fallfish Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Anyone on here a non-traditional applicant? I have been out of my masters for about 4 years and applied to PhD programs for this fall. Wondering if anyone has any stats on those applying under the non-traditional category? And good luck to all! I'm trying not to think about it, but obviously, it's not working.
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 12 hours ago, slavsquat said: oh my bad! i see what you mean and i do agree- i genuinely think it's just based on the strength of the applications and there's not a necessarily a different standard from year to year. i mean after all, there's undergrads with multiple applications and significant accomplishments. last year there was 726 senior undergrads and 627 senior undergrads in 2016- so i guess not! To be clear, there is a fairly informative post on stack exchange, here, that explains the application process fairly well. They split the applicants into different pools based upon status (UG vs grad, etc). So you compete against other peers within your year. This makes it fairly easier to get grfp as an undergrad, but less undergrads apply of course. slavsquat, pinkcrystalthumb and engineerwoacause 3
slavsquat Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 23 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: To be clear, there is a fairly informative post on stack exchange, here, that explains the application process fairly well. They split the applicants into different pools based upon status (UG vs grad, etc). So you compete against other peers within your year. This makes it fairly easier to get grfp as an undergrad, but less undergrads apply of course. thanks so much for sharing this!
Marinebio444 Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 I'd also just like to add to the discussion that once you get to the upper level of the competition pool, whether you get it or not can be basically a crap-shoot. It's very dependent on your reviewers, and one review can bring your entire application down to the "no" pile. I've had numerous friends who had glowing reviews from two of the three reviewers, but the third either didn't get their proposed project, didn't bother to read the entire application thoroughly, or picked and chose what criteria they were looking at. This is why I've gone through the waiting process as if I'm not going to be chosen. You can be an outstanding applicant and put your best application possible forward and still end up getting screwed. So for everyone waiting, temper your expectations. I know this is a potentially life-changing opportunity, but just remember that, win or lose, this competition does not define your career. Good luck everyone! cemeterydr1ve, nanograd, northernchild and 3 others 6
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 1 hour ago, Marinebio444 said: I'd also just like to add to the discussion that once you get to the upper level of the competition pool, whether you get it or not can be basically a crap-shoot. It's very dependent on your reviewers, and one review can bring your entire application down to the "no" pile. I've had numerous friends who had glowing reviews from two of the three reviewers, but the third either didn't get their proposed project, didn't bother to read the entire application thoroughly, or picked and chose what criteria they were looking at. This is why I've gone through the waiting process as if I'm not going to be chosen. You can be an outstanding applicant and put your best application possible forward and still end up getting screwed. So for everyone waiting, temper your expectations. I know this is a potentially life-changing opportunity, but just remember that, win or lose, this competition does not define your career. Good luck everyone! Pretty sure this is the case for all pools. Looking at last years results threads makes me nervous, not matter how strong or confident I am in my application.
cemeterydr1ve Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Marinebio444 said: I'd also just like to add to the discussion that once you get to the upper level of the competition pool, whether you get it or not can be basically a crap-shoot. It's very dependent on your reviewers, and one review can bring your entire application down to the "no" pile. I've had numerous friends who had glowing reviews from two of the three reviewers, but the third either didn't get their proposed project, didn't bother to read the entire application thoroughly, or picked and chose what criteria they were looking at. This is why I've gone through the waiting process as if I'm not going to be chosen. You can be an outstanding applicant and put your best application possible forward and still end up getting screwed. So for everyone waiting, temper your expectations. I know this is a potentially life-changing opportunity, but just remember that, win or lose, this competition does not define your career. Good luck everyone! Yeah, my mindset is that I’m most likely not going to be awarded. And I’ve already kinda mourned that possibility. I just keep reminding myself that I’ve had a lot of successes in my career thus far, so if I don’t get this one thing, it doesn’t mean I’m a bad scientist/academic. If I am awarded, I think I’ll probably fall over and have a heart attack, hah. I am eager for the results just so I can move on with my life. Edited March 22, 2018 by cemeterydr1ve YouCantBcereus and Behavecol 1 1
siliconchins Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 38 minutes ago, cemeterydr1ve said: Yeah, my mindset is that I’m most likely not going to be awarded. And I’ve already kinda mourned that possibility. I just keep reminding myself that I’ve had a lot of successes in my career thus far, so if I don’t get this one thing, it doesn’t mean I’m a bad scientist/academic. If I am awarded, I think I’ll probably fall over and have a heart attack, hah. I am eager for the results just so I can move on with my life. Same here. My funding isn't really dependent on outside funding (and in fact won't even change if I do get it), so I'd like to just know once and for all and get this process over with.
STEMed13 Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Not quite the maintenance we were hoping for... siliconchins 1
engineerwoacause Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 11 minutes ago, STEMed13 said: Not quite the maintenance we were hoping for... Hmm..yeah that’s making it tough to believe we’re getting results tomorrow morning.
