Othello Posted September 30, 2006 Posted September 30, 2006 Seeing how deadlines for the NSF GRFP are coming up in a little over a month, I thought I'd start up a new thread for all who will be applying. I'm way excited about applying, and I hope there are others out there. I finished my personal statement last week, I just completed my previous research experience essay a few minutes ago, the application is almost entirely filled out...but I'm nervous about the research proposal. What will you all be writing about? What's your background? What are some of your stats? How much of the application have you finished? I really want to get a thread going that will rival last years. Surely there are plenty of NSF'ers out there!
Othello Posted October 3, 2006 Author Posted October 3, 2006 Well, Petral, let's hear your story. Are you a senior? Grad student? Applying to any other fellowships? Which schools are you applying to? What are you studying? Any idea what you want to write your proposal about?
Big Baby Jesus Posted October 6, 2006 Posted October 6, 2006 I was planning ahead and wanted to get the essays done this summer. Didn't happen. I'm starting this weekend.
Othello Posted October 18, 2006 Author Posted October 18, 2006 Three weeks until the deadline! Well, for engineering at least. November is coming around much sooner than I thought it would. This proposal is such a pain in the buttocks to write... I truly feel sorry for everyone who applies for this (and puts in the necessary effort) and doesn't get anything out of it. Oh well, the reward is worth it. mmmmm....NSF.....
dwqkim Posted October 30, 2006 Posted October 30, 2006 just submitted mine... pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! big weight off my chest. damn! now that I am done with the nsf application, I am out of steam for my grad school app. :?
Othello Posted November 4, 2006 Author Posted November 4, 2006 I'm sooooo close to finally finishing this thing... A professor is currently checkng out the proposal I wrote, and he'll get that to me on Monday, I'll make any necessary changes before Thursday, and then I will be DONE. Every other segment of the application is ready to be sent off. As much work as graduate school and fellowship applications are, I don't look forward to them all being completed. It'll be really boring the next couple months after they're submitted. It'll just be a lot of waiting and worrying until February comes along.
joninnyc2 Posted November 10, 2006 Posted November 10, 2006 I put in an application last year with no luck -in looking back over my '05 application it turns out that I submitted to a poorly chosen division (I proposed a bioinformatics project for cell biology, but the fellowships coordinator at my school selected my degree program as biophyscs since that's my Ph.D. field and so that's who read my proposal). That caused significant feelings of anger for at least 36 hours since better (read more informative) feedback on the project would have been useful since it's something I'd love to (re)submit to NIH as a real project. I submitted for Nov. 1st (bioengineering), though looking back over my old essays now that the deadline's passed I wish I'd added and discussed some other points a little bit more... c'est la vie. What's your background? What are some of your stats? B.S. Biophysics from State University of New York Research Experience for Undergraduates @ Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo NY Undergrad research with a SUNY Prof. ~3.3 GPA/3.5 GPA w/Transfer Credits ~85% GRE for Quantitative/Verbal Now in Grad School in New York City
cakes Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 i know it's a bit early, but i'm starting to get antsy... this is my second year of my program and my second year applying for the NSF. i got an honorable mention last year, which i think was pretty good considering that i only had 3 letters (and none of those were from my current institution - my adviser really dropped the ball) and had no input from faculty on my application last year. this time around, i have 3 additional significant research experiences, a gpa in my program (i came to this field from another field, so i don't think my old grades counted for much), and much better letters. my GRE scores are now expired, so i did not submit them (but they weren't that great anyway). i also addressed the criticisms in my rating sheets. BUT, i don't have any presentations and i only have one fourth-authored publication... i can't find anything specific on how important publications and presentations are (especially for a second year student, albeit one who finds herself in a new field). i know, though, that they want to see that you have the ability to disseminate research findings and such. this is probably my second greatest concern. my biggest concern is that winners in my field tend to come from a very short list of schools, and my school is not one of those... in summary, i'm probably screwed.
rising_star Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 cakes, don't be negative. p.s. stop cyber-stalking me!
cakes Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 cakes, don't be negative. p.s. stop cyber-stalking me! ay, you! you're right though...i need to be more positive. the rest of my application was kick-ass!
