Page 1 of 1

Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 1:18 pm
by bibimbop
So I'm hosed for the NSF app (due tomorrow) and if I finish it, it probably won't be as well-polished as I would like. However, on most grad apps they ask what fellowships you are applying for. Does it make any difference in terms of acceptance rates whether they see NSF there or not?

edit: I'm a domestic

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:14 pm
by grae313
I'm not sure what kind of a difference it makes on your application, although I think it can't hurt but also won't make a large difference if it does make any difference... however you should apply anyways because three times as many awards are being given out this year and the number of awards given in each discipline is related to how many people submit applications, so even if yours sucks you'll help some other person in physics get the award ;)

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:26 pm
by kroner
Does the NSF really give fellowships to first year students? They ask some pretty specific questions about your planned research project, but it seems like without having started school yet or even knowing where you'll be attending it would be pretty impossible to give a good answer. Are the grants aimed primarily toward people who are settled in already, or is it ok to be extremely vague?

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:16 pm
by grae313
kroner wrote:Does the NSF really give fellowships to first year students? They ask some pretty specific questions about your planned research project, but it seems like without having started school yet or even knowing where you'll be attending it would be pretty impossible to give a good answer. Are the grants aimed primarily toward people who are settled in already, or is it ok to be extremely vague?
http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2753

Yes, most applicants are senior undergraduates or first-year graduate students without a research group. No, it's not OK to be vague. See the linked thread.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:49 am
by nathan12343
However, if you actually WIN the fellowship it might be worthwhile to contact departments you get rejected from since you will be free at that point.

That's how Sean Carrol (a Caltech professor) got into Harvard astronomy after being rejeced from Harvard's physics program.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:36 pm
by zxcv
nathan12343 wrote:However, if you actually WIN the fellowship it might be worthwhile to contact departments you get rejected from since you will be free at that point.
Note that this still works. I know people at both Berkeley and Harvard who were rejected prior to winning the NSF.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 12:42 pm
by terrence
A question somewhat related to this thread:

I am an international student, and I could apply for an external
scholarship. Unfortunately, the deadline is in February 2010, and
I will not know if I am selected for the scholarship before May 2010.
If I mention that I will apply for the scholarship in my applications,
could this help increase my chances of being admitted?

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:30 pm
by grae313
terrence wrote:A question somewhat related to this thread:

I am an international student, and I could apply for an external
scholarship. Unfortunately, the deadline is in February 2010, and
I will not know if I am selected for the scholarship before May 2010.
If I mention that I will apply for the scholarship in my applications,
could this help increase my chances of being admitted?
Probably won't make much of a difference but it can't hurt, right?

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:06 pm
by nathan12343
terrence wrote:A question somewhat related to this thread:

I am an international student, and I could apply for an external
scholarship. Unfortunately, the deadline is in February 2010, and
I will not know if I am selected for the scholarship before May 2010.
If I mention that I will apply for the scholarship in my applications,
could this help increase my chances of being admitted?
Again, if you actually get the external fellowship, then let the schools which rejected you know (if you haven't already accepted an admissions offer), this might put you over the top since you will be free.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:10 am
by terrence
.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 6:01 am
by terrence
nathan12343 wrote:
terrence wrote:A question somewhat related to this thread:

I am an international student, and I could apply for an external
scholarship. Unfortunately, the deadline is in February 2010, and
I will not know if I am selected for the scholarship before May 2010.
If I mention that I will apply for the scholarship in my applications,
could this help increase my chances of being admitted?
Again, if you actually get the external fellowship, then let the schools which rejected you know (if you haven't already accepted an admissions offer), this might put you over the top since you will be free.
As far as I understand, the NSF fellowship pays for 3 years, while the one I have applied to covers only the first year.
Do you think it would be worth to contact the schools which rejected me, if I get the fellowship? Perhaps admissionprof could give an insider's view on this matter.

Edit: I should know if I am selected for the fellowship in April, not in May; hopefully before April 15, but I can't be sure.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:48 am
by johnpauljones
I was wondering a similar thing; I was rejected from my first choice school (you can spoil the generalities of my question if you want by looking at my profile), but I'm still waiting to hear back about a fellowship application. If I don't end up getting it then this is a moot point, but if I do end up being selected for it, would it be considered tacky to contact the university I was rejected from and ask them to reconsider the decision since I would then have outside financial support (for three years, at least)?

I wasn't waitlisted, I was just flat out denied, so I'm not sure if it's an issue of funding or them feeling like I really just wouldn't do well in their program. Either way, insights from any actual faculty members who roam these boards would be appreciated.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:36 pm
by mobytish
If you've already been rejected, I'm not sure why you're worried about coming off tacky.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 6:22 pm
by grae313
I've heard of this actually working before. Anyways, it can't really hurt.

Re: Fellowships and Acceptance Rates..

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:30 am
by admissionprof
Hi. If someone has applied for a fellowship, it won't affect the decision very much. If they GET it, though, then it is a big, big difference, since funding is a major reason for limiting the class size. If you get a fellowship, contact the schools where you've been rejected and tell them. If you were "on the bubble", you'd have a good chance.