NSF GRFP 2011-2012

[Eigen]

I am applying as someone who applying to grad school at the same time as applying for the NSF. Does anyone have a sense for what proportion of the fellowships go to applicants like me vs. people already in grad school at the time of application?

I'm pretty sure it's in proportion to who applies, but generally it's about 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3 from what I recall.

As to your second question- picking the best school/lab fit for what you want to write is generally what I've seen people go with.

[je1230]

And second, does anyone have any specific advice on how I should paint my candidacy given that I am not able to speak to a specific advisor and program as the place that I would be conducting my research? I have been told to pick the best school out of the places I'm applying (which happens to be where I went to undergrad), and speak about that school as the place that I am applying and would like to do xyz that I've described in the application.

I wrote my proposal and had a school and research group picked out that would be able to best do that research (i.e. I referenced some of this groups papers and they had access to all the instruments and resources I'd need and expertise on the techniques) and filled out my application as if I was going to that school and research group (not knowing if I would be accepted/able to join that group). I ended up not choosing to go to that school in the end, but I'm doing similar work at a different school. The school that I used was not the highest ranked school I was applying to, but rather, it was the best fit for the research proposal I wrote.

[AnnzPB]

I wrote my proposal and had a school and research group picked out that would be able to best do that research (i.e. I referenced some of this groups papers and they had access to all the instruments and resources I'd need and expertise on the techniques) and filled out my application as if I was going to that school and research group (not knowing if I would be accepted/able to join that group). I ended up not choosing to go to that school in the end, but I'm doing similar work at a different school. The school that I used was not the highest ranked school I was applying to, but rather, it was the best fit for the research proposal I wrote.

Thanks so much for the input je1230 - that's exactly the approach that I've decided to go with. Out of curiosity--did you end up getting the NSF that year?

[AnnzPB]

I'm pretty sure it's in proportion to who applies, but generally it's about 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3 from what I recall.

As to your second question- picking the best school/lab fit for what you want to write is generally what I've seen people go with.

Thank you for responding Eigen. Do you mind clarifying what 3 groups you're referring to when you say 1/3 1/3 and 1/3? I just understand there to be two "groups" based on my post - people who are applying while in grad school and people who are not yet in grad school. Thanks so much!

[agarcia59]

Thank you for responding Eigen. Do you mind clarifying what 3 groups you're referring to when you say 1/3 1/3 and 1/3? I just understand there to be two "groups" based on my post - people who are applying while in grad school and people who are not yet in grad school. Thanks so much!

1st Group = Senior undergrads, 2nd group = first year grad, 3rd group = 2nd year grad.

[NinjaMermaid]

Thank you so much for the reassurance!

I thought of one final question: Is anyone else having a difficult time choosing their primary field of study? I could have sworn they had "Animal Behavior" as an option last year but it looks like it is gone this year. My proposed research barely fits into any of the other categories.

[Eigen]

Thank you for responding Eigen. Do you mind clarifying what 3 groups you're referring to when you say 1/3 1/3 and 1/3? I just understand there to be two "groups" based on my post - people who are applying while in grad school and people who are not yet in grad school. Thanks so much!

Agarcia59 already answered, but yes- it's undergrads, first year grad students and second year grad students- you have 3 years of eligibility to apply for the NSF in most cases.

[Jimbo2]

Thank you so much for the reassurance!

I thought of one final question: Is anyone else having a difficult time choosing their primary field of study? I could have sworn they had "Animal Behavior" as an option last year but it looks like it is gone this year. My proposed research barely fits into any of the other categories.

yeah i'm having a similar issue. my research is in fisheries, which was a field last year, but now i'll have to pick ecology as a field, which is kind of scary because ecology is a pretty vast field. i just hope the keywords on my proposed research will get my essays to reviewers familiar with fish. sounds like you'll be in a similar boat

Edited November 2, 2011 by Jimbo2

[NinjaMermaid]

yeah i'm having a similar issue. my research is in fisheries, which was a field last year, but now i'll have to pick ecology as a field, which is kind of scary because ecology is a pretty vast field. i just hope the keywords on my proposed research will get my essays to reviewers familiar with fish. sounds like you'll be in a similar boat

Oh right! I forgot about keywords - thank you! I'm doing a study on primates, which is just a tiny dot in the ecology field.

