NSF GRFP 2011-2012

[acg]

I would recommend re-applying no matter what! I applied in undergrad, didn't get it, applied my first year of grad, got HM, applied second year and got it! I tried each year to pinpoint exactly what BI and IM meant to the NSF board and only talked about those things that spoke directly to BI/IM. Below are my reviews from this year (they were VG/E, VG/VG, VG/VG last year and I got HM)

E/E

VG/E

VG/E

Awarded

Edited April 1, 2012 by acg

[closetgeek]

Heh, I haven't posted on Grad Cafe since I started grad school! But I've been following this thread for the past couple of weeks. Actually, I was awake when someone posted that the list of awardees was out. When I checked my name wasn't there, so I didn't think I got anything. But when I woke up I found out I had received an award.

Here are my results:

IM/BI

E/E

E/E

G/G o_O

Awarded

The G/G was interesting..didn't say what needed to be improved, but I guess it doesn't matter too much!

Congrats to everyone who got an award/HM .. and for those who didn't, don't give up! Use what you've learned to improve your application

[gellert]

VG/G

G/F

Not recommended.

My reviews were actually really flattering, which surprised me, and I was commended on my proposal as well as "overcoming adversity" etc. etc. I was advised to further explain the theoretical basis of my proposal (2nd reviewer) and more explicitly describe a couple of the broader impacts I'd mentioned -- which I hadn't done because of space concerns (again, 2nd reviewer). 1st reviewer had nothing negative to say, all compliments. 2nd reviewer had those criticisms, but coupled with a lot of really strong praise ("clearly a very bright and talented emerging young scientist," what?), so I'm a bit surprised that 2nd reviewer rated me more negatively than 1st reviewer.

I wish both had expanded more on the criticisms, especially as reviewer 1 had nothing negative to say yet still gave me middling reviews.

But! I still have 3 more chances, actually, since I decided not to go to grad school this year. Time to learn!

Edited April 1, 2012 by gellert

[phenotypical]

VG/F

VG/G

E/E

Got HM. The comments for the first two seemed more kind than the ratings, and they did not give much constructive advice. Only thing was that the first reviewer suggested doing more outreach. Second review also sounded like a summary to help the reviewer remember my application at discussion time.

[Apegirl]

VG/VG

VG/VG

VG/G

Not recommended

Booooo!

[Jimbo2]

VG/F

VG/G

E/E

One man's fair is another's excellent? Grrrr

[Jimbo2]

anybody willing to post their essays and review sheets?

[kate25]

E/VG

VG/VG

VG/E

Got HM. I received constructive criticism from the first two reviewers. The comments from the third reviewer just seemed like a summary of my application.

[guttata]

anybody willing to post their essays and review sheets?

Willing to post edited versions for personal content. Probably wouldn't post my research proposal as it's still a viable project. No award or HM here, and received G/G and G/F (Terrible reviews. This is what I get for not spending NEARLY enough time on my essays).

[Nic42]

My scores were E/E, VG/VG, and E/E. I received a fellowship.

It all just seems so random. The first and third reviews are glowing, but the middle reviewer's response is so scathing that I'm amazed they even gave me VGs. They sound like a real curmudgeon. I guess it doesn't matter how productive the comments are, though, since I don't have to do it again...

[cheme24]

IM/BI

VG/VG

E/E

VG/G

I got the fellowship but the reviewers pretty much contradict each other. On says I have excellent broader impacts while the other says ehh im alright. I also find it funny when they say "the applicant should have given more specific examples blah blah" as if I had any extra room for specific examples

oh well I am happy with the outcome of my first try for the NSF fellowship =)

[coffeestaple]

IM/BI

E/VG

E/E

VG/G

No award or HM. Very confusing- the reviews were all highly complimentary. Will definitely be working from the two criticisms I got for the next round though.

[guttata]

anybody willing to post their essays and review sheets?

Actually, maybe a better idea: Would anyone be willing to submit scores and essays - off all types, award, HM, and reject - to some sort of database? I know i never found really big groupings of entries when I was looking for examples. I'm not sure right this moment how it would work, though I have some domain space or maybe could set up a group in Google Docs? If there's any interest I'll look more into it.

[anthro.fish]

VG/VG

E/E

VG/E

Second try, got award this time. Like others have said, my reviewer comments from last year were invaluable - as I made big adjustments to my essays based upon their feedback.

[Krypton]

Third year applying, second time getting HM.

VG/E

G/G

E/E

Again, like last year (when I didn't even get HM), the lowest-scoring judge seemed to have only praise for my IM and BI, but simply didn't give me good ratings for either.

