In this study, to examine status compensation effect we explore an intriguing behavioral pattern of grant applicants. We draw from the status compensation hypothesis and examine the influence of an applicant's status (i.e. ranking of the applicant's affiliated institution) on the title length of the applicant's grant proposal. In addition, we explore the moderating effects of project discipline, the applicant's grant approval experience, and funding amount. Information of all projects funded by the Management Science Division of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) between 2015 and 2019 were screened and analyzed with a pooled cross-section data model. Ranking of the applicant's institution was found to negatively predict the title length of the grant proposal. This effect is more pronounced in grants in Business Administration, for applicants with more experience in grant approval, and when a project has a larger funding amount. Findings of this study illustrate the prevalent status-induced compensatory behaviors in grant applications, which contribute to research on the compensation effect and bear practical implications for the scientific community.