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Torrid

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Everything posted by Torrid

  1. Hi - I am an American second year student at Hertie. I do not think there is an excessive emphasis placed on the EU and its accompanying policies and politics. There is still a great deal of attention paid to the American system -- too much at times, I think. I would not be worried about this.
  2. I e-mailed earlier this week and was told to expect a response the first week of May.
  3. I haven't officially accepted yet, but I absolutely will be attending!
  4. It's definitely possible; I know of two people off the top of my head who were accepted into USTA after our Fulbright year.
  5. I feel like a month is a reasonable window in which to politely ask if they have an idea when decisions will be mailed out. I will be waiting a bit longer before I reach out.
  6. I was accepted two weeks ago and have not yet heard back regarding funding.
  7. Argentina ETAs, I would definitely expect some movement on the ETA list. I have a friend that applied to the ETA and was recommended, but she has since already decided that she wants to stay in her current city and take a stable job rather than head to South America. I'm not even sure if she was awarded the grant (my guess is should would have been a strong candidate though); regardless, with decisions coming in this late, my guess is that she's not the only person who already decided to commit to something else.
  8. On the subject of how much time you can spend in a country to be considered competitive for the grant... As often is the case, I don't know that you can say there is a hard and fast rule here. My guess is it depends a lot on the program. I am a current Germany ETA and prior to starting my grant, I had done one 5-month study abroad and two short trips to Germany. But, I know at least three other ETAs who have parents who are German or Austrian and who have spent longer periods of time in German-speaking countries. They still got the grants. I know plenty of people who studied abroad in high school as well as college, leading them to have amassed more than a year in Germany... I wouldn't say that having more than 6 months of experience in your grant country is a kiss of death. It might not make you seem more competitive, but I don't think it's right to say it will damn you right from the start.
  9. To chime in on this discussion, I would say that the importance of teaching experience definitely depends on the country in question; some programs I think are more explicit about preferring candidates with strong teaching backgrounds; others, like Germany, don't necessarily require it. I'm an ETA in Germany with no real background in teaching. In my application, I just related experiences I had working for my university's newspaper, helping international students, etc. to situations I might encounter as a teacher, but I didn't have any actual tutoring or teaching experience to speak of. I am definitely not alone among Germany ETAs.
  10. So happy for all of you new Germany ETAs! And that's amazing that you already have your placement, jensenhl! That's a big change from last year; hopefully it means the rest of you also won't have to wait so long. For the alternates -- don't lose hope! With 140 grants available, you can definitely expect some people to turn theirs down for various reason. I know of three current ETAs off the top of my head who were originally alternates.
  11. Not necessarily -- there are probably 10 or so ETAs in each city, plus more in the area. But there are likely a lot more people putting those cities/states as their choices than there are actually spots available in either. But, for example, they might put you in Brandenburg instead of Berlin, which isn't a whole lot different. Or maybe they'd put you in far northern Niedersachsen rather than Hamburg. Really, I wouldn't sweat it. I know very few people 100 percent unhappy with where they are right now.
  12. Lalakey, I'm so sorry for you... I remember you from last year and I was really pulling for you. I know you don't want people to tell you to keep your head up, focus on your PhD program, etc... you can have some time to be sad and angry, that's your right and perfectly normal. But I know the sting will lessen in time, and it sounds like you still have some wonderful opportunities ahead of you. Best of luck to you.
  13. Hessen was my top choice, so I was pleased. I think for the most part people got one of their top 3 choices, and in cases where they didn't there seemed to be somewhat of an effort to compromise (i.e. people who indicated Northern Germany via Hamburg, Bremen, Niedersachsen ending up in Schleswig-Holstein). Certainly if your top 3 are Bayern, Berlin and Hamburg there's a decent chance you won't necessarily get any of those, but otherwise I think they try hard to match people with their preferences. Very few people are at Grundschulen... I can only think of one first-year TA off the top of my head, and I think she specifically talked about experience working with younger children in her application. I know there is also one 2nd year at a Grundschule. Thus most everyone is working with kids between 12-22, though the actual range depends on what type of secondary school you're at (many people are at Gymnasien, but not all -- I am at a Realschule, and a fair amount of people are at Berufschulen).
  14. Yes, you can apply for a second year, though my understanding is that it's fairly competitive -- far fewer slots than there are interested people. Not sure of specific numbers, but I'm guessing there aren't more than 15 returnees this year.
