tieloran

You really need to breathe. Everyone's trying to give you relevant information, and from what I can tell (after thoroughly reading all of your posts on this forum and the 2015-16 forum), you should listen to what they're saying. The only reason their comments sound "haughty" is because you lashed out immediately when they tried to help you avoid months of (probably fruitless) waiting. Also, you're fabricating some of the comments that you're complaining about. It sounds like you should have applied to Fulbright for the 2014-15 cycle if you're arriving in October. You could still apply for the coming year if you're planning on going to another country after this year of research.

K, but you did ask for advice. Two pages back, you wrote: "ANY THOUGHTS?" So people gave you their thoughts.

Haha, yeah, that seems to happen a lot on this forum! We're all so invested.

I think GnosisExchange and I posted at the same time saying the same thing...or I just didn't see that post before I posted.

A lot of notifications were also bumped up (e.g., Malta found out a month earlier this year compared to previous years), so I'm not sure if anything can reliably predict notification dates.

I'm sorry. I know how much it sucks. What country did you apply to?

Thanks, olioliwoo. At least we're in this together!!!

Thanks, guys.

I just received it, for Malta. I know there's still hope, but that's how I felt for months last year too, so it feels horrible right now. This is my second year in limbo.

Oh my god. I can't believe this. I'm an alternate AGAIN. I don't even know what to think right now.

Oh my god, kbui, I'm so sorry. I have so much faith in the wonderful things you'll do, though. And at Yale! You're amazing, don't forget it.

And you can reapply, of course! If that's still a viable option for you. You got this far -- clearly you and your project are amazing.

Why do you do this to us, Fulbright, whyyyyyy (I mean, I appreciate the thought and effort going into the decisions, but...aernop;vn bpofn)

What time do you have to tell them on Monday? If you can wait until late afternoon, maybe (just maybe!) you'll hear from Fulbright. You can also call your program manager -- they're very nice on the phone.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsJrSSHnssqFdHNPell4VVZwWDgtWUpQcTVVeWM0bWc&usp=sharing#gid=1

Malta was supposed to have two grants last year. When they updated the statistics last month, they said they had only given one. The "projected number" for last year stayed at two until then! So yeah, it happens...

So I called Eileen O'Malley (Europe & Eurasia PM) on Friday to ask, first, about the April 15 notification date rumor and, second, about Malta. The first is probably more interesting to all of you: Ms. O'Malley said that April 15 is, as always, the date by which they HOPE notifications will go out, but there are no guarantees. I think they may be putting more pressure on country committees than last year (since a few that usually notify in late April or May have done so in March this year), but April 15 is just the date they hope for. Aaaand Malta hasn't said a word to the US office, so Ms. O'Malley told me it's a waiting game, like last year.

Well, they only posted preliminary statistics. They didn't give final numbers for last year's cycle until this month!

Of course, I meant I want the application to "reflect" that...that's what I get for multitasking! Also, no problem!!! Good luck rewriting! That part's a lot easier the second time around.

I get it. I started dating my boyfriend right before I sent in my application. It sucks a whole lot to have the "long distance or not at all?" conversation, but I've been very clear from the beginning that I will take the Fulbright if I get it. He says that there's a small part of him that doesn't want me to get it so that our relationship won't be put under that strain, but for the most part he would be ecstatic for me. If we want our relationship to work in the long run, we need to be able to survive nine months apart. As lalakey said, it is easier than ever to keep in contact when you're halfway around the world. If this relationship is that strong, it will survive.

I used a lot of ideas from my old statements, but I rewrote them both for the most part. I learned a lot going through the process the first time and wanted my application to reflect that. I kept two out of three of my recs the same. One was last minute last year (someone who agreed to do my rec forgot to get it in and then went MIA until the next week...it was stressful), so I chose my third recommender more carefully this time around. That said, I don't know yet if it worked any better this year! Right now I'm in the same position I was.

That's pretty typical, at least in previous years. I didn't hear until mid May last year (Malta), and I had to defer my grad program without knowing if I had received the grant. (And I ended up as an alternate...oy.) It worked out well for me in the end, but it was really frustrating. However, a few pages ago, someone mentioned that Fulbright might be trying to get all notifications out by April 15 this year. I guess they got some complaints? Hopefully this person is right!

...Really?! That would be so incredibly different from last year. I didn't find out until mid May, and neither did some people applying to several other countries (a few even heard in June, I think). Did your FPA say what's changed?

Congratulations!!!

I vaguely remember that last year only applicants to certain countries got this e-mail. And not everyone got it at the same time.