ibette

I am a fellow Colombian Fulbright Semi-finalist here (although for the research grant). I don't think we have interviews for the Research Grant portion but if you need a practice run, please feel free to PM me. I am a native Spanish speaker so I may be able to help!

It's going to be okay <3 !!! I am sure you did great, and I am sure they also understand some applicants might be stressed.

By the way @Horb I noticed we both applied in the 2014-2015 cycle too. Hopefully we get Finalist status this time around.

I forgot about a university that encourages everyone in their honors college to apply for a Fulbright their senior year and being the most awarded college for a Fulbright. I mean, if I had four years to work on my project proposal it better be picked lol (I took three years on this one XD).

I am getting pretty anxious now. My country has released their finalist decisions around third week of March. D: Every passing day gets more real and antsy about the outcome. I can't help feeling a little impatient now. Good thing is that I have a lot of conferences and travels in March so that will keep me occupied. However, February will be a slow month for me.

Well said, we have to be ambassadors now more than ever. Fulbright or no Fulbright, if we travel, we have to show what the true values of our country are. I am located in Texas so it saddens me how much misinformation exists within the people I have on social media sites. The most astonishing thing is that unfortunately most of these people have never traveled outside the state nonetheless the country. It seems like traveling and being involved in international and cultural exchange truly helps inform and foster compassion, awareness, and humanity.

These executive orders are worrying me, especially all these bans against Muslim countries. I feel sick to my stomach. It's hard to stay happy and focus about Fulbright when I feel like we are losing basic human compassion and decency in front of the eyes of the world.

I became concern too if my project would be funded since it is a touchy subject and can be related to immigration. Although the political climate of the US promotes isolationism and fear, I hope to get chosen to actually prove the contrary to my host country and the research team I plan to work with.

Anyone a little anxious for the second round of notifications? I just stuffed myself with chocolate to ease the nerves. I hope this doesn't become a habit.

I didn't request dependent support since it wasn't available on my country. Hopefully husband can find some sort of remote job too. The good thing is that we both are native speakers of the target country and his company might have some onsite locations there (not sure but I know they do have offices in other South American countries). If not, he can save his vacation and visit me then

I would love for my husband to come with me! But I am not sure if the stipend would be enough for the both of us to survive on since he has student loans and a monthly car loan payment . Also, would you know how the visa process would work for spouses? I am guessing I would be getting something similar to a student visa but I am not sure if my husband could also qualify?

My FPA let me know that there were 5 semi-finalists in my university. Yay! However, she did mention that the maximum Fulbright finalist recipients my university has had is three in a given year. Yikes!

I think the affiliation letter should suffice for the second round process. I am guessing when it's time for visa applications and additional paperwork from the US some additional verifications and contact might begin with the host institution. I just let my affiliate institution know about my semi-finalist status and that I would keep them in the loop on future news (it seems like I will know by third week of March based on my country's previous notification dates). Also, today I went ahead and sent my application to renew my US passport! It would have expired in December of 2017, right in the middle of my stay during my grant if I get it, so I just went ahead and sent it (just in case, I would hate to think I could be in a difficulty situation as a semi-finalist now and screwing myself over because of a silly passport issue). Thought I could bring up this topic incase some of you may have to renew your passports while abroad/doing Fulbright.

