NSF GRFP 2012-2013

[Eigen]

It's usually a bit of a double standard.

Classes don't matter, but you should get As in them. In other words, you shouldn't spend time studying instead of doing research, but you should still be getting good grades in your coursework. And since in many programs a C by itself can be grounds for dismissal, and the minimum acceptable cumulative GPA is 3.0, good grades are predominately As.

And for anything competitive, as I said, it's not about which matters more- it's about the fact that you're competing with people who have both.

As for a cumulative GPA being based off of one year, it's not uncommon for PhD programs in the sciences to only have a year of coursework, anyway. If your most recent grades are 4.0, then yes, that will probably matter more than bad grades in an earlier semester.

[JChem]

Sigh... The average grade on these classes were between a 3.0 and 3.3 (B and B+), especially the introductory classes for first year graduate students, and that's taking into consideration that all these students were top of their own classes as undergrads.

I can't really change the reality... Hope they'll take into consideration the difficulty of classes in a top 3 program compared to a top 25 program etc when comparing grades. It's not like I got Cs, and I doubt there really are students from schools of the same caliber that have graduate school GPAs vastly greater than 3.5, no? Especially since grades tend to go up as students take elective courses later in their career.

This is my second time applying for the program. In my previous application, when I only had the undergraduate GPA to display, I did receive an academic merit of Excellent, and the broader impacts held me back. I feel that I've addressed the broader impacts more this time (highlighting the touring of several local high schools and recruitment of undergraduate students to take on my research after my graduateion), but this time the graduate GPA may hold me back again.

[Eigen]

From my friends at top-5 institutions, I would say most GPAs that I know of (granted, in Chemistry rather than Chem E) are around 3.9-4.0.

And I don't think there's much, if any significant difference, in the difficulty of courses at a top-5 program relative to a top-25 program. Maybe for undergrad, but not grad-level. Again, this is for my discipline comparing with friends at other schools.And I would say that the later electives were as hard or harder than core classes, in my mind, most of which covered material that I'd had from advanced undergrad courses.

I'm not trying to get you down on yourself here, just reminding you that these are very competitive awards.

If you can refine your proposal from last year to make sure you get a couple of excellents, and as you mentioned have increased your outreach, that might well be all you need.

[JChem]

Is that graduate school GPA only? X( oh well. What can I do at this point? Hope they don't just throw away the application purely based on that GPA alone, and do notice the recent 4.0.

[ryanmor]

I have a question regarding the graduate courses info section under the education and work experience tab- If I'm describing my undergraduate education where I earned my B.S. and I took a few grad level classes, is this where I indicate that? Or is this for if I got a combined BS/MS?

[vertices]

Is that graduate school GPA only? X( oh well. What can I do at this point? Hope they don't just throw away the application purely based on that GPA alone, and do notice the recent 4.0.

Yeah, Bs in graduate school can be considered warnings depending on the school and program. Many have a significantly higher minimum GPA maintained for their graduate programs than their undergraduate ones. Grad school grades are a different distribution.

Use a couple sentences to address the GPA in your Personal Statement. Turn the semester you spent trying to get your balance into a positive demonstration of how you showed resilience in the face of a challenging new environment and the very next term achieved a 4.0. Tie it into the character you built during the ups and downs of research, pointing out how those experiences made it a matter of course for you to figure out what the problem was and find a solution. If applicable, explain how this misstep has made it easier for you to relate to the struggles of students your TA and/or mentor. It's hard to guess if the reviewers will carefully examine your transcript or not, so this could be a way of covering yourself while demonstrating merit.

Edited October 31, 2012 by vertices

[vertices]

I have a question regarding the graduate courses info section under the education and work experience tab- If I'm describing my undergraduate education where I earned my B.S. and I took a few grad level classes, is this where I indicate that? Or is this for if I got a combined BS/MS?

Yes. When you fill out the "Add College/University" form for your undergraduate institution, there will be some fields regarding graduate level classes. You only put down the department and number of units though. Then you upload the transcripts. If you want to describe the courses, that would have to be done in the essays, as it doesn't really fit under Fellowship/Scholarship/Work Experience or Honors/Presentations/Publications.

[ryanmor]

Yes. When you fill out the "Add College/University" form for your undergraduate institution, there will be some fields regarding graduate level classes. You only put down the department and number of units though. Then you upload the transcripts. If you want to describe the courses, that would have to be done in the essays, as it doesn't really fit under Fellowship/Scholarship/Work Experience or Honors/Presentations/Publications.

That's what I thought, but it only gives me the option to enter one department and one set of credit hours. I took two grad level courses as an undergrad, one in stat the other in bio.

