topcat84 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 thanks. I agree. I dont believe it makes a significant change in the statistics of chosen students, however, knowing the federal government and "hints" they place in the wording leads me to believe it is not completely merit based. The question still remains, to what extent is there an agenda for the reviewers? I would assume pre-review would sway decisions too much, post review for boarderline cases would be more appropriate. Unless somone here joins the panel in 20 years, I doubt we will ever know. fluffy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 thanks. I agree. I dont believe it makes a significant change in the statistics of chosen students, however, knowing the federal government and "hints" they place in the wording leads me to believe it is not completely merit based. The question still remains, to what extent is there an agenda for the reviewers? I would assume pre-review would sway decisions too much, post review for boarderline cases would be more appropriate. Unless somone here joins the panel in 20 years, I doubt we will ever know. Haha, yes. But even if someone were to join the panel and learn how the system is setup, would we really know even then? As you said, the agendas of the reviewers must be considered. Who can know these except perhaps the ones with the agendas, and how can we be sure they would not have an agenda in answering one way or another your questions regarding their agenda, or that they really even know what their agenda is? It's a dizzying question and is yet another without a satisfying answer, imho, at least until AI begins to replace the review panels (enter: another interesting discussion). Hopefully the system as a whole is designed to smooth out the distribution of agendas and biases, and it does seem to do this fairly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat84 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I wonder what is worse.....human professors or the BCS algo as the panel..... mmk and kkompiles 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) I wonder what is worse.....human professors or the BCS algo as the panel..... Oh, it's definitely...hmm....a toss up. Edited March 24, 2011 by mmk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistrygeek Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I dreamt I got the NSF last night. I know there's nothing I can do at this point, but I can't stop obsessing. Maybe it's because my research isn't going that great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uksawfly Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I dreamt I got the NSF last night. I know there's nothing I can do at this point, but I can't stop obsessing. Maybe it's because my research isn't going that great... Totally know how you feel. I haven't dreamed about the NSF *yet* but I'm sure it's coming... I'm just trying to bury myself in a pile of journal articles and hoping it keeps my mind clear-ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violachica Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 wow I don't remember being this antsy about it last year.i've been spending waaaaay too much time with my eyes glued to my email. it probably doesn't help that i'm waiting for notification about an abstract submission to a conference too. too many decisions will be handed down in the next few weeks, oy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkompiles Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) thanks. I agree. I dont believe it makes a significant change in the statistics of chosen students, however, knowing the federal government and "hints" they place in the wording leads me to believe it is not completely merit based. ] http://www.scholarships.umd.edu/media/NSF-GRFP/NSFGRFPPresentation2009.ppt Slide 9. It's not just hinted, it's officially stated. There's an additional amount set aside for women in engineering/CS. It's also refered to here: (under "Women in Engineering Awards") http://www.nsf.gov/p...04/nsf10604.htm Edited March 25, 2011 by kkompiles kkompiles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin123 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I keep checking this forum in hopes that they announce early. I figure this would be the first place to hear about glitches for early notification. I'm especially nervous as this is my first time applying and the last time I'm eligible. So to keep things off the "oh my god, why don't they just tell us already" topic, which fields are everyone applying from? I'm second year Biostatistics, so I put mine in the Math category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whalo22 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 curious if anyone else is applied from a terminal masters program, but is planning on going in to a phd program right after the masters? If so, how did you document this in the application? I included my grad transcripts from the masters program, but talked about where I'm planning on attending phd programs in my personal essay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherflunky Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Electrical engineering category 1 (senior). I started writing my proposal at 7 am on the day before it was due, so no one has to worry about any competition from me. Expecting F's & P's, but there was no application fee so I'm OK with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violachica Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 BME grad student, applied for interdisciplinary. This is my second attempt at this (and the wonderfully fun waiting game that goes with it). Last year I got HM with the only negative comment coming from my third reviewer who basically said "you worked in a lab but you don't have publications or presentations at conferences." ...but I was only in that lab for 3 months. After a year of grad school, I've managed to get my name out there on some things, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works out this year. I totally realize I have no control over it at this point and that "it is what it is"... but I still wanna know so I can be put out of my misery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olive81 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 This is also my 2nd time. I am in Plant Biology and subimtted to Plant Biology last year but submitted to Evolutionary Biology this year. I got an HM last year because (according to my comments) my broader impacts were not very well developed. The waiting game sucks :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uksawfly Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 This is my first year applying, and I applied in Evolutionary Biology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husky Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Electrical engineering category 1 (senior). I started writing my proposal at 7 am on the day before it was due, so no one has to worry about any competition from me. Expecting F's & P's, but there was no application fee so I'm OK with that. :) I started months before the due date, but I still don't think I'm any kind of competition. I can only pray. Good luck to all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendarii917 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 curious if anyone else is applied from a terminal masters program, but is planning on going in to a phd program right after the masters? If so, how did you document this in the application? I included my grad transcripts from the masters program, but talked about where I'm planning on attending phd programs in my personal essay Yes, I applied in computer science from a terminal masters program (first year). I listed the terminal masters school as my current and intended graduate institution, but said in the personal statement that I intended to continue to a PhD program upon completion of the MS. And, of course, that a GRFP would enable me to pursue that goal. ;-) That said, I'm not sure how common GRFP awards are to terminal masters students? Seems like the NSF has oodles of over-qualified candidates at top PhD programs to choose from. But hey, won't stop a girl from dreaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husky Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I keep checking this forum in hopes that they announce early. I figure this would be the first place to hear about glitches for early notification. I'm especially nervous as this is my first time applying and the last time I'm eligible. So to keep things off the "oh my god, why don't they just tell us already" topic, which fields are everyone applying from? I'm second year Biostatistics, so I put mine in the Math category. Electrical Engineering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ruth Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I'm Ed Psych and applied in STEM Ed. Feeling very in the dark especially since it is a brand new category! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violachica Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) huh. is anyone else having trouble getting the nsf grfp site on fastlane to load??? *edit* nevermind, it works now damn that got my hopes up Edited March 26, 2011 by violachica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavi6 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I thought it was down earlier, but it seems to be back up..not sure what it could be...unless there are people who are constantly checking the site to slow it down, which of course none of us would ever do olive81 and t_ruth 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnetophyte Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Hi, Olive! This is my second try, too. Plant Biology last year, and I'm trying again in Plant Biology this year. So, I know the NSF likes to award fellowships in a diversity of fields and geographical regions. Does anybody know how they spread it out? It is it like, "Let's aim to fund 10% of the people who applied in each field," or do they assign raw numbers of fellowships to each field, or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uksawfly Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Hi, Olive! This is my second try, too. Plant Biology last year, and I'm trying again in Plant Biology this year. So, I know the NSF likes to award fellowships in a diversity of fields and geographical regions. Does anybody know how they spread it out? It is it like, "Let's aim to fund 10% of the people who applied in each field," or do they assign raw numbers of fellowships to each field, or what? From what I've seen, awarded Fellowships are proportional to the number of people who applied, except for Engineering and I think Computer Science, because they give out additional awards for Women in those areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthro14 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Representing the Social Sciences- Anthropology. First time applying and last time that Im eligible. Good luck to everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meankney Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Geosciences (Geochemistry) here. I applied last year, didn't even get an HM, and this year is my last year of eligibility so fingers are firmly crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eigen Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Synthetic/Biological Chemistry. First time I've applied, but approaching the end of my 4th semester of grad school just now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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