Hertz Foundation Fellowship 2011-2012

[starmaker]

Anybody else working on this?

I don't expect to get it, but I figured I might as well give it a try.

If you're typing the short essays directly into the webform, make sure that you save often, so that you don't get logged out and lose your work. I already discovered this the hard way.

[starmaker]

Nobody? Really? They get more than 600 applications every year; surely I'm not the only applicant on this site.

[scyrus]

I will be applying, as well. The recommendation system is a bit unique, so as a general piece of advice to other applicants, ask your recommenders well ahead of time!

I also hear from other students in my program who have had success in getting second-round interviews that the Hertz fellowship is geared more towards natural sciences, so the questions they ask computer science graduate students can seem quite esoteric.

Edited September 11, 2011 by scyrus

[UnlikelyGrad]

Good luck, you two. I hear it's a incredibly tough fellowship to win (my sis was a Hertz fellow ~10 years ago)--not just because of the initial application, but because if you make the first cut they put you through a couple of interviews that are downright hell...

I didn't apply because my school isn't one of their allowed schools. But I wouldn't have made it anyway...

[djperry]

Anyone else who applied get an interview? I'm not really sure how to prepare or if it's even possible to do so.

[luce373]

I got an interview and am also wondering if I can prepare. My memory is terrible and, though I can think pretty well on my feet when I have access to references, I don't do well when I can't look anything up.

I haven't talked to anyone who actually made it to the second interview, and everyone I did talk to said it was crazy. I guess we'll see.

[starmaker]

I got turned down. I'm wondering if it's worth it to ask for feedback.

[obot]

I also got turned down but I'm not sure if that's because one of my recommenders turned their letter in late. Gonna try again next year!

[emanuega]

I had one interview, it was interesting. I'm not expecting another.

[jcknck]

I had one interview, it was interesting. I'm not expecting another.

Yeah, I had a first interview as well. It went okay, but we'll see if I get another interview. The competition is crazy, so I wish the best of luck to both of us!

What kind of questions were you asked? I was asked about the electromagnetic spectrum. Basically, just to convert units and talk about light and things like that. It was too difficult, the biggest problem I had was doing simple mathematics on paper. It is very stressful to know someone is looking over your answer as you are doing it...

[luce373]

I had my first interview today. It wasn't as horrible as I was expecting, but I don't think I exactly came across as a genius either. I'll be surprised if I get a second interview, but who knows. Good luck to everyone!

[emanuega]

Yeah, I had a first interview as well. It went okay, but we'll see if I get another interview. The competition is crazy, so I wish the best of luck to both of us!

What kind of questions were you asked? I was asked about the electromagnetic spectrum. Basically, just to convert units and talk about light and things like that. It was too difficult, the biggest problem I had was doing simple mathematics on paper. It is very stressful to know someone is looking over your answer as you are doing it...

My interviewer asked a lot about research. He asked three more technical questions: one about probability, one about setting up and solving an ODE for a mass-spring system, and one about taking the square root of a number.

[luce373]

I got am email today that I haven't been selected to move on to the next round. Like I said, I'm not surprised, this fellowship is so crazy. Good luck to everyone still in the running! Hopefully you will all get emails with better news.