F-award funding by fiscal year end
This post is an in-between of venting, holding out hope, and curiosity as to whether others in this community may have some helpful information or perspectives
I'm a PhD student that submitted an F grant early last year, made it through review group with a good impact score, through advisory council, and got a JIT request a few months ago. Ever since then, .... crickets. I was told that in a different timeline, these signs are reassuring, but seeing recent funding curves and NIH RePORTER barely fund any F-awards in the past month has been admittedly demoralizing.
My PO suggested I do a resubmission just in case (which I did) because no one really knows what's going on. I just feel frustrated that I put the time and effort into my initial application and a seemingly unnecessary resubmission -- and then am spending mental energy into constantly checking for eRA status updates and funding curves.
I recognize my ego is also a bit hurt because I see others being recently celebrated for receiving F awards, so I'm left wondering I did something wrong, if I should have left out 1 or 2 words that may have gotten my app flagged, and because if this funding doesn't come through, I'll have to TA which I know will take time away from research and potentially delay graduation. I also recognize that my situation is far from the worst possible case, given that others have had to close down labs or switch careers.
I haven't really run into anyone else in a similar situation to mine, but I imagine this isn't unique. Does anyone else feel similarly or have any words of wisdom? Also, if funding doesn't occur by the end of the fiscal year, is there any chance that proposals might still be funded next year or are they ineligible for funding?
Finally, thanks to all the POs and GMSs if you're reading this. I can only imagine the frustration on your end dealing with all of this administratively from both the agency + applicant perspectives. I'm sorry if I've been annoying asking for occasional status updates. I think it's just because y'all are the point of contact so it's been difficult to direct this energy in other ways...