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NSF GRFP 2016


sierra918

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11 minutes ago, kjc said:

I think my research proposal was quite good... but my personal history/relevant background statement was horrendous. I absolutely cannot write about myself. Oh well! 

Mine is the opposite.  I put a lot of time into polishing my personal history and relevant background statement but very little time into my research proposal.  The research I have done in my undergrad is unrelated to what I want to do in grad school so I was not sure what to write on.  Next year after I have started my grad research I can write a better proposal since I will likely not get it this time around.  

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6 minutes ago, iChris93 said:

Mine is the opposite.  I put a lot of time into polishing my personal history and relevant background statement but very little time into my research proposal.  The research I have done in my undergrad is unrelated to what I want to do in grad school so I was not sure what to write on.  Next year after I have started my grad research I can write a better proposal since I will likely not get it this time around.  

That's my thought, too. My proposal was also unrelated to my undergrad research and more to what I want to do as a grad student, though I did base it off of an REU I did last summer. But I do have a strong research background so writing the relevant background is my only hope... that, and being a female in physics :D

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2 hours ago, pali123 said:

Do you guys know if they give more than one award per undergraduate department? I know I am competing with a lot of really good people in my class (around 80) in biomedical engineering. It would suck if only one person is able to get the award!

NSF does try to diversify their fellows between undergrad institutions. However, this is done after they skim off the tippity top people who often come from the same, strong programs. They can award multiple fellowship to a single undergraduate program. If the past is any indication, it will still only be a handful. As one professor has pointed out here, last year there were 37 fellows from all Cal State schools. There were also 37 fellows from Harvard. Cal States total enrollment is nearly 400,000 and Harvard's is 6700. If you go to a stellar program with other very talented people, it likely will not hurt your chances.

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5 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

That's my thought, too. My proposal was also unrelated to my undergrad research and more to what I want to do as a grad student, though I did base it off of an REU I did last summer. But I do have a strong research background so writing the relevant background is my only hope... that, and being a female in physics :D

I also have a strong research background so writing the relevant background is my only hope too!  Not a female! :( haha

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4 minutes ago, mobilehobo said:

NSF does try to diversify their fellows between undergrad institutions. However, this is done after they skim off the tippity top people who often come from the same, strong programs. They can award multiple fellowship to a single undergraduate program. If the past is any indication, it will still only be a handful. As one professor has pointed out here, last year there were 37 fellows from all Cal State schools. There were also 37 fellows from Harvard. Cal States total enrollment is nearly 400,000 and Harvard's is 6700. If you go to a stellar program with other very talented people, it likely will not hurt your chances.

I wonder how many people applied from my undergraduate institution.  I do not know anyone else in EE applying for a PhD program, at least no one in my senior design course is.  Maybe that will help my chances. 

Edited by iChris93
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Of those that applied as undergraduates/no graduate study, will getting the GRFP change where you choose to go to graduate school? 

I am deciding between two places, but the funding and moving considerations are definitely better at one. If I got the GRFP, I may choose the other university. 

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1 minute ago, Eillac said:

Of those that applied as undergraduates/no graduate study, will getting the GRFP change where you choose to go to graduate school? 

I am deciding between two places, but the funding and moving considerations are definitely better at one. If I got the GRFP, I may choose the other university. 

I ultimately chose the school that I stated in the application materials (because I received funding there), but being awarded one would have affected my decision, definitely.

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2 minutes ago, Eillac said:

Of those that applied as undergraduates/no graduate study, will getting the GRFP change where you choose to go to graduate school? 

I am deciding between two places, but the funding and moving considerations are definitely better at one. If I got the GRFP, I may choose the other university. 

Well, I applied with a proposal related to a project at the school I ended up accepting :) 

It would be great to win it (but definitely not holding my breath, lol)

So no for me :)

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1 hour ago, TongueSten said:

Just to chime in, I was at a meeting in February and I spoke to a rep for the GRFP. When I mentioned that I had applied and how anxious I was about hearing back in April they said the results would most likely be out by the end of March. 

They may simply have been trying to make me feel better. How futile! 

Excellent!

