NSF GRFP 2009-2010

[anthromind]

Hey guys,

I came up empty-handed and am trying to understand my scoresheets. Can someone link me to where I can find out the different scales of grading and what the NSF deems them to mean? i.e. excellent, very good, etc. etc....Im totally in the dark..thanks!

[BKMD]

Does anyone know what to do if you end up going to a different grad school than the one you put down in your application? I accepted a different offer than the organization they think I'm going to, but I can't find a way to change it in FastLane.

[apathetic]

"Does anyone know what to do if you end up going to a different grad school than the one you put down in your application? I accepted a different offer than the organization they think I'm going to, but I can't find a way to change it in FastLane."

Changing your tenure plans didn't work?

Edited April 8, 2010 by apathetic

[coffeecoffeebuzzbuzz]

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!!!

I am in the same boat (rejected by all the schools that I applied for but awarded a NSF Fellowship) and in the process of freaking out. This is actually harder for me to deal with than being rejected in the first place. I am worried that I will loose the award and experience the "so close yet so far" type of regret the rest of my life. From what I have read (in the info packet) it looks like I won't be able to "reserve" or delay the award without first being accepted to a school because the intent of the award is for those who are going to be students next fall (regardless of whether they need the cash now or later). I tried to find out today what happens if the worst case scenario occurs (continuous rejection) and pretty much the response I got was to try harder.

Thus far I am contacting the profs/schools that rejected me to see if they might have any new openings (after the initial shuffling of applicants). I was also recommended to talk to the prof who were not accepting this year, but who might be willing to offer a conditional acceptance until they have space in their labs. The stress and uncertainty of this is very hard, I want to rejoice but I am afraid. The deadline is May 1st to figure things out. Less than a month to scramble and plan and hope that things work out for the best knowing that the outcome may dramatically change my life path. Help! What to do?

Does anyone know what happens if, despite all your efforts, you simply cannot find a school that will accept you? What then?

[spectralScatter]

I am in the same boat (rejected by all the schools that I applied for but awarded a NSF Fellowship) and in the process of freaking out. This is actually harder for me to deal with than being rejected in the first place. I am worried that I will loose the award and experience the "so close yet so far" type of regret the rest of my life. From what I have read (in the info packet) it looks like I won't be able to "reserve" or delay the award without first being accepted to a school because the intent of the award is for those who are going to be students next fall (regardless of whether they need the cash now or later). I tried to find out today what happens if the worst case scenario occurs (continuous rejection) and pretty much the response I got was to try harder.

Thus far I am contacting the profs/schools that rejected me to see if they might have any new openings (after the initial shuffling of applicants). I was also recommended to talk to the prof who were not accepting this year, but who might be willing to offer a conditional acceptance until they have space in their labs. The stress and uncertainty of this is very hard, I want to rejoice but I am afraid. The deadline is May 1st to figure things out. Less than a month to scramble and plan and hope that things work out for the best knowing that the outcome may dramatically change my life path. Help! What to do?

Does anyone know what happens if, despite all your efforts, you simply cannot find a school that will accept you? What then?

Wow!! What are you worried about! You are an NSF fellow, with prestige and 90k guaranteed in dollars that you can bring to any university. Departments enjoy flaunting their number of NSF graduate fellows because it increases their prestige. You should pick up the phone to the places that you have applied, and tell them that you were awarded a NSF GRF. Ask if they can accommodate you this late in the game. I am sure you have nothing to worry about. Congrats!

Edited April 8, 2010 by chemmastr

[juilletmercredi]

Thus far I am contacting the profs/schools that rejected me to see if they might have any new openings (after the initial shuffling of applicants). I was also recommended to talk to the prof who were not accepting this year, but who might be willing to offer a conditional acceptance until they have space in their labs. The stress and uncertainty of this is very hard, I want to rejoice but I am afraid. The deadline is May 1st to figure things out. Less than a month to scramble and plan and hope that things work out for the best knowing that the outcome may dramatically change my life path. Help! What to do?

