kafcat

Hey I just noticed you got the Boren! Did you end up interning at a government agency? I always wondered what it's like to get the Boren!

Did she LITERALLY write only "soon" in the email??? that's super rude!

He actually decided to stay at our school one more year to study abroad through the study abroad programs...because he was so discouraged. Poor guy...

Yeah I think sometimes it's better to apply at large, especially if one has an FPA like her. It's a good thing she's not the advisor anymore. But the new advisor told me this: " well, don't feel too confident just because you speak Spanish doesn't mean you can get into Spain. After all, sometimes they don't like the Latin accent over there and prefer someone to speak 'castellano' rather than Mexican Spanish." I mean sure, that is maybe 20% true because most Spanish students that go to my school are extremely open minded. She's probably talking about the older generation or those who are extremely nationalists. But still, I don't know why our FPA's are so bad....We do have quite a bit of students getting the fulbright every year which is why I applied through my school, but seriously, it's either tough love or flat out ignorance on the part of our advisors.

I've never been to Spain so it would be an exciting opportunity. I'd be ETAing in either Madrid or Cantabria, so IF I actually get it, I'd just adjust my project to whichever location I'm in. My Fulbright advisor was EXTREMELY unhelpful, but I didn't let that discourage me either. I went to the chair of the rhetoric writing department and several other professors to take a look at my statement. Our FPA was an older woman who was not open minded AT ALL. You would think that the FPA is someone who likes cultures and doesn't judge. NOPE. There was this man from a country in West Africa and he had an accent, so when he asked her in the Fulbright info session about his proposed project (to have some sort of PE activity) she said the following: First, you have to be careful because Fulbright wants people to be native English speakers, I noticed some of you have an accent (she meant him) so that could set you back. Second, as for your PE program sounds interesting....maybe you could add some hip-hop music component to it. After the meeting he was really upset because she assumed he liked hip-hop because he's black. He didn't even apply to the fulbright because of her. She is no longer the FPA at our school, they hired a new one this year, but the new one is just as closed minded. Later, other people told me that yes, Fulbright wants native English speakers but that doesn't mean that one has to have the "standard" English accent...whatever THAT means. Even in the US, depending on your location, there's different accents, so to say that they want the standard English was completely ignorant from her part. The man didn't even have that bad of an accent and if he did she didn't have to call him out in front of everyone. A nice private chat would have sufficed. The people who helped me with my statement were much more helpful that my FPA hands down.

Lalakey: Yeah I know, the longer I wait for the results the more paranoid I become about my statement. According to the spreadsheet Spain finds out in the week of April 14-15th so I still got some time till I hear but still, I'm just biting my nails in the meantime. ginagoestokorea:Yay!!! Another Gilman alumna!Same here, without the Gilman I wouldn't have gone to Tokyo at all which is the reason why I was extremely grateful for the scholarships. It helped me out heaps! I was actually surprised I got it because I literally clicked on the "submit" button MINUTES before the deadline. I was already thinking of withdrawing my application when I finally got the notification that I got the Gilman. Yeah, I heard that having the Gilman behind your back could look, as you said very "kawaii" on the application but Spain is still one of the most competitive places for the ETA programs so anything goes. I'm guessing you're applying for the Korea Fulbright research program? That's awesome btw, I didn't have a chance to go there but I heard its super fun. I miss legit Japanese food too, I'm kind of ruined for life since my taste buds refuse to like American sushi. Did you have an interview at school too? I was recommended by my interviewers so I was a little happy about that, but still...I'm super nervous.

Is anyone else reading and re-reading their fulbright statements to see if there's any errors? I've been obsessively reading mine. I don't find any errors but I try to imagine what they think as they read it. Also did anyone get the Gilman in the past? I got it when I went to Japan so I dunno if that will work in my favor :/

I wonder if the Ukraine Fulbright will be put on hold due to the recent turn of events ....thoughts?

Yeah I've applied for an ETA pos. in Spain, haven't heard back yet but in the case I'm denied, I'd be applying for a research grant instead in the future prob. in Chile or Peru

Oh okay, I hope this is truly not the case for Spain then because otherwise I'd be out of breath the moment I see "A" on the subject line. D:

PARIS IS AWESOME! My favorite city!!!!!!!!! you're so lucky!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!

Oh my god now I'm seriously freaking out because the subject line has the status.....like GnosisExchange said...I would need some time to prepare before reading the message and take a deep breath before opening it. Darn, that's not cool at all haha. Man, I wasn't thinking too much about it until it dawned on me that results are just around the corner for Spain. I know some of you have said that everything happens for a reason and I so totally agree with it...I know time heals everything but yeah, it would be a huge disappointment if I don't get it. In any case congratulations to all of you who have been designated as alternates and my sincere hope is that you're promoted to principal status. You earned it.

