April 21st!

Thanks!!

Edited March 31, 2020 by Vaudevillain

[SFS]

People who were awarded, did you get your official email yet?

[Bernt]

1 minute ago, SFS said:

People who were awarded, did you get your official email yet?

Got mine at 11:22PM EST from the info@nsfgrfp.org email address.

[Vaudevillain]

1 minute ago, SFS said:

People who were awarded, did you get your official email yet?

 

I got it, it was sent at 11:22 EST. 

[trollsloot]

14 minutes ago, SFS said:

People who were awarded, did you get your official email yet?

Email at 11:22 PM EST from the "'division director" on March 30, 2020.

Edited March 31, 2020 by trollsloot

[SFS]

Haven't got mine yet. Any people in physics/astro get theirs?

[CeXra]

Omg.... I saw I was awarded on the page but I didn't get an email... I checked my spam and it was there !!!! I received it around 11 pm... Check your spam everyone if you're still waiting!

Good job everyone!

[StacyA]

I still have not received an email....I checked my spam folder too. My account said I was awarded (yippee) but I like official emails haha. Anyone else not get the email yet?

[ScienceGeek]

Honorable mention here.

Congrats to all that were awarded or got an honorable mention! To those who weren't, you're going to be amazing scientists and this doesn't negate that. 

[yayareaforever]

If you weren't awarded, how are you dealing with it? I keep telling myself that my worth is not dependent on this fellowship, but I can't help but think that this is indicative of my scientific capabilities. I'm also reminding myself of everything I'm already grateful for, but part of me wants to just mope around and be sad for a week. 

[jstop28]

5 minutes ago, yayareaforever said:

If you weren't awarded, how are you dealing with it? I keep telling myself that my worth is not dependent on this fellowship, but I can't help but think that this is indicative of my scientific capabilities. I'm also reminding myself of everything I'm already grateful for, but part of me wants to just mope around and be sad for a week. 

Meh, the GRFP is kind of a crapshoot. A large part of it is who you have as your reviewers, who are just people with their own biases and flaws. The results aren’t a perfect reflection of your own abilities and shouldn’t really be treated as such.

[Eman2]

I didn't get it either or even honorable mention. Feels kinda crappy. I told myself that it was a long shot to not get my hopes up but I'm surprisingly disappointed. There are some existential doubts about my abilities that I'm feeling like what yayareaforever commented.

In hindsight I sort of rushed the application but idk I thought it was pretty good. Hopefully the feed back from the reviewers will be constructive at least.

On a positive note I applied for two more fellowships that I haven't heard back from yet and one is an even bigger award than the NSF!

[captivatingCA]

2 hours ago, yayareaforever said:

If you weren't awarded, how are you dealing with it? I keep telling myself that my worth is not dependent on this fellowship, but I can't help but think that this is indicative of my scientific capabilities. I'm also reminding myself of everything I'm already grateful for, but part of me wants to just mope around and be sad for a week. 

I wasn't awarded, and I definitely felt a bit of a ding after reading the email. But I've started to look at the things that have gone right for me so far. Personally, I'm just happy that I'm going to grad school. Even if the NSF is indicative of ability (which, as jstop28 mentions, isn't necessarily true), a rejection isn't a death sentence to my scientific career. I have a lot of time ahead of me to learn and develop, and I'm looking forward to seeing the reviews so that I can figure out what areas to improve. While the validation (and money) would have been great, not getting the fellowship doesn't fundamentally change the calculus of the next few years, and it won't stop me from pursuing my goals.