crimsonengineer87

Yup. Mine does that. And I think it's fine.

I think if it's been a month, it's okay to send a friendly reminder email. The deadline for Fulbright isn't until October, but if you have your own deadline (mine is September 15th), state that and post the link again, attach relevant documents, etc so that he or she can be reminded and start working on it if she/he lost the docs. It wouldn't hurt to call either. I know people usually don't call but phone still does exist. Also, going to the person's office and talking to him or her in person (if that's possible) is truly an amazing experience. Haha. Hope that helps.

Sent! Thanks very much!

rachael, I might need to take your offer. My campus deadline is Sept 1st. I've had lots of profs from different fields read it, but not really like another peer. I actually that's also helpful, since we understand each other's situations more? Plus, the fact that we all represent different fields is excellent, since the committee will be definitely made up of people from all sorts of disciplines ...

Will you apply to Albania again with the same project? I'm also assuming that you will be excellent candidate if you've started graduate school. At least you have delved somewhat into the research, which according to a former Fulbrighter from Germany and professor of mine, is good to have.

The worst part about anything is the waiting. Applying for something and that wait. But I think we can all pull through. And yes, I also agree with rach, if the above statement is true. You can mos' def offer us some great advice. Please don't hesitate! We're all ears!

I filled out most of the online application, and then left it like a month ago. Haha. I've been sooo lazy. But now, I realize how many more applications for fellowships I need to fill out, but at least the Fulbright is pretty much in the bag after starting early! So yeah, just waiting on those letters of rec!

Just a heads up to people going through their campus advisor. If you have some sort of faculty committee meeting to go through (ie a bunch of faculty will look at your SOP, letters), I suggest acting as if you were really interviewing for the Fulbright. Apparently someone on the past year's committee told me they "ranked" or did something to our projects. And that score apparently is also seen by the actual Fulbright committee, but we don't see them. I know at my school we let everyone through, but I know at certain universities, these committees are the first step. Either way, make it professional and your best!

Well, that was unexpected!

That is great! Hmm, I don't know how many would be sufficient. Are you going to be affiliated with all 2 or 3? Or will you choose one, once you actually get the Fulbright? Does that make sense?

Hmm, seems like you are in the same predicament I was in a few months ago (October-ish) when I was deciding b/t working or going to graduate school. To be honest, the money (ie who will pay for you to go to graduate school) is in the PhD programs. If you think about it, they'd rather keep someone doing great research for 4-6 years, rather than someone who gets started and leaves in 2 years, right at the pinnacle of their research. I've heard it takes two years to actually figure what the heck you're doing and then after that you start doing your actual thesis/research work. My credentials are: 3.9/4.0 GPA (overall/CE) from a state institution, Honors College, mediocre GRE scores, EIT, LOTS of extracurriculars, German language, and research internship in Germany. My advisor says the only thing that did me when I applied for master's programs was the lack of a consistent research experience, which you have. However, I was accepted into all my schools (Berkeley, Davis, Illinois, UW), all top notch schools for engineering. BUT I think in order to get funding, which is what really matters, you need a consistent research record, VERY GOOD grades, mediocre-high GRE scores, and some of those extracurriculars. You say they don't matter, but in reality, when a prof writes a letter of rec, those activities demonstrate your ability to not only to keep your grades up, do research, but also be involved - this shows great work ethic, ability to multi-task, and perhaps communications skills. Those things are necessary in a masters/PhD student. You just don't want some 4.0 student who doesn't talk to anyone sitting in a corner. Remember, it is also all about "fit", which is the term going around now. I would go for the PhD. You can always drop down, and it won't hurt their feelings. It might, but it is important to get funding early. At least when you start in the PhD track, you can see if it is for you, and then drop down, which is being perfectly honest with them. I don't want you to be in my position where you apply for master's programs and realize what could have been if you had applied for a PhD. I hope that made sense ... lots of rambling in the morning ...

I also agree with zilch. I, myself, am a civil engineer and my department basically required us to take it. It was pretty expensive to take it, so if you failed, it'd be a waste of like $150+. However, there are two caveats. You only need a 50% to pass AND we had a review session scheduled 6-7 weeks prior to the exam to review all the different topics for our exam. So unless you plan to do something that will require a stamp of some sort in EE, then maybe try it, if not, don't. It only helped me for a fellowship, where it explicitly asked me if I was an EIT. If you're planning on getting a PhD and being a professor, then I don't think the PE is worth it. However, like zilch said, it does leave open a different pathway for your career in industry, in case you go that way.

Hmm, it seems for now, we just need to scan transcripts from all levels of our educations (ie undergrad, grad): http://us.fulbrightonline.org/instructions_transcriptupload.html But if we get the Fulbright, we'll be expected to send them hard copies to prove that we actually took those classes, etc. From what I read. Hmm.

WOW! That is REALLY impressive. What are your two master's degree in and what do you want to do after you finish your PhD and the Fulbright?