durkheim Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 Last year we were notified on March 30th, meh. I've been trying real hard to not think about it, but damnit, i just can't avoid it. This is my second time applying, got HM last year, and this is my first year in my program. Anyone know if i can apply a third time next fall if I get nothing or HM again?
cakes Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 Last year we were notified on March 30th, meh. I've been trying real hard to not think about it, but damnit, i just can't avoid it. This is my second time applying, got HM last year, and this is my first year in my program. Anyone know if i can apply a third time next fall if I get nothing or HM again? you can apply during your senior year of college, during your first year of grad school, and during your second year. so, yes, you can apply once more. (you can have no more than 12 months of graduate study in your field at time of application, and most schools run for only 9-10 months a year, and only completed study counts, so the fall term of your second year does not count against you) i *think* i know of you from LJ, by the way. are you also applying for the ford foundation?
cakes Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 you can apply during your senior year of college, during your first year of grad school, and during your second year. so, yes, you can apply once more. (you can have no more than 12 months of graduate study in your field at time of application, and most schools run for only 9-10 months a year, and only completed study counts, so the fall term of your second year does not count against you) i *think* i know of you from LJ, by the way. are you also applying for the ford foundation? it gets tricky, though, if you have a master's degree or other previous graduate work after your bachelor's. i have a master's degree, but it is in a different field, so i was still eligible last year and this year (my second year of my phd program). if you can show that you've made a significant change in field or discipline, then you can apply even if you have a master's degree.
durkheim Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 You probably do know who I am. First year at Princeton soc. I decided to not apply for Ford on account of schoolwork. I only applied for an NSF and Javits.
cakes Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 You probably do know who I am. First year at Princeton soc. I decided to not apply for Ford on account of schoolwork. I only applied for an NSF and Javits. that's what i thought (you got in everywhere last year!)... i think we talked a little in the ford foundation forum last year. i applied for the NSF and the ford this year. i think my apps were much improved, but i also feel like it's a bit of a crapshoot. good luck!!
history? Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 This is my first time applying for the NSF. Do they send all the replies at once, or do they start trickling in slowly?
cakes Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 This is my first time applying for the NSF. Do they send all the replies at once, or do they start trickling in slowly? it's all at once. everyone finds out on the same day, via email.
Othello Posted February 23, 2007 Author Posted February 23, 2007 Yeah, NSF gets back to everyone at about the same time. However, looking at the 2006 NSF thread on here, the decision e-mails can be hours apart.
cakes Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Yeah, NSF gets back to everyone at about the same time. However, looking at the 2006 NSF thread on here, the decision e-mails can be hours apart. hi othello. is this your second time applying, too? as for notifications...i can't wait to find out, even though i know it's unlikely that i'll receive an award. i've read that decisions are made in february - i wonder why it takes so long for notifications to be made.
Othello Posted February 23, 2007 Author Posted February 23, 2007 Nah, I'm graduating college in May, so this is my first time. I'm also applying for the NDSEG. I only read through the 2006 NSF thread for educational and entertainment purposes. Do they really make decisions in February? If so, my guess is they rank the applicants now and wait to hand out awards until they know how many applicants they can afford to fund. It's nice to have something to look forward to after most/all school decisions have come out.
cakes Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 everything i've read says that the panelists meet some weekend in february and go through all the apps and make decisions. what you say makes a lot of sense - that they might rank us before the budget is finalized. last year there were less than 1000 awards. i hope this year there are more!
Othello Posted February 23, 2007 Author Posted February 23, 2007 Hopefully the government won't be so stingy this year. Like you said, last year there were 909 awards given out, while 1024 were given our the year prior. Their budget must've taken quite a hit. Ugh, you're starting to get me excited about hearing back as well!
cakes Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 haha, the first sign of obsession is checking numbers and reading old threads!
cakes Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Hopefully the government won't be so stingy this year. Like you said, last year there were 909 awards given out, while 1024 were given our the year prior. Their budget must've taken quite a hit. Ugh, you're starting to get me excited about hearing back as well! it looks like there were fewer applicants, too... http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/activities/co ... GRFcov.pdf
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