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NSF GRFP 2016-2017


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On January 18, 2017 at 2:44 PM, dragonfrog said:

I just received an email saying my application is being returned without review. The reason they gave for my ineligibility is "ineligible degree program or field of study (clinical, disease-focused, professional, etc.)." I have thoroughly read and reread the program solicitation and disagree with this. My field of study is microbiology and I am approaching it from a purely academic lab perspective (not clinical, not trying to develop new treatments, etc.). My research statement focused on quantifying gene expression of efflux pumps (used for drug resistance) in Helicobacter pylori. You could argue that the reason I chose this bacteria is "disease-focused" in that I am interested in it because it causes disease, but the research is just understanding how it works. It's not about etiology or epidemiology or any of that. I also had read sample applications from other individuals in microbiology who received the award, so I know this is not unheard of.

I am appealing their decision (they gave me an email address and a deadline for doing so), but was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why I might be ineligible or what I should say in my appeal letter. Does anyone know what the chances of actually getting such a decision overturned are? Are they even going to fully read my letter? Any thoughts/advice appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry that this happened to you. The same exact thing happened to me last year. They rejected my application because they felt my research statement was too disease related; although I beg to differ. That's why people suggest never using the word disease and being careful with your words. It just sucks that you put all of that time and effort into it and you don't even get feedback. It's also ironic -- I find -- because they preach that they are funding individuals and not research. You're not even legally bound to do the project you propose. I don't think they do a good job with examining a proposal that is basic science (but inspired by a disease). Or alternatively they could be more transparent with what is acceptable or how they screen and ultimately flag proposals (is it reviewed by multiple people before rejected?). But it is what it is. This year I completely scrapped last years project/idea/field and wrote about something I knew they wouldn't have a problem with. 

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12 hours ago, Humulus_lupulus said:

Good luck to everyone! Last year was my last year of eligibility, and unfortunately, I was never a winner. However, I can't help but check back to this thread to see all of the excitement and suspense! (Fingers are crossed for NDSEG!)

Good luck on the NDSEG! This is my last year of GRFP eligibility, so fingers crossed here, too!

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On 1/18/2017 at 2:44 PM, dragonfrog said:

I just received an email saying my application is being returned without review. The reason they gave for my ineligibility is "ineligible degree program or field of study (clinical, disease-focused, professional, etc.)." I have thoroughly read and reread the program solicitation and disagree with this. My field of study is microbiology and I am approaching it from a purely academic lab perspective (not clinical, not trying to develop new treatments, etc.). My research statement focused on quantifying gene expression of efflux pumps (used for drug resistance) in Helicobacter pylori. You could argue that the reason I chose this bacteria is "disease-focused" in that I am interested in it because it causes disease, but the research is just understanding how it works. It's not about etiology or epidemiology or any of that. I also had read sample applications from other individuals in microbiology who received the award, so I know this is not unheard of.

I am appealing their decision (they gave me an email address and a deadline for doing so), but was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why I might be ineligible or what I should say in my appeal letter. Does anyone know what the chances of actually getting such a decision overturned are? Are they even going to fully read my letter? Any thoughts/advice appreciated. Thanks!

Hi! I'm curious if this email went straight to your inbox or if it went to spam? Reading this now I am concerned that I might have also gotten that email but didn't see it because it went to spam! Of course I have my spam folder emptying every 30 days so I can't go in and check. Also, if this happens does it show up when you log in to fastlane? Are you able to resubmit?

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1 hour ago, smarcail said:

Hi! I'm curious if this email went straight to your inbox or if it went to spam? Reading this now I am concerned that I might have also gotten that email but didn't see it because it went to spam! Of course I have my spam folder emptying every 30 days so I can't go in and check. Also, if this happens does it show up when you log in to fastlane? Are you able to resubmit?

The final decision should show up in fastlane, but I don't know if the explanation would be there. You would not be able to resubmit this cycle.

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For reference, the dates that results were announced in previous years (mostly at 3 AM):

  • 2016: Tuesday, March 29
  • 2015: Tuesday, March 31
  • 2014: Tuesday, April 1
  • 2013: Friday, March 29
  • 2012: Friday, March 30
  • 2011: Tuesday, April 5
  • 2010: Tuesday, April 6
  • 2009: Friday, April 10

Be on the lookout for maintenance notices on the Fastlane site (within the time frame of 11 PM - 6 AM) in about three weeks!

