NSF GRFP 2014-2015

[asteraceae]

Whoa on fastlane this morning I noticed this on education and work experiences. 

 

List teaching and work experiences relevant to your field of study since entering college/university. Experiences do not have to be limited to the academic realm. (Up to but no more than five are recommended.)

 

I have ten listed 5 research and 5 teaching. shit. is everyone sticking to the 5 recommended?

[doyleowl]

Whoa on fastlane this morning I noticed this on education and work experiences. 

 

List teaching and work experiences relevant to your field of study since entering college/university. Experiences do not have to be limited to the academic realm. (Up to but no more than five are recommended.)

 

I have ten listed 5 research and 5 teaching. shit. is everyone sticking to the 5 recommended?

 

That doesn't show up on mine, where does it say this?

[dcloud]

Hello all,

 

I have an urgent question that I am hoping you guys could please answer! I've been trying to secure my last and final third rec for a week now with no freakin' email responses yet! I need to know, with the deadline being tomorrow 8PM EST to submit the application, and the deadline for reference letters to submitted, can we still send out reference requests in the "Manage References" tab AFTER tomorrow's application deadline? Like until the November 6th deadline? 

 

I worked so hard on my essays, as well as my internships I can't believe I can't get a simple reference letter to complete the app.. Especially having already gotten into grad school just fine..

Edited October 29, 2014 by dcloud

[geographyrocks]

Hello all,

 

I have an urgent question that I am hoping you guys could please answer! I've been trying to secure my last and final third rec for a week now with no freakin' email responses yet! I need to know, with the deadline being tomorrow 8PM EST to submit the application, and the deadline for reference letters to submitted, can we still send out reference requests in the "Manage References" tab AFTER tomorrow's application deadline? Like until the November 6th deadline? 

 

I worked so hard on my essays, as well as my internships I can't believe I can't get a simple reference letter to complete the app.. Especially having already gotten into grad school just fine..

Is there someone else who would be willing to submit a letter at the last minute?  I only ask because I emailed a professor several times over the past month with absolutely no response.  Thankfully, I had another professor I could ask.  This would be the safest thing for you to do.  You could rank the new "savior" letter writer as 4th on the NSF website. 

Other options: call them.  If that doesn't work, call the secretary.  Since they're ranked in the top 3 letter writers, if they submit a letter, the reviewers will see that letter instead of the "savior" letter. 

Not being able to get a professor to respond is the worst. 

[dcloud]

Is there someone else who would be willing to submit a letter at the last minute?  I only ask because I emailed a professor several times over the past month with absolutely no response.  Thankfully, I had another professor I could ask.  This would be the safest thing for you to do.  You could rank the new "savior" letter writer as 4th on the NSF website. 

Other options: call them.  If that doesn't work, call the secretary.  Since they're ranked in the top 3 letter writers, if they submit a letter, the reviewers will see that letter instead of the "savior" letter. 

Not being able to get a professor to respond is the worst. 

 

You're right, I should reach out to a different professor. I've sent 3 emails to the same professor over past 2 weeks, with no luck. Same with my first internship.. Both of these provided references for me to get into graduate school, very unfortunate. I was able to get 2 references just fine, but for this third one I may need to start sending out to a bunch of professors.. 

 

Do you happen to know if I can still make new reference requests after the application deadline tomorrow? Like since the letters are due Nov. 6th?

[krizzle]

Where should I list ACM president and leadership activities?

[asteraceae]

That doesn't show up on mine, where does it say this?

It shows up in the education and work experience section of the application under other experience

[RP15]

I didn't stick to the 5 recommended. I put in 6.

 

I think the point was that they recommend inserting five, but if you wish to go beyond that, go ahead...

 

For me, I highly doubt putting 6 will negatively impact me.

 

However, 10 different experiences is pushing it I think. Try choose those that most pertain to their interests

[doyleowl]

It shows up in the education and work experience section of the application under other experience

 

I see where it says to add experiences, but I don't see where there is a limit suggestion. Mine just says this: http://imgur.com/xerZHdo

 

Can someone screen shot it for me? 

[liltove]

I see where it says to add experiences, but I don't see where there is a limit suggestion. Mine just says this: http://imgur.com/xerZHdo

 

Can someone screen shot it for me? 

 

Mine doesn't have a limit suggestion either.

[Chemil5000]

Just turn it  in! Le Done?....... Now we wait (once again!!!!!![?]) =]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]  (double chins)

[lastminutesubmitted]

So, I goofed, had trouble with the pdf verifier thing at the last minute and submitted my application 3 minutes after the deadline . I still got the confirmation email:

 

 

To: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Applicant (xxxxxx)
From: NSF GRFP Admin

We have received your Graduate Research Fellowship application. This is a confirmation
email. If you have any questions, please contact ASEE at info@nsfgrfp.org

Applicant Details
Name: xxxxxx
Email: xxxxxx
Phone: xxxxx
Application received on: Wed Oct 29 20:03:xx EDT 2014

 

Any reason to think they're going to throw my application out for that? And if so, would they tell me?