And regarding UG GPA- mine is pretty solid throughout except the last semester of my senior year (used 2 late drops) etc. I missed a good two months of class for trips for PhD interviews and may of had some senioritis. Should I address this at all? the courses arent that relelvant and my final GPA is still good > 3.75

Edited October 31, 2012 by ryanmor

[SensLu]

I have a question the format of the essays. I was planning to put my project title and keywords on the proposed research plan document but under format guidelines, title and keywords aren't included, however, there are seperate fields on the application that allow you to enter the project title in long and short form as well as keywords. I'm also under the impression that formatting rules have change since previous years.

[trytrytry]

bit of an unexpected problem and wanted to get some input...

Since I’m in my first semester of grad school I don’t have a transcript (I seriously mean a blank page/no in progress classes or anything!!!). I can get an enrollment verification but that doesn’t have any information like when I was admitted or even what classes I’m taking. I went and talked to the registrar and they basically said they couldn’t do anything for me until I finished a semester and had classes to put on a transcript. They said if I wanted to provide that info I’d have to include my admissions letter and an actual class schedule…

Anyone had a similar issue? I’m not sure what to do. I tried contacting NSF and they sent me a generic response about not expecting me to have grades but that I needed an “in progress” transcript.

I’d hate for this to get me dq’ed.

[guttata]

I have a question the format of the essays. I was planning to put my project title and keywords on the proposed research plan document but under format guidelines, title and keywords aren't included, however, there are seperate fields on the application that allow you to enter the project title in long and short form as well as keywords. I'm also under the impression that formatting rules have change since previous years.

Don't put them in your essay. DEFINITELY don't put anything in the margins - automatic disqualification. There's no reason to include anything but the body of the essay and your citations in the essay document. That's what the title and keyword blanks are for. The system will compile everything.

bit of an unexpected problem and wanted to get some input...

Since I’m in my first semester of grad school I don’t have a transcript (I seriously mean a blank page/no in progress classes or anything!!!). I can get an enrollment verification but that doesn’t have any information like when I was admitted or even what classes I’m taking. I went and talked to the registrar and they basically said they couldn’t do anything for me until I finished a semester and had classes to put on a transcript. They said if I wanted to provide that info I’d have to include my admissions letter and an actual class schedule…

Anyone had a similar issue? I’m not sure what to do. I tried contacting NSF and they sent me a generic response about not expecting me to have grades but that I needed an “in progress” transcript.

I’d hate for this to get me dq’ed.

I'm in the same situation, and so was a winner from my lab last year. Get an official enrollment verification from your registrar. It will show that you're currently enrolled, and since you'll report on the application that you have 0 credit hours for a 0.0 GPA, they'll know there's nothing to see.

Edited November 2, 2012 by guttata

[schoolpsych_hopeful]

Don't put them in your essay. DEFINITELY don't put anything in the margins - automatic disqualification. There's no reason to include anything but the body of the essay and your citations in the essay document. That's what the title and keyword blanks are for. The system will compile everything.

Is this a new rule? Last year, I put my name and the title of the essay in the header of each document and I was not disqualified....

[guttata]

Weird. Perhaps it was just a horror story, but I saw somewhere someone had been informed they were disqualified from the competition because the system had picked up text in their margins. At any rate, they seem to be firm re: the 2 page limit, and i'm wary about putting anything on mine that could be construed as stretching the limit.

[Pitangus]

Is this a new rule? Last year, I put my name and the title of the essay in the header of each document and I was not disqualified....

I just looked at my essays from last year, and I also put my name and the name of the essay in the header. But who knows if these little rules change from year to year. If I was applying again I probably would remove the header just to be safe.

[Chande]

I'm a bit confused about what counts as outreach. I tutored elementary school students in math after school every week for about 4 years, and as an undergrad I tutored in free walk-in help centers for chemistry and math and worked with students one-on-one or in small groups for upper level classes (also free to the students) for 15-20 hours per week for a year and a half. But I'm not sure if this is enough to count? Should I mention these? (I don't want to put it in if it's a far stretch, but I'm not sure)

Edited November 3, 2012 by Chande

[vertices]

I'm a bit confused about what counts as outreach. I tutored elementary school students in math after school every week for about 4 years, and as an undergrad I tutored in free walk-in help centers for chemistry and math and worked with students one-on-one or in small groups for upper level classes (also free to the students) for 15-20 hours per week for a year and a half. But I'm not sure if this is enough to count? Should I mention these? (I don't want to put it in if it's a far stretch, but I'm not sure)

I would discuss it in your personal statement and then refer to it as experience that informs your plans for broader impacts. The reviewers care both about how you plan to address broader impacts and that you have a commitment to go through with them. A history of helping K-12 students get into STEM, such as you have, shows that commitment. Depending on your future plans for broader impacts, this history can also show that you have the experience in this area to follow through with your plans and know what will really make a difference. Explain how what you learned from your tutoring will allow you to integrate K-12 students into your research activities or develop materials to broaden interest in science or do other things which are described in the document I link below.

