Horb

How's your application going? I'm applying for the intensive language grant and just need to finish up my essay. I'm a little worried as they didn't mention a page or word limit and so I hope I don't send in too long or too short of an essay. What program are you looking at in Germany?

They all depend on the country you are applying to, for what you're applying for/doing there, and how long you'll be there.

I'm not 100% since I've only applied US to another country, but my guess would be that if two equally good applications were being decided about, the cost may become a factor at that point.

It is always worth the effort! You can re-use the app for cover letters, grad school proposals, or other grants you apply to. It also is a great way to learn how to write for a grant audience, a skill that will be useful your senior year if you apply for Fulbright or something like that.

What I've heard is do not apply for the Democracy option if you want any chance at winning.

1.5-2 people per grant available. So if a country had 100 applicants for 4 grants, they usually weed it down to 8 people.

A lot of schools don't actually weigh the GRE heavily. I got into an amazing school and only had 161 as my score and an atrocious Subject Test score.

It really depends on programs. Some more traditional programs care more, but at the end of the day the WS is the most important part of your application, followed most likely by your letters of rec, grades, and GRE. The writing sample is where you can show what you do. Just having some background in languages is important.

Hi! What would you say your strongest part of the application was? I was a UK finalist but lost out and want to think of ways to improve my application (I've no idea what they base final decisions on).

If you were receptive to feedback during the interview, it should be fine, especially if they were minor issues. I doubt they re-read all documents after you submit them. The eval is usually based on the interview.

I cannot stress how unnecessary (for these tests) reading German literature is. They won't give you (in my experience) a passage from Faust to translate. They'll give you a news article or in my case, a blog post about shakespeare. The most helpful thing I did was just studying grammar and making sure to mark all the verbs and note their tenses. It made translating so much quicker than if I had just went line by line without marking passive voice, for example. But as you have tons of time to prepare, why not do some fun reading?

Hi! I took and passed my German translation exam for my uni (2 hour exam, about 1 page of single spaced text, with a dictionary). I had a major in German and failed my first translation exam. I soon realized that being able to read fluently doesn't mean you can translate easily. As a result, I had to actually work on not panicking during the test (I'm a bad test-taker) and strategies for translation. My uni gives you a passage related to your general field (like a critical passage on literature. I got shakespeare and fitzgerald). Hopes this helps! Feel free to PM me with questions.

I was a finalist and literally was missing half a sentence in my SoGP. IDK how I missed it either, but I had a fragment that could, perhaps, have been mistaken for something "artistic" in my writing (like I made it a fragment to emphasize something). They will not throw out your application for a typo.

Well, this person is applying for a research grant, not an ETA. Isn't the USTA only for teaching?

My question is: did you have a poor interview because of nerves or did you have a poor interview because they felt your application was weak? If it was weak, still apply, but do your best to fix what they found to be problems. If you apply at large it will look weird, as you would still list your current school somewhere in your application and Fulbright will know that they have a FPA. Additionally, are they still endorsing you or not endorsing you? If they are not endorsing you, apply at large. Even if you change nothing, apply at large.

"Mastery" is a bit strong. You need to pass a translation exam for them to consider you proficient in one language. To be advanced, you usually have to pass an under level undergrad course at their uni or a grad course. Most schools want you to be proficient in at least one at the time of application and the other you pick up along the way.

Honestly, if it was me, I would upload them because I'd be terrified I'd be ineligible. Fulbright doesn't care that much about grades compared to other fellowships (though countries like the UK, which is very difficult to win, probably put more weight on them). However, if I was on a committee and saw that you had poorer grades, I'd assume you either didn't take study abroad seriously or that you had a hard time transitioning. Thus, if it says grades/credits appearing means you don't have to upload and you have credits on your transcript, I don't think you have to upload. That is just my opinion though.

I only asked because on the website it says "2 pages for each version of the Grant Purpose in one document and 1 page for each Personal Statement in another document" which implies that the limit is the same for each. Perhaps on Embark it says something else!

From my understanding, the Subject Test doesn't matter as much as all of the other components. It usually won't be the reason you're accepted or rejected.

It depends on what you're applying for and your country of origin. For instance, for study or projects, a US citizen could apply for a Fulbright grant to Germany. Other than that, it is usually only DAAD based grants for Germany.

I believe for most grants there is a once a year deadline. For research grants, depending on length of intended grant, I believe there may be different deadlines. however, my knowledge only extends to the US to Germany grants.

Last year they just wrote a letter, this year that doesn't seem to be the case, which is highly confusing.

Is anyone else having a hard time filling out the application form? My list of problems include: it asking if I go by Mr. or Mrs. despite having put down "single" under married status and giving me no Ms. option ; Asking for my "secondary school" which I assume is high school but also asking the "result" other than me graduating ; asking for the feasibility of my intended project on the letter of rec form despite my not applying for a project grant ; asking to list all scholarships for the current period and past periods, and not stating if it means ones only relevant to this grant app or if it means any grant I've ever won ; and in general it asking for my "subject area" and not specifying if I should be putting down the one I'm applying for or the one I'm currently in (i.e. applying for a language grant, but I study critical theory). They certainly did not make this easier.

Where did you see the 2.5 option? When I checked the website, it said 2 max for the SoGP for a Research Grant.

How feasible is it for you to finish the MA program during the grant duration? If it is a 2 year and your grant is for one year, how will you find the last year? How are you prepared to enter your MA program? Do you have relevant coursework or research experience? Your project is an MA degree; how will you address these questions in connection to the MA program?