SSRC IDRF Notification

[sydneyviscous]

Hello All,

I applied for an International Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Social Sciences Research Council and am interested to hear whether others have received any notification yet. Thanks and good luck to everyone!

[nicknick]

I haven't heard anything yet...in early February, they requested more materials, but nothing since then.

[sydneyviscous]

Same here. I have heard from that others found out they did not receive the fellowship a few weeks ago. I am not certain whether that means anything.

[nicknick]

Well, I just received a rejection letter (snail mail) today.

[qes]

I received a snail-mail rejection 3 or so weeks ago.

[LisaRog]

if you're reapplying for SSRC IDRF in 2009-2010, check out:

I received a snail-mail rejection 3 or so weeks ago.

[LisaRog]

rumours are that the ssrc is asking for transcripts. can folks who applied last year comment as to how this reflects on the selection process?

if you're reapplying for SSRC IDRF in 2009-2010, check out:

[jenali]

they are definitely asking for transcripts. but i'll second the request for info - what % of people get asked? what % of those get money?

rumours are that the ssrc is asking for transcripts. can folks who applied last year comment as to how this reflects on the selection process?

[LisaRog]

jenali: can you elaborate? what kind of information did they request? rumour is that last year almost everyone was asked to submit something around late Jan./early Feb.

But the other rumour is that the selection process may have changed somewhat since last year... any more info you could provide would be helpful.

they are definitely asking for transcripts. but i'll second the request for info - what % of people get asked? what % of those get money?

[jenali]

I know at least one very smart, very competent person, who was not asked for supplementary material last year. I don't know many who applied though...

Full text of email, minus identifying information:

We are contacting you regarding your application to the 2010 International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) program. Please read the following information carefully.

Transcripts

As stated in the program Guidelines, applicants should be prepared to submit official transcripts at the request of the program. We kindly ask that you do so at this time according to the following guidelines:

· Submit one official transcript for each graduate-level institution you have attended. You may submit official transcripts yourself, or request your institution do so. The transcript must arrive in an envelope sealed by the institution from which it is issued.

· Do not send foreign transcripts. If you have earned a graduate degree from a foreign institution, submit a photocopy of your degree certificate. Applicants should provide an English translation, if necessary.

· All transcripts should be sent to the address at the bottom of this email and postmarked by Friday, February 5, 2010.

Sincerely,

IDRF Program

One Pierrepont Plaza, 15^th Floor

Brooklyn, NY 11201

[LisaRog]

email that was fwd to me this morning confirms the following:

"The IDRF review process is ongoing. We will contact applicants directly should we require any supplementary materials."

Can someone interpret what this means?

[jenali]

Well, possibilities:

1) They're requesting extra material because some applications were vague or incomplete.

2) They've weeded out some small number and now want everyone else's stuff.

3) They've weeded out, I don't know, say half, and now they want to use this to help make decisions.

4) They've weeded out a much bigger number and want to make sure that nobody is lying before they give out awards.

Maybe there are other possibilities, but these are the ones I've got off the top of my head.

I suppose someone *could* call and ask about what percentage of people get asked for stuff, and what % get awards, and all of this ... but I suspect that will just piss them off and get no helpful information.

Wait, I think?

email that was fwd to me this morning confirms the following:

"The IDRF review process is ongoing. We will contact applicants directly should we require any supplementary materials."

Can someone interpret what this means?

[jenali]

Or they're requesting on a rolling basis as they get to the apps, in which case it means less than nothing.

[LisaRog]

oh, this wait is so stressful! and now i feel like i've heard so many different theories and explanations... jenali: hopefully the email bodes well for you. and hopefully the lack of an email does not equal complete and utter rejection for me. but either way, let's keep trying to make whatever information comes our way as available and transparent as possible!

[bitingnails]

It's apparent from an earlier post by nicknick that he/she was asked for transcripts and then he/she received a rejection. Unless the review process has changed, it doesn't seem likely that they have already made decisions and are now asking for the transcipts only to verify the truth of things like degrees, dates of attendance of colleges etc. I have also received a request for transcript, but I'm trying very hard not to get my hopes high. Pl keep posting

[LisaRog]

So i just saw this response on one of the funding blogs I check out:

http://ucsdgraduatefunding.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/ssrc-2010-idrf-competition/

It seems like perhaps the emails were more administrative than anything else...

