travelgirl125

Best of luck to you!! Not sure if you're following the weather, but the Northeast is in for a huge blizzard this week. I'm assuming this will probably delay things for everyone here, including Penn, so don't worry if you don't hear right away!

No news on my end, yet (Masters candidate, here). Starting to feel a little neglected, but oh well.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with that! I did not get recommended, and my parents (who are always incredibly supportive of me) finally told me afterwards that they were relieved, because they were very concerned about me going to another country and not even knowing exactly I would be going (I applied for an ETA in Italy). What country did you apply for? Maybe your parents are more concerned for your safety and you could find some information to help ease their fears.

Thanks so much! Have you heard back from any of your schools yet? And are you applying to all Spanish linguistics programs? That's great! I would love to learn Spanish at some point. I'm still waiting to hear back from Middlebury about financial aid, but hopefully I'll hear in the next month or so!

Ciao! I have applied and been accepted to Middlebury's MA in Italian in Florence and NYU's MA in Italian Studies in Florence. I also applied to Rutgers' MAT in Italian, but have not heard back from them. So you speak both languages, Italian and Spanish?

Ciao tutti! Anyone on here who is applying/attending Italian programs? I know there's been Italian forums in past years, but I haven't seen one for this year yet

Thanks It's not even the fact that I'm still waiting (because I'm still waiting to hear from two other programs I applied to). But they had said decisions for my program were made in 4-6 weeks, and many times, even less than that. So I got my hopes up!! But you're right, I haven't seen any GSE masters results on the results page. I did, however, see a PhD interview invite, I think! So I'm sure yours is coming soon as well!

Well, there goes any wishful thinking on my part that I would hear back this week! On to week 6...

Very shocked to have gotten an email so early (12:53pm EST). Not recommended For those who are interested... Subject line: Fulbright Application Status Text: The National Screening Committee of the Institute of International Education has completed its work and has recommended candidates for the 2015-16 academic year. I regret to inform you that your application is not among those recommended for further consideration. Unfortunately, it is not possible to accommodate all students who would like to participate in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. I want to assure you that the application review is very thorough and that screening committees carefully weigh individual qualifications for research, study or teaching abroad. Unfortunately, we cannot discuss the reasons why a particu lar candidate was not recommended. In many cases, candidates were well qualified to receive a grant and no one specific factor, other than the sheer number of applications to their specific country prohibited them from reaching the next stage. Over 10,000 applicants competed for about 1,800 grants. Please do not contact IIE to inquire about your individual application. If you decide to reapply in the future, IIE Program Staff will be happy to advise you on the application process and provide general information ab out the program or country to which you are applying. I know that this decision will be disappointing to you. However, please note that the decision in no way prejudices your chances for participation in the Fulbright Program in another academic year. Each year's selection process is separate and distinct. An additional year of coursework, experience, and/or language study may improve the competitiveness of your application. If you wish to apply again for a Fulbright award, your application will be considered, as before, solely on the basis of eligibility requirements and the merits of your proposal. We appreciate your interest in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and hope that you will find another opportunity to study or conduct research abroad. Sincerely yours, Daniel Kramer Director, U.S. Student Programs Institute of International Education Thought I had a pretty competitive application, but I guess we all have them! Congratulations to everyone getting recommended

No no no! I really don't think it's a huge error at all. Don't even spend time thinking about it

I did the same thing! I didn't touch my application until two nights ago, because I was scared that I would find a mistake in it or something. Well, today is the day. Anyone else have trouble sleeping last night? When I did manage to sleep, I had two dreams about the Fulbright (one good and one bad). I keep refreshing my email, but I think we probably won't hear until after 5:00. Best of luck to everyone in making it through the day!!!! :)

WHAT. That would have made me cry tears of joy/fear/frustration/every emotion possible!! Crossing my fingers for you! Ugh. I'm nervous at the fact that I haven't heard anything from my advisor, and I'm too scared to email him and ask. Anywho, how terrible would it be if, for some reason, we didn't find out tomorrow?

Hahaha I love those gifs!! Thanks for providing some comic relief In other news, I OF COURSE had a Fulbright dream last night that woke me up and prevented me from going back to sleep. I dreamt that my adviser forwarded over an email to me (with subject line OMG) from Fulbright with my entire scoring rubric. Which, by the way, was all in Italian (since I applied for Italy). At the very bottom, it said I was recommended! The worst part was that it felt extremely realistic, and I woke up disappointed. Crossing my fingers that I won't actually be disappointed when I receive the real email

I was JUST about to say that reading that made me sick to my stomach! But also incredibly excited!! AHHH.

Thanks so much for the insight! That must have been great to know an approximate time, although I'm sure that 45 minute wait was agonizing! Hope you are having an amazing time in the Philippines

For ETAs, has anyone been able to locate on the Fulbright website the placements of this year's group? I'm not sure if this is the same for other countries, but I applied to Italy, and Fulbright places you in a city of their choice if you are accepted. I was just interested to see where exactly grantees were placed, but can't find the information on the website (unless I'm overlooking it!).

Oh gosh...that means I'm going to be checking my email more than usual everyday this month instead of just on the 30th! Haha **Edit: But wait, on the Fulbright website, it says that January 30th is "Recommendation Notifications." I guess that doesn't mean they won't release them early if they feel like it, though!

Chris, Best of luck to you!! You certainly seem to have excellent credentials and a very interesting proposal!

Same here! I would assume email, since I've gotten into some other programs so far and they have all been through e-mail (or I received an email telling me to check the application system). Still, I check Penn's app system frequently anyway, just in case!

Haha no worries!! It is indeed under the Educational Linguistics department. I am finishing up my undergrad now in Italian and education. I've always been interested in foreign languages, teaching, communicating across cultures, etc. I'm not entirely sure if I want to go into teaching or the field of study abroad, but I figured that ICC would be applicable to both fields! Now that I think about it, I know someone at Penn right now who is there for Higher Ed. If you'd like, I can give you her contact information. She was very helpful when I first told her I was applying, and she sent me a lot of information and encouraging words!

I don't remember it much (since I got mine 6 years ago), but I don't think it was too hard. My town's library has a passport center, though, and they are very helpful! I think post offices can help you out, too.

Ooh I didn't even think about that! Another great source of information, I'm sure.

I applied for an M.S.Ed in Intercultural Communication Best of luck to you! I'm sure you will be fine.

Does anyone else find/read blogs of past Fulbrighters? Or am I the only one who reads them longingly and hopes it will be my turn to write one soon!