[AnnzPB]

Does anyone here have a sense for when in April that NSF notifying applicants regarding decisions? Has it usually before or after April 15th? I ask because I'm a psychology applicant who is applying to grad school at the same time, and APA's deadline for admission decisions for both schools and applicants is April 15th--which could be a problem for me since some schools I'm applying to may not accept me unless I am able to bring my own funding.

[Eigen]

You can look through the last two years of threads to get exact dates. It's usually sometime around then, but varies a bit from year to year.

[AnnzPB]

Yet another question for you generous folks - my background and proposed research is in Evolutionary Psychology, but this is not an option among the Primary Field of Study. The closest thing that I can think of picking is Personality and Individual Differences. Are there any concerns/risks that I take in either of these options? 1) Choosing "Other" for the Primary Field of Study and then writing in "Evolutionary Psychology - or - 2) Picking "Psychology - Personality and Individual Differences"

Also, for additional context on option 1, when I put in "Other" and then write in "Evolutionary Psychology", it tells me to do the following (shown in the picture below).

[gellert]

Well, what exactly are you trying to study within evopsych? A lot of studies aren't strictly social or developmental or personality, but a combination of two disciplines. You could choose whatever's closest to your "secondary" field, if possible.

Edited November 3, 2011 by gellert

[AnnzPB]

human mating

Well, what exactly are you trying to study within evopsych? A lot of studies aren't strictly social or developmental or personality, but a combination of two disciplines. You could choose whatever's closest to your "secondary" field, if possible.

human mating + sexual response...

[gellert]

Then yeah, I'd say panel 2. Sounds like it could overlap just a bit with social.

[IRdreams]

Some of these questions are very field specific. Because of that I just wanted to put in a plug for something a friend of mine who worked at the NSF said. His advice with questions of this level of detail: call up the program officers. They are there to give advice and make the process more transparent, especially vis-a-vis procedural things like choosing the right panel. Also, talk to your adviser since they have field specific experience with funding agencies.

[riceandbeans]

Oh right! I forgot about keywords - thank you! I'm doing a study on primates, which is just a tiny dot in the ecology field.

If you're doing primatology, you might want to consider using biological anthropology as your field of study, because that is generally the panel that has the primate people on it. You'll have to spin the significance of your study a little bit differently (ie, why is it important to the study of human evolution), but you'll at least get people familiar with the primate literature reading your proposal.

[AnnzPB]

Some of these questions are very field specific. Because of that I just wanted to put in a plug for something a friend of mine who worked at the NSF said. His advice with questions of this level of detail: call up the program officers. They are there to give advice and make the process more transparent, especially vis-a-vis procedural things like choosing the right panel. Also, talk to your adviser since they have field specific experience with funding agencies.

Thanks for the advice, IRdreams. How do we get in contact with "program officers"? Would we just go through the General Inquiries phone number on the NSF GRFP Contact Us page (http://www.nsfgrfp.org/contact_us) and ask for a... program officer? Sorry, I know my question sounds really dumb, but the help is much appreciated.

[je1230]

Thanks so much for the input je1230 - that's exactly the approach that I've decided to go with. Out of curiosity--did you end up getting the NSF that year?

Yeah, that was last year and I was fortunate enough to be awarded the fellowship. Based on the review sheets from my own application and other's who I've seen, I think that's the best approach (a classmate I had didn't have a good school choice for his research proposal and that was commented on in his review sheets and seemed to negatively impact his reviews).

[NinjaMermaid]

Thanks for the advice, IRdreams. How do we get in contact with "program officers"? Would we just go through the General Inquiries phone number on the NSF GRFP Contact Us page (http://www.nsfgrfp.org/contact_us) and ask for a... program officer? Sorry, I know my question sounds really dumb, but the help is much appreciated.

Sadly it is too late to spin anything. I was thinking that most primate people would be in either Bio Anthro (like me) or Psych. BUT Bio Anthro does not exist this year - it is Medical Anthro which is VERY different. And Psych does not contain any sections that would fit unless i chose "other" and did a write in.

I was thinking I would choose Life Sciences -"Other" and then write Primatology in the designate panel. OR choose Life Sciences - "Ecology" My work focuses specifically on behavior and eco-tourism. Any more advice would be appreciated - but rewriting my proposals is not an option I can take.

