nescafe

Syria sent notification letters May 4. I received mine on May 7. A rejection. Good luck to those of you still waiting, esp. in the MENA!

I can answer this question... sort of. Basically, Title VI became part of the Budget cluster-f*** only a week before Congress voted on the Budget; in other words, about 9 days ago. Fulbright Hays and Fulbright IIE are both sort of tied up with Title VI funding (or something... can anyone clarify this relationship?) Sooooo, notifications began going out as approvals rolled in, from March forward. And then BAM; Title VI and its subsidiaries got caught up in this party going down in DC. I have no clue if this is totally halting further approvals (because once "final approvals" are made, the $$$ is earmarked and can't be taken back, I think), or if it simply means delays for those of us still awaiting final approval. Fulbright Hays DDRA seems to be put on hold more than Fulbright IIE (see the Fulbright Hays thread on this forum for details). They haven't made any approvals and everything seems VERY up in the air there. I emailed Mr. Jones it was to ask whether recent events in either Syria or Washington could cause delays. He told me, too, that what is happening in DC is more troubling. This made me smile broadly, because I whole-heartedly agree; Congressmen are far more troublesome than protestors. Anyway, I know that's clear as mud. Beyond this, all I know is that Congress voted through MAJOR cuts to Fulbright Programs last Friday... but then the Dept. of Education was given 30 days to appeal the vote, which they began to do immediately. I was too anxious to follow up on developments after that. But if you hear anything about Syria, let me know... sounds like we're in the same boat.

Absolutely. I have it on good authority (my FPA, several Fulbright alums, and even someone at IIE's New York office) that Fulbright looks very favorably on reapplication, and that those who try again (esp if they get past the first round the first time) get a thorough look. So those of you who were cursed with "Alternate" status, do reapply if this year doesn't pan out.

I just got an email from J Jones about MENA/Syria. Apparently the budget battles here in US are the biggest holdup at the moment: His Email: "...And the budget battles are definitely slowing things down on the notification front this year. I’m really not sure when I’ll have the information needed to issue the notification letters to you and the other recommended candidates for Syria, but really hope that it will be by the end of this month or early next at the latest." Just a heads-up.

I received my rejection letter, via snail mail, to my permanent address (in NH). The upside was that Reviewer Comments were included.... I plan on making some revisions and reaplying next year. Congrats to those that received the Grant!

well, as someone whose application was rejected at the government level last year, i feel a little better knowing that a full 40 % of finalists were similarly turned down. There is some kind of a weird comfort in knowing my project wasn't 'singled out'? thanks for sharing that!

agreed. i've been in grad school for and applying for fellowships yearly for four years now. the one thing i can tell you is that rejection is a big part of the process. it's crazy-making how much rejection one has to deal with when applying for multiple grants, scholarships, and admittance to programs. my advice? celebrate even the smallest victories, and let defeats roll off your back. don't EVER tell youself that if you do not win a grant, it's because of some sort of personal failing. It never is---- seriously. I have a pretty decent track record with grant-writing... but I still get rejections from probably 3/4 of the grants and applications i write. even the most successful applicants i've seen don't break the 50/50 margin. so don't beat yourself up.... being named an alternate for a Fulbright says that you are the model applicant, that your proposal was exactly what the Commission was looking for, and that they want to send you.

oh, darn. I didn't get an email this afternoon. and no matter how many times i checked each of my three inboxes, the email i was looking for never arrived. I am betting my rejection letter is on its way. I'll post when it gets here. Congrats to all of you that got good news today! It's been a long strange trip but you all deserve it!

Congrats! That's so exciting! Where are you headed?

OMG OMG OMG! Good luck to all--- I am fairly certain I will not be sleeping in the coming days.

This made me LOL. I believe I was the very last Fulbright Finalist to hear for the entire GradCafe community last year (June 28--- the day before orientation). I am not planning on hearing anything before May 1 this year... but I still find myself lurking in this forum nearly daily.

This is highly dependent on the country you apply for. I was in this situation last year--- I applied for Fulbright funds to cover the costs of a language program. I wound up not getting into the program and emailed my coordinator to pull my name from consideration (I was a finalist at the time). He assured me that the Fulbright Fellowship is NOT contingent on entry into a separate program (even though my statement explicity said I wanted to use the funds for it.) If I was awarded, he told me, they would help place me somewhere else. This policy might differ by country... definitely contact your coordinator. But Fulbright Funding is not necessarily conditional on admittance to a program... even if this program is part of your proposal. IIE can help with placements when extenuating circumstances arise. Now, whether non-admittance to a program negatively influences one's application remains up for speculation. In the end I was not selected for a Grant. But then, I'm not so sure my country accepted any language grants last year.

