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Posted

Just to clarify as a few people have mentioned it, you cannot be bumped up from HM to full award, even if someone doesnt accept. Results are final

 

Is there a waiting list for GRFP awards, and if so, how can I be placed on the waiting list?

There is no waiting list for GRFP awards. However, if awardees decline their offers and funds are available, NSF may offer awards to honorable mentions. Any such decisions are based on the submitted applications, and no further information is required from applicants.

Posted

 

Is there a waiting list for GRFP awards, and if so, how can I be placed on the waiting list?

There is no waiting list for GRFP awards. However, if awardees decline their offers and funds are available, NSF may offer awards to honorable mentions. Any such decisions are based on the submitted applications, and no further information is required from applicants.

 

I stand corrected. But "may" is still a key word

Posted

You can be bumped up. I personally know 2 HM awarded later the last 2 years. The chance is very slim, however. I heard that within the HM list theres even more ranking so that they get bumped up as some awardees decline this fellowship for DOE CSGF or other fellowships.

Posted

Congrats to everyone who got it and my condolences to those who don't. I give the senior undergrads and first years among you a lot of credit- I wouldn't have even known where to start!

That being said, see you all on next years thread! Cue anxiety.

Posted

Congrats to all of the other winners! I was surprised to be awarded one as a graduating senior this year with three E/E ratings. Applying for this scholarship landed me in therapy because I was so stressed out, but I'm glad it worked out in the end. :)

Posted

Got the award, even though I didn't even get honorable mention the last two times!  2nd year computer science, my reviews were E/E, VG/VG, E/E.

 

For those of you confused about your scores, I think there are a few things to keep in mind.  First, the raw scores the reviewers give are a bit more fine-grained than what we see, and are on a scale of 1-50 where E corresponds to 40-50 and VG is 30-39 or something like that.  So the average of two E's might actually be less than the average of an E and a VG, depending on where in those ranges the E and VG are.  And then scores are normalized for each reviewer, that way you don't get penalized for having a harsh reviewer.  Though something's definitely wrong when someone with all E's only gets honorable mention.

Posted

E/E E/E E/E. Awarded! Congratulations to all of the other winners and best of luck to everyone who didn't get it this go-round!

First year grad student. Undergrad GPA was low, but publications and strong BI saved the day. Keep up the great work, everyone!

Posted

Did those who won draft research proposals alone or with the help of an advisor? Wondering how to approach next year. Since I've been out of school for three years I did this year without any help, which apparently didn't work out too well.

Posted

Did those who won draft research proposals alone or with the help of an advisor? Wondering how to approach next year. Since I've been out of school for three years I did this year without any help, which apparently didn't work out too well.

I had my proposals reviewed by anyone that would read them. All of the content and writing was my own, but the reviews really helped to refine the content and wording.

Posted (edited)

E/VG F/G E/E

 

Two of the reviewers wanted the experiments to be a little more developed (which I agree with, hard to do in such limited space however) and one of the reviewers knocked me on my broader impacts for neglecting to mention what types of outreach I would CONTINUE to do if given the fellowship. Interesting. I was also knocked for not having any publications.

 

All in all the feedback was super helpful and I'm feeling pretty good about applying next year.  :)

Edited by hippocamper
Posted

Honorable Mention with VG/G, E/E, VG/E

It was my last time to apply, but I think I'm more competitive for NDSEG anyway (my research seems more aligned with what they like).

Good job everyone!

Posted

No Award: G/E, G/E, G/VG

 

Looks like I'm a good citizen with awesome broader impacts but am not super impressive intellectually. :(

 

My undergrad GPA was average and my research proposal could have used some more development in retrospect. The feedback I got was very helpful though so maybe I can get a paper out or get to a few more conferences or something to convince them that I'm smart and win it next year.

Posted

Senior undergrad, no award. VG/G, VG/G, E/E (didn't get any help with the application)

I was told I should have talked about the 'broader impact of [my] participation as a women in science and as a potential mentor of students from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds'... which is a bit of a turn off :/ At least the other criticism was more constructive.

