catsushi

Is there an overall 2015 Fulbright fbook group?

Hey all! Long been absent from the group after getting Alternate position but...I got bumped up! Nervous and excited, off to Moldova!

Alternate for Moldova....not sure what's next :/

My Fulbright advisor emailed me today to ask me how I'm holding up, adding that she's been surprised that there have not been any notifications for my country (Moldova) quite yet, and I want to be like....*bangs head on desk from impatience* (At this rate, I'll have no more friends left, given how often I've been complaining...gotta stay positive!)

Come on, Moldova...keeping my fingers crossed for you, cml! You ready to eat horse meat?? Fermented mare's milk??

No you weren't knocking it at all!! I was in Kazakhstan (my top choice) working at a non profit global health organization. It was such a great opportunity to get hands on experience within the public health field, which I'm now pursuing. I had just graduated from college, and the only experience I had was working in a scientific lab setting. I ended up extending my fellowship from one year to two years (which you're allowed to do in the Princeton in Asia fellowship program). Long story short, there are more opportunities out there other than the Fulbright! (I feel like it's such a sin to say that on here, haha)

A couple of my fellow Princeton in Asia-ers were over 25 and one was even almost 30 (these were the ones in Kazakhstan). Having a lot of experience abroad already might go against you in that fellowship since I got the sense they balance giving people new experiences versus helping them build off of their existing experiences (they pride themselves on being a "different" kind of fellowship program that's a bit more laid back and more about the experience than resume-building). But I'm biased because I'm a PiA fan and absolutely loved the program. The Princeton in Africa program, from my understanding, is a lot more competitive than the Princeton in Asia or Princeton in Latin America program due to the more limited positions.

In your shoes, I say it wouldn't hurt to try to apply for a different country, along with applying for jobs/other opportunities in the region. I think it's important to also be strategic about selecting your countries. Also, at 25 (and I'm assuming you have more education and/or experience), who says that you can't also work for an organization in the region? Have you also considered applying to Princeton in Africa, which is another fellowship in the region? They have a lot of wonderful opportunities involving development projects. I applied for Princeton in Asia when I had just graduated, and worked in the Central Asian region (although the two programs, Princeton in Asia and Princeton in Africa, are separate).

Aw Photogeographic and AfricaHopeful, I'm sorry you two weren't selected. But you made it past the first round, which still says a lot! I feel like the rest is up to luck as well (whether they had enough funding/spots available or whether the gov was looking for that type of project). In the mean time, you are both free from the awful waiting and can finally choose the other awesome opportunities that await you!

I think you already got advice on this but pitching in my two cents--if this teaching opportunity slides by because you're waiting on Fulbright, I'm confident you'll be able to find another opportunity that's similar in that country again. The Fulbright is an opportunity I think that is a little more rare, so I say it's worth it to wait and find out. Asking Fulbright for a notification timeline I think is futile since the person you're contacting may not necessarily have control over your decision (ie might be waiting on someone else who's waiting on someone else). You might have already done this, but asking the teaching opportunity for an extension I think is your best bet. Also, I COMPLETELY sympathize with your dilemma. So hard to plan around an opportunity that *MIGHT* or *MIGHT NOT* happen (coughFulbrightcough) as opposed to something that is actually set in stone. Yarp.

No worries, looks like none of the "post Soviet" areas got that email. (Waiting on Moldova) On another note, I think I have an addiction to checking my email and this forum....*hits refresh*

Hi AmyAnne, If you don't know any foreign languages, I would maybe advise you to apply this strategy: 1) identify which countries do not have a language requirement and then 2) out of those countries, which countries are less competitive (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/studyresearch-grant-application-statistics) that you could apply to. South Korea, for example, I would think gets plenty of applicants who have studied or know Korean, and there seem to be a lot of applicants for that country in general. I would encourage you to think of a research project, if possible. Is there some kind of academic mentor you could reach out to? Think of it as though you are planning/pitching a "thesis"--what topic really interests you? Maybe browse through the Fulbright website and see what projects have been done that are related to poli sci. My strategy involved knowing that I wanted to do a public health-related project, specifically in mental health. I then looked into the countries where my language skills are relevant, and narrowed down the countries even further by seeing where that health issue is most relevant out of those countries (by searching for research articles and etc). For me, it's a great chance to learn about a new country while exercising my skills in public health. As an above poster said, however, I really don't think you need to want to be an English teacher to want to do ETA in a country. If you do consider ETA, I would think you would focus on how you can be a great "ambassador" for that country (how you would help build relations between the US and that country). Still waiting on a final decision, so I'm happy you asked a Q that allows us to take our minds off the wait a little bit! Good luck!

