NSF GRFP 2013-14

[juilletmercredi]

People in joint BS/MS programs usually have extended eligibility under the "extenuating circumstances" clause; I'm pretty sure that NSF deals with this specifically in their printed materials.  But a person in a joint BS/MS program would wait until their 5th year (the final year) to apply for the NSF, unless their MS counted as a science masters they could apply the NSF to.

You cannot defer your NSF in your first year unless you get an approved military or medical deferral.  I think a medical deferral would be if you suddenly got sick and had to defer the beginning of a program that you were set to start in August/September of the year you are awarded the NSF, but not having been admitted to a graduate program is probably not allowed - so if you're planning to reapply to graduate programs in Fall of 2014 for Fall od 2015, then you should probably wait until next fall to apply for the NSF.

As to whether you would be compared to second years - well, that would depend.  You probably would be at least to a certain extent; the reviewers would expect your proposal to be of the same caliber as other second-years', and would expect your recommenders to evince a knowledge of you and your capability to complete graduate-level work in the same way.  They would also want to see your first-year grades in your program.  I don't think they would compare you to college seniors, who are two years your junior in experience essentially.

 

I think you can mention the ADD if you want, but those things are better mentioned if you already have them well-controlled and can evidence that.  If you've just begun working with the coach and don't know if it will be successful, that will add little to your application.

[Char123]

From reading past essays, it seems that many stated they want to be professors. Do the reviewers favor applicants with a desire to stay in academia?

Academia is certainly an option for me, but I have other options open such as national labs, industry, etc... 

[Char123]

For the research proposal, I am a bit confused with what they want. Are you supposed to describe your experimental setup? 

[golgi]

For the research proposal, I am a bit confused with what they want. Are you supposed to describe your experimental setup? 

 

I think you (us) are supposed to say what methods/techniques you would be using but not exactly descibing every detail of it. For example for biology, say PCR or IHC or western blot or ELISA and why but I dont think its necessary to say how each technique is actually done.

[juilletmercredi]

Panabtl, I think #2 is out.  I would be choosing between #1 and #3, and that will depend on who you think will give you a stronger recommendation.  The undergraduate professor may be better, depending on how long you worked in his lab (is "a little while" 3 months, or 1 year?) and also how long you've been working with the psychiatrist and how much "much" is (does she meet with you ever?  Does she directly or indirectly supervise you?)

charlies1902, they want you to describe a project that you intend to carry out during your tenure (theoretically).  But in my research proposal, I also included a paragraph in the beginning about how my previous research logically led into my current interests.  Then I wrote about 2 paragraphs of background - giving a theoretical framework to my research and positioning it within my field.  Then I described the project, and then I used about a paragraph (a long one) to describe the greater impacts of the project and why it was important to do. Then I had a paragraph or two at the end about how my university and my mentors were the perfect place/people for me to do my project at/with.  I remember looking over the statement a few weeks ago and wondering at how little I actually wrote about the project itself - I think the actual project description was like 3 paragraphs.

[Faraday]

To Eigen or other members with chemistry knowledge in the NSF process: I am thinking about including a general reaction scheme for my proposed synthetic project as I'm not sure it can be clearly described only in text. Is this taboo on the NSF applications? I see no mention of guidelines for figures/schemes, only for the general page formatting of essays but it appears their rules are very strict for that...

Edited September 10, 2013 by Faraday

[guttata]

To Eigen or other members with chemistry knowledge in the NSF process: I am thinking about including a general reaction scheme for my proposed synthetic project as I'm not sure it can be clearly described only in text. Is this taboo on the NSF applications? I see no mention of guidelines for figures/schemes, only for the general page formatting of essays but it appears their rules are very strict for that...

 

 

 

Only references, footnotes, and figure captions may be a smaller font, no less than 10-point Times New Roman. The maximum length of the Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement is three pages. The maximum length of the Graduate Research Statement is two pages, including all references, citations, charts, figures, images, and lists of publications and presentations.

 

The above quote is from the solicitation. Figures are acceptable but count against your page limit and must remain within the margin boundaries, so they represent a significant sacrifice of space. Make sure it is absolutely essential and conveys something you otherwise would not be able to.

[Eigen]

I would absolutely submit a concise reaction scheme. It often takes less space than describing the reactions!

 

I don't think my proposal would have made any sense without the schemes I submitted, and all of the other applicants I know of used at least one figure as well. 

 

Don't include one just because, but if you can craft a good figure that effectively conveys your point, go for it. 

