Ford Foundation Fellowship 2011

[Jigsaw4273]

Hmmm. Forum is very quiet considering people should have been notified by now. People are either too busy celebrating or have moved on after hearing bad news. Either way good luck to all. It would be nice to hear updates on applicants. Does anyone plan to ask NRC for feedback?

I was told that they would get back to the alternates in a month, so i'll hold on till then. In either case, I'll be asking for feedback.

[PsychOut]

I was told that they would get back to the alternates in a month, so i'll hold on till then. In either case, I'll be asking for feedback.

Not to put a damper on things, but, even though I am on the alternates list, I went ahead and put "Honorable Mention" on my CV. I like to get the disappointment out of the way and move on to other things! My adviser suggested the HM would still be good for my CV. But, of course, I still want that fellowship!

[gradschoolorbust!]

Hey everyone. Would someone please tell me how they would put on their CVs that they were an alternate for a Ford Fellowship? Hypothetically speaking, if an alternate eventually gets an Honorable Mention, would s/he then add that to her/his CV alongside mention of having been an alternate? (Is the distinction between someone who is an honorable mention but who was first an alternate and one who was accorded honorable mention status from the start even a big one?) I would appreciate any insight about this at all. I am, of course, still holding out for possibly getting the fellowship early next month! We shall see... Good luck to my fellow alternates out there!

Edited April 14, 2011 by gradschoolorbust!

[PsychOut]

Hey everyone. Would someone please tell me how they would put on their CVs that they were an alternate for a Ford Fellowship? Hypothetically speaking, if an alternate eventually gets an Honorable Mention, would s/he then add that to her/his CV alongside mention of having been an alternate? (Is the distinction between someone who is an honorable mention but who was first an alternate and one who was accorded honorable mention status from the start even a big one?) I would appreciate any insight about this at all. I am, of course, still holding out for possibly getting the fellowship early next month! We shall see... Good luck to my fellow alternates out there!

Great question. I was just planning to put down Honorable Mention. But I had wondered about putting alternate on there. This is by now means a definitive answer, but perhaps you could just put alternate and HM on there together. Let us know what you find out. Hopefully someone on here knows of an established convention for doing this.

[Psych09]

Does anyone know when alternates can expect to be notified if they will be getting a fellowship? I'm an alternate and although the chances are slim, I'm interested to find out when I might hear something.

Thanks!

[gradschoolorbust!]

Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!

Edited May 2, 2011 by gradschoolorbust!

[Psych09]

Hey everyone! I'm an predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!

Thanks for the info!

[OctaviaButlerfan]

Hi everyone,

I am planning on applying for the Ford Fellowship later this year. I am also in the process of applying to several Masters and PhD programs.

I'm hoping to get people to share their essays with me. I know how to write one, in general, but writing one for the Ford Fellowship seems a bit different. I'm particularly looking for people who are or will be pursuing a PhD in English or Literature.

Thanks!

[boltage]

Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!

Thanks for the detailed info ... I'm glad to hear the news (~only half of them have responded?! ... wow! ... maybe there's a chance~) ... best of luck! ...

[gradschoolorbust!]

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the detailed info ... I'm glad to hear the news (~only half of them have responded?! ... wow! ... maybe there's a chance~) ... best of luck! ...

Don't mention it!

Regarding the fact that they've only heard back from half of the awardees, I was told it was because apparently the awardees are currently busy working out the logistics with their grad programs and in some cases with other fellowship offers. I don't blame them for taking until the last minute with something as important as funding... But it's also possible that this means a handful of people will decline... I guess we'll find out soon enough! I'm crossing my fingers for all of us alternates!! Let's hope somebody gets good news!

[PsychOut]

In regarding to citing alternate status on your vita, this is what I found online on someone's CV:

"Ford Foundation Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Alternate, 2009"

[gradschoolorbust!]

In regarding to citing alternate status on your vita, this is what I found online on someone's CV:

"Ford Foundation Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Alternate, 2009"

Thanks, PsychOut! I haven't heard back yet from Ford, but if I end up getting an HM, I might somehow try to express both of those facts on the same line in my CV. "Alternate" on its own might only make sense to those how are familiar with the Ford fellowship. What do you and other think about that?

Oh by the way, I called them again today! (Luckily it's always a different secretary, lol) I was told that we should contact them again by Wednesday, as they will definitely know about alternate statuses then (unless we hear back from them today or tomorrow, which she said could be a possibility as well). So we'll know soon enough! If I do go from Alternate to HM, I'll definitely be applying again next year (it'll be my 1st year of grad school). Hopefully their feedback coupled with my grad school's fellowship counselors will help me redirect my approach. But who knows, maybe we'll get it this time around! I wish us and all other Alternates still awaiting news the best of luck!

[PsychOut]

Thanks, PsychOut! I haven't heard back yet from Ford, but if I end up getting an HM, I might somehow try to express both of those facts on the same line in my CV. "Alternate" on its own might only make sense to those how are familiar with the Ford fellowship. What do you and other think about that?

Oh by the way, I called them again today! (Luckily it's always a different secretary, lol) I was told that we should contact them again by Wednesday, as they will definitely know about alternate statuses then (unless we hear back from them today or tomorrow, which she said could be a possibility as well). So we'll know soon enough! If I do go from Alternate to HM, I'll definitely be applying again next year (it'll be my 1st year of grad school). Hopefully their feedback coupled with my grad school's fellowship counselors will help me redirect my approach. But who knows, maybe we'll get it this time around! I wish us and all other Alternates still awaiting news the best of luck!

I agree that it's a good idea to have both on there for clarity.

