NSF GRFP 2009-2010

[AKJen]

Anyone know if percentiles are available anywhere? I've got my ratings sheets, but a few other places have mentioned this percentile.

I'll be attending my first year in the fall, so I'm really excited to have gotten one. My undergrad GPA was 3.72, GRE 770Q, 640V; NSF REU and 3 years of research experience as a co-investigator on NIH grant. No publications, but 9 presentations at national conferences (mostly healthcare related).

Ratings were E/E, E/E, E/E.

I think my success is mostly related to the last three years of proposal and grant report writing. Well, that and I've been working in a Native community for many years and my proposal continues that work.

[Goosefoot]

Rejected with 2 reviews (IM/BI): G/VG and VG/G. I guess I am not surprised but the rating sheets were pretty much worthless. Both parroted exactly what I had written (i.e. "Applicant proposes to do X, Y and Z" with one comment at the end - yes, I know what I proposed.) At least I know they read my proposal, and none were hostile, but Dr. G/VG gave only a dismissive throwaway line not addressing the research at all. Both acknowledged that my grasp of literature, research design, experience presenting research to academic and non-academic audiences, and record of outreach and education were "feasible", "potentially quite valuable", "a demonstrated record of success" etc. Publishing in the first two years is not standard in my field, but my conference presentations were commented upon. Due to the lack of helpful comments, I still have no idea what I did wrong, but reading the other winners/honorable mentions in my discipline, I think I just work on the wrong topic (I know others have mentioned this, too.)

This was a nice kick in the nuts to wake up to, but I feel slightly better reading these:

http://www.nsfgrfp.org/about_the_program/publications_about_the_program

Specifically:

Chapman, Gretchen B., and McCauley, Clark. “Early Career Achievements of National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Applicants: Looking for Pygmalion and Galatea effects on NSF winners.” Journal of Applied Psychology 78(5) (1994): 815-20.

"Our results indicate that receiving an NSF award has a reliable effect on probability of completing the PhD (70% vs. 63%) but only unreliable effects on post-PhD professional accomplishments." (Maybe us non-winners have to work harder to prove ourselves.)

"It is surprising that only about 70% of the able students who are awarded an NSF fellowship actually go on to complete the PhD."

"Given the prestige value of an NSF fellowship, however, a relatively strong expectancy effect might have been expected. Consequently, the weak award effect in our results calls for some explanation."

also see:

Chapman, Gretchen B. “Predictive Validity of Quality Ratings of National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 54(2) (1994): 428-38.

[meankney]

I didn't get an award, but I felt like my reviews were a bit off. The first review was glowing, and then the second one was almost rude in the way it dismissed my proposal. I sent the reviews to my advisor because he was curious and this is what he said: "The second set reads to me as someone who just did not want to rank the proposal highly - they cover their attitude with the same fluff and non-specific approach they criticize you of! Worthless review, but I suppose they average those."

Makes me feel a little better, but also disappointed that had I gotten a different second reviewer, I might have ended up with at least an honorable mention.

[lady_argonaut]

I received and award.

E/E

VG/E

E/VG

Stats:

Life Sciences field, 2nd year grad student, 3 publications (first author in a BMC journal, second author in Science, middle author in PNAS) and 4 more in prep, 6 presentations (2 international, 3 national, 1 local), undergrad GPA: 3.3, grad GPA: 4.0 with multiple A+'s, GRE 1380. I have a lot as far as broader impacts but I concentrated on an experience where I worked with student teachers, helping them integrate original research into labs and lesson plans for inner-city kids. I am a female from an underrepresented minority. All of my reviewers made a big deal out of the publications and my recommendations. One actually said that my undergrad GPA was poor but it didn't matter because my publication record proved that I can do research.

[tiffany!]

I didn't get anything; I probably should have thought out my "broader impacts" section more...

VG/G

VG/G

[JCV]

If someone turns down a fellowship b/c they were awarded multiple federal fellowships, does the NSF bump up HMs to awards or just not fill the vacancy?

