SCGF award date in May?

[nicodemus055]

I was fortunate enough to receive an NSF GRFP. I also applied for the DOE SCGF, which I prefer based on the research stipend and the higher living stipend. However, I must accept or decline the GRFP before May 1, and the SCGF website says that notifications will go out in May. I'm not going to decline the GRFP in hopes of getting the SCGF, but it'd be unfortunate to accept the GRFP and find out that I would have been able to get substantially more money had I declined it.

My questions:

Has anyone heard from the SCGF about announcement dates? Will they really do it so late in the fellowship/grad school cycle as May?

Is it possible to accept the GRFP and change my mind if I'm awarded the SCGF?

If the SCGF really doesn't let applicants know until May, does anyone see another option other than accepting the GRFP and then hoping I don't get the SCGF because of the frustration it would ironically cause (ugh)?

[jt770]

I am in the same boat. I will check with someone I know who has the SCGF and ask them when their acceptance notice arrived.

[vertices]

I'm in the boat as well, though I feel my application for this wasn't as strong, the acceptance rate is lower, and my advisor thinks that the NSF is more prestigious, so I'm not sure I'm feeling it as much. The extra funding, extra year of eligibility and great networking opportunities are pretty sweet though.

If you check the fellow guide, you can contact your coordinating officer to terminate the fellowship before using your 36 months of support. I assume that means you can do it at 0 months of support. It's not optimal of course, but it seems like the safest thing is to accept the NSF in late April if you haven't heard from the SCGF by that time. If you end up wanting to take the SCGF, terminate the NSF with your CO.

[jt770]

I spoke with the individual who I know received the SCGF and she was notified in early April. However, she emailed her contact at the DOE and they said that the results for this year are expected to come out in May.

[nicodemus055]

The response from the SCGF people was completely unhelpful:

The results for the DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship applications may be expected in May. For details regarding the key dates for DOE SCGF 2012, please visit: http://scgf.orau.gov/key-dates.html.

Thank you for your interest in DOE SCGF program,

Best Regards,

DOE SCGF program

[slu]

I am patiently awaiting the result.

Does anyone have any information regarding admit statistics from past years?

[redcar098]

I know the DOE didn't offer this last year, but does anyone know if in 2010 (or before that... I know it's a pretty new program) there were "review sheets" like the NSF? Pretty sure DoD doesn't have them, but can anyone say about DOE?

[Jana Olson]

Has anyone checked whether accepting the NSF fellowship is enough to force you to reject a DOE offer, even if you prefer the SCGF? This may seem obvious, but let's avoid headaches and heartaches. Don't do any kind of cancelling unless you have it in writing that the DOE will still award people who accepted and subsequently rejected the GRFP. Better to receive less money (NSF) than no money (rejecting both due to a catastrophic misunderstanding).

For the record, I'm in the same boat.

[vertices]

Jana Olson is right -- be sure to check with all stakeholders. For the NSF, always check with your coordinating officer. They're (most likely) at your institution and they're on your side. This forum is more for ideas and 'hey I've been there so don't spend the next 8 non-business hours worrying about it'