There are many activities which qualify for broader impacts. Several examples are provided in this document: http://www.nsf.gov/p...examples.pdf

The only reason I wouldn't include it is if you already have other activities that better address the broader impacts criterion and show a lifelong commitment to outreach and you are also out of space.

Edited November 3, 2012 by vertices

[Pez]

I have a question the format of the essays. I was planning to put my project title and keywords on the proposed research plan document but under format guidelines, title and keywords aren't included, however, there are seperate fields on the application that allow you to enter the project title in long and short form as well as keywords. I'm also under the impression that formatting rules have change since previous years.

So just to be clear, we don't need to include the title and keywords in the actual Proposed Research document? Anyone have experience doing this?

[Chande]

Thanks! That's really helpful.

[guttata]

So just to be clear, we don't need to include the title and keywords in the actual Proposed Research document? Anyone have experience doing this?

No. I've never seen this in any of the example essays I've looked at (Titles I have, rarely; keywords, never) and there are blanks in the submission form specifically for short title and long title+keywords.

[Pitangus]

The successful proposals on Rachel Smith's page (http://rachelcsmith....ademics/nsf.htm) all include titles, and most include the keywords. I included both in mine last year; I think they were required then (see screenshots of a previous year's application form here: http://courses.physi...astLaneHelp.pdf).

But it looks like this year's form does not require you to include them.

If I remember correctly, you enter the title and keywords in the application form so that they can be included in some searchable database of research topics. Presumably the reviewers will see your entire application form, so they will see the title and keywords on the form printout. I'm not sure about this though.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Pitangus

[SensLu]

The successful proposals on Rachel Smith's page (http://rachelcsmith....ademics/nsf.htm) all include titles, and most include the keywords. I included both in mine last year; I think they were required then (see screenshots of a previous year's application form here: http://courses.physi...astLaneHelp.pdf).

But it looks like this year's form does not require you to include them.

If I remember correctly, you enter the title and keywords in the application form so that they can be included in some searchable database of research topics. Presumably the reviewers will see your entire application form, so they will see the title and keywords on the form printout. I'm not sure about this though.

Yeah, in the old app you posted, they have the same fields as this years application to include titles in long and short form but under the description of the format, they explicitly state to include title and keywords and this years application doesn't.

I recently saw this site (http://grfpessayinsights.missouri.edu/resources.php) noted that there are changes compared to previous years and in their example format, it doesn't include a title or keywords. I agree that it is just better to play it safe, save space and omitt the title.

[SensLu]

I have a question regarding acknowledgements in papers. I have been in the acknowledgements section of a few publications that I assited on as an undergraduate before I started my own projects. I would never list them on a CV because that seems a bit over-reaching. However, for the purposes of the previous research essay, is it appropriate to say something to the effect of 'I assited on projects that went to publication such as 'title of publication'...'?

[agarcia59]

I recently saw this site (http://grfpessayinsi...u/resources.php) noted that there are changes compared to previous years and in their example format, it doesn't include a title or keywords. I agree that it is just better to play it safe, save space and omitt the title.

Just got off the phone with the help line [ (866) 673-4737 for those of you who'd like to double-check]

There will be no penalization for keeping title and keywords in your essays, but it is "up to you". So if you're dying for more space, take the title and keywords out. If you're looking to fill more space, leave them in.

[tlevine]

I'm pondering how to select my primary field of study.

I'm starting this doctoral program next year, (I deferred.) where I'll study how people conduct themselves during sedentary work and what does to people. You might call this "ergonomics", and you might see it as "like chairs and stuff".

In my NSF GRFP application last year, I chose "Social Sciences - other (specify)" and specified "ergonomics". The only other thing that seems applicable is "Mathematical Sciences - Computational and Data-enabled Science" because of the methods that I plan on using.

I have some questions, and I would love your input.

1. What sorts of things count as "Mathematical Sciences - Computational and Data-enabled Science"?
   
   
2. If you've submitted similar applications to different panels, why did you switch the panel, and do you attribute any differences to the change in panel?
   
   
3. I wouldn't call my field of study "psychology", but I think a "Psychology" panel from any of the listed subfields would have more relevant reviewers than a "Social Science - other" panel. What happens if I submit something to a field that definitely isn't mine but has more relevant reviewers? And if the result would be bad, should I adjust my application to sound more like psychology?
   

Edited November 6, 2012 by tlevine

[tlevine]

And a separate question: I've been working at a related but non-academic job for the past year. It's related because it's computers and statistics and teaching, but it's not so much ergonomics. Should I ask my boss for a letter? It happens that I would have trouble determining which of last year's references I would switch for my boss, so I'll ask that in a few ways, and you can answer any or all or none of them.

• Given my current situation, should I ask my boss?
  
• If one of last year's references had been clearly useless to me, should I ask my boss?
  
• If my job were less related, should I ask my boss? (I'm wondering whether what I did last year really matters.)