NSF GRFP 2013-14

[brownlee0182]

Hahahaha.... Troll bait. Good times, good times.... 

[jelewis]

Just assume it's 4/15 and you're not getting it.

Ha, literal LOL.  I think I need to make a sign of this and hang it up at my desk. 

 

It's that time again, starting to check multiple times a day....

 

Was it confirmed that people didn't get requests for an additional page?

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

 Was it confirmed that people didn't get requests for an additional page?

99.9% sure no one got them. 

 

https://twitter.com/RattleCall/status/427274395749330944

[ElusivePatience]

Just double (triple?) checking...we're sure that tonight is NOT announcement night, right? Ready to relax and pretend this doesn't exist for another week or so...

[stmwap]

Just double (triple?) checking...we're sure that tonight is NOT announcement night, right? Ready to relax and pretend this doesn't exist for another week or so...

Tonight is NOT the announcement.  Some people thought that the announcement was going to be late last night / early this morning.

[MissAnthro]

Is everyone crossing their fingers for an announcement on Friday, or is it just me? Regardless of the results, my productivity will soar after the announcement... 

[parkridge]

Waiting till this Friday I can handle. Next Friday... "I CANT EVEN" hahah. 

[saphixation]

I remember this time last year, I was incredibly anxious about hearing the GRFP results. This year has been much different; a week ago, my boyfriend and I adopted two adorable seven month old kitties, and they've kept me so distracted that I've barely even thought about the results coming out soon. It's great! Plus, their habit of waking me up every night at 4am when they start chasing each other around the apartment like maniacs guarantees I'll be awake to see the results the moment they're posted. I think it's the perfect system.

So to any future applicants wondering how to cope with result season stress: adopt cats!

Edited March 24, 2014 by saphixation

[spivak_khayesh]

ISo to any future applicants wondering how to cope with result season stress: adopt cats!

 

Thank you for a genuinely human message. I (heart) cats.

[Josh70]

So I am curious if any other current graduate students feel the same way I do. I so anxious about the NSF GRFP because I feel like if I don't at least get an honor mention is will be embarrassing. I am not sure why I think this but I just dread not getting at least an honorable mention and then having to tell my PI and all the people that help and encouraged me to apply that I got nothing. I know that rejection is a huge part of science funding but I guess I am just worried since it is my first time.   

[stmwap]

So I am curious if any other current graduate students feel the same way I do. I so anxious about the NSF GRFP because I feel like if I don't at least get an honor mention is will be embarrassing. I am not sure why I think this but I just dread not getting at least an honorable mention and then having to tell my PI and all the people that help and encouraged me to apply that I got nothing. I know that rejection is a huge part of science funding but I guess I am just worried since it is my first time.   

You shouldn't be embarrassed about not getting something that most people do not get.  There's a reason these fellowships are considered competitive.  If you don't get it, just try to learn from your feedback to make your next application (next year's GFRP or any other application) better.  

[parkridge]

I'd agree with stmwap although I can certainly relate. Current and appropriate perspectives certainly don't have to be mutually exclusive. 

[stmwap]

I'd agree with stmwap although I can certainly relate. Current and appropriate perspectives certainly don't have to be mutually exclusive. 

Yes, I'm partly speaking to myself as well as all of you.  Haha.

[astrodroidbot]

Any recipients want to look at my submission and give me an honest opinion (i.e., 1/10 chance)?

[iheartplants]

So I am curious if any other current graduate students feel the same way I do. I so anxious about the NSF GRFP because I feel like if I don't at least get an honor mention is will be embarrassing. I am not sure why I think this but I just dread not getting at least an honorable mention and then having to tell my PI and all the people that help and encouraged me to apply that I got nothing. I know that rejection is a huge part of science funding but I guess I am just worried since it is my first time.   

PIs understand that the GRFP is an NSF venture that requires more than a little bit of luck. I'm sure your PI has applied to umpteen grants (probably lots from NSF) that he or she has not received. You should celebrate your awesomeness if you happen to get an honorable mention or an award, but if not, at least you got some experience with NSF out of the deal. Any reputable PI understands the grant writing x-factor (x="random"); The GRFP  is largely roulette.

 

...Hopefully this isn't too fluffy for you, but let's everyone take a minute of perspective and pat ourselves on the back, yeah?... We got into grad school. Be kind to yourselves and try not to obsess over what is out of your control. You and your science already have worth with or without the GRFP, and on top of it all, I'm sure you wrote a kickass proposal, otherwise you would not have submitted--no shame in that! Good luck to you!

 

[...gets off of soapbox and resumes twiddling thumbs while PCR runs...]

[ElusivePatience]

Be kind to yourselves and try not to obsess over what is out of your control. You and your science already have worth with or without the GRFP, and on top of it all, I'm sure you wrote a kickass proposal, otherwise you would not have submitted--no shame in that! Good luck to you!

