Everyone reading here in despair: I cannot do much to alleviate the pain of being rejected from Fulbright (research). But you should know that I have applied 3 times over the last 3 years. I have multiple publications, great institutional affiliations, great recommendations, top tier school, spotless academic record, various small grants/fellowships, and a proposal that, each year, I put before a public workshop consisting of former ACLS and other fellowship board members for critique prior to submission. I was rejected in the final selection for the first two years. But this year, I got a Research Fulbright. So there may be light at the end of the tunnel, even if it seems devastatingly hopeless at times. Congrats to all those accepted; my sympathy for those not.