spainbound15

kbui, did they explain what happened? like, were you actually supposed to be an alternate but they mistakenly sent you a rejection letter??

OMG!!!! And after three years. That is so freaking fantastic!!

Hey again! Yes, I'm doing research, but not "scholar" since I've only been working for not quite three years. However, I'm now trying to decide whether to stick with Spain, given the fact that I spent 9 months teaching there in 2007-2008 and fear this could hurt my competitiveness in that country... I didn't know they awarded you the grant and then said there'd be no funding! That's terrible!!! Where were you trying to go again?

Unfortunately, it appears that the cuts have already taken place. A lot of the grant numbers are down for the 2015-2016 cycle. Maybe some reversing can be done, though!! I signed it.

Yeah, I was excited to see a bunch of countries don't **require** a language, but the Fulbright Students page does say it's an advantage if you do know the language, even if not required, because then they know you'll be able to interact with the community. So, it's good to hear that people got awards even when they didn't speak the language.

Actually, that's a great point. I'm sure if you let them know you're committed to learning the language and interacting with the community, that helps a lot! Norway sounds fascinating. Have an excellent time.

Awesome to hear!! I suppose I should have clarified that this would be for a research grant.

Hi again, friends. Given the recent information I acquired re effects of significant in-country experience on chances of receiving a Fulbright, I have started considering whether to apply elsewhere (in Europe, which is where I really would like to be). The only problem is that Spanish is the only language I speak fluently (besides English). I suppose I could try to learn French, Portuguese, or Italian over the course of the next year, but I was doing some research into countries that don't have a language requirement. However, according to the Fulbright Student website, even "[f]or programs where language skills are Recommended or Not Required, if you possess some language skills you should submit both a Language Self Evaluation and a Foreign Language Evaluation Form. It will be advantageous to have your language ability documented, even though it is not required." My question, then, is how many of you were awarded Fulbright grants to countries despite having zero ability in that country's language. For example, did anyone receive an award to the Netherlands without speaking a lick of Dutch? Thanks to everyone for all of the sage advice you've given me. This is such a fantastic community.

I previously raised the issue of whether prior experience in a country hurts your chances of receiving a Fulbright student research grant in that country. Yesterday, there was a Fulbright Webinar, and I asked the same question. In sum, if you're applying for a competitive country (high number of applications; low number of recipients), you're not very "competitive" if you have significant post graduate experience in the country (study abroad in college is fine). I'm kind of at a loss, now, because the project I want to propose in Spain can only be done in Spain, and isn't that one of the key purposes of your proposal (telling the committee why you have to be in the particular country to carry out the research?). I'm inclined to call and speak to someone personally because, while I don't want to just give up, I also don't want to spend months and months proposing a project that will never get funded because I taught English in Spain 6 years ago (not through Fulbright). Any suggestions/thoughts are much appreciated.

Well, all of that sounds mighty depressing. Thanks for the info, though!

Thanks to everyone who chimed in! I suppose the good news is that I haven't lived in Spain since 2007-2008 and, since then, I've attended law school and worked in the legal profession for a few years, so hopefully that's enough "distance" from my experience there.

I would be applying for a research grant, not ETA. Like you, Mozartgirl, I would think that my previous history in the country will actually position me well to hit the ground running, but I understand, too, that they want to give people the chance to travel who may not have done so previously. In total, I've lived in Spain for about 15 months (4 months study abroad; 9 months teaching; and 2 months add'l travel time). I just would hate to go through the entire application process if I know that my previous history in the country is a disqualifier....

I was scrolling through Fulbright Programs' Twitter page and saw the following tweet: "U.S. Student grants are intended for those who HAVE NOT spent significant time in the desired host country." For those who have been awarded the grant, is there anyone out there who already has spent a lot of time in your host country? I'm applying for Spain for the next cycle but have spent time there in the past studying abroad and teaching English, so I'm wondering if that will hurt my chances...

Any other Spain full research grant recipients in here besides Neurovivor? I'd LOVE to chat with you!!

10 days until it's our turn!! Ahhhhh.

Well, for anyone looking for/needing a laugh, check out number 9 on the below Buzzfeed post. I've watched that gif at least 50 times and still can't get enough. Here's hoping none of your faces look like that when you get your long-awaited Fulbright email! http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/23-words-that-have-a-totally-different-meaning-in-florida

Now that people are starting to hear back from Fulbright re: acceptances, I'm getting super pumped for the application process for 2015-2016 to commence! (although the proposed budget cuts I've heard about are a major downer). I'm curious what, if anything, you all have started doing to prepare your application.

Hello all, I have been researching programs (apart from Fulbright) that award fellowships/scholarships to spend time studying and/or research abroad. One of the programs I found that most fits my candidacy is the Mitchell Scholar program in Ireland. I did some searching on Grad Café but could not find any thread or discussion about this program, so, I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone else out there is looking into or knows more about this program (or, ideally, has been through the application process). Cheers.

Hi friends: For those of you who applied for a Fulbright in a non-English-speaking country, did you contact your prospective sponsors/affiliations in English or his/her native language, or both?

I actually called the main office and was told that I should only apply for the Full Research Scholar if I've been working for more than 5 years, which is not the case. Were you told differently, or have you been in the working world longer than I?

Another question: is there a set role that the sponsor takes on, or does it really depend on you? This question is probably better-suited for those not studying the sciences where you'll be working in a lab, because I think the sponsor's role is clearer--assuming s/he will be supervising your work and giving you daily tasks. But for those who proposed topics in the social sciences/humanities (or law, like I will), what type of help did you ask the person for? Does my question make sense? It's been a long day at work.

Sorry--I will be applying for the Student program and to perform research, not take classes.

So, if anyone is bored and looking to help out a first-time applicant, I'd love to hear how you went about securing your affiliation, especially if you didn't have an easy connection to someone in the country. In particular, I'm interested in knowing whether you picked your city first and then looked for an affiliation, or let what seemed to be the best affiliation drive your location?

I'll continue to chat and participate as it only makes me more excited to apply for 2015.

So well said. I, too, want to share a brief story of my own on how things work out for the best. When I was in my first year of law school, I got amazing grades my first semester and then TANKED the second semester. I was beyond depressed, because, the way things work (or used to work, anyway) in the legal field, is that your first-year grades are all that prospective employers see when you're applying for the crucial second-summer internship, which often leads to your post-graduation job. Needless to say, I knew my dreams of ending up at "BigLaw" in a city like New York, DC, Chicago, or LA were pretty much dashed, or, at least, temporarily on hold. In the end, I scored a summer associateship at a top-3 law firm in a significantly smaller city, and I could NOT be happier with how things worked out. Not getting the grades to end up where I originally thought I wanted to go went from being the worst to the best thing that could have happened: it saved me years of no sleep, no fun, and general miserableness. As they say: law school is a pie-eating contest where the prize for being the best is just more pie... Long story short: everything happens for a reason. Even if you don't have the clarity to see that reason yet, you will. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing a lot of you in the 2015-2016 forum.