Loujoelou

I had the interesting experience of getting two acceptances in two hours today.
For the first one I called my dad like immediately, and emailed my mentor,  and called/texted other people too.  I then went to my tutoring job and between sessions got another email but then got back to work.  After work, I surprised two of my rec letter writers in person with the news.  I spent the entire afternoon calling/emailing/texting the news to those I hadn't heard.   I opened my graduate school acceptance bottle of champagne and gave myself the afternoon off for homework.   I almost cried tears of joy like a million times today.  The first time it was because I knew I was going to graduate school,  the second time because I realized that it is more likely someone will get into an Ivy League university than someone to get a first round acceptance to the UT Austin stats program,  and again when I realized I cracked the top 20.  I have waited two months basically, and almost every day I feared that I would get no offers.  I literally had the what if I don't get in conversion YESTERDAY with multiple people.  Now everything else is gravy.  I have two funded offers now, am on the shortlist for another and have 6 more places to go.  I can now say with confidence that I will be attending graduate school.  And that is an amazing feeling.

This is what I did.
I was coming home from getting my blood drawn when I got an email notification that my status had changed and to check the website. I proceeded to spend the entire drive home (only about 10 minutes) freaking out and coming up with every rejection scenario possible. Once I got home, I checked the status, still freaked out it would be a rejection. I couldn't believe it when I read Congratulations. I just sat there in shock for a few minutes and then my anxiety turned to elation. I was filled with restless energy and may have done a few laps around the house. As soon as my parents were awake I went to their room and said, "Guess who's going to grad school."
My father got a confused look on his face and said, "Why?" -__- He meant, "what brought you saying this on" but still. Anyways, I let them know I received an acceptance, high fived them both, then proceeded to text everyone I know, haha. I also printed out the acceptance and made them read it (partly because yay acceptance and partly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating). I also emailed all of my letter writers and thanked them. I then randomly said, "I got into grad school" at both of my parents for the next couple of days, multiple times a day.
I have yet to post about it on social media because I'm trying to get a job, but most people who know me know about it, haha. 

Questionnaire For ETA Semi-Finalists -> this was  the subject of the email
"Dear ETA Semi-Finalist,
We are very happy that you applied to be an English Teaching Assistant in the Czech Republic in the following academic year. This year, our Commission decided to introduce a country-specific questionnaire for all semifinalists to get to know how you would act in the shoes of an English Teaching Assistant in the Czech Republic."
^^^ Was the first part of the email; only relevant part to share. It was pretty straightforward, but ultra exciting nonetheless. Hopefully there's no rule against me sharing but yeah that sums it up  I really hope everyone else hears back ASAP (and that us Czech people hear officially from the US soon)!
Also, From the Fulbright website:
What is the ratio of semi-finalists to grants given in each country? 
The National Screening Committees typically recommend 1.5-2 times the number of candidates as there are grants available for a particular award.

I happened to see someone comment this on a previous Fulbright 2016-2017 board. These were the dates that Fulbright applicants were notified during their application cycle:
2015: January 16th... I think it was a Friday ? 
2014:  Tuesday, January 28th 
2013: Friday, January 18th
2012: Thursday, January 19th
2011: Thursday, January 20th
2010: Friday, January 29th (Apparently they had issues that year with the Embark system going down)
2009: Friday, January 30th
 

Hey Everyone, 
I applied for the Research/Study award to Luxembourg to research the impact of immigration on the state of tobacco and smoking behavior in Luxembourg, considering that migrants make up nearly half of the country's population. This is my first time applying for the award and I decided to apply At-Large for Independent Research.
Like the rest of you, I am very anxious to hear from the Fulbright.
I wish all of you the best  

Since I asked the question, I may as well answer my own question too.  I am applying for an Open Study award to go to Brisbane, Australia and complete a PhD. (last year 6 out of 63 applicants received awards.. haha) I'm about to finish my bachelor's in fashion design with minors in business & Chinese, and I research a leather-like material made with water, sugar, and tea. Thus, for my PhD I'd be developing bacterial cellulose as a sustainable leather alternative! i'm currently in the process of working on my senior design collection incorporating the material so we'll see how that goes.

Since I asked the question, I may as well answer my own question too.  I am applying for an Open Study award to go to Brisbane, Australia and complete a PhD. (last year 6 out of 63 applicants received awards.. haha) I'm about to finish my bachelor's in fashion design with minors in business & Chinese, and I research a leather-like material made with water, sugar, and tea. Thus, for my PhD I'd be developing bacterial cellulose as a sustainable leather alternative! i'm currently in the process of working on my senior design collection incorporating the material so we'll see how that goes.

Since I asked the question, I may as well answer my own question too.  I am applying for an Open Study award to go to Brisbane, Australia and complete a PhD. (last year 6 out of 63 applicants received awards.. haha) I'm about to finish my bachelor's in fashion design with minors in business & Chinese, and I research a leather-like material made with water, sugar, and tea. Thus, for my PhD I'd be developing bacterial cellulose as a sustainable leather alternative! i'm currently in the process of working on my senior design collection incorporating the material so we'll see how that goes.

Thank you so much for starting this thread, as I know no one else in my life with these experiences and it can feel lonely to wait it out. 
I know some people in this thread are commenting about being older while applying to PhDs, but I have the opposite problem. I'm only 20, graduating in a three year program, and seeing the schools that everyone else is applying to is really intimidating. I have a fear that I'll be overlooked in favor of applicants that appear more...adult. I relate to the experience of other posters whose family and friends waive off their concerns and treat admission as inevitable. I, too, am constantly comparing myself to everyone else, trying to find in these forums the GPA/GRE scores of others, and trying to form any sort of expectation about what my grad decision will look like. I have a 3.99 GPA from a small Northeastern college, and a 163V/161Q/5.0W. But I still have fears that it's not enough. I think I applied to schools that were too high up the lists and am now regretting it. I know my professors put in a lot of work for me by writing my letters, and I really don't want to disappoint them by being rejected by all 6 of the schools that I applied to. 
Especially during winter break, especially while being snowed in (hi Northeasterners), the days don't seem to pass quickly enough. I wish you all the speediest responses to your applications! 

Just answered the PhD focus part up above in the previous post, but if you have any further questions feel free to ask me! As for your topic that sound really cool haha  !  You might get this often, but it sounds like it could be from the Godfather. 

Since I asked the question, I may as well answer my own question too.  I am applying for an Open Study award to go to Brisbane, Australia and complete a PhD. (last year 6 out of 63 applicants received awards.. haha) I'm about to finish my bachelor's in fashion design with minors in business & Chinese, and I research a leather-like material made with water, sugar, and tea. Thus, for my PhD I'd be developing bacterial cellulose as a sustainable leather alternative! i'm currently in the process of working on my senior design collection incorporating the material so we'll see how that goes.

I applied to New Zealand to research how tourism effects and/or improves cultural connections (ie. Maori culture)in country while getting my graduate/Masters degree.
Looking at what everyone else applied for mine sounds boring lol.
 

Hey everyone!  This thread seemed like too much fun, so I had to join in! I applied for a Fulbright open study award to Australia that would allow me to do my PhD. Wishing you all the best. It is so nerve-wracking to have had to wait for so many months haha, hoping for the best in the next few weeks! As for the latest possible statistics, 2016-17 is latest application cycle available and there's no statistics for 2017-18 up on the Fulbright website yet.
As we're all waiting for the notifications regarding semi-finalist status, what were some of the research projects you guys want to carry out in your applications? If you're an ETA, why'd you choose your particular country to apply to?