Some quick thoughts about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
I was lucky enough to win one as a grad student, and even the process of applying was helpful for my research agenda
fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp
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I was lucky enough to win one as a grad student, and even the process of applying was helpful for my research agenda
fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp
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Second, here’s a super long thread on the NSF from last year:
Third, I made this offer, and someone actually took me up on it 👀
Looking back at my old NSF apps, a couple thoughts came to mind
Looking back at my old NSF apps, a couple thoughts came to mind
During my first attempt, my research plan was literally all over the place. No focus and no specifics on how I would answer these questions: 
Suffice to say I wrote down a lot of ideas, but no clear research questions
This was reflected in the reviews:
This was reflected in the reviews:
I think it’s much better to pitch a solid research idea than a more amorphous research agenda
My second application had a much more focused research question. Here it is in its entirety. It also helped to be writing it from grad school, where I received great feedback
My second application had a much more focused research question. Here it is in its entirety. It also helped to be writing it from grad school, where I received great feedback
I was rewarded for this more focused approach, as you can see in my second round of reviews:
Another thing you’ll notice: there’s as much space on the reviews about research as there is about broader impacts
I wrote about my past community service, the lack of diversity in my field, and how I could help to change that, both being there but also by mentoring others
I wrote about my past community service, the lack of diversity in my field, and how I could help to change that, both being there but also by mentoring others
Don’t sell yourself short on broader impacts. There’s a lot of ways to fill in that box
The first year reviews also said my letter writers didn’t have much to go on
The second time around, I gave my letter writers an extensive packet of information:
The second time around, I gave my letter writers an extensive packet of information:
As an aside: a lot of this advice also applies to your graduate school app
A final thought: many don’t realize that you can sign up to be an NSF reviewer. An easy way to make a difference:
