July 2015: Deal with Fastlane, LORs and Transcripts
- Attend orientation on July 2
- Attend Brainstorming Sesh on July 30
- Read NSF GRFP program solicitation and determine the life science deadline
- Login to Fastlane, put your login info in a safe place where you can find it, and fill out anything that you can do now (name, addresses, places you went school, etc.)
- Decide who you would like to have write your letters of recommendation (LOR) and ask them if they feel comfortable writing you a strong, positive recommendation
- If your references are up to the challenge of writing your letters, send them the link for LORs from Fastlane
- Track down your transcripts and upload them
August 2015: Go from outlines to rough drafts
- Attend personal statement (August 7) and research proposal (August 30) writing workshops
- Give drafts to family, friends and peers, and ask for feedback
- Meet with your mentor to get perspective and advice on your research question and approach
- Add information to Fastlane if needed
September 2015: Go from rough drafts to polished pieces
- Attend personal statement (September 15) and research proposal (September 30) writing workshops
- Give polished drafts to family, friends, peers and mentor to ask for feedback.
- Check on the status of your LORs, don’t be afraid to remind your references if need be
- Add information to Fastlane if needed
October 2015: Mock review panel and proof Fastlane information
- By October 5, submit personal statement and research proposal to student coordinators who will get them to a mock review panel
- By October 15, get feedback, and polish statements by revisiting the review criteria and the checklist/rubric to make sure you hit all the points
- Check on status of your LORs and prod if necessary
- Add information to Fastlane if needed
November 1: Submit ahead of time to avoid crashes on Fastlane due to heavy traffic
- Upload your personal statement
- Upload your research proposal
- Double check that you have accurately completed all information on the Fastlane application
- Check that your transcripts and LORs are uploaded
- Save a copy of your application as a PDF
- Submit and save confirmation of submission