TravelingTeacher

Is there anyone else who hasn't had any info yet from their embassy contacts? I have heard nothing about my placement or departure date and couldn't get that info over email yet. I know it will all work out but I'm getting kind of antsy, especially since if I have to buy a plane ticket last minute it's less money I will have to do other things like pay for housing. Just wondering if any other countries had a similar lack of information.

Eastern Europe/ Eurasia. I guess ours is later so we haven't gotten any official registration yet--thanks! Also, I still haven't gotten my grant authorization document either even though I found out about my award on April 9! I emailed Maria Mazur about a month ago and she said she was working on it--I'm going to give it a few more weeks.

Great--where is that link? My email is only a save-the-date. I'm definitely going to ask if it's not clear--parking will probably cost more than the gas there, because DC...

Does anyone know about transport if you're not planning on flying to orientation? I am going to be coming from my family vacation at the Jersey shore, and the best option to me seems like it will be driving, but I'm not sure if parking is an option. Otherwise, I will take a train but I won't really be near any Amtrak stations...

Hi all, For those of you who uploaded documents to the portal already, did you rescan the entire "Grant Authorization" document or just the part with your signature on it? I want to do this now before I forget and I'm not quite sure how to combine the PDF pages that I've scanned into one document, but I am afraid if I just upload the page with the signature that it will be rejected. Thanks! EDIT: Just saw I need to initial each page... guess my mom and I are going to have a scanner adventure tonight. In other news, ETA folks--do you have your ETA supplement available on your self-service portal yet? I only have the regular "Grant Terms and Conditions." Everything I've gotten from Fulbright so far says "US Scholar Program" and I'm terrified I somehow applied and got the research one instead, even though I know that's impossible.

Bosnia-Herzegovina notified this morning at 8:15 AM! I've seen selected for the ETA... dreams really do come true sometimes!

Oh god, I didn't get one of those Save the Dates. Applying for Eastern Europe. Fulbright, why would you do this?

Hi squidtown, I just made a reply in the Fulbright thread to your questions on this topic. I'm going to sum up what I said there in case anybody else is looking at this with similar questions. As somebody who is currently doing a MA + teacher cert. program and applying to Fulbright, I would HIGHLY recommend that you do Fulbright this year. I hugely regret not applying to Fulbright last year when I was graduating from undergrad. Some areas do hire in June/July, but you are much better off starting your application process earlier. Also, as I explained in the thread, teacher cert programs provide you with a very specific pre-professional training towards teaching in the US context, and it might be difficult for you to transition into teaching abroad and then transition back into the US context after one year. I understand how the thought of possibly losing funding is terrifying--the majority of students in my program are unfunded--but I think having the ETA on your resume will make you even more qualified for your grad programs and lead to even more funding at the same or other programs. Hope this helps!

I think it depends on the country and its specifications. For example, the ETA program that I am applying to wants students in the field of either American Studies or Education and prefers candidates at the Master's level and candidates with "extensive teaching experience". I am doing my MA in Social Studies Education and am a finalist. I don't know how that will translate into actually getting the ETA (as far as I know, none of the ETAs in the past two years in my program have had a Master's in education) but it hasn't hurt me so far. Also, I was able to talk about my practicum placements on my application essays. However, some countries prefer candidates with "some teaching experience," and I read an interview with a higher-up in Fulbright who said that since it is a student program, they discourage experienced teachers (ie teachers who have taught in a K-12 classroom for more than 4 years) or students with masters' in TESOL to apply. That being said, as somebody who is currently in a teacher prep program, I do NOT recommend that you wait to do Fulbright until after you do your master's, especially if you've already been accepted. Generally, you will get your teacher's license right after you graduate from a teacher's prep program, and you need to complete certain actions to keep your certification valid like professional development. Spending a year outside of the country makes it harder for you to keep your certification valid. Additionally, since most school districts only do in-person interviews, it is extremely hard for one to find a job if they are out of the country during teacher "hiring season." Teacher prep programs prepare you for the very specific task of teaching either elementary ed or a specific subject in an American school context, which is probably vastly different than the context you will encounter in your Fulbright (although I do not know the specifics for Germany). I have learned a lot in my teacher prep program and I know most of it will be helpful in any teaching context, but I am not quite sure at this point what I can apply from working with seventh graders if I end up getting the Fulbright and teaching college students. Finally, I feel that right now, a month and a half away from graduation and in the midst of student teaching, I am really ready to teach middle school in the US because I have lots of practice and am quite used to being observed. I'm used to the professional United States school context. I'm not sure I'll feel the same sense of preparation when I begin working in the US if I end up teaching abroad next year. In short, I wish I had applied for Fulbright BEFORE doing a master's teacher-prep program. The only reason I didn't apply last year was because I ended up switching my undergrad graduation year at the last minute and I couldn't plan ahead like I wanted, but I am definitely regretting it now.

Seems like all of Europe has notified except for the countries in the former Yugoslavia and Albania.... congrats to everyone who was accepted and good luck to all alternates... everybody on this forum is so impressive and is going to do so well in whatever they put their mind to!

My country notified May 2nd last year. I am fortunate enough to be in a career field where a lot of offers don't come until later in May and June (woo woo education!) but if I get an offer of a teaching job before I hear back from Fulbright, I have no idea what I'll do.