[BKMD]

I won the award (can't believe it, really ), so I'll post my stats.

E/VG

E/VG

E/G

I'm currently working in a lab for a year in between undergrad and grad school. No masters. I had 3 first-author pubs in good conferences as an undergrad, as well as more in submission after a summer RAship that my undergrad advisor offered me. This research background is probably the main thing that got me accepted. GPA was 3.6, GRE was 650V, 780Q.

My weak point was the broader impacts criteria (some outreach/teaching but not a lot), but I was helped in that all of the research I had done were things that had social awareness and educational value, and I tried to emphasize this, and I think I did a good job of connecting how my proposed project follows from my previous experience, and why I think it is valuable. My general impression from the reviews is that as far as the broader impacts in your personal statement are concerned, they seem mostly interested in things that can be connected to education/science (i.e. tutoring counts for more than helping out at a homeless shelter).

[anyli_t]

I'm a first year grad student in linguistics who received a fellowship. I thought I would share my stats, since I don't have an entirely rounded-out package, to give hope to anyone who might be concerned about gaps in their application for next year.

My stats were solid (~3.8 undergrad GPA, 1480 GRE), but I have no publications and the only conference presentation I gave outside of college-internal student symposiums was at a small workshop. I'm also short on volunteer experience - I did a few small things in college, but not a lot in the vein of science/education aside for a bit of tutoring. I did have 3+ years of research experience, however.

My ratings sheets were:

VG/E

G/F

E/E

Given reviewer 2, I was surprised that I ended up with an award. His/her comments were not terribly critical, however, so he/she simply may have been one of those people that hands out high marks very stingily. The contrast between reviewer 2 and 3 is a good example of the arbitrariness of the rating systems, if nothing else.

Overall, I don't think I was a superstar candidate - certainly not from past experience with pubs/talks/volunteering - so what may have done it for my application was a fairly sexy topic (sound perception + an unusual neuroimaging technique) and solid writing. I'm sharing all this mainly to point out that you don't need tons of publications (or any, it would seem), and to note that it's even possible to withstand a lukewarm reviewer with some luck. I hope that gives some encouragement for next year's applicants!

[HKK]

The shock of winning is finally starting to wear off. Still beyond excited! I feel bad for some people that are saying they can't attend school or are going to have to teach because they didn't get this. I have guaranteed 5 years of funding, so this basically just bought me out of 3 years of it. It gives me some negotiating room if I want to stay a 6th year I suppose.

I'm a little embarrassed to post my stats, because they seem so much lower than everyone elses, but if it can help someone applying in the future, then it will be worth it.

Field: Sociology

(IM/BI): E/E; E/VG; VG/E

GRE V700,Q690

Undergrad GPA 3.53

No pubs in my current field (an undergrad pub in a major journal in a different field), and 2 presentations at major conferences

I used the same personal statement and research experience as last year, despite my terrible reviews because I was short on time. Mostly I updated them, and added more broader impacts to my proposal.

I'd be happy to send any of my essays to other sociologists who want to apply next year. Send me a private message.

I'm still in shock, because I was so cynical after last year. They didn't send out my rejection email until June, and then one of my reviewers complained about my study abroad in the Netherlands.... which I NEVER WENT ON!!!! I swore I wasn't going to apply again, but I'm so happy I did! Congrats to all the other winners, best of luck to those applying again next year.

[HKK]

I think it might be worth contacting the NSF and making sure they gave you the correct rating sheet! That just doesn't sound right. OR your reviewer is just really rude and doesn't care enough to refer to you by the correct name!

It really isn't. Something similar happened to me last year (one reviewer kept talking about a study abroad I never went on) and the NSF was all "too bad, so sad". Bureaucracy at it's worst.

[gwcarver]

Applied to Life Sciences--Immunology. No award or HM.

Didn't get a 3rd reviewer, despite my ratings:

Reviewer 1: E/E

Reviewer 2: E/VG

Both had nothing but positive comments, and were especially impressed by some undergrad outreach I'd done. Maybe my reviewers were giving "Excellent"s out like crazy and my ranking wasn't so great once the scores were normalized?