I called earlier today, as well. I heard the same thing about the dissertation fellowship, except that the person on the phone did not say anything about getting an email Tuesday or Wednesday (as far as I can recall). I really just want to get this over with so that I can move on with my life. I know that I am not getting this fellowship, but it is almost impossible not to be anxious about it. Please don't let my pessimism rain on your parade, though. (It's been a bit of a crazy year.)

[PsychOut]

So no alternates have heard back yet?

[boltage]

So no alternates have heard back yet?

Nope. I haven't heard anything, yet. ... On the lookout, though. ... I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

[gradschoolorbust!]

Me neither... I'll call again tomorrow afternoon (hopefully I don't get disqualified from calling so persistently, lol)... but they realize that we're on pins and needles (and I don't actually mention my name). I'll let you know what I find out... Good luck!

[PsychOut]

I just called the fellowships office, but I was too late. Got voicemail. I waited till about 4 pm call so that I would not call too early. Ugh, I can't believe I have to wait another day to get closure on this. Oh well...

Anybody else tried calling today?

[gradschoolorbust!]

Hey PsychOut! It was about 5:15pm EST when I noticed your post which reminded me that I hadn't called them at all today! So I called and I did actually get someone... Her name is Pam and she's very friendly [i mean, all the ones I've ever spoken to have been nice (i.e. like 2 or 3 different people on about 3 or 4 occasions, lol) but Pam really stands out so you should ask for her the next time you call!]. Anyway she told me that they're still not done going through all of the responses. Then she checked for my specific field and said that not all of those responses (i.e. people who accepted and declined the award) have been checked on their end yet. So there might still be hope for me! She said she might know by tomorrow or early Friday-ish and at the very latest on Monday. Given her response, I'm just going to relax tomorrow and give her a call Friday in the early afternoon (unless, of course, I hear back from her first!). I tried to be sly and find out my position on the alternates list but she said unfortunately she couldn't reveal that to me. She said it's because they used to do that in the past and people would take it way too personally. Ugh.. I understand what she means and I really don't think I would take it way too personally myself (I mean, to be an alternate at all is a pretty impressive feat in this rough competition) but I'm wondering if there's any hope at all that I'll hear back (i.e. top of the list, middle of the list, bottom of the list)... because apparently they go down then list of alternates as each person successively declines (and I seriously can't imagine an alternate declining the Ford unless they had secured other funding)... but I digress... and I rant... and I vent... Does anyone care to commiserate? I know I keep saying this (and sorry for the false hope the earlier times), but we'll know really, really soon! We're really close to having that closure we all need. Good luck everyone!

[Psych09]

Hey PsychOut! It was about 5:15pm EST when I noticed your post which reminded me that I hadn't called them at all today! So I called and I did actually get someone... Her name is Pam and she's very friendly [i mean, all the ones I've ever spoken to have been nice (i.e. like 2 or 3 different people on about 3 or 4 occasions, lol) but Pam really stands out so you should ask for her the next time you call!]. Anyway she told me that they're still not done going through all of the responses. Then she checked for my specific field and said that not all of those responses (i.e. people who accepted and declined the award) have been checked on their end yet. So there might still be hope for me! She said she might know by tomorrow or early Friday-ish and at the very latest on Monday. Given her response, I'm just going to relax tomorrow and give her a call Friday in the early afternoon (unless, of course, I hear back from her first!). I tried to be sly and find out my position on the alternates list but she said unfortunately she couldn't reveal that to me. She said it's because they used to do that in the past and people would take it way too personally. Ugh.. I understand what she means and I really don't think I would take it way too personally myself (I mean, to be an alternate at all is a pretty impressive feat in this rough competition) but I'm wondering if there's any hope at all that I'll hear back (i.e. top of the list, middle of the list, bottom of the list)... because apparently they go down then list of alternates as each person successively declines (and I seriously can't imagine an alternate declining the Ford unless they had secured other funding)... but I digress... and I rant... and I vent... Does anyone care to commiserate? I know I keep saying this (and sorry for the false hope the earlier times), but we'll know really, really soon! We're really close to having that closure we all need. Good luck everyone!

Which field are you in? If you don't mind me asking . . . .

[gradschoolorbust!]

I'll PM you, Psych.

Btw, I called again today... still nothing... But we should know by Monday for sure! Finally, an exact day! One more weekend of waiting on pins and needles and then we'll know at last!

[boltage]

I'll PM you, Psych.

Btw, I called again today... still nothing... But we should know by Monday for sure! Finally, an exact day! One more weekend of waiting on pins and needles and then we'll know at last!

Hmmm ... we're still on the list then ... enduring hope ...

[spacematters]

Alternate here . . . still no word. Soon, I hope, soon. . . just to have the waiting come to a close would be lovely. Being an alternate is no little affair in any case - congrats to all, and good luck!

[inuendo]

Another Dissertation alternate here and no news yet.

[gradschoolorbust!]

I'm an alternate as well and I called today. Everyone in my field (languages and literature) confirmed already. Apparently they didn't even have recourse to the alternates list in my field (and at the predoctoral level, I'm not very surprised)... Aw well... I should be getting my feedback/comments in about 2 weeks (online) and I'll reapply next year. You should all consider requesting these, too, whether you're considering reapplying or not... This was my first time and I have about two more chances to reapply since I'm just about to start my PhD program. Good luck to those of you still awaiting news!

[spacematters]

Today I called and received similar news, gradschoolorbust!. I am an alternate for the Pre-Doctoral in the field of Geography. All awardees confirmed their awards.

A bittersweet piece of news.

I'm impressed with the friendliness of the Ford office. I felt like I really had a conversation with the woman who answered - and she answered questions I didn't think to ask. This experience made the news sweeter!

I'm inspired for the upcoming fellowship cycle.

Edited May 26, 2011 by spacematters