Mozartgirl53

Ooooops!! Sorry, mmm97, I meant to write Denmark!! A country I'd like to visit one day. Congratulations!!!

HOORAAYY mmm97 and CONGRATULATIONS!! Wow, Korea! That is just really exciting!! Way to go! Comlicaits, I'm truly sorry they did not fund you. I've no doubt you'd be a wonderful English teacher...and you will be!! I love your tenacious spirit and I honestly believe you will find a way there. Fulbright is not the be-all end-all. There are many funding sources to teach English in Asia and I know one of them will be perfect for you!

CONGRATULATIONS arigold36 and laurelhardy58!!! I was hoping SOMEONE would get notified today! Hoooraaahhh!! You must be grinning ear to ear right about now!

You know what I love about you SmarteyMartey? It's that you were selected but you're still here to cheer the rest of us on! I, for one, appreciate that immensely! Thank you!

Indeed, GnosisExchange, indeed. Let the wait continue. I'm sending out positive energy to all of us here on thegradcafe.com Fulbright 2014 page; I'm sending out vibes of peace, patience, and a quiet spirit.

Yes, any doctor or medical professional who has administered a vaccine to you would have that in their medical records. Worse comes to worse, you just get vaccinated again.

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! LOL Oh nuts! jrk2115, THANK YOU very much for calling! I truly appreciate that you did that. Does it kind of seem like the news gets a little worse every time we call? We went from "we'll know by the end of this week," to "hopes to get the State Department go-ahead by this weekend or next week," to "hopes to let us know by the end of this month" in the space of about 24 hours! I guess there is nothing we can do but wait. I'm very glad y'all SSA-ers are in this forum with me! Somehow that makes it a little better. So Thanks!

That's interesting, miri1776, because Sub Saharan Africa does they same thing. They used to have a quota for each country but not too many years ago they changed that and now select for the region, not for the individual country. Theoretically speaking, if the top 25 applicants all wanted to go to Malawi, for example, 25 would go to Malawi and the rest of the countries would get none. I can't really imagine a scenario like that happening, though. I didn't realize Central America does the same thing-- I thought it was just we SSA-ers.

Well, since you brought it up... I've been worried about Russia and Ukraine and the immediate area for those very reasons. I haven't wanted to express those doubts here because I'm generally a very positive, optimistic person who likes to be a cheerleader for others! I STILL BELIEVE that all you Russian and Ukrainian folks are going to get to go, but must admit I think of you every night at 5:30 PM when Bryon Williams comes on to give us the latest news. On the other hand, as far as I know, nobody in the IIE or Fulbright organizations, nor the State Department has even whispered that student/cultural exchanges are on the chopping block. These cultural exchanges are so good for everyone involved that I would have to think if things keep deteriorating Fulbright would be the last program to get the plug pulled. LOL just reading this back tells me I'm still pretty dang optimistic! KEEP UP THE FAITH!!!

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE WHO RECEIVED GOOD NEWS TODAY FROM TAIWAN, MALAYSIA AND BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations UNCAnthro, Nothinger, and letshaveakeke!! If I have overlooked anyone in congratulating them, I apologize; I'm genuinely excited and thrilled for ALL of you!!! This forum has been so important and special to me. Thank you EVERYONE for that! Let's all join together and send out some positive energy towards everyone hearing back this week!

I concur. jrk2115, that would be really cool if you could call. Since I also called him today I don't really want to call again, unless I disguise my voice or something...hahaha. Maybe since I told him I was calling on behalf of the SSA cohort on thegradcafe.com you could even tell him you've seen a little discrepancy and that we just want to verify. Of course, that's up to you--say whatever you're comfortable with. Upon reflection, I wonder if Maliyazi and I just put a different emphasis on what he was saying? Maybe he kinda said the same thing but we interpreted it a bit differently? Perhaps I'm just more of a pessimist, haha?? Since he told Maliyazi he's waiting on the State Department but can't give an exact date but thinks we'll hear by the end of the week, and he told me he's waiting on the State Department and doesn't expect it until the end of the week or possibly next week, it could be possible he thinks he told us both the same thing. ?? Or, as Maliyazi and I both speculated, maybe he got some sort of update between our two calls. At any rate, I don't think at this point any of us would actually get rejected for "bugging him." They have their list of P, A, and NS; they're just waiting for the State Department review. Nevertheless, if you could call, jrk2115, I'm sure we SSA-ers would all be most appreciative. Thanks for volunteering! I am glad to hear Maliyazi's report that he can notify us "immediately" after getting the S.D. go-ahead.