Did this happen to anyone else?

[geodrake]

For those people that had publications listed in your application (especially people who received an award/HM), how many did you have and where did they come from? And what is your field?

I and it sounds like a few others got the shaft for not having any publications. When I mentioned this to a few professors, everybody seems pretty surprised and thinks it would be rare to have publications when you're in your 1st two years of grad school, but perhaps we've been under the wrong impression? I have presentations from my research experience, but my reviewers apparently thought that there should be journal publications. For those that got awards, did you have any publications?

I know we inherently seem to have a need to quantify things. We like straight-forward numbers/ratings so we know where we rank. The truth is, it comes down to writing an awesome Broader Impact and Scientific Merit, showing that you're doing independent research that is "transformative", and being able to convey all of this is two pages. Of course, YMMV depending on the degree. I know my LoRs were stellar (I've read most of them), I had a publication & presentation at the time, and I'm in a grad program. But the reviewers were absolutely right in their assessment, I did not convey how expanding on my advisor's research was going to improve society. Could I word it differently now almost a year since I started working on my thesis? You bet. Could I write a proposal now that would increase my chances? Sure. But it would all come down to clearly and concisely explaining why this research is important and how it's going to help people, not just explaining what it is and how it's going to be done. Even then, I still wouldn't get the award because the reviewers just don't see developing standardized methodology and consistently implemented field verification to be transformative, and that's ok.

So please don't think "if only my GPA had been 0.1 higher" or "if I'd only gotten a 1600 instead of 1590 on my GRE I would have won". It comes down to how well you expressed yourself, and who the other bastards were who explained themselves more convincingly than you

Love to all who didn't get the award, and hi-5s to those who did =)

[iLikeTrees]

I know we inherently seem to have a need to quantify things. We like straight-forward numbers/ratings so we know where we rank. The truth is, it comes down to writing an awesome Broader Impact and Scientific Merit, showing that you're doing independent research that is "transformative", and being able to convey all of this is two pages. Of course, YMMV depending on the degree. I know my LoRs were stellar (I've read most of them), I had a publication & presentation at the time, and I'm in a grad program. But the reviewers were absolutely right in their assessment, I did not convey how expanding on my advisor's research was going to improve society. Could I word it differently now almost a year since I started working on my thesis? You bet. Could I write a proposal now that would increase my chances? Sure. But it would all come down to clearly and concisely explaining why this research is important and how it's going to help people, not just explaining what it is and how it's going to be done. Even then, I still wouldn't get the award because the reviewers just don't see developing standardized methodology and consistently implemented field verification to be transformative, and that's ok.

So please don't think "if only my GPA had been 0.1 higher" or "if I'd only gotten a 1600 instead of 1590 on my GRE I would have won". It comes down to how well you expressed yourself, and who the other bastards were who explained themselves more convincingly than you

Love to all who didn't get the award, and hi-5s to those who did =)

Thanks for the encouragement, but I wasn't exactly after numbers and going through the "if only" stuff. My advisor and I were both shocked and a little concern that the most consistent criticism of my application was lack of pubs seemed to be a big deal to the reviewers. We both thought it would have been unusual for somebody in their first two years of grad school in our field to have a pubs, but apparently we were wrong. Sure if I'd written better essays, that probably wouldn't have been a problem, but I was just trying to gauge whether it was really a problem of I didn't play up other parts of my accomplishments enough or having something published in a peer-reviewed journal by the end of undergrad/beginning of grad was so common nowadays. Mostly it was for future reference for my grad and undergrad advisors (who now knows to push students to publish harder if they want to be very competitive) who apparently had different expectations than reviewers. I guess I was also just surprised and a little annoyed they expected me to have published from my masters when I was still collecting data (from my 1 and only field season). If i'd known i should have made that clearer or said pubs were "in prep" (although that is stretching it), I would've. :-/ oh well... too late now.