Hey Lola! Welcome to our thread! I just got my bachelors in civil engineering and am starting grad work right now for my masters ... and maybe PhD. I'm still mulling the PhD over ... it just sounds way too long in school ... especially in Pullman, which is in the middle of wheatfields ... but we'll see ... Good luck on your application and we are here to help! Julian

hi lele, If you go to Fulbright's own blog: http://usfulbrightstudent.blogspot.com/, the first entry is from a Fulbrighter who talks about what the "side-project" should entail. I didn't read into it very much, but it is very difficult to put an example to it. Listening to the webinar today, a guy said that it is really hard to talk about a specific project for ETA when you don't know where you'll actually be placed in the country. So you need to be general and specific at the same time. However, I think the advice this Fulbrighter makes is very valid. I will post the following "universal points" the poster makes about ETA projects: Is your project appropriate for the country to which you are applying? If so, why?How does the project align with your expertise?Who are the stakeholders in your project? If your project involves community members, how many participants do you aim to have? What is the age group? How will you attract participants? How does it benefit them?What are the resources necessary to undertake your project? (Physical location? Art supplies? Computers or Internet connection?) And how would you go about ensuring that these resource needs would be met or overcome? (Additional non-Fulbright funding? Personal out-of-pocket funds? Jettisoning an online component?)Where would the project take place? (In a school classroom? In a community center? In a park? In your host country apartment?)When and for how long would the project take place? (How many weeks? How many days per week? How many hours per day? Will the project coincide with your placement school’s academic calendar?)What will be the tangible outcome of your project? (Student projects? Theatrical productions? Artwork?)Who is the audience for your project? How large is that audience?How does your project promote the Fulbright Program’s mission of promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries? - from US Fulbright Student Blog I hope that helps.

What I did last year when applying to grad schools and fellowships and such, I ended up forgetting about everything b/c of schoolwork etc. But I started watching way more TV shows in the evening: THE OFFICE, Parks and Rec, and GLEE. Not sure if you're a fan of these shows, but they helped me through! Haha.

We'll all be fine. Yeah, we won't officially know until March and later on, but think about the other milestones: submitting it all and getting it over with in October and then finding if you're a finalist or whatever in January! Now that's exciting. But, I do feel your pain .... I hate waiting. It's the worst thing ever.

OH! Good call, rachael. Yes, this is correct. Don't listen to my rantings - that was about letters of affiliation.

Anytime you are unsure of something, email the guys at Fulbright. They are very prompt with returning emails. Here is the website for the affiliation: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/preparing_affiliation.html It doesn't explicitly say a signature is required, but that is what I'm doing. Basically they will print out the letter on letterhead, sign it, re-scan it as a PDF, and send it back to me. Personally, I think it seems way more legit that this affiliation really wants you by signing it. Otherwise, anyone could just draft up a letter (like I did) with that person's name etc. But, please do email them.

No problem. I mean, we are in different fields AND apply to different countries. I mean, I did take out the city/university I'm studying at, but I mean that isn't even necessary for it. The structure and content is there and will be very helpful! Feel free to use my phrasing, but of course, don't mention the nitrogen cycle! Haha.

I PM'd you!

hey rachael, i'll email you my draft letter of affiliation. i don't think i'll post it here though. i will provide a general outline of what it entails ... Dear Fulbright Committee: 1st paragraph: introduction of who I am, school, level of study 2nd paragraph: what my research is about 3rd paragraph: why the affiliation/university is the best fit 4th paragraph: conclusion

I chose WSU for undergrad because it was the furthest I could get away from home, but yet still in-state. However, I also enjoyed the change of seasons instead of the dreary rain and gray the westside of the state has. Yes, Pullman gets extremely cold and stays cold for a long time and the snow/ice gets really old, but I think it's nice sometimes. Because summers in Pullman can get hot. It's going to be like in the 90s this week. Compared to other graduate schools, WSU/Pullman wasn't my first choice, but it was where I got the best deal for funding and I don't mind staying here. I get a little sad thinking about my friends going off to amazing places (like Boston), but I think my heart lies in Pullman. It's a quaint and fun town. You can find what you want if you look for it. In terms of weather, I think in the summer Olympia and Pullman would have the same hot, dry weather, but winter time, I'm pretty sure Pullman gets much colder and way more snow since we're like 1/2 a mile up from sea level. It stays cold from mid-Oct to like mid-April. This year was a mild winter, but in the past, we've had negative temps and snow in June. BUT, Pullman is a great place. I don't deny that!

Hey guys, So I've been thinking about retaking the GREs, in order to make myself more competitive for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. With my scores (Q 720, V 450, A 5.0) I was accepted into Berkeley, Illinois, UW, WSU, and UC Davis. Unfortunately, only UW and WSU offered funding and I stayed at my undergrad to continue a master's at WSU. My advisor said that she got around the same scores as I did, but didn't want to gamble if she got lower scores. Unfortunately, if you take the GREs again, they apparently get to see both sets of tests, and can see if you massively failed. I have a pretty good resume (apparently just getting into Berkeley is good ...). My field is civil engineering and I want to do research in nitrogen cycling/modeling. In addition, I've done lots of extracurricular activities, had a research internship in Germany, and had a summer internship with BP (yes the oil company ... eek!). What do you guys think? Is the $150 (is that how much it costs?) worth it? I would probably focus on verbal, but who knows that would happen. When I took the GREs about a year ago, I didn't even answer two Q questions, so I think a 720 is pretty good for not answering two questions. Anyways, I'd really appreciate your guys' opinion/advice! crimson