. Hi elenacristo, you can look on the Fulbright site; it lists the number of alternates --> accepted for each year. It's not a big number. On the other hand, in a sense you can throw those numbers out the window, because it seems it's a unique story for each converted alternate. Someone posted above about Columbia just now getting more funding and they're even inviting people who were initially rejected to throw their hat back into the ring. So you can't just say, well it's just such-and-such percentage so I might as well forget it--none of us have any information on who might drop out and why and it varies so much from country to country! People decide to go to grad school; people accept a different fellowship; people get sick or don't pass the physical (although I really hope that doesn't happen to someone!); people may have family issues or job prospects or just change their minds. There are all kinds of things that can happen and to just go by the numbers doesn't make sense to me. I can't tell you what to do; if it were me, I'd wait until the last possible second to sign the work contract. I really hope you get it and can go to Norway!

FingersCrosssed_118-------YAAAAAAHOOOO!!!! I was so hoping you'd get it; when I read your post I literally stood up at my desk and ya-hooed right out loud with accompanying fist in the air!!! I am soooooo stoked you got it! I'm not saying others didn't want it, I'm just saying you wanted it so bad! You are such a positive and motivating person and you so deserve this honor. I've just been smiling all evening. Super duper CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Hi olioliwoo, I feel your pain! Please don't feel "flaky"; you are NOT! People, i.e. colleagues, professors, grad schools, relatives, and friends just have to understand and accept that this process is totally and completely out of our hands!! There is nothing we can do about it! This is especially tough for the Alternates! If they get "frustrated" with your answer, just tell them you're more frustrated than they are! You're basically going to be in limbo either until you hear back from Fulbright, or don't; and that can be a long and grueling wait. I actually think it's quite rude for people in any of the above categories to express frustration when you're the one going through this extreme stress of waiting! Maybe you can gently suggest ways they can be supportive of you instead of making you feel worse! Sorry to be so forward, but that really gets my goat. You are an amazing woman and no matter what happens with your alternate status you will always be an amazing woman! I am pulling hard for you and sending all the positive energy I can muster your way. I have absolutely no doubt that you are an ideal Fulbright candidate no matter what happens. You are also young and have so much ahead of you, so it should be totally OK for you to have a few months (although I hope it's not that long!) of indecision. Feel free to quote me on that! Geez!

Awww geez, minusthehare, I'm really sorry. I was rooting for you. The only thing I can say is...life goes on. You'll be OK and you'll do something else or apply again. Wherever life takes you, I'm sure you'll do some amazing things!

CONGRATULATIONS SmarteyMartey!!! You must be sooooo excited!! I was really pulling for you and I'm so happy you got it! YAY!!!

Hi tieloran, how very frustrated you must be right now! Doing this twice in a row... I can't imagine how you are holding up! I am sending sweet vibes of hope and gentleness to soothe your soul. I truly hope you go from alternate to accepted!

Yeah, they sure do! I must admit I'm a bit flummoxed. It looks like I called about an hour and a half after Maliyazi did-- I wonder if between our two phone calls he got some updated information from State? That's the only thing I can figure. He was very clear with me that he isn't expecting to hear from State before "the weekend," [his words] or "possibly next week." [also his words] Is there a lag time between when a regional PM gets the go-ahead from State and when they send out notifications? Or is it just once State emails them the OK it's just the push of a button to send out the notifications? Of course, I desperately hope that what he told Maliyazi is correct! Maybe he just got tired of us calling? Saying it won't be until next week would make it so we don't again before Monday. I really have no explanations.

ATTENTION SUB SAHARAN AFRICA RECOMMENDEES! I just got off the phone with Jermaine Jones, the Fulbright SSA region program manager. I'm afraid it's not entirely good news, but at least it's something. He told me they are still waiting on the State Department (surprise, surprise) and they are expecting to hear back by either this coming weekend or next week sometime. He couldn't be any more specific than that. I told him I was calling on behalf of my SSA cohorts on the Grad Cafe forum and he said he was really sorry he couldn't be more specific and he thanked us all for our continued patience. He was very nice and I could tell he genuinely wished he could be more specific. He said he can't give me a date because they just don't know exactly when they'll get the go-ahead from the State Department. So, for those of us really hoping for April 15, I'm afraid that's not going to happen. My guess is that it might be at the end of next week, i.e. around the 25th. Sorry I couldn't pass along better news!

