NDSEG 2020 20201

[GoldenDog]

For what it's worth, Rob Ross had discussed why it takes time for decisions to go out:

 

[GoldenDog]

From my selection email, the number of applicants was 7942 this year. Given that the number of awards is ~150-200 most years, you can imagine how competitive it must have been. I hope all who applied will bear this in mind. Wishing all of you good health and happiness. 

[SpaceWitch]

From Waitlist to Not Selected (MRDC) but I didn't have super high hopes for this one considering the sheer number of applicants vs awardees. Seems like they offer less and less awards every year! Yay to those who made it!

We're not allowed to ask for feedback/comments on our proposals, right? Such a weird limitation of this fellowship...

[neanderthal12]

How likely is it to get an offer from the NDSEG wait list? I don't want to keep false hope...

[ktmods]

Question for those who won - when is the acceptance deadline? Would anyone be willing to share the content of their selection email?

[lurker856]

Long-time lurker, really appreciated all the spreadsheets and info Was lucky enough to get selected -- here's the email:

---

It is a pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to receive the 2021 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Award, contingent upon the receipt of official transcripts and GRE scores. The effective date of this award is September 1, 2020.

This fellowship is awarded to you in recognition of your academic excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) achievements, from over 7942 applications that were received this year.

The NDSEG Fellowship Program is sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering. This program is administered by Systems Plus, Inc.

As an awardee you receive full tuition and all mandatory fees coverage for up to 36 months at any accredited U.S. college or university that provides advanced degrees in science and engineering. In additional you will receive a monthly stipend of $3,200, up to $1,200 annually for health insurance coverage, and $5,000 travel budget (all expenses paid based on the government travel policy per year for training and/or conferences that support their educational initiatives).

Please indicate your acceptance of this Fellowship by logging into the NDSEG web application by April 30, 2021. Once you have accepted your appointment, please read, sign, and upload you’re the terms of appointment no later than May 31, 2021.

Once accepted, we will provide information for the next steps which include providing updating University info, official GRE scores, transcripts, banking information and more.

If you have questions, you may contact us at NDSEG.PMO@sysplus.com.

Best Regards,
NDSEG Fellowship Program

Edited March 30, 2021 by lurker856
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[Eman2]

Congrats! I was not so lucky. This time I at least somewhat forgot about it until I got the 'not selected'

[liyu]

Recent awardee here -- Does anyone know if you can use the fellowship for PhDs in different disciplines from the one you listed in the application?

 

I listed Math as my discipline, but some of my top-choice programs are in Electrical Engineering....

[anotherfellowshipapp]

12 hours ago, liyu said:

Recent awardee here -- Does anyone know if you can use the fellowship for PhDs in different disciplines from the one you listed in the application?

 

I listed Math as my discipline, but some of my top-choice programs are in Electrical Engineering....

Just send a program change request on the fellowship portal. If the research you're planning is something the DoD wants, no matter the discipline, they'll approve it.

[haveqsaboutfellowships]

In a somewhat similar vein, I'll be in the discipline I specified (physics) but in recent months my research has changed directions so I don't think I'll be researching what I wrote on in my app. To be honest, I don't think I will end up going anywhere near what I wrote on in my app in my future work. Does anyone know if NDSEG will care? I asked someone who got it last year and someone who got it two years ago and they both said aside from the abstract that we have to submit about a month before funding starts, they've never had to check in with anyone for continued funding. However, there's another post buried deeper in this thread where a past winner said that they're paired with a mentor who they expect to have lots of communication with, so it would be very awkward for them to change topics. 

Edited April 7, 2021 by haveqsaboutfellowships

[anotherfellowshipapp]

4 hours ago, haveqsaboutfellowships said:

In a somewhat similar vein, I'll be in the discipline I specified (physics) but in recent months my research has changed directions so I don't think I'll be researching what I wrote on in my app. To be honest, I don't think I will end up going anywhere near what I wrote on in my app in my future work. Does anyone know if NDSEG will care? I asked someone who got it last year and someone who got it two years ago and they both said aside from the abstract that we have to submit about a month before funding starts, they've never had to check in with anyone for continued funding. However, there's another post buried deeper in this thread where a past winner said that they're paired with a mentor who they expect to have lots of communication with, so it would be very awkward for them to change topics. 

I'll say the same thing I told liyu - submit a program change request through the portal. You'll need a new proposal and stuff, and the DoD will figure it out from there.

The mentors are given the proposals, so if the research you're doing doesn't have anything to do with that, they're going to report that to their DoD contact. Best to let them know up front than risk your fellowship.

[bebewang09]

Congrats to everyone who received the NDSEG fellowship this year! I have a quick question about signing the Terms of Agreement document if anyone else has accepted the fellowship as well. On the signature page, it asks for a "Fellowship Number". I've gone through the emails and haven't found anything about this. On the Systems Plus program page, I see a "Fellow ID" number. I've emailed the program office but haven't gotten a response. Does anyone know if these two numbers are the same?

Thanks!

[anotherfellowshipapp]

Fellow ID = Fellowship Number. You'll not likely get a response within 48 hours; I don't work there anymore.

[anotherfellowshipapp]

5 hours ago, bebewang09 said:

Congrats to everyone who received the NDSEG fellowship this year! I have a quick question about signing the Terms of Agreement document if anyone else has accepted the fellowship as well. On the signature page, it asks for a "Fellowship Number". I've gone through the emails and haven't found anything about this. On the Systems Plus program page, I see a "Fellow ID" number. I've emailed the program office but haven't gotten a response. Does anyone know if these two numbers are the same?

Thanks!

I replied without quoting - sorry about that. Answer is above.

[always_lurking]

Does anyone know how many people received the award this year?

[GoldenDog]

The awardee list was posted on NDSEG's website, with 159 awardees.

Edited May 19, 2021 by GoldenDog

[ktmods]

Has anyone on a wait list heard an update on their status?

[ghostcat312]

On 5/31/2021 at 10:52 PM, ktmods said:

Has anyone on a wait list heard an update on their status?

On waitlist, still waitlisted, heard nothing. How about you?

[anotherfellowshipapp]

For those who don't get selected this year, and are still eligible to apply FY2022 award, I'm offering to review your application before you submit it to give you the best possible chance to make it through validation. DM me for further info.

NDSEG will not tell you at which stage your application was 'disqualified'; they are explicitly ordered to provide zero feedback by the contract.

[Another_Tired_Grad_Student]

Hi all!

I am trying my hand at applying to the NDSEG this year. Unfortunately, there are not many people I know who feel confident reviewing my application materials for the NDSEG and I was wondering if any past recipients would be open to reviewing application materials. DM me if you are interested and willing! I appreciate any help!