i.am.me Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 (edited) LOL I just got my letter too! Well...next year Ford, next year. We can ask for feedback, right? Now I must wait for my next fellowship news. Edited March 24, 2014 by i.am.me
rubethecube Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Just got my letter as well, Honorable Mention. Also my labmate did, he got on the alternates list. Good luck to all for this and future fellowships!
jadansan Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Just got my letter as well, Honorable Mention. Also my labmate did, he got on the alternates list. Good luck to all for this and future fellowships! Out of curiosity, was your labmate on the HM list, too?
rubethecube Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Out of curiosity, was your labmate on the HM list, too? Yep, they said they'd notify him within a month if he was upgraded to Fellow.
deltavenus Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Damn, I can't help but wonder if I'm cut out for a successful career in academia if couldn't even swing an HM...I imagine this competition is nothing compared to the job market. I may need to step my game up
sassy_grad_24 Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Damn, I can't help but wonder if I'm cut out for a successful career in academia if couldn't even swing an HM...I imagine this competition is nothing compared to the job market. I may need to step my game up You can't base your potential to contribute on contests like these. I know it feels bad (even terrible). I've been rejected and then on waiting lists and gotten nothing plenty of times, a couple of times from Ford. Academia is "NO" nine times out of ten when you think of conferences, publications, funding and then the market. This one didn't work out so we prep and improve the next one. Regional contests and even those at your own institution may rank you first place with the same application. Take a day to be sad, peruse your alumni association's job listings for jobs outside academia, join Versatile PhD, vent anonymously on GradCafe... But remember that this career path is not the only option. AND you don't need to win a Ford to do well here. Let it out. Then, chin up and onward. i.am.me and Humanenvironment 2
i.am.me Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 (edited) Werd. Stay positive! Saw the email, told my friends, then sent an email to Ford requesting feedback. Put it back on my list of Fellowships and Scholarships with some thoughts on what I might do to improve my application for next year. Maybe you should talk to your advisor if you still feel down. You know...we can't know how often the winners have faced the same thing...actually, I looked at some of the people on the lists, lots of repeat applicants who tried and tried again. Some never got the predoctoral but then got the dissertation, and then some got both lol the predoctoral awardee that gave me tips on my application said they got nothing the first time, and then got the award the second time <-- if i'm lucky, I could be like that, but if I'm not I'd still be me :-D doing good things in my field. Edited March 24, 2014 by i.am.me
EngiNerd-12 Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 We're all smart and we don't need fellowship committee members to determine that for us. The fact that we are choosing to go down this path, facing all its challenges and aiming to contribute something to this world says a lot. I didn't get the Ford either, but I just went on a quick run to clear up my thoughts and relax. As everyone said, take the time to be sad ... maybe do something that can help clear up your thoughts as well. Then just got back to your lab/office with a bright positive attitude since now you're one step ahead in your PhD (rejections are a major part of this journey and simply mean that we are trying our best and not slacking). :-)
Hopeful0914 Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 I got my reflection letter for the Predoc around 4:30 today. I'm not disappointed just ready to try again next round. Many people don't apply to PhD programs, let alone get accepted, nor have the opportunity to apply for Ford Fellowships. So this is not a set back but a set up for something greater! Congrats to everyone! A scholar from my university was awarded and I'm very proud!
sassy_grad_24 Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Alright so I'm listed as an alternate. This just made me laugh. (Always a bridesmaid...never a bride.) At best, it means my other applications have a strong chance of winning because the pool of applicants is much smaller than for the Ford. I'm not jaded and I know no one ever declines these so I lived through another cycle and I'll see y'all next year! Don't forget to message your committee and letter writers to tell them the status of your app and to thank them for supporting you. (even if you were declined). Also, write into the National Academies and ask for the application feedback. It'll have comments and checkmarks from the 2 or 3 reviewers who read your app about its strengths and weaknesses. Feedback takes about 3 months to get back to you. Best of luck to everyone!
i.am.me Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Dang...3 months? Well some feedback is better than no feedback, I guess. I wish they'd update the lists quicker so I can congratulate the winners from my school that I know (and ask to see their applications LOL)...or keep quiet.
praxismakesperfect Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 Who exactly should I contact in order to get feedback? The letter doesn't state that information.
i.am.me Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 (edited) I just sent an email to the common address : infofell@nas.edu The other email address that was used to send to us, I think, re-routes to that one. Hopefully, someone who has gotten feedback before can offer insight. Edited March 25, 2014 by i.am.me
sassy_grad_24 Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 I just sent an email to the common address : infofell@nas.edu The other email address that was used to send to us, I think, re-routes to that one. Hopefully, someone who has gotten feedback before can offer insight. That's the right email to use to ask for feedback.
jadansan Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Notified of alternate status for dissertation fellowship on March 24. For other alternates: what field are you in?
Anthro14 Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) got my email with reviewers' comments today...well there actually were not any comments as they just show how they score you on different sections with tick-marks. Overall I got all "Excellents" and "Very Goods".with only one seemingly strange anomaly- 1 reviewer giving me a "Poor" for Publications while the other 2 gave me a "Very Good" for Publications. Weird. Wonder what that reviewer's issue was. I wish they actually filled out the "additional comments" section. Ah well. Edited April 1, 2014 by Anthro14
i.am.me Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 got my email with reviewers' comments today...well there actually were not any comments as they just show how they score you on different sections with tick-marks. Overall I got all "Excellents" and "Very Goods".with only one seemingly strange anomaly- 1 reviewer giving me a "Poor" for Publications while the other 2 gave me a "Very Good" for Publications. Weird. Wonder what that reviewer's issue was. I wish they actually filled out the "additional comments" section. Ah well. Oh, well. With a check mark review - no wonder why it got back so quickly. How can someone give a "poor" for publications? Don't you either have them or not?
Anthro14 Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 Nope. No Honorable Mention. I imagine you can't get it if you have even 1 Poor. So I went from being an Alternate last year to nothing this year! haha. Oh well. Exactly i.am.me. And I have 2 peer-reviewed publications, 3 online publications, and several book reviews to my credit. Would be a shame if that reviewer just missed that page on my application...
briepea Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 Does anyone know for sure whether you can accept both an NSF and a Ford predoc fellowship? (I'm a Ford alternate, so I'm desperately hoping the answer is 'no' now that NSF decisions have come out...)
jcdes Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 Does anyone know for sure whether you can accept both an NSF and a Ford predoc fellowship? (I'm a Ford alternate, so I'm desperately hoping the answer is 'no' now that NSF decisions have come out...) I'm trying to figure this out now...except I'm hoping the answer is yes.
i.am.me Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 For the NSF and Ford - I believe, you must be tenured for the Ford in the first year, but for the NSF - not sure. I read somewhere you'd have to stagger the awards so they do not overlap in order to receive both. I just got my comments back - for the publications I have one good and one poor - that is weird because I don't have a single publication to my name. LOL
EngiNerd-12 Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 I just got my review back for the Ford.. all Excellent and only a few Very Good. Only 1 reviewer gave me a Fair review for increasing diversity whereas the other 2 gave me Excellent for that. Especially strange considering I'm already on a Diversity Fellowship. Oh well. Hard to predict these things. A little bummed, but that's life.
briepea Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 I'm trying to figure this out now...except I'm hoping the answer is yes. I'd love to hear the answer once you do get it sorted out!
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