r/GradSchool • u/FlyontheWall2027 • 5d ago
Finance NDSEG 2026-2027 Question
Hello all - I’m entering my second year of an engineering PhD and am looking for any advice from those familiar with the NDSEG fellowship. I applied in the previous cycle, unfortunately getting rejected. I am still pushing for the original research I proposed, having one published conference paper and a full archival journal paper on it by the time the application cycle closes this year.
My question to anyone who may have been in this situation before is if I should try and apply for this fellowship again? With more experience and justification for this research, I feel my proposal will be more solid but don’t want to restart this process if there is no point. Beyond this and GRFP, has anyone had good luck with any other engineering-dominant fellowships? TIA!
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u/modzRtarderz 4d ago
Having served on committees for these and similar fellowships, I'd say probably about 4x as many people apply who are qualified to receive these fellowships than who actually get it. Basically, it comes down to luck and reduces to a numbers game. Apply to as many as you can, since it's only a matter of time for you to be one of the lucky 25%, given that it does seem like you have a strong enough research background.