NSF GRFP

[blah2009]

it could just be that these were emails that, for one reason or another, did not get sent out correctly last night. I do hope you get HM though. Otherwise, you can have mine . I'd definitely consent to it..=).

[Neuronerd]

@singalong

each time, broader impacts. My latest is so broad and impactful there was little room for me or for science, sadly... :roll:

I actually assumed I'd get it last year, and so did all the profs who wrote recs. One en evoffered to write an angry letter on my behalf... :shock: I declined...

[OchemE]

I just now emailed them. Maybe I will call. But I have been contacted- I got the email rejection letter. It just says I didn't get a fellowship, but says nothing about HM. Also says nothing about being contacted later on about HM so my hopes aren't so high.

[sonymenu2]

It looks like your letter is the same rejection letter posted by others from last night (ex. on p. 120). Like you said, it must've just gotten to your inbox late. Really sorry.

[OchemE]

"The NSF accords Honorable Mention to meritorious applicants who do not receive fellowship awards"

So I guess I did not receive an award AND I won't get HM, since the letter they sent makes no mention of HM. I will post the response I get from NSF when it comes.

[PSi_light]

I just now emailed them. Maybe I will call. But I have been contacted- I got the email rejection letter. It just says I didn't get a fellowship, but says nothing about HM. Also says nothing about being contacted later on about HM so my hopes aren't so high.

I think that it means you didn't get anything sadly. As we posted before and you can read here: https://webspace.utexas.edu/moontj/IMPA ... l%2008.pdf

HM is kinda "considered for funding" because they take the top 7% give them definite awards and then the top 1/3 of the second category and then sprinkle the remainder around on a few of the other 2nd and 3rd category applicants considering some of the other factors (ethnicity/gender/location/program).

Good luck, but I'd suggest you compare it to some of the rejection letters in earlier posts to see if the wording is any different.

[blah2009]

Most of you guys are incredibly lucky. If I don't get any fellowships, I essentially can't continue on for the ph.d. since no professors here have funding. My advisor basically hinted that to me today. I've kind of decided, even though he is a nice guy, that I'm gonna switch advisors if I do happen to win this lottery.

[OchemE]

If you listen to the GRFP recording at 866-673-4737 it is pretty clear that no HM's have gone out yet and are yet to be released, suggesting that anyone who has received a rejection letter is out of the running for HM and awards, period.

Hell I will take the NDSEG and DHS gladly. The NDSEG application was short and sweet and bullshit-free, so winning is less contingent on how well you can write a bunch of essays. Plus it's a bigger award and more selective... but that won't stop me from reapplying for GRFP next year when I have (hopefully) a decent research proposal, as I will actually be in school by that point. Congrats to everyone who won or is still waiting!

[shuette]

Driving me nuts: I know two people who have been rejected and I haven't received word yet. Is it the case that they limit the number of honorable mentions each year? If that's the case, it sounds like there still might be another round of rejections sent out. If not, then it's either the very very unlikely fellowship, or the honorable mention. Anyone been able to find out what's going on with the limbo people yet? This is going to drive me nuts.

[shuette]

Oh okay, the I dialed the 866 number and it sounds like this:

If you are rejected, you're rejected

If you don't know yet, it's going to be either rejection or Honorable mention, possibly, though probably not, a fellowship.

They've already put out more fellowships than they did in the past two years, so I doubt many more fellowships will be forthcoming.

[NSFuckinA]

Carol Van Hartesveldt, Ph.D.

Acting Division Director

Division of Graduate Education

Good to see that in a time like this, they have an "Acting" director.

[NSFuckinA]

And why does the lady on the 866 recording sound like she's on a treadmill?

[OchemE]

@NSF

I LOVE the screen name!

[OchemE]

Also before I called the 866 number, I emailed the Q&A address. I will post the answer here as well when I get it.

[blah2009]

So anyways,...pending approval of the budget for NSF, there could be a very substantial increase in the number of fellows. From analyzing past NSF requested budgets, NSF has always requested around $125 million to fund an additional 700 applicants.However, they've been consistently getting 5.9 and 6.0 billion a year. This year and 2010, they "project" getting 6.9 billion and 6.8 in funding respectively. Ultimately, this is what is causing this funding mess. If they actually get 6.9 million for THIS fiscal year(pending budget approvals happening on capitol hill right now), a lot of happy faces will emerge from this. Ofcourse, we don't know how the debates are going on in capitol hill right now. Writing to senators is definitely a good idea, although it requires a lot of effort.

[nsfhopeful]

If you don't know yet, it's going to be either rejection or Honorable mention, possibly, though probably not, a fellowship.

I don't think this is correct. Why would the budget affect the number of honorable mentions vs. rejections? HM has nothing to do with budget, as far as I can tell. She said something along the lines of "due to budget complexities, we have not determined the number of honorable mentions." I take that to mean the number of HM vs. awardees.

[xanax.tonight]

Oh okay, the I dialed the 866 number and it sounds like this:

If you are rejected, you're rejected

If you don't know yet, it's going to be either rejection or Honorable mention, possibly, though probably not, a fellowship.