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 To be fair they said theyd be making changes beginning on the 26th, so likely this is related. I doubt itll have bearing on results or announcements. Marinebio444 1
mars667 Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 17 minutes ago, STEMed13 said: Not quite the maintenance we were hoping for... jfc. on a side note, that is a long closure....i bet it's related to the website changes and has nothing to do with us.
northernchild Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Maybe they've been watching these threads and decided to go against the Tuesday/Friday expectation
Marinebio444 Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 5 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: To be fair they said theyd be making changes beginning on the 26th, so likely this is related. I doubt itll have bearing on results or announcements. That's what I was just about to say. I honestly don't think the changes affect us or the release date at all. According to the announcement: "The new centralized account management functionality is being released first to the Administrator, PI, AOR, Sponsored Project Officer (SPO), Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Coordinating Official and Financial Official, and Award Cash Management Service (ACM$) groups. NSF plans to eventually expand the new functionality in the future to additional groups including proposal reviewers, GRFP applicants, and NSF staff." The wording seems to indicate that GRFP applicants won't be included in this initial phase-in, so what would the purpose be of scheduling the release of our decisions in any sort of timeline that is influenced by these changes?
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Two years ago, there was an extended shut down day of release (March 29) Then last year, day of release was March 17th, According to posts on this page: 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." So I feel its likely to be results tomorrow..
siliconchins Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 5 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: Two years ago, there was an extended shut down day of release (March 29) Then last year, day of release was March 17th, According to posts on this page: 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." So I feel its likely to be results tomorrow.. Man I hope you're right. Even if it doesn't seem like it, it won't stop me from feeling like the results will be out tomorrow.
engineerwoacause Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 6 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: Two years ago, there was an extended shut down day of release (March 29) Then last year, day of release was March 17th, According to posts on this page: 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." So I feel its likely to be results tomorrow.. So theoretically...we should expect one more alert indicating a smaller shutdown for this evening/tomorrow morning if tomorrow is our day northernchild 1
northernchild Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 So assuming the order in that post was the same as the order on NSF alerts, the Friday to Saturday alert was posted prior to the Thursday to Friday. Perhaps there's still a chance! engineerwoacause 1
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, engineerwoacause said: So theoretically...we should expect one more alert indicating a smaller shutdown for this evening/tomorrow morning if tomorrow is our day Read the prev post closely: the announcement was made a few days prior but the actual maintenance occurred during the time notifications were delivered, and sustained for a long time. In other words, based on the prev two years, it seems like results will come tomorrow morning. Edited March 22, 2018 by GoldenDog
grilledcheese1 Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 15 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: Two years ago, there was an extended shut down day of release (March 29) Then last year, day of release was March 17th, According to posts on this page: 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." So I feel its likely to be results tomorrow.. Wouldn't the Thursday maintenance announcement be made before the Friday maintenance announcement, though? Or both would be made at the same time? This seems to me like a standard announcement and i'm betting on results next Friday, or maybe April 3rd or 6th if we're unlucky.
GoldenDog Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 5 minutes ago, grilledcheese1 said: Wouldn't the Thursday maintenance announcement be made before the Friday maintenance announcement, though? Or both would be made at the same time? This seems to me like a standard announcement and i'm betting on results next Friday, or maybe April 3rd or 6th if we're unlucky. No. Look at the first page I linked. There was only one long and extended maintenance during notification.
engineerwoacause Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 8 minutes ago, GoldenDog said: Read the prev post closely: the announcement was made a few days prior but the actual maintenance occurred during the time notifications were delivered, and sustained for a long time. In other words, based on the prev two years, it seems like results will come tomorrow morning. My apologies, but I am not quite following. First (bottom) announcement: Fastlane will be down Friday night- Saturday morning Second (upper) announcement: Fastlane will be down Thursday night - Friday morning. So we tentatively have the first announcement, just waiting on the second. Or am I still way off? Haha
northernchild Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 7 minutes ago, grilledcheese1 said: Wouldn't the Thursday maintenance announcement be made before the Friday maintenance announcement, though? Or both would be made at the same time? This seems to me like a standard announcement and i'm betting on results next Friday, or maybe April 3rd or 6th if we're unlucky. I agree: it's more likely that both announcements were made at the same time than that people missed the initial one and only posted when both were up.
thebest Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 So none of us know it is related or not right. But if it IS related, I don't see how the current announcement (Friday night to Saturday noon) suggests a Friday morning announcement IF the 2017 results suggested a Thursday night to Saturday morning maintenance schedule. Based on this, if it is related, shouldn't Saturday morning be the morning we hear back. Glad y'all are as weary as I am. Best of luck all.
nanograd Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Oh god it is seeming like tomorrow morning is likely... and I had just convinced myself I had another week atleast... now I don't want to know tomorrow
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