So three years ago I applied for the same country, same university, similar research project, etc. and got flat out rejected the first round. This time I tightened my proposal and strengthen my CV. I also stayed connected and built up my relationship with the host institution. As a first time applicant, I applied as a first year Master's student. This time around I applied as an ABD PhD candidate. I am so happy I was in Europe for the majority of December and not thinking about Fulbright/compulsively checking the forum and my e-mail. I was talking to a colleague and complaining how I felt somewhat stalled after my qualifying exams when I signed onto my e-mail and see "I am pleased to inform you..." and I was so confused??? I look at the header and it said "Fulbright" and I went from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds. I am pretty sure my poor colleague thought someone died because I broke down, crying hysterically in front of her. Anyways, just wanted to share this story because in 2010 I sat in my university's Fulbright info session as a senior in college and imagined how cool it would be to get such an amazing award to not only do research, but also serve as ambassador for my country. Not sure if I will get to be a finalist but I feel proud of what I have done to prepare myself to apply this second time. So if you didn't get it this time, please continue to push for it. I applied for the Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship and didn't get that one either, but perseverance is key. There are also other great international funding opportunities/experiences you can seek out in the mean time (for example, I joined an on-campus organizations that focused on international outreach which was a great experience that probably helped my Fulbright application). And for those who are semi-finalist, good luck! I know it will suck putting our lives on hold again but it will be okay.

Recommended for Full Research Grant to Colombia! Second time applying, sigh of relief. Heeehhh...

This is my second time applying to Fulbright. The first time I was in my first year of grad school so I was busy with coursework. The following year I took a grant writing course that helped me a bit, and the year after that (last year) I applied for the International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF). This year is my last shot at a grant and decided to pursue Fulbright again with a stronger proposal (and research affiliations). I will be traveling from mid-December to early January and also moving, so I am hoping that will occupy my mind. The 2014-2015 cycle we heard pretty late in the game if we were in or not (the generic e-mail was sent towards the end of January, I believe). I did a 6 month lease in my new apartment just in case.

References are due at midnight tonight. Supporting documents talks about the upload documents (transcripts, statements, affiliation letters, etc.) in the Embark application that are submitted together. Reference Letters don't fall onto those categories. Reference Letters are uploaded through a different Embark Log-in portal by your recommender and they have until midnight ET to submit those.

Wow, can't believe I am back in here. I am a second time applicant (first time was for the 2014-2015 cycle). Same country, same host institution, and similar project. Just submitted today and it has been kind of a roller coaster of emotions already (I learned this morning I became ABD in my PhD program and a few hours later I submitted my Fulbright project). Now the waiting game begins. Also, are we still using the google excel sheet?

I am wondering if any siblings have applied to go together to a country? Is that even legal? My brother wants to apply for an ETA in Colombia for next year and I am doing the application for a Full Grant again. I don't want to hurt each other's chances!

How exciting! I was one of the applications that my school really endorsed a lot and today I have a meeting with one of the interview committee members to discuss my possibility of going another way. Like my affiliate community service agency said, "If it didn't work out, just change the plan, but not the goal!"

As for my Fulbright affiliation, a fellow Fulbrighter was the one that connected the dots with my interests and with the host institution's interest. The lead research director came to the US and I was able to have an informal face-to-face interview where they saw my application, project proposal, personal statement, CV, transcript, etc. etc. And after that nerve wrecking meeting they were really excited to work with me and send a letter of affiliation. I think that the fact that they showed a lot of interest might of made my project too feasible. But of course, I still need a 9 month visa and a grant to do the project

My project involved research in the humanities field. One of the main things I requested besides lab space, access to programs/databases, was my ability to have someone mediating my work with a certain group in the community. So when I would approach the community, I wouldn't be a total stranger/weird American with a savior complex trying to talk to those in the community. I am not sure if it makes sense, but I wanted someone who could facilitate the dialogue I would have with the people I wanted to interact and work with in order to do my study.

I just sent an e-mail to the Research Director and explained to him what happened. They were really sad but I assured them that I would keep in touch in the future for other possibilities of going or for the next Fulbright cycle. As a caveat, mine was only a temporary research project in my host country, I am sure others might have stronger ties due to the possibility of doing their whole graduate work in their country of choice.

@overworkedta I agree with your sentiments. I feel a mixture of emotions to see how many people who were involved in the process were as upset or even more, when they find out I didn't go to the next round. It makes me feel happy that people are so invested in my future and success, as well as my well-being/confidence.

That was quick! I plan to apply for a Full Grant to South America hoping for Colombia, unsure about recent security changes there, we'll see...