Porshyen

I emailed the program on Monday.

Okay, so I asked, but I have heard nothing in return. The thing is, I asked via an "ask form" on the website and cannot verify if I accidentally gave them the incorrect email to respond to or if I misspelled it. Should I just bite the bullet and wait for the decision to come via post? Would it be potentially too pushy to ask again?

Haha, yeah I might have to include myself on the addiction to Gradcafe. I discovered it last year when I was applying for Fulbright and would often check here first before my email to "prepare" myself for news. Now, I have poured over about every section and thread on Gradcafe…twice. My field is so small that is very difficult to glean information about when I'll hear...

Family tree

storm cellar

I wish this thread had more participants with whom I could commiserate! Three of the four programs I applied to asked me to list my GRE scores in the FLAS application (oddly, KU did not and I do not know if they will pull the scores from my admissions app or not). My GRE scores are not great - my quantitative score is atrocious and AWA was subpar, which really surprised me (my VA was fine). I have other qualities that would make my app stand out, like a Fulbright to Georgia, but it is hard to know what is weighed in particular and what is not, so I worry. I suppose I will just have to wait and see if a.) I get into other programs b.) if committees see past the low GREs at the rest of my record and consider me for FLAS and/or other funding opportunities. I am particularly interested in how Russia has shaped national and ethnic identity in the Caucasus from the Russian military campaigns of the 1840s-1860s, Soviet ethnic policy, and modern conflict. What about everyone else?

One of the schools I applied to says that it will only release admissions decision via postal mail and it is unable to release this information by phone or email. I am currently living abroad. Do you think it would be inappropriate to ask if there are any exceptions? My parents are receiving my mail, so it is not the worst thing, but I would rather find out this information first.

I had been ambivalent all summer about whether I wanted to apply for grad school this application season and then I decided I did indeed want to apply, but with a month before I was due to live the country, it did not give me much time to prepare for the GRE. Standardized tests have always been daunting to me, I don't know how to prepare for them. This, coupled with poor test taking skills, and test anxiety I did not do well on the test. By the time I realized that I could have retaken the test in country, despite having researched this and found nothing, it was too late to retake it. That said, I am hoping that adcomms will see the scores as a bit of a fluke as the rest of my academic record is strong. I hoping for this anyway.

I realized that I incorrectly worded the title of a journal I was published in. I caught the error before submitting to all the schools, but for some, it was too late. We will see where it gets me.

Hey! I am applying to several schools in Russian and Eurasian Studies. I was pleasantly surprised to be accepted into KU's program (as in, I had no idea I would hear a decision so soon), but I am still waiting on the others. Does anyone know what the usual timeline is to hear back about FLAS?

I realized that I didn't accurately name a journal I was published in on my CV. Luckily, I caught it before submitting it to the various schools I have applied, but, for some, it was too late. Yikes.

I was doing okay, not expecting to hear back until March at the earliest, then I heard back from a school last week. Now, I just want to know…I have so much time on my hands because I only work in the mornings and early afternoon. I have the rest of the evening to obsessively check email, reread program/university websites, and pour over Gradcafe. It doesn't help that it is winter and it is muddy and cold and that there is nothing to do besides sit inside and be on the computer.

Hey, everyone! If anyone has any questions about what life is like as an ETA, especially in Eastern Europe, I would be happy and try to provide you some information. I have been lurking around these forums and followed first round notifications with anticipation. I am sorry that not all of you are moving forward, you are all smart, deserving people. That said, something will work out, that I do believe. For those of you did make it past the first round, congratulations!

So, I sent the professor an email yesterday (still haven't heard anything back), but of course I am freaking out because I think I may have worded it wrong. I thank you for this great opportunity, I am very interested in being part of the KU community. However, due to financial difficulties, I would need to receive funding in order to attend the university. Do you think the first two sentences are too crass, especially the second one pertaining to financial difficulty? There is more to this email asking about specific funding opportunities, obviously, but I just pasted what was necessary here. Am I over thinking this? This email has already been sent, so there is nothing I can do...

Sorry, I accidentally posted in the wrong thread.

I seem to recall that German ETA applicants did not have to do that for the 2013-2014 round, but I could be wrong.

So, I received my first offer of admission to a Master's program and while no word about funding was offered with the letter of admission. I received a follow-up congratulatory/introductory email from a professor at the school to encourage me to look for their many funding opportunities. She told me to email her with any questions I might have. Is it okay to ask her about potential funding opportunities and assistantships with the preface of, if I don't get aid, I can't go? What is typical protocol about being nominated for departmental or school wide fellowships, assistantships, etc.? I know the potential for funding for Master's programs is lower than with doctoral programs, so I already know it is an uphill battle. I hope that made sense. Thanks in advance for the help.

How often are TA's/RA's and other funding opportunities extended to Master's students?

