NSF GRFP

[curiousD]

Really? How many people have been incessantly looking at last year's results? That's just weird.

[curious zygote]

I think we broke it

LOL!

[kdilks]

Weird...list of last year's winners for NDSEG has disappeared, as well.

[idk123]

Weird...list of last year's winners for NDSEG has disappeared, as well.

these things are both administered by the same organization, right? i mean the notifications? maybe they just suck at websites...

[blah2009]

Guys, everyone who has posted in the results section claims to have found it through the website. Log into to fast lane. And see what's under application task manager. If there is accept award, you got it. Otherwise, honorable mention or rejection is potentially impending.

[curious zygote]

Blah-

That's not necessarily true, there was someone in the Admissions Results that posted an HM. I think this sort of thing goes by alphabetical order or some other system.

[orinoco14]

anthropology seems up...perhaps notification by discipline, in alphabetical order?

[blah2009]

this is curious though. I thought people don't find out if they are honorable mention until they see their rating sheets? Could be a massive april fools. Not cool.

[orinoco14]

agreed. i'm going to bed.

[bioangele]

This stinks, can we infer that if our page hasn't changed then we're out of the running ?

[illinispud]

Did the Log In always say

Log In

Applicants AND Fellows

or just

Log In

Applicants

[blah2009]

LOL........this sucks. It's always said applicants and fellows..hahaha..=).

[curious zygote]

This stinks, can we infer that if our page hasn't changed then we're out of the running ?

That would be a big NO! If we've learned anything in the past months, it's that there is no predicting this madness.

[blah2009]

who knows. this is how it has worked in the past when there was a website glitch.

[curious zygote]

who knows. this is how it has worked in the past when there was a website glitch.

Yeah. I'll sleep on that. G'night all.

[cosby49]

yeah, it always said log in applicants and fellows

[vannik]

Everyone's so tense! Stressing out is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.

Also, for anyone who reads this thread in 2010: SCREENSHOT YOUR LOGIN SCREEN WHEN YOU FINISH APPLYING. You will save the sanity of yourself and about 500 people.

[cosby49]

hmm...maybe i am the only one who actually did stay up most of the night for nsf...well, hopefully tomorrow (today) will be the day they finally put us out of our misery. Good luck everyone

[math123]

I disappear for a few hours and I miss the major freak-out! Hmm, I'm thinking today something will happen. They are obviously tinkering with something. The rating sheets page is down, as are the 2008 awards. For my sanity, today ought to be the day.

[t_ruth]

No one who posted about getting an award is willing to come on here and tell us about it?

[math123]

They are all liars. Don't worry, there are enough people contributing to/reading this thread that when someone genuinely knows they'll let everyone know.

[Cosette]

Okay it's pretty hilarious how much people are freaking out! Hopefully we will find out today though...

[finest_engineering]

Some notes for everyone:

The NSF fellowships are random as hell. Last year I was not even an honorable mention and a friend of mine got it who was not a very strong student at all. If you are thinking you have a good chance based on grades and GRE's, forget it. Your essay is virtually all that matters and being a female or minority helps a lot too.

Also, last year they posted the entire list of awardees and honorable mentions online before they notified me personally. I had to browse through the whole list and search for my name (yes I used crtl-f) and then feel dejected that it wasn't there. They sent me the official reject on April 2nd 2008.

This year I reapplied to the NSF, and also added the Hertz and NDSEG. I was already getting funding from my professor as a RA for as long as I need it. I made it to the final round of the Hertz process (as I have mentioned here previously) and didn't end up winning. Going on two interviews and getting nothing sucks. I won the NDSEG fellowship on Tuesday, which was an awesome feeling after getting rejected from all 3 of my schools (MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, all EE). I am finishing up my masters at a top 10 school so I am not completely sweating it though. The NSF would be icing on the cake now for me, the main difference is that I could defer the NSF funding so I would have 5 total years instead of 3.

I was making around 20k/year as an RA. Now I will make ~31k/year from the NDSEG, my adviser also wants to supplement the NDSEG with the max allowable which is 5k/year. The NDSEG also pays for tuition+FEES, I currently have to pay about 1k/year in mandatory fees even though my tuition is covered. Lastly, the NDSEG pays 1k/year extra for health insurance. So I am making (for the next 3 years), 18k/year more then I was as an RA. The moral of the story is apply for these freaking fellowships as many times as they will let you, even if you have some funding (provided it is less). Writing essays and asking for recs over and over sucks but I feel like it is worth the extra $54,000 over the next three years.

I am thinking of stretching my masters out until next spring so I can publish more on my MS thesis research and reevaluate how I feel about doing my PhD at my current school vs. somewhere else, perhaps even trying my hand at the big guns who just rejected me, this time with the funding to dangle over their heads though. I really like my MS topic so I am in no real hurry to abandon it. With my financial situation so good (I had a full-ride for undergrad so I have no debt), I can take my time for my PhD and I sort of feel like I want to start my PhD after gaining a lot of maturity from a very serious research experience as an MS. Getting the additional years of funding from the NSF would make this decision even easier.

So yeah, keep refreshing the NSF page and your e-mail endlessly, it is quite close!

[mackeywoods]

finest_engineering :

thanks for the post... you really seem like you have your crap figured out and that you are a deserving winner.

good luck to all!

[snowcapk]

I won the NDSEG fellowship on Tuesday, which was an awesome feeling after getting rejected from all 3 of my schools (MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, all EE).

Dude, if you're still interested then def. e-mail those schools and let them know about your fellowship. They may reverse their decisions - I know a couple of people that got into their top-choice schools after being rejected. You may feel like telling those departments where they can stuff their rejection letters, but don't take it too personally. Admissions committees make mistakes and obviously you were one of them.

(Also, don't wait for the departments to see the list because it might be a while before it's posted - the NDSEG is announced in waves.)