Perhaps someone should give the SSRC a call directly and find out? Or maybe one of our university reps can do so for us? Just a thought.... In the meantime, I'll go back to biting my nails:-)

[ssa2010]

I just called SSRC and asked them whether everyone will need to submit transcripts. The guy (very friendly) said that only some students are asked to, and that it is not indicative of whether you move to the next round. I'm not sure if I believe him- it seems unlikely that they would award a fellowship to a student without having his/her transcript. Perhaps others could call for more info? Specifically, whether awards are ever given out to students who have not been asked to provide transcripts?

So i just saw this response on one of the funding blogs I check out:

http://ucsdgraduatef...rf-competition/

It seems like perhaps the emails were more administrative than anything else...

Perhaps someone should give the SSRC a call directly and find out? Or maybe one of our university reps can do so for us? Just a thought.... In the meantime, I'll go back to biting my nails:-)

[LisaRog]

my dept. secretary seemed to think that they might need it for administrative purposes if some grades were left TBA or incomplete?

I just called SSRC and asked them whether everyone will need to submit transcripts. The guy (very friendly) said that only some students are asked to, and that it is not indicative of whether you move to the next round. I'm not sure if I believe him- it seems unlikely that they would award a fellowship to a student without having his/her transcript. Perhaps others could call for more info? Specifically, whether awards are ever given out to students who have not been asked to provide transcripts?

[Direstraits]

I agree; it seems odd that some would not be required to submit transcripts for information verification while others would if they were in fact still under consideration. I guess they use that same kind of shoot-in-the-dark logic with airport security, though. It also seems to me that if a student were no longer under consideration, he or she should be notified immediately and not strung along.

[bitingnails]

that makes very good sense. I did leave a couple of blanks for grades as they were not in when I applied. And they have asked me for my transcript.

[Direstraits]

On my application, I noticed there were only about 15 slots for classes and grades. I didn't see an option to extend that list, so I filled it out with the most relevant classes only. Did I screw that part up or miss something?

[Direstraits]

On the application, I saw only about 15 slots for classes and grades, so I filled those out with the most relevant coursework. I had more to list. Did I miss some feature that allowed me to add extra courses?

[bitingnails]

On the application, I saw only about 15 slots for classes and grades, so I filled those out with the most relevant coursework. I had more to list. Did I miss some feature that allowed me to add extra courses?

I don't think there was any option to extend the coursework report. They wanted to see only relevant coursework--I had a difficult time filling up the space they provided.

[LisaRog]

i thought there were 16 slots?

in any case, i should clarify that the statement made by my dept. sec was total guess work. who knows what the whole thing really means?

i'm still clueless.

i didn't get an email asking for a transcript, but i did finally call the folks at the ssrc, and apparently i also haven't been eliminated. so, either they were just being super (unnecessarily?) kind, or there's a backstory to transcript request that we don't have.

personally, i don't fully understand the lack of transparency. why not just tell folks why they are asking for the transcripts, what it means, how many people got asked to submit such materials, and what the implications are for the rest of us? this would seem to be a good deal easier than all of the suspense and anxiety that i know i at least am currently feeling :-(

[jenali]

I think -- and maybe this is silly of me -- that none of these folks want to be transparent at all. They don't want us to know too much about the process because they don't want people to game it. That said, I agree with you -- if they can eliminate people already, why not say so?

One thought -- rolling notifications might be more of a pain in the ass administratively than all-at-once notifications.

I think they also don't do real notifications until like April or something. Let's all just hold our breath for a few months? I'm right there with you. At least I now know I didn't get the Fulbright IIE. But there's only like six other things I'm waiting on...

i thought there were 16 slots?

in any case, i should clarify that the statement made by my dept. sec was total guess work. who knows what the whole thing really means?

i'm still clueless.

i didn't get an email asking for a transcript, but i did finally call the folks at the ssrc, and apparently i also haven't been eliminated. so, either they were just being super (unnecessarily?) kind, or there's a backstory to transcript request that we don't have.

personally, i don't fully understand the lack of transparency. why not just tell folks why they are asking for the transcripts, what it means, how many people got asked to submit such materials, and what the implications are for the rest of us? this would seem to be a good deal easier than all of the suspense and anxiety that i know i at least am currently feeling :-(