Edited by Spaghettyohz
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4 hours ago, Spaghettyohz said:

For reference, the dates that results were announced in previous years (mostly at 3 AM):

  • 2016: Tuesday, March 29
  • 2015: Tuesday, March 31
  • 2014: Tuesday, April 1
  • 2013: Friday, March 29
  • 2012: Friday, March 30
  • 2011: Tuesday, April 5
  • 2010: Tuesday, April 6
  • 2009: Friday, April 10

Be on the lookout for maintenance notices on the Fastlane site (within the time frame of 11 PM - 6 AM) in about three weeks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

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11 hours ago, Spaghettyohz said:

For reference, the dates that results were announced in previous years (mostly at 3 AM):

  • 2016: Tuesday, March 29
  • 2015: Tuesday, March 31
  • 2014: Tuesday, April 1
  • 2013: Friday, March 29
  • 2012: Friday, March 30
  • 2011: Tuesday, April 5
  • 2010: Tuesday, April 6
  • 2009: Friday, April 10

Be on the lookout for maintenance notices on the Fastlane site (within the time frame of 11 PM - 6 AM) in about three weeks!

In a poor attempt to introduce levity, would anyone want to take bets whether it will be Tuesday 28th (an early record) or Friday the 31st? B)

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12 hours ago, Spaghettyohz said:

For reference, the dates that results were announced in previous years (mostly at 3 AM):

  • 2016: Tuesday, March 29
  • 2015: Tuesday, March 31
  • 2014: Tuesday, April 1
  • 2013: Friday, March 29
  • 2012: Friday, March 30
  • 2011: Tuesday, April 5
  • 2010: Tuesday, April 6
  • 2009: Friday, April 10

Be on the lookout for maintenance notices on the Fastlane site (within the time frame of 11 PM - 6 AM) in about three weeks!

Also, the list of awardees will go down on the night of, presumably because they are posting this year's awardees.

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On 3/11/2017 at 1:39 AM, Midwest_newbie said:

Are there any kind of stats posted anywhere about the people who are usually awarded the GRFP?

What kind of stats are you looking for?

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On 3/10/2017 at 8:23 PM, yolk said:

In a poor attempt to introduce levity, would anyone want to take bets whether it will be Tuesday 28th (an early record) or Friday the 31st? B)

The two years I've applied it's been Tuesday so I'm betting on Tuesday the 28th!  I've already marked my calendar for #teamnosleep

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Anyone notice there is maintenance scheduled for Thursday night and Friday night? Could this mean individual results Friday and then the list of recipients will be uploaded for Saturday? They've had "scheduled maintenance" now 3 times in a week so maybe results soon?

03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Thursday, March 16 to 5:00AM ET, Friday, March 17 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.
03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Friday, March 17 to 10:00AM ET, Saturday, March 18 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Edited by dvasquez93
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1 hour ago, dvasquez93 said:

Anyone notice there is maintenance scheduled for Thursday night and Friday night? Could this mean individual results Friday and then the list of recipients will be uploaded for Saturday? They've had "scheduled maintenance" now 3 times in a week so maybe results soon?

03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Thursday, March 16 to 5:00AM ET, Friday, March 17 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.
03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Friday, March 17 to 10:00AM ET, Saturday, March 18 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.

I doubt this is it, although that would be awesome. They usually do scheduled maintenance periodically. Look for one on the 28th or 31st. That's my bet.

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4 hours ago, dvasquez93 said:

Anyone notice there is maintenance scheduled for Thursday night and Friday night? Could this mean individual results Friday and then the list of recipients will be uploaded for Saturday? They've had "scheduled maintenance" now 3 times in a week so maybe results soon?

03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Thursday, March 16 to 5:00AM ET, Friday, March 17 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.
03/15/17  -  FastLane will be unavailable from 10:00PM ET, Friday, March 17 to 10:00AM ET, Saturday, March 18 for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.

They did this last year too, and it was just normal maintenance and no results. Probably gonna have to wait until 28/29!

Edited by pascal_barbots_wager
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1 hour ago, Levon3 said:

This is awful, and hopefully it shows all the scientists in the ivory tower that research and science are unfortunately political, whether they want it to be or not.

Further reading: https://conditionallyaccepted.com/2017/03/01/science-march/

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11 hours ago, Levon3 said:

Either we are the last lucky year for having a normal amount of awardees before the NSF's budget inevitably gets slashed, or we are the first unlucky year for having fewer awardees due to the new administration's threat of a downsize in funding.

Edited by Kaede
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