<p>Is applying for the nsf fellowship worthwhile if you have research experience w/o publications?</p>
<p>I think so, I think having pubs will help you out but they are hard to come by these days, so a good number of successful applicants will be without them. I personally think at this stage of the game the letters and grades are probably worth a larger portion of the pie.</p>
<p>Publications (from what I understand from people who have won an NSF fellowship) are useful, but not essential, as long as you do have research experience.</p>