I avoid looking over applications for that very reason! One year I applied for a CLS scholarship, had my essays read over dozens of times by half a dozen people and only after I submitted did I realize there was a mistake! I have been lurking on this forum the last couple of days rooting for you all! Good luck.

I hear you. When I was deciding which country I wanted to apply to, Russia or Georgia, that very question factored in my decision. Albeit, it was only one of several factors, but I felt I had a better shot at getting into Fulbright Georgia than I did Fulbright Russia. Who knows how things would have turned out had I applied for Russia? That being said, however, somebody has to make up that 15% and 5%, why not it be you? Good luck!

Actually, I seem to recall that they updated statistics some time in mid-spring after first round notifications went out. Eleven people applied for four slots for Georgia for the 2013-2014 cycle. Probably half of that number was recommended to the second round.

I am not too worried about "selling" my academic side, I can in every way except those GREs. This application cycle is not the end all be all and I can always try again. And I do have a significant amount of experience, traditional and non-traditional. I can sell my academic side and professional side by using professors, my supervisors, unfortunately, just wouldn't work. I will see what happens. Thanks for the advice. That said, I did have a friend who also bombed his GREs and he got into a top Slavic program at USC and received full funding. So, you just don't know? But this is not the end and if it doesn't happen this year, I will just try again.

Hello Everyone, I have posted and been a part of various forums on Gradcafe, so I am not new. However, I have applied to graduate school for 2014-2015 year and am now biding my time as the admissions season gets underway. My credentials are overall pretty decent, but I bombed the GRE and there were reasons why I could not retake (whether they are good or bad, this is the fact). So here is my profile: Graduated with honors at the University of Montana in May 2013 (GPA: 3.61) B.A. in Russian Language and Literature, academic minor in Central and Southwest Asian Studies Senior Seminar Paper and Presentation on the history behind the 2008 August War between Russia and Georgia. I received an A's on the paper, presentation, and in the course (This is also used as a writing sample) Languages: Russian (Working proficiency, all modalities) Georgian (Rudimentary) German (Beginner high) Experience abroad: - Study abroad, Saint Petersburg, Russia (full immersion, spring 2012) - Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, Republic of Georgia (following graduation 2013-2014) Distinctions within major: - ACTR (American Council for Teacher's of Russian) Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate (2013) - ACTR National Russian Essay Contest nominee (2010, 2011, 2013) - Departmental scholarships President of the University of Montana Russian Club for two years, active member during my entire undergrad. LOR: 3 stellar recommendations, all professors, two from the Russian Department and one from the Central and Southwest Asian Studies Department). GRE: V: (153) Q: (137) (Ouch, I know) W: (3.5) (Ouch, I know) (The only 'C' grade I received as an undergrad was in math) (Who the heck knows what went wrong in the writing section as writing is one of my strongest attributes) Other experience: - 10 years of working at a multicultural summer day camp - A semester as a volunteer English teacher at Saint Petersburg State University in Russia - A semester as an English Conversation Tutor for international students at the University of Montana - A semester as an English Tutor to disadvantaged elementary school students in Missoula, Montana - Volunteer for a local political organization in Chicago, Illinois - Election Judge in the 2008 Illinois Presidential Primaries The schools and Master's programs to which I applied: - Georgetown University's Center for Russian and East European Studies - University of Washington's Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies - Indiana University's Russian and East European Institute - University of Kansas' Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies I have applied for the Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) for all four schools. I have applied for a Pickering Fellowship (full funding for two years of Master's work for those interested in working in the government, particularly the Foreign Service) sponsored by the State Department. Ultimately, I want to be an expert on the sociocultural implications on politics in the area of Russian and Eurasian studies and how national and ethnic identity play into this theme. Long story short, I would focus on government, geopolitics, security, language, and ethnic studies. I would like to work in the U.S. Federal Government or an international agency that focuses on Russia and Eurasian matters. My main concern is that I cannot afford graduate school without funding and know that it is hard to get funding in the humanities on a Master's degree and I am wondering how much my GRE scores will impact my chances? Thank you!

"Hi everyone! I want to wish you all the best of luck. I applied to Brazil as an ETA. I'm hoping for a response soon! To those who are current Fulbrighters or who have applied through their college's scholarship office, will our scholarship advisor here know before we do if we are recommended as finalists? Happy new year!" - Mary_118 I applied through my university, but I am not sure if my adviser knew before I did about first round notifications. I did hear, via GradCafe, that IIE told the advisers that they/we would be getting notified soon (that was the week of January 13th), we proceeded to find out on Friday, January 18th 2013 towards the end of the day. Regarding final notifications, IIE notified my adviser of my status at the same time IIE notified me.

I just wanted to come on here and wish you all good luck! I am a current Fulbright ETA to Georgia. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. :-)