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NSF GRFP 2016


sierra918

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38 minutes ago, jh689 said:

No real new info but:

I called them just in case and they just said "around early April". I asked is that just based on the official line (but more nicely) and they said "basically that's the only information I can give you".

Overanalyze away. It's around early April now, but so is the 10th... I'll be awake at 5:55 whether I want to or not.

I figured they couldn't give specifics. Thanks for calling though! I'm thinking it'll be tonight. Then again, I've been wrong before ?

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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!

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22 minutes ago, CogPsych2015 said:

What about the fourth? "Pretending you weren't as emotionally invested in this application as you really were post-rejection"

I'm glad others do this... tomorrow I'll be all like "yeah, I knew I wasn't going to win anyway, but just applied for the hell of it... I didn't even know when they were sending out results! haha! :D"

5 minutes 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!

Yes. I know the university near me (University of Illinois) usually has a couple of winners in pure physics some years... no worries!

 

Also, I'm with the group who is just going to hear in the morning. I'll wake up a few hours early though, check my e-mail, and then when I'm rejected I can just go back to sleep for a few depressing more hours. 

Edited by Pink Fuzzy Bunny
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1 hour ago, Extra Espresso said:

Holy crap, will it be tonight?!?!? I had myself mentally prepared for Friday, and now I don't know what to do.... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! That's 5 AM my time. Do I pull an all-nighter or set an incredibly early alarm?

Also, my status also says "received." One more piece of evidence for the Troll Theory. 

Mine also still says received! troll theory for the win. So we think it'll come out basically at 6 am today? AHHH 

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Just chiming in: mine still says "received", as opposed to "reviewed", also. 

I'm going to agree with the troll theory and with whoever said that they refuse to believe that no one on this entire forum received the award. Certainly at least a handful will win it, but all the statuses (of people who have posted here) are still "received".

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Glad to see the consensus is that the received/reviewed thing is bunk. (Though I can't believe reddit would lie to me! So betrayed! /s) 

Who knows if it'll come out tonight, but I def can't stay up until 6 am... 3 was pushing it, but this is past my limit! Good luck to everyone, especially those of you with enough resolve to stay up waiting for it. :)

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20 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Also, I'm with the group who is just going to hear in the morning. I'll wake up a few hours early though, check my e-mail, and then when I'm rejected I can just go back to sleep for a few depressing more hours. 

After some thought, I think I'm going to do my best to sleep through it. Though I am on the west coast so if I happen to wake up at 3am to pee... I just might have to check! 

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47 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I'm glad others do this... tomorrow I'll be all like "yeah, I knew I wasn't going to win anyway, but just applied for the hell of it... I didn't even know when they were sending out results! haha! :D"

Well, considering there's usually only around 2-4 awardees in history of science, I think the odds are fairly well stacked against me. :D I've more or less assumed I won't get one.

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1 minute ago, Neist said:

Well, considering there's usually only around 2-4 awardees in history of science, I think the odds are fairly well stacked against me. :D I've more or less assumed I won't get one.

Our odds are (supposedly) equal, as they are supposed to be proportional to the number of applicants within each subfield... but since those odds are so poor for any one person in particular, we're all equally likely to not get it, so at least we can all commiserate about our chances? :) 2 - 4 humans does sound worse than 12 to 14 though... but imagine if you get it, you'd know you're within the top 2-4 humans in your field* (*who applied to NSF this year), much more impressive than top 15! So, there's a small silver lining on the just-in-case-you-get-it side of things! And, if you don't get it, you can continue to believe you're still number 3 (to 5) rather than being somewhere top 20 or further... Okay, I think this tangent means I'm officially in freak-out levels of anticipation.

Anyone ever wonder if the NSF folks read this stuff for giggles on their lunch breaks? I would... lol 

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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! 

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4 minutes ago, CaffeinatedCognition said:

Our odds are (supposedly) equal, as they are supposed to be proportional to the number of applicants within each subfield... but since those odds are so poor for any one person in particular, we're all equally likely to not get it, so at least we can all commiserate about our chances? :) 2 - 4 humans does sound worse than 12 to 14 though... but imagine if you get it, you'd know you're within the top 2-4 humans in your field* (*who applied to NSF this year), much more impressive than top 15! So, there's a small silver lining on the just-in-case-you-get-it side of things! And, if you don't get it, you can continue to believe you're still number 3 (to 5) rather than being somewhere top 20 or further... Okay, I think this tangent means I'm officially in freak-out levels of anticipation.

Anyone ever wonder if the NSF folks read this stuff for giggles on their lunch breaks? I would... lol 

You make good points. :) 

Honestly, I think my research proposal was incredibly polished, considered, and holds high potential, but I'm afraid that it's not something that is considered topically important right now. If I get a cranky reviewer who thinks my ideas are stupid, I'm doomed. Although, it is a DH project. The digital humanities-esque part of it probably ups its appeal a measure. DH projects seem to do well with grants.

Edited by Neist
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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...)

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Just now, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Troll theory is that whoever posts that their NSF application is listed as "reviewed" and not "received" is just trolling :P

Thanks. Could be an honest mistake. Received -> Reviewed is only a couple of letters changed..

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18 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

My research proposal was complete and utter bullshit, and they'll know it. Woo! :D

Well, at least you're self-aware. :D 

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12 minutes ago, Neist said:

Well, at least you're self-aware. :D 

Yeah, plus I applied to the wrong subfield (physics, instead of biological physics, which is what my proposal was for). I swear if I get this award, I will really question the judgement of the NSF...

 

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31 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

My research proposal was complete and utter bullshit, and they'll know it. Woo! :D

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! 

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32 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

My research proposal was complete and utter bullshit, and they'll know it. Woo! :D

I feel the same. It's also not really what I am wanting to work on in grad school, but it was based on my undergraduate research. That was simpler for me in the midst of the crazy grad school application season. 

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10 minutes ago, Extra Espresso said:

I feel the same. It's also not really what I am wanting to work on in grad school, but it was based on my undergraduate research. That was simpler for me in the midst of the crazy grad school application season. 

Mine actually directly parallels the research I'd like to do in graduate school. In fact, the proposal wouldn't be a terrible dissertation proposal. 

I've been lucky in that my interests have been continually nurtured as I've finished my undergraduate degree. My senior capstone paper is probably a good third of what my masters thesis will be, and my statement of purpose for the program I'm going to attend stated as much.

I still don't think I have much of a chance, but I do think I'm far more focused than most of my peers (e.g., those who are still undergraduates). I hope I have better odds than the 10% anyway.

Edit: Aw man, I reread my personal statement. I typoed "if" as "f" in my last sentence. Oh well. :D 

Edited by Neist
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