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1 hour ago, iChris93 said:

I wonder how many people applied from my undergraduate institution.  I do not know anyone else in EE applying for a PhD program, at least no one in my senior design course is.  Maybe that will help my chances. 

I don't know about you, but a couple stouts can put me out like a light. That's my plan (but I doubt it'll work). 

EDIT: woops, quoted wrong comment here. Meant to respond to @Humulus_lupulus above me.  

 

Edited by commodork
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2 hours ago, EA76 said:

Does anyone know anything about how difficult it is to change schools— i.e. to attend a different program than your proposed one (for those of us applying before beginning PhDs)? I notice few people on the results list seem to have switched programs, but I would want to given what I've learned about different programs I'm considering.

(Not to get ahead of myself—I'd have to win first, but it's something I was wondering about...)

I'm going to say it's not an issue on their end at all.

My current mentor applied to work on a project at one school, and after he won got flown out and wooed by another program. He ended up going with the second program, and he says it wasn't a problem with the NSF.

On the other hand it might be slightly awkward if the potential advisor for the project / program you applied with gave you significant help or input, but, even so, you have no true obligation to stay with that program. The GRFP is made to fund the person, not the project, and you can take that funding wherever you want to! 

Hope that helps and good luck! :) 

Edited by JMcArca
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4 minutes ago, jh689 said:

Hops are a sleep aid, so go IPA. 

This is a good suggestion, and it helps that a lot of IPAs are fairly high point beers, too.

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2 minutes ago, Neist said:

This is a good suggestion, and it helps that a lot of IPAs are fairly high point beers, too.

Personally, I've been obsessed with Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA lately, if you're looking for a great IPA with a highish ABV. 

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For what it's worth on the "Received" vs. "Reviewed" status change, I shopped it around the Anthropology forum and so far I've had one response, from a previous winner, who said that his/her status did NOT change before their award was announced.

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Just now, FaultyPowers said:

For what it's worth on the "Received" vs. "Reviewed" status change, I shopped it around the Anthropology forum and so far I've had one response, from a previous winner, who said that his/her status did NOT change before their award was announced.

I was thinking about it and it seems like maybe not changing could be a good sign, since the bottom tier of applications don't get a third reviewer  and so would be done sooner?

Realistically, I'm sure it either doesn't mean anything or was just a reddit troll, but I'm just telling myself these things to make it to 6AM at this point. 

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2 minutes ago, FaultyPowers said:

For what it's worth on the "Received" vs. "Reviewed" status change, I shopped it around the Anthropology forum and so far I've had one response, from a previous winner, who said that his/her status did NOT change before their award was announced.

Awesome, thanks for investigating :)

 

15 minutes ago, jh689 said:

Hops are a sleep aid, so go IPA. 

Thank you for telling me this. How convenient -- I just bought some harpoon IPA this weekend...! 

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Just now, commodork said:

I was thinking about it and it seems like maybe not changing could be a good sign, since the bottom tier of applications don't get a third reviewer  and so would be done sooner?

Realistically, I'm sure it either doesn't mean anything or was just a reddit troll, but I'm just telling myself these things to make it to 6AM at this point. 

This. I LIKE this. And so far we can make the theory fit the data! Let it be so!

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6 minutes ago, FaultyPowers said:

This. I LIKE this. And so far we can make the theory fit the data! Let it be so!

tzXkXxR.png

Brownie points if someone knows which movie this is from.

 

12 minutes ago, commodork said:

Personally, I've been obsessed with Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA lately, if you're looking for a great IPA with a highish ABV. 

I've really been enjoying Coop F5. It's probably geographically specific to Oklahoma, but it's super hoppy and delicious.

http://coopaleworks.com/beers/f5-ipa/

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I did a little research, and I appears that prior to 2014, the scheduled maintenance announcement was posted the day before...so, Monday for Tuesday award notices or Thursday for Friday award notices.

Edited by sierra918
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2 minutes ago, kafcat said:

Wait so it is for reals coming put tomorrow??? ?

We can't be certain, but this same thing happened last year, and the predictions were accurate. I'd bet the results will be out tonight/tomorrow morning.

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