Usually if they don't have space in their labs, it's a funding issue. Call the school, talk to that prof and see if they can put you in the lab now that you have an NSF.

Anthromind, here's a link to some info:

http://www.maineidea.net/Resources/NSF_Proposal_Submission_and_Review.pdf

Slide 12 has details on the review criteria, and slide 17 has the scale.

I also found these excellent PDFs from Missouri that detail what is needed for the GRFP. I think they helped soooo much; if they were printed out they'd be well worn:

http://gradschool.missouri.edu/financial/assistantships-fellowships/fellowships/external/nsf-research-fellowship/

[meesh]

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?

I was similar. HM with 3 reviews. Two were very nice and positive. The third was still positive, but a little more nit-picky but I am optimistic for next year! I get the feeling I was just squeezed out by too many good applicants. Next time!

1) E/E

2) VG/VG

3) E/E

[coffeecoffeebuzzbuzz]

Well, things are looking better but I am still hanging in suspense. I talked to my first choice of prof's that rejected me and it sounds like funding does make a difference. Nothing is official yet, and logistics still need to be worked out with the rest of the department. I'll let you know when I can bust out the champagne and celebrate...

[anthro2009]

Did anyone else feel like the reviewers didn't actually read their application? The comments that mine made were pretty ridiculous - like questioning my ability to extract DNA, when I pointed out in my application that I've already extracted DNA for my project from over 300 samples with a 98% success rate. Also, DNA extraction is not some wild, cutting-edge technique - the reviewer just seemed like she had no biology background at all. I applied as interdisciplinary research (bioanthro/genetics), so I'm thinking maybe this resulted in me getting reviewers that weren't familiar with my field of research, but it's still frustrating and doesn't really give me concrete ways to make my application better for next cycle.

[gradschoolnutty]

I think that they skim the essays very quickly for content and that it is very important for your essays to be crystal clear. I believe all of my reviewers stated that my research plan was very easy to read and well-thought out. Remember - they are reading several of these, and once something about your essays strike them as not credible or makes them think too much to find the answers to their questions, they may dump your application without paying more detailed attention to it. Of course, I can only say this because I won an award, and I understand your frustration. People ask me how I got the award, and I really attribute it to the following:

1. I had sections for broader impacts and intellectual merit to make sure they were clear on what I was trying to say and did not have to try to figure out either

2. I spelled everything out in my research plan so that most people in my field could understand (not just in my specialty) and stressed the importance of my topic

3. I personalized my personal essay (as in, I scattered in personal stories versus trying to make it purely research based) in a way that supported why I would be effective as a researcher

Edited April 10, 2010 by gradschoolnutty

[Rails111]

I think that they skim the essays very quickly for content and that it is very important for your essays to be crystal clear. I believe all of my reviewers stated that my research plan was very easy to read and well-thought out. Remember - they are reading several of these, and once something about your essays strike them as not credible or makes them think too much to find the answers to their questions, they may dump your application without paying more detailed attention to it. Of course, I can only say this because I won an award, and I understand your frustration. People ask me how I got the award, and I really attribute it to the following:

1. I had sections for broader impacts and intellectual merit to make sure they were clear on what I was trying to say and did not have to try to figure out either

2. I spelled everything out in my research plan so that most people in my field could understand (not just in my specialty) and stressed the importance of my topic

3. I personalized my personal essay (as in, I scattered in personal stories versus trying to make it purely research based) in a way that supported why I would be effective as a researcher

I did #2 and #3 as well. Having easy-to-read essays and using personal stories to demonstrate what you learned and to grab attention are very important. I had asked people not in my field

(biology, economics, engineering, sociology) to read my essays and make sure they all made sense (esp findings from previous research and logic in research proposal). Plus, my advisor told me over and over that nobody can effectively consume the information in writing if it's boring.