 

I think it also helps to have something that sticks in the mind of the reviewers as they're reading through your applications, most scientists I know are conditioned to skim from scheme/graph to graph/scheme, and then go back and read the details. If you do your figure right, it can act as a kind of "table of content" graphic that has become so popular to sum up the meat of your proposal into one single, visually memorable, icon. 

 

They don't state, but I would stick to ACS conventions for figures, as described in the style guide, as it's what your reviewers are most likely to respond to. 

[Neuro_Guy]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a post-bacc and I have a question about the proposed research essay: are we supposed to already know where we are going to grad school (or at least some options) and have developed contacts with profs there? Do I need to have a prof at my (potential) grad school help with the application and devise an actual course of research?

 

That seems like far too much of an imposition on someone I don't know at an institution I haven't even applied to. It also seems like a Catch-22 because I am using this to get PhD funding yet I need to already have my PhD situation squared away to apply... 

 

Thanks in advance for the help and good luck to everyone! 

 

Will 

[Jimbo2]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a post-bacc and I have a question about the proposed research essay: are we supposed to already know where we are going to grad school (or at least some options) and have developed contacts with profs there? Do I need to have a prof at my (potential) grad school help with the application and devise an actual course of research?

 

That seems like far too much of an imposition on someone I don't know at an institution I haven't even applied to. It also seems like a Catch-22 because I am using this to get PhD funding yet I need to already have my PhD situation squared away to apply... 

 

Thanks in advance for the help and good luck to everyone! 

 

Will 

No, you just provide a plausible research plan given your proposed institution's resources. You don't actually have to do the research you outline in your essays. 

[Eigen]

Similarly, you don't need a faculty member at your proposed institution to help, although it can be beneficial if it's an option. You do, however, need to be relatively familiar with the facilities and expertise available in your proposed lab, such that your proposed research is plausible in that setting. 

 

And I've seen both more general and very specific plans win awards- mine, personally, was very specific, with timelines and specific objectives for each phase of the project as well as workarounds in case the early phases didn't pan out as expected. 

[Char123]

In one of my projects, my partner was a woman and a minority. What is the best way to say that I worked with a woman who was also a minority?

I originally had something like "I had the pleasure of working with an underrepresented woman." But..... That sounds so awkward. 

[Eigen]

I'm not sure why having a partner that was an underrepresented woman would matter. 

 

You were partners, that isn't exactly outreach- it wasn't mentoring underrepresented undergraduates, or outreach to local high schools. 

[Pitangus]

I'm not sure why having a partner that was an underrepresented woman would matter. 

 

You were partners, that isn't exactly outreach- it wasn't mentoring underrepresented undergraduates, or outreach to local high schools. 

 

I agree with Eigen, especially when reviewing the NSF's description for "broadening participation":

 

Broaden participation of under-represented groups, for example,by establishing collaborations with students and faculty from institutions and organizations serving women, minorities, and other groups under-represented in the mathematical sciences.

 

I think the key word here is "establishing," which suggests an active role in encouraging participation. Did you recruit your partner? Did your duties include mentoring her? 

Simply having a co-worker from an underrepresented group is not a BI in that sense, so I don't know if there is any way to phrase that without it sounding awkward. 

 

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

I am a post-bacc and I have a question about the proposed research essay: are we supposed to already know where we are going to grad school (or at least some options) and have developed contacts with profs there? Do I need to have a prof at my (potential) grad school help with the application and devise an actual course of research?

 

That seems like far too much of an imposition on someone I don't know at an institution I haven't even applied to. It also seems like a Catch-22 because I am using this to get PhD funding yet I need to already have my PhD situation squared away to apply... 

 

Thanks in advance for the help and good luck to everyone! 

 

Will 

 

I applied as a post-bacc in 2011. I tailored my essays to a lab within a graduate program that I thought would best fit my research interests. I had worked in the lab that past summer, so I was familiar with its ongoing work, but I developed my proposal and wrote my essays on my own.

 

Like Eigen's, my proposal was therefore very specific. My project would have utilized the lab's study system, one of its field sites, and some of its long term data, and I was able to provide details about those aspects. I also suggested timeframes for each part of the project.

I think specificity helps in many cases because it makes the proposed project seem well thought out and plausible. 

 

But as Jimbo2 explained, in the end you aren't held to your proposed project or proposed institution if you receive the fellowship. I ended up in a different program and have developed an entirely new project that fits in with the research at my current lab.

