sirmixalot

Thanks everyone! Gnosis, my project focuses on the role of Japanese women in their fight for gender equality during the Occupation. I'm a history major so I'll be working with historical documents and oral histories to recast the dominant narrative that celebrates the roles of General MacArthur and the American Occupation in promoting women’s rights as a story of Japanese women’s successful, feminist activism. I'm so excited for this!
 
 
Also, those who've been accepted, did anyone send an email back to the iie program? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to email them back to notify them that i will be accepting the award?

i JUST GOT THE EMAIL! GOING TO JAPAAAAN! 
 
SUBJECT: Fulbright Application Status (P)
 
IM DYINGGGG

Thanks sirskipsalot! 

Is there no end to this madness?!

That sounds like an amazing project! 

Current Fulbright ETA in Korea here! 

Just wanted to say we're excited to see who's coming over this year! We found out this time last year, so prepare for a memorable week!

Glad to hear from other India applicants. I'm hoping to conduct research on the history of African American Jazz musicians that moved to India in the 1920s-1940s to escape segregation in the USA, as well as the impact of the US State Dept jazz tours to India during the Cold War of 1950s and 60s.

Accepted to Spain too for full research grant!

GRAD CAFE COMMMUNITY I GOT THE ETA AWARD TO GO TO SPAIN OMG IM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!! I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO TELL ME BY MID APRIL BUT THEY TOLD ME JUST NOW OMG AHHH!!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!

I hope that your proposals were exactly what you wrote above, caps lock and all. If I were on the committee, I'd grant you the fellowship on the spot.

So according to my massive and intense calculations of the dates Thailand sent out their notifications...
 
March 23, 2009: Monday, fourth week of March
April 16, 2010: Friday, third week of April
April 21, 2011: Thursday, third week of April
March 27, 2012: Tuesday, fourth week of March
April 2, 2013: Tuesday, first week of April
 
... it looks like I have less of a clue of when it's going to come, except that it may come this week until end of April. T_T
 
This is the equivalent of me trying to do some numerology.
 
#superfail
 

Guys - the excitement and jitters is absolutely acceptable. I was right there with you weeks ago. 
 
But I hope none of you really think that Fulbright is being cruel or unusual in the way that they are sending out their notifications. I have said this before and maybe the newcomers need to hear it - Fulbright is dealing with other countries. They are not gleefully giggling while holding your notifications, they are managing thousands of applications, from MANY countries, each with their own laws and regulations. They likely cannot release information until they get the OK from the country in question. Having dealt with international red tape before, I can tell you that efficiency is not always on the menu.  
 
Be excited. Be anxious. But keep a cool head and a healthy perspective. If Fulbright chooses you, you will be representing not only the United States but Fulbright itself. My mother always said "Don't dress for the job you have, dress for the one you want". I believe it applies to attitude as well. Besides - the internet is not anonymous. 

....and then there's this:
 
"I am pleased to inform you that due to an increase in funding, the Fulbright Commission in Colombia has requested that IIE forward additional candidates for their review.   The National Screening Committee gave you a favorable rating in the fall and with the additional grants, your application has been forwarded to the Commission for further review....This letter is not notification of a grant since the number of recommended candidates exceeds the number of awards available. The notification timeline varies by country. Final selection notifications for a particular country cannot be sent until the country has made its final selections and the candidates have been approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the U.S. Department of State."   All the hallmarks of an abusive relationship.

I found something to distract from the cycle of refreshing your email every 5 minutes. This is another gem-filled link to the 101 most insane things that have ever happened in Florida: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-101-most-insane-things-that-have-ever-happened-in-florid
 
Some of my personal favorites:
“Zombie” attacks guard in nudist resort scuffle, deputies say Florida man calls 911 80 times to demand Kool-Aid, hamburgers, and weed Pink-clad pooch stolen from gay bar by man with Britney tattoo Florida accidentally banned all computers, smartphones in the state through internet cafeé ban Man sprinkled fiancée’s ashes at LensCrafters, causing Florida mall’s evacuation: Sarasota Police

I just hate the fact that the subject line l included the (A). I am so frightened my decision will include the letter in the subject line. I don't want to be accosted with my status; I want to have a least a few seconds to mentally prepare.

And I can't believe Thailand got MORE applicants this year than the past two years for the same amount of grants! I feel very blessed just to be recommended!

Omg, I'm having a heart attack! I just found out I got into France!!! Has anyone else heard back as well?

I should keep tally of the number of times I've looked at the forum's Fulbright spreadsheet. I suppose I should be more concerned with my comprehensive exam so I can graduate with my masters in May. 
 
Wish me luck-- I'm sure I'll need it. 

I should keep tally of the number of times I've looked at the forum's Fulbright spreadsheet. I suppose I should be more concerned with my comprehensive exam so I can graduate with my masters in May. 
 
Wish me luck-- I'm sure I'll need it. 

slowly realizing its a great honor to be in alternate status. happy to have made it this far. endless scouring of sites about probability of selection results in too much information. All i can do is plan to not do it and if it works out welcome it as a happy surprise. that said, there are big decisions to make and as time ticks by it would be harder to undo those plans....  ah, life.

Congrats to all who heard good news and condolences to all who heard sad news. The best advice I can give is to remember that life is a funny creature. We all think we want to go a certain direction and when we get diverted, it feels like the end of the world. But I have a bit of age and with a bit of age comes wisdom. So many times in my life I was disappointed by one of these moments; I believed that there was NO way I could find a silver lining. Sometimes it took me years to realize it, but these path changes were wonderful things. For example, I did not get a particular grant 2 years ago that diverted my preliminary research by 6 months. I was devastated. However, by going to the field site later I was able to spend 3 months with a BBC film crew. This experience changed my life and would not have happened had I gotten the grant I originally wrote for.
 
Just remember the parable of the farmer whose horse ran off:
The situation we always live in is like that of the wise Chinese farmer whose horse ran off. When his neighbor came to console him the farmer said “Who knows what’s good or bad?” When his horse returned the next day with a herd of horses following her, the foolish neighbor came to congratulate him on his good fortune. “Who knows what’s good or bad?” said the farmer. Then, when the farmer’s son broke his leg trying to ride one of the new horses, the foolish neighbor came to console him again. “Who knows what’s good or bad?” said the wise farmer. When the army passed through, conscripting men for war, they passed over the farmer’s son because of his broken leg. When the foolish man came to congratulate the farmer that his son would be spared, again the wise farmer said “Who knows what’s good or bad?”

I should keep tally of the number of times I've looked at the forum's Fulbright spreadsheet. I suppose I should be more concerned with my comprehensive exam so I can graduate with my masters in May. 
 
Wish me luck-- I'm sure I'll need it. 

I should keep tally of the number of times I've looked at the forum's Fulbright spreadsheet. I suppose I should be more concerned with my comprehensive exam so I can graduate with my masters in May. 
 
Wish me luck-- I'm sure I'll need it. 

How restrictive... I hope it's your top program. I would be weary of going to a school where they aren't prioritizing their students' personal and professional development. I asked my graduate school, and they were very understanding--though a Masters and a PhD are in different arenas in term of academics and styles.