Outside Fellowships

[zinde]

Hey everyone - I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice regarding outside fellowships for grad programs in biology. As I'm reading up on the programs I plan to apply to, I get the sense that they expect applicants to have applied for funding from other sources. As of right now, I'm only planning on applying to the NSF GRFP - is that a mistake? Can anyone more knowledgeable/experienced suggest some places to look for other funding opportunities?

[Jimbo2]

the NDSEG and EPA STAR are others to look at

[zinde]

Thanks for the suggestions - any insight as to how submitting applications for programs like these would affect admission to the graduate programs themselves?

[guttata]

Thanks for the suggestions - any insight as to how submitting applications for programs like these would affect admission to the graduate programs themselves?

They won't unless you get them. Even if you get them, they still probably won't. Once in a great while I've heard tell of the GRF swinging a waitlisted applicant over to the happy side of the fence or even reversing a rejection. The more likely scenario is that if you're good enough to get the GRF as a first year, you're good enough to get in to a school and it will end up a happy surprise to your PI/dept.