[Hekog]

Agh, I kept telling myself that getting another HM wouldn't bother me, but it is

I guess the frustrating part was how positive the reviewers were, and how high the grades they gave were. It makes me feel like I must have been right there at the cut-off. I keep having "well if I had only mentioned this.." thoughts running through my head. Ugh.

Oh well.

p.s. funny that someone a few posts above me addressed the "if only" feelings.. didn't see that!

Edited April 7, 2010 by Hekog

[zilch]

@Hekog, I also got a second HM and it does sting a bit to have been close twice.

I did get a rather hilarious comment that I thought I'd share. One of my reviewers who seemed to have a dislike for pronouns made a bunch of comments on my BI that seemed more like notes to him/her self (ie, has devoted time to X, understands role in Y) and then capped it off with a "Suggest presenting research in non-traditional ways". I'm not sure what this means or what it has to do with broader impacts, the first image in my head was Patch Adams. Somehow, I don't think that giving a research presentation dressed as a clown is going to help me.

[dcc chem guy]

Thanks for the encouragement, but I wasn't exactly after numbers and going through the "if only" stuff. My advisor and I were both shocked and a little concern that the most consistent criticism of my application was lack of pubs seemed to be a big deal to the reviewers. We both thought it would have been unusual for somebody in their first two years of grad school in our field to have a pubs, but apparently we were wrong. Sure if I'd written better essays, that probably wouldn't have been a problem, but I was just trying to gauge whether it was really a problem of I didn't play up other parts of my accomplishments enough or having something published in a peer-reviewed journal by the end of undergrad/beginning of grad was so common nowadays. Mostly it was for future reference for my grad and undergrad advisors (who now knows to push students to publish harder if they want to be very competitive) who apparently had different expectations than reviewers. I guess I was also just surprised and a little annoyed they expected me to have published from my masters when I was still collecting data (from my 1 and only field season). If i'd known i should have made that clearer or said pubs were "in prep" (although that is stretching it), I would've. :-/ oh well... too late now.

I have no publications and did recieve an award. My broader impacts section was strong and I talked about volunteer work (Habitat for humanity officer) and teaching experiences (peer group tutor for 3 years). I am also continuing to help others during grad school through a program called SEED. All of the reviewers commented on those aspects of my application. They all said publications would help me. They commended me for doing research in 7 different areas through undergrad and summer opportunities and having a good understanding of my impact in each area. They also commented on having good grades and a strong chem GRE to back them up. Between the three reviewers, they covered almost every positive thing that I included in my application. There's no doubt publications (because they are somewhat rare for undergrads, although I have a lot of friends with them and could have had 2 myself) help to separate some students from the rest of the pack. Remember, they're comaring thousands of excellent applicants. I really think you need something that makes you stand out.

[Viva]

Congratulations to everyone who received the fellowship or a honorable mention.

I got the fellowship!!! I was absolutely shocked yesterday and I am still in disbelief today.

This was my first time applying and I am in my last year of undergrad. Unfortunately, all of the universities I applied to rejected me. So now what? Hopefully I can secure a spot somewhere. Is anyone else in this same predicament?

Again, congratulations!!!

Edited April 7, 2010 by Viva

[BKMD]

This was my first time applying and I am in my last year of undergrad. Unfortunately, all of the universities I applied to rejected me. So now what? Hopefully I can secure a spot somewhere. Is anyone else in this same predicament?

I'm not sure if there's anything you can do this year (unless you are on a waitlist, in which case definitely let them know you got the fellowship and I'm sure you'll be bumped up).

But, if you wait a year, you should for sure be able to get in next year, now that you have an NSF fellowship (why not? they don't have to worry about funding you). The 3-year award can be used anytime over the next 5 years, so as I understand it, you could accept the award but wait a year to use it. I think. I don't know enough to tell you if this is actually how it works, but it could be an option...

Congrats and good luck!