  15. Based on last year, it will probably be at least a month (if not longer) between when you get your initial acceptance and when you find out your placement. It was handled differently by each Bundesland. In my case, I received two letters at the end of May -- one telling me I was in Hessen, and the other telling me my actual placement. They weren't sent the same day so I think it was just happenstance that the arrived at the same time. A handful of people found out via e-mail, I believe, but for the most part everything came through snail mail and some people didn't know their actual cities until July :/
  16. I am very, very surprised that your Fulbright director is so stringent on this. I know of Germany ETAs that are leaving early for TFA, for jobs they have found or for other reasons, and the impression I got is that they are willing to be accommodating. Is there anyone else you can speak to? Maybe if you have a good relationship with your school, they can try to go to bat for you on this issue (basically say, "We loved Madagonk but we don't want him/her to miss out on this opportunity; it's fine if he/she leaves early")? Moreover, even if they say you can't claim "Fulbright alumni" status, I don't think that means you can't say you were a participant in the program on resumes and such. Maybe you include a line that says you terminated early due to extenuating circumstances (circumstances I think any respectable person would understand), but as far as I can tell they can't stop you from listing this as an experience. They can only stop you from publicly proclaiming yourself to be a "Fulbright scholar" or something of that nature.
  17. Larger programs (like Germany) tend to do in-country orientations; smaller programs usually do the DC orientation.
  18. For people doing research grants in Germany, I'm pretty sure the standard for the language requirement is that you need to speak enough German to complete your project. So, if you're planning on poring over German language manuscripts, you probably should be stepping up your German, but if you're going to be doing laboratory research and working with a lot of English-language texts, you don't need to worry. Like others mentioned, that pre-grant course is just to bring everyone up to a basic level (I think they might sort you according to your abilities?). There are plenty of full grants that come over with very little experience with the language, so I wouldn't stress about it too much so long as you think you know enough to complete your project. And anyway, your German will improve significantly the first few months regardless of where you started.
  19. I don't think the two are usually synched up. In the case of Germany, there is a specific government agency that administers the TAs, and I suspect other countries are similar (especially larger programs). Thus I would think the two would be on different timelines because they are being overseen by different groups.
  20. Not sure how I feel about contributing to your torture, but here is the e-mail I got from IIE last year: Subject was just "Fulbright Application Status" Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student award for 2013-2014 to Germany. Shortly you will receive a letter from the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board with further details of the award. This letter will be sent to the mailing address listed in your application and noted above. This address will remain your corresponding address unless you notify us in writing, via email to your IIE Program Manager. In the meantime, be aware that this award is contingent upon your obtaining: medical clearance; a bachelor's degree, if graduating this year; official research clearance from the host country, where applicable; and required visas. Please note that all selected candidates will be required to submit a Medical History and Examination Form before the grant can be finalized. The form must be completed and signed by a licensed physician and reviewed by the U.S. Department of State for medical clearance. The medical form has been posted online along with instructions and other information pertinent to your grant. You should print out the form and have it completed in accordance with the timelines described in the cover memorandum. Please bookmark this url: Pre-Departure Resources: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/resources-for-pre-grantees We urge you to visit this page regularly for important pre-departure information and updates. It is your responsibility to keep fully informed of and to comply with all grant award requirements. The Fulbright Commission in Germany will contact you soon with further information on grant administration and pre-departure preparation. If at any time in the coming months, you determine that you will not be able to accept the Fulbright award, please be sure to notify IIE immediately. Again, congratulations on your accomplishments and we look forward to working with you. Sincerely, Daniel Kramer Director, U.S. Student Programs Institute of International Education 809 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017
  21. Last cycle, there was one woman in her 40s who ended up an alternate for Estonia, and, according to her, she was told that her age was a contributing factor to her non-selection. I can't speak to whether or not this is indicative of how all countries operate, but I do suspect there would be a preference toward younger candidates for the reason you mention (more potential for greater achievements over the long run)... Sorry to not have something more positive to say here, but it's my honest opinion. That said, I really really hope I'm dead wrong and that Zambia is able to look to the quality of your research proposal as most important. Good luck!
  22. If I remember right from last year, they were very chill about transcripts. It wasn't the kind of thing that would make or break your chances; they would just contact you if they hadn't received them by a certain date. I wouldn't sweat that part of it too much.
  23. I am an ETA so I am not certain, but based on last year's spreadsheet I believe the answer is no. No one applying for a full grant last year indicated an interview date on the spreadsheet.
  24. My understanding is that they are one and the same? I.e. a research/study grant is one grant. I think the two are lumped together because you need a university affiliation to conduct your research, so you'll be fully matriculated into the Hochschule while you carry out your project -- thus, you are doing your research whilst, technically, studying.
  25. The e-mail actually came from IIE, and it looks like it was sent the week following recommendation notifications. I've had a great time thus far! I don't think I would want to do a second year just because teaching is really not my calling, but I've had so much fun and I don't regret this at all.
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