Fellowships and Incompletes

[astroid88]

Hi everyone, 

I am in my third year and applying to external fellowships for post-prelims research. 

A parent passed away in the spring when the pandemic and shutdowns began in the US, at the end of my second year. I was in the last third of my semester, and I had to take an incomplete in one of my courses. I am the only child and they had no spouse, so I had to go home and deal with paperwork, clearing out their home, etc. I agreed with my course instructor to have the final project (which was all that was left) in by the end of this academic year. 

I now happen to be in a crucial year for acquiring funding (my luck!) with an "I" on my transcript. On some applications I have been able to inform them of my situation and in others I have not. I was wondering if this one "I" on my transcript could sink my applications where there is no space to give an explanation. 

Since it might be relevant, I have a 3.97 gpa, have already received fellowships outside the university (prior to the "I" on my transcript), a couple of research presentations, and am doing great academically otherwise. I also think my project proposal and references are really strong.  I know all of that doesn't add much, but I just wanted to make clear that this is the only blemish I know of on my applications.

Edited January 15, 2021 by astroid88

[TMP]

On 1/15/2021 at 5:14 PM, astroid88 said:

Hi everyone, 

I am in my third year and applying to external fellowships for post-prelims research. 

A parent passed away in the spring when the pandemic and shutdowns began in the US, at the end of my second year. I was in the last third of my semester, and I had to take an incomplete in one of my courses. I am the only child and they had no spouse, so I had to go home and deal with paperwork, clearing out their home, etc. I agreed with my course instructor to have the final project (which was all that was left) in by the end of this academic year. 

I now happen to be in a crucial year for acquiring funding (my luck!) with an "I" on my transcript. On some applications I have been able to inform them of my situation and in others I have not. I was wondering if this one "I" on my transcript could sink my applications where there is no space to give an explanation. 

Since it might be relevant, I have a 3.97 gpa, have already received fellowships outside the university (prior to the "I" on my transcript), a couple of research presentations, and am doing great academically otherwise. I also think my project proposal and references are really strong.  I know all of that doesn't add much, but I just wanted to make clear that this is the only blemish I know of on my applications.

Bring this question up with your adviser and DGS who will have better insights on this than we do. They are not new to this fellowship review business-- they've been reviewers and know people who have reviewed fellowship applications for SSRC, ACLS, etc.