[zxcv]

This was my first time applying and I am in my last year of undergrad. Unfortunately, all of the universities I applied to rejected me. So now what? Hopefully I can secure a spot somewhere. Is anyone else in this same predicament?

This is when you contact your top choice school and get them to let you in after all. It's been done before, and generally it works.

[Neurone]

Congratulations to everyone who received the fellowship or a honorable mention.

I got the fellowship!!! I was absolutely shocked yesterday and I am still in disbelief today.

This was my first time applying and I am in my last year of undergrad. Unfortunately, all of the universities I applied to rejected me. So now what? Hopefully I can secure a spot somewhere. Is anyone else in this same predicament?

Again, congratulations!!!

Hey I'd get in touch with some of those universities and let them know that you have your own funding and ask if they'll reconsider. You'll be a lot more attractive if they know they don't have to support you as much as they would have otherwise.

[JenanH]

Does anyone know if reviewers look down on applicants who are staying (or are proposing to stay) at the same institution from which they received their Bachelor degree? Looking through the winners (and HMs), I can't help but notice all of the awards that went to students at top schools. (Of course, students at top schools are often very well-qualified and many of those schools require grad students to apply for the GRFP so the proportion might be skewed.) I'm wondering if reviewers are more hesitant to give an award to a student at a smaller/less well-known school than to a student (with the same qualifications) at a large, well-known research institution. Hmm...

[UnlikelyGrad]

Does anyone know if reviewers look down on applicants who are staying (or are proposing to stay) at the same institution from which they received their Bachelor degree? Looking through the winners (and HMs), I can't help but notice all of the awards that went to students at top schools.

At least one student in my department got an award, and my school would hardly be considered a "top school". Well, maybe some of our other departments would, but the department I'm in is waaaaaay down the list.

[Rails111]

Does anyone know if reviewers look down on applicants who are staying (or are proposing to stay) at the same institution from which they received their Bachelor degree? Looking through the winners (and HMs), I can't help but notice all of the awards that went to students at top schools. (Of course, students at top schools are often very well-qualified and many of those schools require grad students to apply for the GRFP so the proportion might be skewed.) I'm wondering if reviewers are more hesitant to give an award to a student at a smaller/less well-known school than to a student (with the same qualifications) at a large, well-known research institution. Hmm...

I don't think so. As someone said earlier, good applicants can come from anywhere. I'm from a very small liberal arts college (that i'm sure no one has ever heard of) and reviewers didn't knock me for it at all...plus, I know people who mentioned that they were from relatively unknown colleges and that reviewers looked upon it favorably.

[iheartchembio]

I am also kind of in shock that I got the fellowship! Previously, nobody in my department has gotten the NSF, and this year 3 people did. My ratings were E/E, E/VG, E/E. Undergrad GPA 3.89, grad GPA 3.96, GRE 1600. I'm a second year grad student and I took 3 years off between undergrad and grad school to work in industry related to my field. I had two publications listed (neither was first or even second author) and I mentioned that there are plans to publish some work that I did at my job. A professor at my school who has served on the committee that rates these applications told me that mentioning publications (or other ways that you are presenting your research in the scientific community) is a good way to integrate broader impacts into the previous research essay. My personal statement talked about how my passion for science developed, and what I have done (volunteering and mentoring) to encourage this passion in kids/high school students. Congrats to everyone that got either the fellowship or an honorable mention!

[Steven]

Regarding choice of schools, it does weight heavily. If I recall correctly, appropriateness of graduate program is explicitly mentioned as one of the review criteria.

One of my reviewers specifically listed their reasons for reducing my IM score (from E to VG) and one of the reasons they mentioned was that they were concerned I would not have enough support at my school of choice.

I have already started making collaborative contacts at other schools with labs that work in my area, so by next year's cycle I will at least have a few names to drop, if not letters of recommendation from faculty at "approved" schools.

My school (16000 students) received no awards. There were several HM's, and those were all in the two programs for which we are reasonably well known.

I think that it is possible to overcome a "no-name" graduate school stigma, but it is clearly a big negative.