 

This is wonderful. I think it is a little too easy, particularly when enrolled in stressful graduate programs, to allow that stress to manifest as pointed anxiety about benchmark decisions. But building up the meaning of these results doesn't serve us very well, as receiving an award or or not is distinct from any measure of self-worth. Thanks, iheartplants, for the reminder. Time to do some reframing :-) The worst that happens is that nothing changes, and disappointment will pass in time. Feeling better about the wait already!

[mcknoche]

I've been watching these posts for a while now (and by that I mean taking a peak every few hours).  I guess it is a form of self-affirmation to remind myself that I am not the only one who is on edge.

 

Good luck everyone! As those before me said, our work as scientists and researchers is far more important than any quantifiable fellowship.  So let's just all keep our heads up, regardless of the outcome.  

[GeoDUDE!]

There is so much confidence in this thread its no wonder we are are all successful. 

[threnagyn]

So I am curious if any other current graduate students feel the same way I do. I so anxious about the NSF GRFP because I feel like if I don't at least get an honor mention is will be embarrassing. I am not sure why I think this but I just dread not getting at least an honorable mention and then having to tell my PI and all the people that help and encouraged me to apply that I got nothing. I know that rejection is a huge part of science funding but I guess I am just worried since it is my first time.   

 

Honestly, a lot of people (about ~25-30%) get HM or an award now that they've raised the # of awards to 2,000 from 1,000 a few years ago. Last year they issued 2,000 awards and 1,700 HMs.

 

But think about it, what goes into a funded application? A lot of it is related to hard work, but its not so straightforward. A lot of people have parents willing to dish out $3,000 for a 'humanitarian/volunteer trip to Africa' every other year that maybe you and I couldn't afford. There's so many people that get to do this 2-3 times because someone else paid. They go there for a week or two, do a minimal amount of 'group labor', and cite it as some moving leadership experience that reviewers gawk over. Similarly, many students don't need to get a part time job during the school year because their parents are paying most/all of their tuition. Not having to work makes pulling a 3.5+/4.0 that much more obtainable. Anyone can pull off a 3.5+ if they are willing to 'work' at least 20 hrs a week. It also makes getting into undergraduate research labs easier since you have more time on your hands. Some people have an awesome proposal because their advisors wrote it for them almost entirely. Many applicants are dishonest in their applications. Reviewers are also WILDLY inconsistent. I'm not saying that people who get the awards fall into these categories, I'm just saying that any one of these things can upset the 'fairness' of the award. Just ask yourself - Have you been working hard towards something great, or have you been sitting at home watching TV 8 hrs a day and just stop by the lab for a few hours a day? If you can answer that to yourself honestly, you'll know how to feel regardless of whether or not you get the award.

 

We will all have a lot of chances to prove ourselves during our PhD program and afterwards. This NSF GRFP award seems important now, but its really just a drop in the bucket - unless you don't have an RA or TA alternative. In which case, you haven't been looking in the right places. RAs and TAs are so so so easy to get now. They are available to almost everyone willing to take one who is at least mildly competitive (3.0 gpa, some work/research experience at some point in their lives). At least, this is the way it is in the hard sciences and engineering.

[astrodroidbot]

Does anyone remember how long before the actual day that the website goes down that the "website will be down" notification get posted?

[jmu]

 RAs and TAs are so so so easy to get now. They are available to almost everyone willing to take one who is at least mildly competitive (3.0 gpa, some work/research experience at some point in their lives). At least, this is the way it is in the hard sciences and engineering.

 

I agree with you but I think the last point here needs to be stressed. In the social sciences and humanities TA and RA funding is getting more competitive and much harder to get. Schools that would never have accepted someone without funding are beginning to do so just because they can't get a large enough cohort to keep required courses open. For those in this position (I'm not, although I was accepted to a T25 program without funding and others in my cohort have no funding), awards like the GRFP may be the only viable option to getting a PhD.

[jmu]

Does anyone remember how long before the actual day that the website goes down that the "website will be down" notification get posted?

 

The message comes up the morning the day before and it goes down that night. So if it were to come out on Friday, for example (I'm not saying it will), the message would show up Thursday morning.

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

We will all have a lot of chances to prove ourselves during our PhD program and afterwards. This NSF GRFP award seems important now, but its really just a drop in the bucket.

Thanks for the reminder. Part of me has forgotten that I don't need it to get a tt-position down the road.

[ScienceGiraffe]

Imagine this, on next Tuesday, 04/01, you wake up and find the following email:

 

"Congratulation! you have been awarded the NSF GRFP!.......just kidding, April Fool!"

: ] 

[DumbestSmartPerson]

Imagine this, on next Tuesday, 04/01, you wake up and find the following email:

 

"Congratulation! you have been awarded the NSF GRFP!.......just kidding, April Fool!"

: ] 

 

Well, I'll just add this to my list of paranoid delusions and nightmares about missed classes and forgotten deadlines then.  Thank you so much for that.