Fulbright Benefits (International student)

[acjs]

I've been lucky enough to receive a Fulbright scholarship to come to the States, along with a fully funded PhD offer at my dream school. This leaves me in the tricky (but awesome) situation of deciding whether or not to take the Fulbright.

 

Since my offer is funded, I don't need to take the Fulbright for the money, but I imagine there are quite a few intangible benefits in terms of networking opportunities, prestige, etc. On the other hand, the Fulbright comes with the 2 year home residency requirement on the J-1 visa, which means I am likely to have to return home at the end of my programme, right as I'm perhaps in a position to do something in the US. While the HRR can be waived, details are very murky as to how the process works, and it looks like the probability of obtaining a waiver is low.

 

Does anyone have any experience with either the other benefits of a Fulbright, or the possibility of obtaining a waiver?