[Monochrome Spring]

So, I goofed, had trouble with the pdf verifier thing at the last minute and submitted my application 3 minutes after the deadline . I still got the confirmation email:

 

 

Any reason to think they're going to throw my application out for that? And if so, would they tell me?

 

It is after the deadline. I wouldn't be surprised if your application is thrown. It's unfortunate, but that's how NSF works.

[isilya]

Is anybody having problems uploading their transcript pdfs to the website? I can upload other pdfs just fine but it doesn't want to take my transcript

[PhDerp]

Is anybody having problems uploading their transcript pdfs to the website? I can upload other pdfs just fine but it doesn't want to take my transcript

 

It's probably encrypted. That happened with mine.

 

My very quick fix was to screenshot the image of the transcript and submit a PDF of that!

[MathsCray]

Anyone know whether it is true that NSF could review applications submitted within 30 minutes of the deadline? I screwed up and my computer froze at the critical moment, and was wondering if that means death.

[gellert]

For first year grad students, when submitting enrollment verification, is the PDF you can download through the National Student Clearinghouse or from your Registrar's webpage sufficient (when combined with, say, a screenshot of courses from your online student center)?  We don't have unofficial transcripts available at my university.  Guidelines say enrollment verification = okay, and it's best if it shows your courses so the readers can see what you're taking (this verification does not have that information). I'm just not really sure what this entails exactly.

Edited October 31, 2014 by gellert

[Chemil5000]

Webpage is sufficient. I submitted that last year and it was accepted without any problem.

[Munashi]

Gellert - my academic verification is very bare-bones too.  I think it will be okay.

[giants418]

Does anyone know how to resend the email with letter submission instructions (a reminder) through the fastlane system to a reference letter writer, in the past I remember there was an option to do so but I can't find it now. Thanks

[lastminutesubmitted]

Anyone know whether it is true that NSF could review applications submitted within 30 minutes of the deadline? I screwed up and my computer froze at the critical moment, and was wondering if that means death.

I am devastated to report that this is definitively false. My application timestamp was 3 minutes after the deadline, and I got this email this morning:

 

We regret to inform you that the 2015 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Application you submitted was not received before  the  posted deadline and is being returned without review.

According to the 2014 NSF GRFP Program Solicitation (NSF 14-590), which contains the official guidelines for the 2015 competition, applications were required to be submitted electronically via FastLane and received by 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the deadline corresponding with the Primary Field of Study selected in the application. The Solicitation states, "Applications received after the Field of Study deadline date and time will be returned without review."  The deadlines are as follows:

October 29, 2014 – Engineering; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering; Materials Research

October 30, 2014 - Mathematical Sciences; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy

November 3, 2014 - Social Sciences; Psychology; STEM Education and Learning

November 4, 2014 - Life Sciences; Geosciences

The timestamp on your application was after 8:00 p.m.  Eastern Time on the deadline corresponding to the Primary Field of Study listed on your application.

If you have any questions about this notification, please contact us at info@nsfgrfp.org or (866) 673-4737. Please be aware that there is no reconsideration for applications received after the deadline.

Sincerely,

GRF Operations Center

on behalf of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

1818 N Street NW

Suite 600

Washington, DC 20036

Website:

www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/

www.nsfgrfp.org

[Munashi]

I find it amazing that they don't just disable submissions automatically at the deadline... so sorry, dude.  I know a deadline is a deadline, but still - sucks.  :/

[shadowclaw]

A quick question regarding transcripts. I just started working on the online components of the application, and for the transcript information, it says that if I attended more than more undergrad institution, I only need to upload the transcript from the degree-granting institution (as long as transfer credits appear on the transcript). I attended 4 institutions in my quest for an education, and to be quite honest, the transcripts from the three universities that I did not get a degree from are less than stellar.

 

So I am unsure if I should only upload the transcript from the university that I received my degree. My transferred credits do appear on my transcript, but not all credits transferred, so not all of them are listed. The application doesn't say that every credit must be accounted for, just that transferred courses should be listed on the transcript. Since I wasn't a biology major when I attended those other schools, the non-transferred credits aren't even relevant to my degree except for general education credits (which did transfer). Any thoughts? I don't want to misrepresent myself, and I especially don't want to be disqualified down the line for failing to provide required transcripts.

[Merohedral]

I don't think you need to upload all your transcripts. I attended two undergraduate institutions, but what I did at the other institution had nothing to do with science, so I'm not uploading the transcript I got from there.

 

What I did instead was that I added the name of the institution on the list of past experiences. If the transcript that you're uploading shows a full curriculum, with a number of credits that would be expected for an undergrad, I think that is good enough.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Merohedral

[Merohedral]

I have a question concerning the personal statement. How connected do outreach activities need to be?

 

I can list four volunteering activities that I did, but in each one of them I did something different. Each activity is unrelated to the other. Is it good enough to just describe each activity, one per paragraph, and then use the rest of the essay to explain my past research experience?

 

Thank you!