Awesoooooome, is this for the eta or research grant in France? Also what city!!

I'm curious if there's any NatGeo applicants here? If so, what is your project? Super curious about who's going to be a recipient of the grant.

Really??? Can you post the link of the forum to see what that's all about? I couldn't imagine wanting to leave the program :/

Yeah I believe there are some countries that want you to pick a place, but Spain didn't so that's why I didn't reference anything. Again, about the project it really depends on the applicant. Since I've never been to Spain, I focused more on my experience in order to balance that out. In your case, I think it will in fact work in your favor because you know more about Spain than I do. I just wrote briefly about why Spain interests me more than any other country (cuz of the Model United Nations portion) since I had to justify why i'm applying there and not France or some other country. Oh good for you! So looks like you'll be in Spain regardless !!!!!! I only applied for the Fulbright since I didn't know about these other options, if I don't get it this year I'll do the other ones next year then! I'll never give up!! And grad school is awesome if you know what you're passionate about!!!!!!! Education moves the world!

Well of course Fulbright cares I never said they didn't! I'm just trying to see if there's any other people here are constantly refreshing their emails and bitting their nails as they wait for the "ok" or "rejected" message (I need to hear I'm not insane for wanting to hear faster)! And of course...I can imagine the politics that goes beyond this...I think all of the fulbright applicants are aware of this. Just wish the process could be accellerated but again, that's a "wish" and not a demand haha. In my case, I know Spain takes forever to come up with decisions. I work at the study abroad office at my school and we have partner universities in Spain, and they've taken as long as 3-4 weeks to respond back to us when we have inquiries about the students we send abroad...so I KNOW that Spain is definitely one of those countries that takes longer to make decisions and I applied for the fulbright knowing this already. Obviously, we all want the same thing here: to hear asap, so like all of you, I'm waiting paitentily for the results I'm kind of like the annoying kid parents take on a roadtrip and is constantly saying " are we there yet, are we there yet?"

I just need to know if I got the fulbright or not because I need to make plans for next semester so I'm not completely penniless once I graduate... I'm applying to grad school in the fall of 2014 so I need to start looking for job options in my area if I don't get it

Woah that's a lot of NATGEO and yeah I know there's limited people... But even college admissions make faster decisions and they get way more applications than 10,000 haha. It's just nerve-racking :/ but we can only hope we all get spots!

Yeah I don't think you had to reference any place but it's really up to the applicant. I just decided to focus on writing about my experience teaching English and my project. I was so busy with the Fulbright app and doing my undergrad senior thesis that I was going crazy with studying for the GRE, so I simply decided to put it off for a year and then apply. I'm just stuck on whether or not I should apply to my masters first and then go to a PhD or go straight into a PhD program. I'm interested in border politics so I'd like to stay in San Diego to expand my current thesis, but then again I really don't want to do 10 more years of school..I'd rather do 7 instead of 10 lol. In any case I'll think about that later... Looks like we are both on the same limbo boat...I absolutely HATE that we have been waiting since September to know what's up. I really don't understand why they need to torture us like this because we need to have a plan if things don't work out with the fulbright! I know the National Geographic fellowship was due a couple of weeks ago and they'll hear back in less time than us :/ !!!!! I was tempted of getting out of the ETA assignment to apply to the NatGeo one but I'm glad I didn't cuz I heard the NatGeo one was insane. I've actually never been to Spain so it would be cool indeed if I got it (all of us)!

Hey both of you!!! No I didn't reference the area because my school advisor told me to be as flexible as possible. I'd prefer Madrid over Cantabria as well but both locations have their perks whether its to know more about the local culture and the mountains (cantabria) or the city life (madrid). I just wrote that I've been part of the model united nations at my uni and my project, which is what I focused on more. Honestly, I'm just wondering if the wage they give us will be enough to get around? I've contacted previous Spain ETA fulbrighters through the Spain ETA groups out there on Facebook ad they've said it's no problem at all...however I'd be going pretty much penniless since I support myself and all $$ I have is from Financial Aid..so once that's gone I have nothing :/ But right now I'm just trying to see if I get the program and then apply to grad school. What about both of you?

Hey hey I'm new to this boat, did anyone apply for the ETA program in Spain? I got told in January that my application got referred but like most of you I'm DYING to know when they tell us if we got the award or not! I feel like I'm stuck in limbo not knowing what to do...I hate how we have to wait so long to know the results ! In any case, any Spain ETA (hopeful) fulbright applicants out there??