[riceandbeans]

Sadly it is too late to spin anything. I was thinking that most primate people would be in either Bio Anthro (like me) or Psych. BUT Bio Anthro does not exist this year - it is Medical Anthro which is VERY different. And Psych does not contain any sections that would fit unless i chose "other" and did a write in.

I was thinking I would choose Life Sciences -"Other" and then write Primatology in the designate panel. OR choose Life Sciences - "Ecology" My work focuses specifically on behavior and eco-tourism. Any more advice would be appreciated - but rewriting my proposals is not an option I can take.

It's listed right under archeology in the program solicitation. And in the list of proposed panels on the nsfgrfp.org website, the Anthropology and Archaeology panel includes bio anth, med anth and archae. Last year bio anth was listed as phys anth. I can't see what the actual application looks like, but if for some reason there is no way to choose bio anth, anthro-other would probably get you to the right panel. If bio anth for some reason really isn't available (which would be really strange, as all of the major anth subfields have historically been available), then ecology is likely your best bet.

I didn't mean to suggest that you rewrite your proposals entirely, just that in the significance section of the proposed research maybe allude to how this relates to human evolution (like one sentence) if you are going for an anthropology panel. Archaeologists will care more about that than how your work relates to conservation.

[ma7eb4i]

Hello! This might be a dumb question, but I started a summer rotation June 2010. I was required to register for my institution's research credit place holder to get paid by my department, and it shows up on my transcript as a "class." The Program Solicitation says that summer rotations don't count for the August 1 cut off for one year of graduate study for eligibility.

My question is, since it shows up on my transcript that I matriculated June 2010, do I need to mark the over 12 months of graduate study option and write an Eligibility Essay?

Thanks!

[NinjaMermaid]

It's listed right under archeology in the program solicitation. And in the list of proposed panels on the nsfgrfp.org website, the Anthropology and Archaeology panel includes bio anth, med anth and archae. Last year bio anth was listed as phys anth. I can't see what the actual application looks like, but if for some reason there is no way to choose bio anth, anthro-other would probably get you to the right panel. If bio anth for some reason really isn't available (which would be really strange, as all of the major anth subfields have historically been available), then ecology is likely your best bet.

I didn't mean to suggest that you rewrite your proposals entirely, just that in the significance section of the proposed research maybe allude to how this relates to human evolution (like one sentence) if you are going for an anthropology panel. Archaeologists will care more about that than how your work relates to conservation.

Hmmmm - i will have a look at it again. My advisor and letter of ref people all suggest Life Sciences and Ecology over any Anthro section tho. =( This is so confusing - and it should be the easiest part!

(PS -I meant to mention that Physical Anthro is not listed either - which in my eyes is also different from Bio)

I also tried calling to get ahold of program officers as the previous post suggested and was told that they cannot help either.

Thank you for helping!

Edited November 8, 2011 by MermaidNiki

[DJLamar]

What if most of my broader impact is in statements of the form "I willl do x" and not "I did x"? I've done comparatively little for that and last year I only got "fair" for broader impacts, even though intellectual merit was excellent -- so I didn't even get an honorable mention. If I have three or four very solid plans for future broader impact, does that even have the potential to stack up to applicants that have done solid broader impact work in the past?

[Dynamom]

I can't believe it's down to the wire. Less than a week! I do have some questions...

1. I'm in my first year of grad school, and for my current (grad school) transcripts I just uploaded my current class schedule - it seems silly, but FastLane said my app was incomplete without some kind of an upload (?)

2. I've gotten the comment from peer-reviewers (who are admittedly not that familiar with GRFP) that my methods (not procedure) section is "vague" - I'm not sure I have space to say much else besides "correlation and regression." How did you guys approach it?

Oh yeah - and to the person with the disability - nobody's perfect. I don't have a phys disability, but got a 3.0 in undergrad and have a sporadic work history b/c I had 4 kids after undergrad. I chose to address it really tactfully (I think) in the personal statement, talked about courage & parenthood w/o mentioning # of kids, lessons learned in college w/o mentioning gpa... I think there's a difference between being authentic vs. confessional...

Thanks!