irvine36

Hi all, has anyone tried to log on to the Student Service Portal? When I click 'forgot password' like they say to and type in my email, it just comes back "email address unknown," which makes me nervous!

Thank you! I agree - the whole application process was really valuable. Just writing and rewriting my essays over and over gave me insight into what I was truly interested in doing in the future and helped me become a better statement writer. Regardless of where people end up in the process, it's nice to know you're part of a little community of people who all have similar interests/goals!

I checked b/c 2 people I know had heard back so it got me wondering! Also my recommendation email got sent to spam too, so I didn't trust this one not to be sent there as well. I hope you hear back soon!!

ETA recipient to Germany!! It got sent to my spam mail though... double checked, triple checked, but it's real! Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted so far! And best of luck to the alternates!

Me every time I get an email that isn't from IIE.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc - good old Michael Scott

(and to @jadesg1 !) I didn't even know you could do this until now.... but I definitely just created a folder as well! That's a really great idea!

Hey omhk, I second what RosyPosy68 had to say about the grades. I know someone working as an ETA in Indonesia this year, and she only had about a 3.2 in undergrad. It sounds like overall you finished with some really strong grades though, so you should be fine. Based on the Fulbright website, I think language proficiency is more important for the ETA program, but isn't vital for the research applicants. I noticed under the 'foreign language proficiency' section all it says is 'recommended' for the research grant applications. It also says: "German language proficiency commensurate with the nature of the proposed project is required. " On the ETA page under language requirements, it says "strongly recommended, intermediate to advanced," plus 2 years of college level study of the language. I think you would only need to be concerned about your current level if you were applying for an ETA, but if you know you'll be working/researching entirely in English, it sounds like you should be good go to go!

Thanks, I appreciate the help! I might be messaging you soon with some questions, especially if I find out I didn't get an ETA and am relying on a USTA acceptance... we'll see!

Hi bailey24, Congrats on the acceptance! It’s nice to know that one way or another you’re going to be in Europe in the fall! I'm not personally familiar with the CBYX for young professionals, however a girl I knew my freshman year at college took a gap year to do the CBYX youth program before starting school. Granted it's a bit of a different environment/feel than the professional program, but she loved it. She came back fluent in German due to the language classes they provide and from living with a host family. I haven’t heard anything yet about the USTA – I think notifications are supposed to be sent starting April 1. Who knows if I’ll get accepted to either one, but I’m not sure what I’d choose if I’m lucky enough to get chosen for both the USTA and ETA. I’d probably go with the Fulbright because of my ties to Germany and the prestige it holds… but I’m still not sure! Either scholarship would be amazing. Do you know anyone who has done the USTA before? It sounds like a great experience, but I don’t know too much about it aside from reading the website and from filling out everything on the application.

I completely agree! I wasn't planned on checking (Germany ETA) until at least mid March since last year applicants seemed to get notified around late March/Early April. Now that countries are starting to send out acceptances, I'll probably be checking every day!

Sure! My choices for the Fulbright are Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, and Hessen - in that order. As strange as it sounds, Berlin isn't one of my favorite German cities, but I listed it b/c I talked about wanting to work with immigrants in my essays, and Berlin has quite a few immigrants living near/in the city. I didn't want to pick NRW or Bayern b/c I worked as an au pair near Munich and studied a semester at Bonn, so I want to try something new if I were to get the Fulbright! I'm not sure exactly on the statistics behind how many people get their first preference vs. 2nd or 3rd, but I have heard they try to place you in one of your preferred cities. For the USTA, my two preferences are Vienna (long shot!) and Lower Austria. Also, I've been over analyzing and trying to figure the same things out, too!! I'm trying to just focus on other things until March!

It sounds like you're right - the stat doesn't seem to apply to the country you applied to. I believe the 1.5-2 stat is specifically for the Germany ETA applicants! Best, Anna

Hi laurajean_p! I also applied for the USTA but haven't had any luck finding stats either... I'm going to try to do some research now, so I'll post here if I find anything.

I remember seeing a statistic that about 1.5 - 2 times the number of applicants get recommended as finalists compared to those that get accepted. Using 2014-2015 as an example:140 people got accepted for the ETA to Germany last year, meaning anywhere from 210-280 applicants were recommended as finalists... seems a bit high to me, so I'm not sure if the statistic I read was actually correct. Hope this helps!

Does anyone know if Germany requires a second-round interview for ETA finalists? I have heard various answers from doing some research (aka Fulbright blog stalking) online. From what I've gathered, the process has changed a bit over the past couple of years - previously I think students had to translate their essays into German for the second round, etc. A friend of mine was an alternate for Russia last year and had to do a Skype interview so that they could evaluate her language skills. This was probably a month or so after she found out she was a finalist. Wondering if it's the same for Germany?