....of course, the best way to get country-specific advice on social/poltical situations and the Fulbright Program, I'd advise you to email your Regional Head. I was in contact with Jermaine Jones with these issues last year and he was very helpful.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, Fulbright will continue to award grants even in the presence of unrest. HOWEVER, once you "win" the grant, social conditions will have to improve before Fulbrighters can actually go to the host country. Egypt last year is a good example: they awarded in June, but most/all of the granted ETAs were ultimately re-routed to Jordan, Morocco, etc. Research fellows did head to Egypt to begin their projects but were ordered back after the Revolution began in January. They will hopefuly get to complete their Fulbright terms once the State Dept. ends its travel ban. As a fellow applicant to a country with some "interesting" times of late, the best barometer I can offer you is to keep abreast of what the State Dept. says about travel to your country. Fulbright (and many other granting agencies, for that matter) will not disburse funds for a country under a "Travel Ban," or in the event of an "Ordered Departure" of American citizens. Should neither of these Travel Warnings go into effect, though, Fulbright IIE will likely diburse awards. The silver lining, however, is that Fellows are still "awarded" the grant even if travel is impossible--- but this would create a new kind of limbo where you would have to wait out a Travel Ban before beginning your work. Hope this helps

Thanks Kisu! I know it is still way to early to be stressing the wait, but geeeez, four more weeks seems like an eternity!

I don't want to add to anyone's trepidation, but I received my final notification via email last year. Of course, this was for Egypt, and notifications didn't come out until late June... so sending word via email might be something IIE only does in extreme cases.

There's a Fulbright Thread in this Forum... a few Morocco folks there. You an also link a spreadsheet on that thread which shows applicants usernames and notification dates (as they roll in). I'm not a Morocco applicant but best of luck to you!

A good example of "crap": http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/bank-of-america-settles-overdraft-fee-lawsuit/ Another example of said crap (same bank, different suite, for the same issue): http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/02/bank-of-america-settles-excessive-overdraft-fee-lawsuit.php

I agree with Henry and Gunner. The largest banks all have patchy records--- I had a series of very bad experiences with a certain unnamed bank (but it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to guess which one... they're the national one with all the class-action lawsuits filed against them), and pulled all of my money into a Local Credit Union. Not only is the service better, the account is actually free (whereas with the-bank-which-shall-not-be-spoken-of charged nearly $10 a month for the privilege of screwing up my accounts). So I would strongly recommend local credit unions--- one affiliated with your school if possible (and it usually is). The only downside to these banks is that they are, well, local. Travelling can then pose challenges. I have a credit card which works for this, but bear in mind that if you travel even within the US, many of the local banks might not have the same kind of "reach" as the nationals. So, when you get a checking account--- make sure you can obtain a debit card, or an ATM card which is backed by Visa/Mastercard/etc.... this way, even when you are out of town, you can use ATMS and still have remote access to your account. Hope this helps.

Maybe this is field-specific, but I will have to echo the other responses here. In my program (History), 4 years of funding is pretty standard (going from BA to PhD). The assumption is that for your "research" year you will seek and obtain outside funding via fellowships. At any rate, I would not be worried about this.

Thanks for doing this!

I like Laska's attitude.... should I get a rejection letter, I will definitely hold a ritualized burning of said letter. I swallowed hard, opened my mail box today, and.... it was empty. I sighed with relief, before realizing it is Presidents' Day.

omg, i agree. i think the only thing to do is to pretend that the applications are *not* out there in the atmosphere, that we are *not* waiting for news (good or bad). Still, April and May will probably be TOUGH to get through!

There are a few Wikis out there devoted to this very question (not to mention the "Sources of Funding" thread here at GradCafe), but my favorite for Humanities/Social Sciences Topics is: http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/studentgrantsfellowships/about/ Happy Hunting!

I'm applying for the second time.... was a finalist for Egypt last year and then found out in late Summer that I was not accepted. I reapplied for Syria this year. I also had a friend apply two years in a row (China) and he got it the second time around. Fulbright IIE looks very favorably on reapplication... and since the proposal is so brief, why not try again next year? What I did--- brushed up my resume, reworked my Statement of Purpose, and pursued affiliations. The latter are so instrumental... they really can make all the difference in the world. And if you start now, you have 7-8 months to figure out how to get some highly placed research contacts. I also undertook some work experience stuff that helps my resume from a practical angle (e.g. went to Syria working for a Summer Ed Program). Having this prior in-country experience is also helpful, I think. Think it over... there has to be something out there you can do in the meantime to add to your resume's practical appeal! If I were you, I'd assume that the reason you did not get passed forward has less to do with your research topic than these other aspects. Some of you all might disagree, but I really am convinced that most of our topics are absolutely sexy from a research standpoint (and all of our recommenders attest to that, right?) What makes or breaks an application are other supplementals... demonstrating the comprehensive nature of one's candidacy. In short-- the more that each of your ecudational/professional trajectories point to this one project, the better. Brushing up the research section of your proposal definitely can't hurt, but if you add some sort of relevant work experience (or internship, or language training) it shows a determination that the Fulbright Commission just loves. Good luck in reapplication!