Hi cgerry14, Yes, it is cool that my brother works at a national lab! Before Lawrence, he was at Pacific Bell up here (Washington) at Hanford. He is trying to find a way to store nuclear waste in a safer manner; you may have read about his project--he wants to turn the waste into ceramic bricks...easy to store and not nearly as much uranium going into the atmosphere. But unfortunately, there is something very UNcool about working at a National Lab right now-- remember the sequester? The federal government stopped funding the national labs. And they haven't started again very much. Also, any project that says "nuclear" in it is very unpopular with Congress right now, even though he isn't creating nuclear waste, he's trying to solve the waste issue. Luckily, Jonathan was able to get a couple of grants to carry him through thus far, but he's at the end of that now and looking for another job. He will probably end up in Germany, where funding is much more plentiful. So I'll get up on my soapbox here and say that we're (Americans) always talking about how other countries are ahead of us in STEM learning and science in particular. Yet we're unwilling to provide the money necessary, both in secondary and higher education, to get kids interested in going into scientific pursuits, and then we cut off funding scientists! We will always be behind in science as long as we're not paying scientists! So if we're serious in wanting to be on top of the scientific community we need to put our money where our mouth is! Also, the scientific community is a global community; scientists are the perfect example of how countries can cooperate and scientists see the great value of collaboration. So if our government won't send any scientists to conferences around the world or fund any over seas work, we're kinda out of the loop. Europe is doing great things scientifically-- France is running experiments very similar to what my brother is doing and Germany is kind of a "hub" for scientific work. My brother did go to Japan for a few weeks last year to consult on the nuclear spill, but the Japanese government funded that. So we're in sort of reverse brain drain here where scientists are leaving the U.S. to pursue better opportunities in Europe and Asia. OK.... down from my soapbox! :-) Your Hep C project sounds both fascinating and practical! I really hope you get to do it! Curing or at least mitigating Hep C would be a wonderful boon to humankind.

Hi padthai234 and japaniia, I was certain someone else knew more about this than I. Thanks, japaniia, for that information! I'm a Sub Saharan recommendee and none of the SSA countries say what their benefits are, except to say it includes round-trip air, a monthly stipend, and medical insurance. Most of the countries also say there is an extra $200-$300 a month if you bring dependents. I started looking around and it seems quite hit-or-miss. Thailand didn't say anything on their web page. But Ireland gives the figure of 16,000 euros for everything.

Good morning padthai234! Others in this forum may have a more precise answer, but my understanding is that the stipend varies, as you suggested, by country and even by region within a country, depending upon where you are placed. From what I have gleaned from the Fulbright website, the stipend is the median income in the area in which you are placed. I think they don't want us to live like "the ugly American," living in relative wealth compared to what the people we are working with and amongst. My guess is once you are selected you will get a LOT of paperwork and somewhere in there they will mention the stipend or give you a contact person in your country that you can talk with regarding the details of the funding.

Hi tspier2, it's unfortunate that Sub Saharan Africa is usually the last region to send out notifications. I wish they could somehow speed up the process in the future for this very reason! For me it's OK because I'm in the middle of my doctoral program, but for many like you, they have other things they need to respond to earlier than Fulbright SSA gets it's notifications out. As cgerry14 and SmarteyMartey said, perhaps you can defer, but it sounds like your doctoral program at Tulane is cohort-based, and that can indeed get tricky because they partly choose candidates based on their sense that they would all fit in well with each other. (Although I should say I am a big fan of cohort-based programs. My master's degree in cultural studies at UW Bothell was cohort based and we were so close that to this day I could call any one of my 19 colleagues at 3 AM and tell them I;m stuck somewhere out in the tulies and not one of them would hesitate for an instant to come get me.) I'm curious, are you still awaiting a decision from U of Florida? The Tulane opportunity sounds amazing and I probably wouldn't give that up if it were to come down to that OR the Fulbright, but of course that is your decision. I'll be rooting for the ideal--an acceptance from Fulbright AND permission to defer at Tulane! cgerry14, you also have an amazing opportunity! Chemistry at Harvard! Wow! I also didn't realize Sweden hasn't sent out notifications yet! I will also send out good vibes that you too can get the Fulbright and defer admission to grad school! By the way, my brother is a prominent geo-chemist. He's at Lawrence Labs, Berkeley right now. What kind of chemistry are you going into?

Hi Bluefit, I felt badly that you had not received any feedback on your question so I wanted to let you know that I do care and so do others in the forum. Weekends are pretty slow here at TheGradCafe, especially now that so many notifications have been sent out. Unfortunately, I have no advice to give you. I am not at all familiar with the Schuman award. Are you saying they only take two world-wide or two in a variety of countries? Either way, it certainly sounds competitive. Hopefully on Monday our regular group will be here and someone can answer your question. :-)

Good morning Maliyazi! Thank you for calling! I'm intrigued! "May have some good news." WOW. That could mean almost anything, lol. I suspect (or hope) it means he'll have a date for us, or even "this week." I like the way your mind works: "He could be playing a trick on us!" Hahaha! Funny. Like, "The good news is that we didn't select ANY of you, bwah haha ( evil genius laugh). Or, "the good news is I saved 15% by switching to Geico!" Strangely though, even her cryptic answer makes me feel better because my sense is she wouldn't just toss away that line as if it were nothing. I'm sure they must understand the anxiety we're going through. THANK YOU FOR CALLING! I guess I'll try not to dwell on it over the weekend. I feel like the five or six of us SSA people on this forum should be standing together holding hands and wishing each other good luck!