One other thing to keep in mind, I guess, would be the funding cycle of NIH. I think when individuals start this, they're very surprised by how long the turnover can be.

Typically, what I say to them is think of it as sort of having a child. It really does take about nine months from the time you submit to finding out whether or not you will receive funding. I think for those who are in programs, for example, even if you're in a clinical psychology program or you're in a graduate program that generally takes five years, I'm seeing a lot of individuals who are coming in and it's time to propose their dissertation and not realizing it can actually take about two years on average before they get funded. And then it's like, "Well, I would have finished my dissertation by then," is the comment.

So what I say to a lot of individuals is really think about the timeline. If you want to come in for a grant, and because of the competitive nature of the way it is across the board, give yourself at least two years time from when you apply to when you think you're really going to need the grant. Even if push comes to shove and you get it a little bit early, in some cases, depending on the mechanism, there is an opportunity to defer it, depending on a few things. Quite honestly, you need to give yourself the time to do it.

It still takes a while to get through the review, which is actually to an investigator's benefit because we do take the time to make sure that the peer review is accurate, that your grants are scientifically sound and that the people reading them, understand what they're reading. So it's a good thing, but at the same time, it takes some time and just being aware of what the cycles look like.