Oh well! I'm actually feeling pretty happy right now, since I got a VERY reassuring comment from one of my judges: "The proposal is very well written and hypothesized. Results of the proposed research activities are likely to be published in a prestigous journal (e.g., Science or Cell)." No pressure!

[carlosd]

For those who got the award as second years, is it true that it's pretty much impossible to be awarded without a strong publication record? Also, can our research proposal be the same as our thesis project (which would also fall under research experience), or does it have to be something different?

[manli001]

One man's fair is another's excellent? Grrrr

I had the same feeling!

IM/BI

F/G

E/G

Obviously I needed to expand upon my broader impacts, and the second reviewer made note of this, but a fair and an excellent for IM? The "fair" reviewer really didnt have any insightful criticisms and seemed to be writing a summary of my personal statement and really nothing else. The "excellent" reviewer gave me a slightly more helpful review on BI and really praised my ability as an ecologist or IM. This really just solidifies the notion the GRFP is a crapshoot in my mind. There's always next year.

[acg]

For those who got the award as second years, is it true that it's pretty much impossible to be awarded without a strong publication record? Also, can our research proposal be the same as our thesis project (which would also fall under research experience), or does it have to be something different?

No this is not necessarily true. I am a second year awardee and I only had a couple of conference papers "published" but nothing in a peer reviewed journal (I did have one submitted for peer review and I noted that in my application). A couple of the con's pointed out were my lack of publications but my IM and BI outside of that was so strong I still got great reviews. You just have to compensate for a lack of pubs in other ways

[bgodbgg]

Has anyone ever switched their research topic after receiving the NSF GRF? I received one and I applied under Computer Science - Bioinformatics, but depending on what school I choose, I would be doing Database research at another school. I know it says that you are accepted in the field of study you applied for, but does that mean Computer Science as the field of study, or Computer Science - Bioinformatics as the field of study?

Thanks

[nessa]

VG/G

E/G

I'd been debating about applying, since most of the programs I was applying to are clinical psychology and my research is pretty health-focused, but I figured it was at least worth the practice. I shied away from discussing my research's actual (clinical) broader impacts, which didn't leave me much, and the reviewers noticed. The IM scores made me pretty happy, though! I'm starting grad school in the fall, so I may try again (with beefed up BI) next year.

[rsbarner]

Thats crazy!

IM / BI:

E/ E

VG/E

No award not even HM.

[agarcia59]

Better reviews than I thought I would get. I wish I would have done better on my GPA for a higher IM score. Low GPA has been killing me.

IM/BI:

F/G

G/E

VG/E

Congrats to all who got an award or HM!

[Matba]

Got HM.

G/VG

VG/E

VG/E

The reviewers were really positive actually, the only negative thing they all mentioned was that there are some weaknesses in my undergraduate academic records. AKA low undergrad GPA.

How do you fix that? With broader impact you can always do more outreach. Feeling discouraged to reapply next year. :/

[irugga]

Got HM.

G/VG

VG/E

VG/E

The reviewers were really positive actually, the only negative thing they all mentioned was that there are some weaknesses in my undergraduate academic records. AKA low undergrad GPA.

How do you fix that? With broader impact you can always do more outreach. Feeling discouraged to reapply next year. :/

I wouldn't feel discouraged about applying for next year. I didn't even make it to the third round of reviews my first two times, and got the award this year. If you got HM you're very close. It's true you can't redo your undergrad, but if that really sunk you, you wouldn't even have HM. If you're getting good grades in your graduate program, that will help.

If there is a reason you struggled in undergrad, you can make that a focus of your personal statement and actually spin it into a positive. For example if you had an (undiagnosed?) learning disability, you can talk about how that makes you more aware and sensitive to the struggles of students with disabilities. Make sure you take actual, positive action based on this - follow the rule of show, don't tell. In this example, you could work with your services for students with disabilities office to identify accessibility barriers, and make changes that allow a student with a disability to conduct undergraduate research.

This is the big change I made between my prior, unsuccessful applications. Instead of trying to downplay weaknesses in my undergrad, I cast them in a positive light and took action based on this. I don’t have my review sheets back, so I can’t say whether this is what made the difference or not, though.

Edited April 2, 2012 by irugga

[therez]

E/VG

VG/E

VG/G

Got an HM (Geology). No longer eligible . One useful thing for future applicants: one of my reviewers thought that I didn't show "leadership" in my BM activities. So if you ever get an opportunity to organize/oversee/'lead' in mentoring or outreach DO IT. I thought my high levels of participation would be enough, but apparently not.