They've already put out more fellowships than they did in the past two years, so I doubt many more fellowships will be forthcoming.

I'm not very hopeful either, but they've only given 950 and requested (before all the craziness) 1600 and some discipline counts are way down. I still say that if the budget is in fact not finalized then we start calling congressmen and figure out who can actually make a difference with the budget. I bet some of the important people involved don't even really understand what the GRFP is and definitely not the implications for people who won't be able to continue graduate school, etc. These type of awards are very easily justifiable (to the taxpayer) because they do provide American jobs which is the point of the stimulus (as opposed to expensive machinery, which is not easily justifiable). Plus some Congresspeople are very persuadable on issues like this if enough people speak up. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that if we all started calling the congresspersons offices who do have a say in the budget, we could get them to increase the GRFP allotment (assuming it hasn't been finalized). I don't know who these people are yet, but we could try the people on the link posted earlier.

[blah2009]

Update

So more statistical data to back my claims:

In 2008, NSF wanted to fund 200 more fellows and requested a budget of 6.43 billion : http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108364

But they only received $6.065 Billion : http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/110/h ... 8_0108.jsp resulting in roughly the same amount of fellows and general spending.

In 2009, NSF wanted to fund more fellows again, and requested a budget of $6.85 billion : http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111084

This would have resulted in a 30% increase in fellow funding: http://www.nsf.gov/news/speeches/bement ... sld030.jsp

Bad news is NSF did not get the 6.9 billion requested, However, unlike past years, they did get an increase to 6.4 billion : http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/111/h ... 9_0310.jsp

You can see the requested amount for education (which governs NSF GRFP spending) was surpassed also:http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/111/highlights/cu09_0310.jsp

What's unclear is how much of this educational amount is being spent for NSF GRFP.

[math123]

blah, I don't think this rampant speculation is healthy. NSF has many, many educational programs, not just GRFP. If you take a look at the stimulus bill governing the 3b the NSF was to get, many of these programs saw huge increases, but sadly not GRFP. Point is, just because NSF got more money than they requested doesn't mean GRFP saw any of that.

[blah2009]

If you actually dug into the budget deeper, you can see consistent percentage to GRFP, undergrad REU, and other educational programs based on previous budgets. I might try to break this down if I feel like it later. It is speculation, but it is backed by hard numbers. Not just hearsay. What do you still doing on this thread anyways? We'll commiserate with you next week.

[math123]

If you actually dug into the budget deeper, you can see consistent percentage to GRFP, undergrad REU, and other educational programs based on previous budgets. I might try to break this down if I feel like it later. It is speculation, but it is backed by hard numbers. Not just hearsay. What do you still doing on this thread anyways? We'll commiserate with you next week.

I'm bored. I should be studying, but I find this far more interesting. Plus, until I read the reviews, this chapter in my life is not officially closed. So bare with me until then if I feel so moved to contribute to this forum.

[berrinchuda]

I am also in limbo and just sent an email to my congresspeople to urge them to give NSF the money they've requested. It takes about five minutes. Go to Congress.org and enter your address. You can email all your reps simultaneously. It is satisfying.

[bachikarn]

I am also in limbo and just sent an email to my congresspeople to urge them to give NSF the money they've requested. It takes about five minutes. Go to Congress.org and enter your address. You can email all your reps simultaneously. It is satisfying.

what exactly did you say? i'll probably do it. it can't hurt

[blah2009]

i used this:

As someone who has lived in *insert state* for the majority of my life, I

understand why people support you and what you stand for.

I therefore appeal to you to support funding requested by the

National Science Foundation. As an undergraduate, I was educated at *private university instate*

with federal funds that were pivotal to my educational success. As

a current graduate student at *graduate institution* pursuing a Ph.D. in

engineering, I am again dependent on federal funding from the national

science foundation to continue my education as a Ph.D. student. It is

ultimately my goal to finish my Ph.D., and return to *insert state* to teach.

However, without National Science Foundation funding, this dream along

with the dreams of thousands of other graduate students from, or in

*insert state* cannot be achieved. Please support National Science Foundation if

you can.

Sincerely,

Blah

[parsimony]

Hi everyone, I'm one of the lucky few who have gotten the NSF so far. But I really sympathize with all those who are still in limbo right now. I can't believe how epically chaotic the award notification process has been this year; this is one year that will go down in the history books (or at least the history forums). It's also amazing that this year has been pretty much leak-free (except for for the minutes-long ratings sheet glitch).

Anyways, to those who were not so fortunate and have already been rejected this year, but are still eligible to apply next year, I wanted to bring attention to a link someone posted a few pages back:

https://webspace.utexas.edu/moontj/IMPA ... l%2008.pdf

I didn't see this before I applied, but I have to say it's probably the best resource I've seen. It pretty much lays out exactly what the reviewers are looking for in an application. So if you haven't seen it before and are going to apply next year, definitely download and save that pdf.

Alright, well, best of luck to all!