Also very curious about this as I am also a Balkan applicant/Balkan fanatic and would love to hear about your interest in the region ToTheBalkans, I wonder if they make you chose because you will miss Fulbright orientation if you do the CLS program. I wish it was more in my academic interests to do the CLS program, the Turkey programs look awesome but I am doing pre-professional grad work right now and I don't think I could have justified Turkish language study in order to teach middle-school Social Studies in the US... :/

Hi- I'm probably just being super paranoid, but are there any lurkers out there who know if Bosnia-Herzegovina does interviews anymore for ETA? I have a friend who was interviewed in 2013 and she was contacted immediately after she was recommended, but I haven't heard anything yet. No response to my email from my Fulbright program advisor at my school (which is not in the least surprising) but I don't want to contact the region supervisor yet and look all panicky...

Hi tspier2--thanks for the advice! I am applying to private school jobs mainly because my SO is considering grad schools in New York, which does not make it easy for me to transfer my Virginia certification, but if he decides to go to school in a state that does not require the insane amount of extra testing that New York does, I will consider the public schools. I also have found/been told that private schools tend to be more receptive of individuals who are applying for jobs outside of the areas that they student-taught. Tenure is also less of an issue with me because we'll be moving when my SO does postdocs or accepts a faculty or research position after he finishes his PhD in five or six years anyway. I'm also applying in the Balkans (Bosnia & Herzegovina) so I imagine I'll find out quite late in the game. Out of curiosity--did you end up seriously applying for teaching positions last year?

Hi all-- what are folks (especially if there are any ETA folks out there who are interested in jobs in public and private school teaching) doing about their other job applications as they wait to hear back? I'm in a kind of tricky situation where I am graduating in May with my MA and certification in secondary education. I am simultaneously applying to the Fulbright and public and private school jobs in the cities that my significant other is applying to PhD programs in. He based his grad school list to a large extent on where I would feel comfortable living/be able to easily find a teaching job, and is starting to hear back positive responses. Due to public school hiring timelines, I won't have to worry about public school jobs until after I hear back from Fulbright unless I am an alternate, but I might hear back from private school jobs within the next few months. Given the web that is cross-state teacher reciprocity, private school jobs are more appealing to me right now, but I'm concerned about saying no to a perfect job only to not get the Fulbright, or accepting a job and then hearing a yes from the Fulbright commission. I also feel like applying for many, many jobs before I hear anything from Fulbright might not be the best use of my very limited time as I go through student teaching. Thoughts from those who are applying to the ETA but don't have grad school applications or plans for next year?

Since this is the Fulbright thread, I'm going to answer this for a Fulbright or international interview context. In an interview for an international program, I think it would definitely help if you could place it in an international context. If I was asked this (actually in any setting) I'd probably talk about how I stayed with a host family that didn't speak English and I could barely speak their language at the start of my placement when I was teaching abroad. If you haven't had any international experience you could relate, try to relate it to experience--for example, if you've ever worked with or been in a situation where everyone spoke a language that you could not speak or been totally over your head in a situation that relates to the job/research you are applying for. I'm applying for the ETA (and actual public and private school teaching jobs), so I would talk about when I started tutoring ESL learners during college and I was partnered with a student who was 11 and had never attended school in his home country. I try to talk about this student whenever I do an education-related interview because it's definitely a unique challenge--I know many experienced teachers, including ESL teachers, who have never dealt with a similar situation--and I feel like it allows me to talk about coping with a difficult situation while also talking about my skills as a teacher and my cross-cultural communication ability. If you're doing research, a good answer could be research related, but if you can somehow connect it with your ability to cope in an international context, that is definitely a plus!

Hi- longtime lurker here. I don't want to get too involved with conversations here as I think that will try my sanity too much (my country doesn't have really any other programs for non-EU passport holders to teach English and I have this irrational fear if I don't get the Fulbright, I'll never be able to teach there again). I did want to put in my two cents about Fulbright and relationships with family and friends from the dilemma I am experiencing right now. I have wanted to teach abroad since I was in high school, and ever since I had the opportunity to travel to and teach English in the country I am applying to with a summer program at my university, I have known that I wanted to spend a year abroad there. However, I've also been in a serious long-term relationship since essentially the second week of undergrad, and even though we are used to spending summers apart and me leaving for a year will not put a huge stress on our relationship, I know it will be difficult for both of us. I would love for him to come and teach abroad with me, but that does not fit into his career path (he is applying for PhD programs in physics). He is very supportive of my decision to apply for Fulbright and other programs teaching abroad, but that does not change the fact that we are going to miss each other terribly if I am away next year. I always knew that I was going to eventually have to chose between pursuing my dream of teaching abroad or staying in the US to be with him, but now that things are getting more real (I am a finalist and also had an interview for a funded program with WorldTeach last week) it's becoming a lot harder for me to accept that we will be on different continents for the better part of a year. Another consideration I've had to deal with is that I was immensely lucky in my childhood that I was very close with my grandparents, who all live very close to where I grew up. Three of my four grandparents are still alive, and I am very close to them, especially my grandma, despite the fact I have lived eight hours away for the past four years. However, they are all in their 80s and 90s and in somewhat failing health, and I know that it is very likely that any of them could pass away while I am abroad. I have a friend whose father passed away while he was studying abroad as an undergrad, and I just can't imagine saying goodbye to my grandparents knowing that it is very likely I would never see them again. I haven't even told any of them that I am a finalist yet or that I interviewed with WorldTeach, even though they all are very supportive of my travels, because I am afraid of their reactions. (EDIT: I teared up about five times when writing this last paragraph, which is probably not a good sign to my readiness to deal with this sort of issue). kmac11, hope this helps. Know that you're not the only one dealing with this sort of issue, and if you are awarded the Fulbright and chose not to because of your family, that is a perfectly acceptable and legitimate option. My advice would be just to wait and see what happens, and then make your decision.