NSF GRFP review question

[mtlve]

I am a prior applicant, and I am trying to figure out if I should reapply (in molecular/cell bio). Reviewer 1 gave me both excellents and reviewer 2 gave me very good and fair. I did not receive a 3rd review so I did not make the 1st cut. My reviewer comments over the last two years were not very helpful. I am trying to figure out if I am even competitive (was my 2nd try) or if I was on the border of making the 1st cut.

I think the most recent "fair" was due to my poorly written proposal (there were problems if you are familar with this area). This can be fixed this year, so I am tempted to try again. However, I do not want to spend time doing this if I am not even competitive in the application pool. I tried to get info from NSF GRFP and they werent much help.

Anyways, has anyone receive all excellents and very goods but did not make the 1st cut (have only 2 reviews)? Did anyone make the 1st cut with excellent/excellent and very good/good? Again I am trying to figure out what the 'cut off' was to make the 1st round and if I was close to this. (I know that word ratings arent an accurate way to figure out where I stand but it is all I have).

Thanks

[cleff]

I am a prior applicant, and I am trying to figure out if I should reapply (in molecular/cell bio). Reviewer 1 gave me both excellents and reviewer 2 gave me very good and fair. I did not receive a 3rd review so I did not make the 1st cut. My reviewer comments over the last two years were not very helpful. I am trying to figure out if I am even competitive (was my 2nd try) or if I was on the border of making the 1st cut.

I think the most recent "fair" was due to my poorly written proposal (there were problems if you are familar with this area). This can be fixed this year, so I am tempted to try again. However, I do not want to spend time doing this if I am not even competitive in the application pool. I tried to get info from NSF GRFP and they werent much help.

Anyways, has anyone receive all excellents and very goods but did not make the 1st cut (have only 2 reviews)? Did anyone make the 1st cut with excellent/excellent and very good/good? Again I am trying to figure out what the 'cut off' was to make the 1st round and if I was close to this. (I know that word ratings arent an accurate way to figure out where I stand but it is all I have).

Thanks

I somehow managed to get one...

VG/E

VG/E

VG/G

They seemed to have liked my variety of experience, though I've always thought of it as "Jack of all trades and master of none"... Very divergent opinions on my Broader Impacts too...

And I think a secret numerical score is likely, because I saw my "estimated percentile rank" when I went to my rating sheets, which wouldn't make sense just based on the 3-level ratings.

[zilch]

I got an honorable mention,

ratings

VG/E

VG/VG

E/E

I do agree that the comments were not helpful. All the reviewers seemed to like what they called my 'entrepreneurial spirit'.

It's definitely worth trying again. The previous experience and personal statements are pretty much recyclable and it doesn't really cost you anything. It's also an excuse to ask professors for their insights on how to write good research plans and what not and this can only help you.

[kdilks]

You can't really tell how close you were just by looking at your scores. Your scores are only compared to those of other people who had the same reviewer. Getting a "Good" from a tough reviewer might be better than a "Very Good" from a more lenient reviewer. Not to mention all of the other aspects of the application package. All you can do is look at their comments, make changes to your essays where you see fit, and hope for the best the next time around.

[zilch]

based on the program announcement, it says that each reviewer makes a recommendation on each application that they review and all of those are sent to the lead reviewer for that area who then makes another recommendation on the app and sends it on (this may explain why it takes so bloody long).

the scores may not tell you exactly how close you were but they may tell you where you were considered weak (in intellectual merit or broader impact). It looks like your second reviewer thought that your broader impact was not as strong.

And I guess this falls under general advice, one of the professors in my department who has reviewed applications for this program did a workshop and made a few comments that I thought I'd share. 1) When the review process happens, all the reviewers are apparently called to a hotel in the middle of nowhere (so they'd have nothing better to do than review apps) and they spend a few days just reading the applications that they are assigned. If your essays have a grammatical mistake or something that's worded oddly, snarky comments will fly. Although it's understandable considering they've been doing nothing but reading for a good bit, this hurts your app a lot more than it should. 2) Along the same lines, be concise, giving them more pages to read without the substance to back it is just going to annoy them. If you can't fill 2 pages, just leave it, don't try to fluff it up (none of my essays last year were pushing on the limit, one of them of just a page).