borneoguy

Can't believe it! It's too good to be true! Maybe it will set in tomorrow

Indonesia Research Grant finalist here. I just got a letter from IIE in a large manila envelope, with a cover letter from the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. That sounds great, but I literally have no idea how to interpret the letter and documents inside. It is unclear to me if it is a re-iteration of the fact that I made it through as a finalist to be considered by the host country, or whether I've passed some additional hurdle and just need to clear up some final formalities to become an official grantee. What do you guys/gals think? Nothing back from the host country here. According to last year's spreadsheet, I should have received an email from Indonesia - I instead received a letter from the IIE and the FSB. I don't know whether to be excited or...? LETTER #1: Dear <Sir>, On behalf of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB), I am pleased to congratulate you on your selection for a Fulbright award to Indonesia. The FSB is the Presidentially appointed 12-member Board responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the Fulbright Program and for selection of Fulbright recipients. Your grant is made possible through funds appropriated annually by the US Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector. Your selection for a Fulbright award is, in itself, an achievement for which you can be justly proud. However, please bear in mind that there are several more steps to be accomplished before you become a Fublright grantee. These include, but are not limited to, the following. This award is contingent upon your obtaining: official research clearance from the host country, where epplicable; satisfactory medical clearance; and, required visas. The terms and conditions of your award and other information will be forwarded to you by the Fulbright Commission to Indonesia or IIE. After the necessary grant documents containing the terms of your grant have been provided to you for signature, you must sign and return them as instructed. Sincerely, Chair of FSB LETTER #2: Dear Grantee, Congratulations on reaching the final stages in the Fulbright competition. Good health is a pre-requisite for all grantees. Further consideration of your application will be contingent upon receipt of a satisfactory health certificate. Sincerely, Director US Programs

Rooting for you! I'm not too familiar with the ETA process but I understand ETA grantees do some sort of work in the community outside of teaching? What are you planning to do? I'd be interested to hear about it!

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it! I'm literally competing with supermodels (but seriously, there's a supermodel in there)...so every last vote I can get counts! Hopefully my knowledge and dedication to the cause counts for something - we'll see! I find out May 1st!

Thanks a lot! That'd be awesome if you could vote! I'm actually surprised people figured out how to vote (and three times no less, which is the limit). Many people have found it fairly confusing. I suppose I should recognize I'm dealing with an inherently intelligent demographic in this forum In any case, you guys/gals rock!! Thanks again.

Congrats to everyone who has gotten accepted, and my sincerest apologies to those that have been denied! That being said, East Asia & Pacific Region, c'mon!!! We're DYING here! Lol. In other news, dearest forum followers, here's my big shot (!) at pursuing my dreams should this Fulbright opportunity crumble to pieces. That link is to my video application for "Project Borneo 3D" - an unbelievably exciting opportunity in West Borneo with the man that initially inspired my Fulbright project, Dr. Willie Smits. The project will restore 120,000 hectares of badly-degraded rainforest ecosystems, build permanent sanctuaries for scores of critically endangered orangutans, and help the local communities build a sustainable economy in the process. To make matters VERY interesting, the project is being filmed and turned into a full-length, 3D documentary by National Geographic Entertainment! They are holding a *contest* to find 10 project leaders. Unfortunately, the film aspect of the project is drawing in a lot of folks that are largely interested in getting on screen. I, on the other hand, have dedicated my entire life to the cause of rainforest protection and orangutan conservation. If you're so inclined, would you mind taking a second to watch my video? The more views my video gets between now and April 10th, the more likely I am to be selected! Thanks so much everybody. If I am lucky enough to get both the Fulbright and this project, this opportunity would be immensely beneficial to my knowledge-base and ability to help the impoverished communities I will be working with near Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesia. Thanks either way guys and gals, and best of luck to you those still waiting to hear back!

From what I understand the # of applications statistic is Pre-January. So for example, Country X has 90 or so total applicants, 10 grant slots. The National Board will refer 1.5-2x the grant slots, so in this example, 15-20 of 90 total proposals get sent abroad for final approval.

I'm a finalist for Indonesia!!!!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Felonies won't help our collective karma! We need karma and everything else on our side!

In a word? Yes. Would I do the same thing though? Yes. Keep in mind your FPA might just take his or her duties very seriously. Many university bureaucrats do - at least at my university. Even the Residence Life folks think they're changing the world - when in actuality they just giggle in their offices all day long and putz around on Facebook. Good luck to you Rachaelski!!

Hey E'erbody, To take all of our minds off Fulbright for just a moment (probably a welcome distraction!).....what backup plans are you all considering to go ahead with an identical/similar research project in your country of choice should the FB not pan out? I'm particularly interested in those of you that aren't in graduate school yet, as my proposed project, to me, is a necessary pre-cursor to knowing the exact type of graduate program I want to pursue. If I was already in grad school I'd likely pursue the NSF GRFP (Grad Research Fellowship Program) or something of a similar type - but thats a few years up the road for me. Looking for some ideas for the immediate term should I received a dreaded "NAY" email on January 24th (the new notification deadline). Thanks everybody, and GOOD LUCK!!!

Hahahah, Mynah, hook it up! I only need another $10G or so to fund my project in Indonesia should the Fulbright fall through. Mind if I dip into that $60M honeypot? In all seriousness though, good luck - what is your proposal in India focused on?

First post here - I applied for a full research grant for Indonesia. Anxiously awaiting the first round notification - and pursuing other funding opportunities, though not with the same zeal that I pursued Fulbright! In dire need of another $10G or so....