Posted

I don't know how to feel about my application. E/E, E/E, G/F. I'm proud of having impressed two reviewers, but it seems like the last reviewer didn't like my research proposal very much and completely missed my broader impacts discussion. I'm disappointed, but I'll get it next year (knock, knock, knock on wood)!

Posted

Did those who won draft research proposals alone or with the help of an advisor? Wondering how to approach next year. Since I've been out of school for three years I did this year without any help, which apparently didn't work out too well.

I had mine reviewed by professors and grad students who had won the NSF in the past. My first draft definitely wouldn't have been good enough to win.

Posted

Didn't get it, but congrats to those who did! VG/G, VG/VG, G/P.

 

The main comments I got were that I had a really interesting proposal but that I didn't make it clear how my specific program will help me achieve success. I am a first year in my program and the app was due only 4 weeks into my program so I had LOR from my undergrad institution. I'll definitely be back next year with a beefed up application and new LOR.

Posted

Anyone got tips on how to go from honorable mention to awardee? Only one of my reviewers really provided useful feedback. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about letter writers next year since I will be a first year grad student. 

Posted (edited)

Anyone got tips on how to go from honorable mention to awardee? Only one of my reviewers really provided useful feedback. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about letter writers next year since I will be a first year grad student. 

 

That was my situation.  

 

Some of the feedback reviewers give isn't necessarily applicable to your research, bc sometimes they misinterpret things -- which is what happened to me on the HM round.  So this time around I was careful to adjust my phrasing to make the design of my study more obvious.  

 

I also recommend keeping in mind that next year you will be competing against other first year grad students, whereas this year you were competing against other seniors.  So your application should be commensurately improved.  Develop your future directions further, come up with a new way to analyze the data that could generate novel predictions in itself, catch up on how the literature has developed and see if there are any interesting findings that change your proposed project in any way.  But the good news is, HM is a winner without funding.  You already had a really amazing proposal, and the only thing that held you back was the limited funds for awards.  You're on the right track, so just keep building that momentum.

 

I also suggest having a former NSF awardee read your application and give feedback; I found that invaluable, myself.  Good luck next year!

 

eta: As far as letter-writers go, your grad school adviser will be one.  You should probably have a second letter also be from someone at your graduate institution.  Third can be from undergrad.  You will meet people when you get there who can fill this role!

Edited by gellert
Posted

I applied last year as a senior and got HM with very little feedback. Took all that feedback, improved my application, and applied this year as a first year graduate student and got VG/G, G/G, G/F--not recommended. A lot more feedback this year but, of course, it would have been more helpful if I had gotten it last year...

 

The things that really bothered me is that they weren't really all that negative but I was still scored poorly. Also, they seemed fixated on the fact that I didn't have a single publication despite having multiple (10) local, national, and international conference presentations, and a publication in progress. My research plan wasn't really "specific" with methods, which I guess I do see, but at the same time, I came to a totally new field and new university so I had a big learning curve to take care of (something that someone who knows senior year exactly what he/she is doing for research who is not switching universities or programs does not have to go through).

 

I'll come at it from a different angle next year and hope for the best. In all, I think I have a plan to work with based on the feedback I got. So...maybe next year.

 

Congratulations to everyone who got the award! Maybe we could start a thread with advice you have about improving applications.

Posted

Awarded! So excited! Senior undergrad. VG/VG, E/VG, VG/VG.

 

Lots of positive comments. Very few negatives.

 

I'm kind of surprised that I was an awardee even though my assessments weren't nearly as high as so many other awardees or even some HM's. Any ideas about why that may be? Compared to my peers in my field? Compared to my peers who are senior undergrads? Why might I have earned an award with so few E's? Not that I'm complaining! (I am pretty certain that my reference letters were exceptional. Did that give me the leg up that I needed?)

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