[Fulbright 2017-2018]

On 3/25/2017 at 6:01 PM, yoh_rrg said:

They haven't provided the location yet, but I plan to email next week since the interviewer said the schools themselves would be the ones selecting us.  Where are you going to be stationed?

I'll be in Amsterdam (I got the Fulbright offered through the VU University of Amsterdam, so I'll also be pursuing a Master's degree). So exited! It's going to be tough counting down the days til August...

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

33 minutes ago, yoh_rrg said:

Netherlands ETA just announced!!!! Happy I am home from work because I really wasn't ready for that and the weird shriek I emitted that may have alarmed other people. Also SOOO glad that waiting game is over.

Yay!! So happy to see this -- not fair that they made you wait so long after announcing research! Did they give you your location placement? Luckily the NL is so small that wherever you are won't be too far from civilization. Look forward to meeting you!  

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

1 hour ago, Horb said:

I GOT IT OMG I AM DYING!

Congrats!  

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

31 minutes ago, minswho said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/18/president-obama-has-nominated-123-people-to-fill-administration-positions-this-year/?utm_term=.c4695339a5d4

Obama actually appointed 8 new members to the FFSB 2 days before he left office and basically filled up the board.

I'm personally not really worried about the FFSB but since the Department of State has been slowly filling up with Trump appointees, I kind of ended up getting worried about social media profiles? I ended up just checking over my privacy settings again and such. As for my application, it focused mostly on the subject of cultural exchange (and space exploration) rather than politics so I'm not quite worried about that either. I do briefly mention the problem of climate change but it just makes me  extremely sad that that even is something to worry about under this administration. 

I'm extremely concerned about Fulbright program being eliminated after this year but I'm sure we'll be stand up against that together.

My cover photo on my Facebook page from end of January to now has been a picture of me at the women's march! And nearly all my public posts are anti-Trump. Didn't seem to work against me. But I guess it's always better to be safe than sorry, and it's pretty easy to change privacy settings, so it can't hurt.

And actually the Fulbright program is one of the few State Dept. cultural programs that is saved in Trump's new budget (according to the WaPo -- https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-presidential-budget-2018-proposal/?utm_term=.5d922836f6d5). I was pretty surprised to see that!

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

3 minutes ago, theanine said:

These were my thoughts too. However, the host country's Commission could potentially take issue with sensitive topics, depending on the political climate. 

Totally true. However, I think those other posts were in reference to Trump's election (though maybe I'm wrong).

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

15 hours ago, cruxclaire said:

If you shot yourself in the foot, I might have as well. I kind of implicitly dissed the far-right RE: refugees in my application. The application was due in September, and at the time, it didn't seem controversial at all. My general sentiments are the same; just having an idea of what I will or won't be doing after graduation would make the idea of the future less daunting.

 

20 hours ago, Horb said:

idk. I've kinda of given up getting it. I shot myself in the foot discussing far-right politics, so I worry about final stages of approval and even just approval in general...At this point, I just want to know

 

Hi guys -- I actually wouldn't worry too much about this. I did a lot of State Dept Google searches when I was in waiting hell, and found the list of the Fulbright Board Members: https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/j-william-fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members. Most of them appear to be holdovers from the Obama administration, or have leadership positions that would lead me to believe they are sympathetic to "leftist" issues. I've also read that it's extremely rare that the board will reject somebody who has been approved by the US screening committee and the commission in your country. There has to be a pretty glaring red flag, or an issue with your background check. Who knows, it may even prove to be the opposite situation -- many of the left-leaning board members might feel extra supportive of a project about refugees or far-right politics as their own small way of saying f**k you to the new administration.  I wouldn't lose sleep over this, unless your project proposals had an antagonistic, militant activist tone, which I'm sure they didn't.

[Fulbright 2017-2018]

Hi everyone! I just made an account today, as I found out this morning I was selected as a finalist for the Netherlands! I applied to a special degree-seeking program at the VU University of Amsterdam, where I'll be studying art history. Any other NL finalists or art history applicants?

And thanks to everyone on this board for addressing so many of the things I had questions about (i.e. State Dept. craziness) -- I've been poking around here for awhile, but never felt I had anything to add....until now!  Hope everyone else hears good news soon!