In 2013-14 they changed the visas for Americans a little so that Americans are able to get 5 year visas (tourist), but there seemed to be some kinks to sort out...I remember that even for NGOs related to USAID there were some problems. I just remember talking to someone from the US consulate in KZ and they mentioned some kinds of problems getting the Fulbright-ers over to Kazakhstan. But never mind, you can always ask them yourselves once you are all in Central Asia!

Did someone for Taiwan get accepted? (According to the spreadsheet)

To clarify, for those comments who shared they didn't get the Fulbright, I liked them because I am utterly impressed by your positive attitudes! You all sound like wonderful people, so I'm sure that other great things await you.

Hey there! Current MSPH student at Hopkins, interested in PhD in epi. Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but maybe these questions can distract you guys from what must be the painful wait. I'm looking to apply for 2016, but would love any tips/advice. I'm interested so far in UW, Hopkins (although many of the PhD students here complain about the funding), Berkeley, Columbia. 1. Did you visit the schools/programs before applying? If so, who did you contact, and do you feel it helped? 2. How did you narrow down which programs you wanted to apply to? How many do you recommend applying to? 3. Do you know specifically what you want to research, or is your interest pretty broad? How did you "sell" this interest in your application? 4. What do you plan on doing with this PhD, after? If you have any questions about life in Baltimore, let me know!

Caroe, I didn't apply to Central Asia (I applied to Moldova), but I did live in Kazakhstan for two years! It was through the Princeton in Asia Fellowship program, and I hung out with the Fulbright-ers while there. Let me know if you have questions about life there! Cml, it might take a while for Tajikistan possibly due to Visas (which I think might be why it takes so long for Kazakhstan as well). I'm not a representative and am just speaking from my experience there, but just a thought.

Heads up, for those interested in traveling/working/living in Asia I would HIGHLY recommend applying to the Princeton In Asia Fellowship program, which I've always considered to be the "hipster" Fulbright. It's lower key and much more flexible. When you apply you select your top three choices, and during the interview process they fit you to the most ideal position. I ended up living and working in Kazakhstan for two years and loved it. http://piaweb.princeton.edu/ Just saying!

For those interested in mental health, do you think that pursuing a degree with a specialization in mental health (like a MHS in mental health) is risky? How many jobs within mental health are there? Or do you think that what matters the most is what school the degree comes from and what training/technical skills you receive along with that specialization? And yes, echoing mahmad, I've heard of people who pursued a PhD in Psych after completing a Masters in public health. But honestly, our knowledge of how the mind works is now developing past psychology and further into the direction of neuroscience/biology--if you are interested in pursuing mental health, I would recommend gaining some knowledge related to neuropsychology as well! (note, I majored in neuro for undergrad, neuro is awesome!)

I know someone who's currently studying SMS at Columbia, and she actually doesn't really recommend it (I guess she says that the faculty doesn't really seem to care about its students). Why not go for epidemiology? It seems like a great track that would allow you to gain a lot of technical skills and be open to a lot of job opportunities in the future. You can always work in a psychology/health-related field later.

I feel pathetic when I say I'm not sure....not sure it's the right approach, but I hope that getting my MPH will also allow me to gain a better sense of where my interests in public health are? Sometimes I found that when you're surrounded by other driven and inspirational people, it helps inspire you as well. I think I'm potentially interested in getting involved in social enterprise, which would also require gaining some business skills. I like the idea of creating sustainable interventions that are integrated within a community's economic system. I suppose this would require getting involved into a startup or trying to start something of my own? Never hurts to dream! And cheers to mental health!! Something I'm really interested in as well (trying to decide whether to go to Johns Hopkins MHS program in mental health or opt for a more "general" MPH program).

Alright, so I asked my friend who is currently finishing Columbia through the Sociomedical Sciences program, and this is what she messaged me...

Congrats on the programs, but are you me?? I also am deciding between the same programs!! Same department at Columbia, too! I grew up in Seattle, and I also have to say that UW is a beautiful campus and Seattle is a great city to live in. Also a great network of organizations (PATH, Fred Hutch, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, etc) and creative minds (Boeing, Adobe, Microsoft, etc). Plus the school seems very strong in quantitative/research areas, I absolutely love playing around with the charts on the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation website (http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/). Same as you, tempted to go for Columbia because of the name and ranking, although that's not really all that I am looking for. They're also one of the few schools that conducts research in Central Asia (which is quite rare it seems). I'm in the process of talking to some alums of Columbia MPH programs, I'll let you know what they say.