[Char123]

I took leadership in the project as I was the older student. So I guess it is some kind of mentoring and I had to teach her a lot of things. Would that not count? 

[Pitangus]

I took leadership in the project as I was the older student. So I guess it is some kind of mentoring and I had to teach her a lot of things. Would that not count? 

 

Mentoring counts, so if you had worked on the project longer / had more experience and one of your duties was to guide a new worker, then that should be what you emphasize.

[Eigen]

It's something, but that's pretty scant. I would worry that taking much time to discuss it in your application would weaken it rather than strengthen it, mostly because it seems more like you're reaching/resume padding, rather than talking about things that are more substantial. 

[asaprocky]

how would you go about writing a proposal for synthetic organic? Would you actually perform a retrosynthetic analysis? or would you just saw you would and talk about other methods needed? (ie methodology development, problem troubleshooting, etc.) I feel as if writing a proposal for a total synthesis is EXTREMELY hard to write in 2 pages unless you generalize a lot

[Char123]

It's something, but that's pretty scant. I would worry that taking much time to discuss it in your application would weaken it rather than strengthen it, mostly because it seems more like you're reaching/resume padding, rather than talking about things that are more substantial. 

Isn't that better than people saying what they plan on doing to broaden participation etc... It's all words, no action as of yet. And there's no telling if they're actually going to go through with it or that they just BS'ed it to strengthen their essay. 

[mrmalawi]

@charlies

 

I'd agree with the prior comment as well although if you can get your prior PI/adviser to vouch for your mentoring abilities and relate it to that experience that would help your case.  You could also help the 'mentoring' situation by doing some tutoring or mentoring at a local school this school year and include that in your essay. 

[Char123]

Thanks for the suggestion. 

I am not one to pursue something solely for the purpose of winning an award. Along with the deadline fast approaching and my demanding schedule, it would very difficult for me to find spare time to do that.

With that said, mentoring is not something I'm too concerned with, although it would be an interesting experience. I have several other outreach experience that I am highlighting. 

 

After reading many essays of successful applicants, I realized it involves a lot of padding, overemphasizing and just generally, telling NSF what they want to hear, but reviewers will never know how genuine these applicants are. 

[Eigen]

They do make sure you follow through with it, at least to an extent. Just like any other grant there's a yearly progress report on your pat year of activity, and what you did. Keeping the award is contingent on satisfactory progress in all areas, including BI.

 

You shouldn't do mentoring work to win an award. You should win an award because you have been active in mentoring and outreach. 

 

If mentoring isn't your thing, but you have other outreach you do, that's good as well. 

 

I do, however, take exception to your statement that winning requires "a lot of padding, overemphasizing and just generally telling NSF what they want to hear". 

 

That's not something I've seen in many successful applicants, and certainly none of the ones at my school I've worked with, or undergrads applying elsewhere that I've worked with. 

[d00d]

Was wondering if anyone had any insight as to the weight of graduate GPA vs. undergraduate GPA for the NSF. I've heard from a faculty member who's been on the review board that without a 3.2+ ugrad gpa it's incredibly unlikely you'll win. Has anyone heard of a 3.0 (or less) ugrad GPA being viewed more favorably with a higher graduate GPA?

[guttata]

I know of a couple with 3.1-3.2 UG gpas but not any under 3 off the top of my head. I wouldn't be surprised to see a strong research background, grad gpa, and justification for low scores could overcome that, though. As your prof mentions, however, I imagine it would be less and less likely as the score in question drops.

[Miro]

Thanks for the suggestion. 

I am not one to pursue something solely for the purpose of winning an award. Along with the deadline fast approaching and my demanding schedule, it would very difficult for me to find spare time to do that.

With that said, mentoring is not something I'm too concerned with, although it would be an interesting experience. I have several other outreach experience that I am highlighting. 

 

After reading many essays of successful applicants, I realized it involves a lot of padding, overemphasizing and just generally, telling NSF what they want to hear, but reviewers will never know how genuine these applicants are. 

From what you have written so far, it sounds like you are pursuing something solely for the purpose of winning an award. It sounds like you have not done any outreach not are you interested in doing so. 

 

In one of my projects, my partner was a woman and a minority. What is the best way to say that I worked with a woman who was also a minority?

I originally had something like "I had the pleasure of working with an underrepresented woman." But..... That sounds so awkward. 

I honestly cannot believe that you want to use the fact that you worked with a minority woman to help with your lack of outreach. its people like you who write essay that is full of padding and over emphasizing that the NSF wants.