westcoasttoast

I was an at-large applicant, but I submitted my application via my alma mater, so I'm technically considered a student applicant (even though I graduated years ago). I did this mostly because of the interview - I wanted to interview because I felt I could make a strong case for my project face-to-face with someone, and knew that if you do well in the interview it could potentially give you a little boost. It won't hurt to not do the interview, but if you do well, it's sort of like a few extra credit points as far as I can tell. As for the language assessment, that depends on the country you are applying for. I think they just want to see that your language skills are good enough to match the scope of your project and that someone is willing to vouch for your abilities. There were some cases this year where people had to do a phone or skype interview in the language to show that they were proficient enough, but that's different than the on-campus interview. Hope that helps! oh, and yes, the CEO was totally joking!

wow for some reason my email notifications to this board got turned off, I thought everyone here was quiet as of late! I just dropped my visa off to the consulate last week, it's going to take a month before I can pick it up. I nearly had a panic attack as they were turning the people ahead of me in line away for not having the documents in the right order and not having the correct copies, but for some reason the person helping me was really nice and even made one of the copies for me. phew! Nejire, what consulate did you go to (as in what city)?

Has anyone started applying for their visa yet? I'm looking at the requirements for mine and already so confused - we required to have housing already in place for the entire time I'm there in order to get the visa, but I'm sooo not comfortable signing a contract on an apartment sight un-seen, roommates un-met (plus I'm moving cities after 6 months, so finding housing for April of 2012 seems so ridiculous!). What are you guys up against??

oh man. just talked to my boss' boss (the CEO). he flipped me off when i walked in the door. hahaha oh man.

phew! i did it! All went well, he even said I'll have a place at the company when I come back! feels so good to stop living in secret!!

Alright guys, I'm telling my boss today. Fingers crossed that this goes well!!

As far as oversight, it think it varies by country, but from what I hear from friends who have had a Fulbright in the past, they check in with you very little and the responsibility is on you to get your research done and stay on track. I think it's sort of expected that you change your project some once you get there, as you learn more about the subject and new opportunities open up. They probably expect you to at least stay on topic though. And for paid work...that's definitely a no no. If they find you are getting income from some form of employment, I'm sure they will deduct it from your award, and possibly worse.

how about Itay ETAs, has anyone heard yet?

Hey Ranita, Thanks for the solid words of advice. You are of course right, telling your employer as soon as possible is totally the best way to go if you can. I think I'm going to tell them a month before hand...I've been here over a year now, and with a month we'll have time to train either my assistant or someone else to take over my responsibilities. I really think that if I tell them now, I'll be out on my ass. I also sort of feel better in this because in the year I've been here, I've seen a few people "laid off" (ahem, fired), so I feel like there's no real company loyalty to employees. Knowing that, I don't feel so bad about not telling them until August! Now, with that in mind, I really hope I can convince my work that this is an opportunity for THEM as well as me. We already have an office in the UK and I'm trying to refine how I am gonna pitch this to them in a positive way. Maybe I can investigate opening a new office there? Explore the market abroad? hmmmmm. Has anyone done this? Spun their "quitting" into a new opportunity?

I'm having the same fears at my job - I just got a promotion a few months ago and it's one where the idea is you stick around for the long haul. I'm just hoping I can somehow tweak this as a benefit to the company...another office abroad maybe? I'm still so scared to tell them, and trying to keep this secret from my work buddies is so difficult! As is the fear of what happens when I get back.

I think the difference may arise for grants that are paid for by the US Government, and with grants that are paid for by foreign funds, which may be a difference between ETA and research grants. If you google "Fly America Act", you should get some good info, here's the first site that comes up: http://www.tvlon.com/resources/FlyAct.html this is from the full Grant handbook, also available on the Fulbright website: Travel Regulations As a Fulbright Fellow, you must fly round-trip on a U.S.-flag air carrier as far as possible to your final destination. This is a U.S. government regulation that applies to most Fulbright Grants. The only exceptions to this rule are for those whose travel is arranged for them by the Fulbright Commission in their host countries. Otherwise, all grantees are expected to adhere to this rule. All air travel and all air shipments paid for from United States government funds must conform to the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974 (49 U.S.C. 40118). This Act requires that such travel and shipments be on U.S.-flag carriers where such service is available. I don't think they'd post that on the general Fulbright website if that wasn't the case...and it sounds like it's the law for all funding provided by Uncle Sam. The only exception they mention is when travel is arranged for grantees by the Fulbright Commission in the host country, which it sounds like may be the case with Germany. Long story short: yes definitely ask and get more info!

Hey Studentb2011 - this only would apply to ETA grantees, not research grantees as computerdating asked. For a research grant, the University or organization can't tell you when to arrive, it's up to you to decide and try to conform to your countries start and end dates. I reached out to IIE about buying the plane tickets and at least for the Italy research people, they said it was fine to buy the tickets now, and even sent me an info packet (not the official grant signature pages, but some of the info from that packet) that outlined the rules regarding travel. They basically told me to book my flights for the dates I wanted since I had already requested a visa that extended longer than the dates of the grant on my original info form (so, my grant start date is Oct 10th, but i requested that my visa start on Oct 1st). Erica Ci - Dont forget you have to book your flight with an American Flag Carrier - soooo Lufthansa doesn't count. It could be different for UAE grantees, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but the Fulbright website makes it pretty clear you can't book your ticket with a foreign airline unless you absolutely have to (such as when a US carrier doesn't fly to your country)

That's awesome. I can't wait for the day where I can talk about it freely! What is your project about?

hahah RIGHT? I have been looking at housing and my rent in Rome will be HALF of what it is in SF!! Incredible. I'm really excited that even though i'll have way less income while abroad, i'll have MORE spending money. Though I did just look on that bt-store site, and i'm seeing one way tickets for around $670, which when buying direct from the airline would be around 2600. So thank you for this website!

Wow 630 for a one way, that's awesome. all my searches have been around 2K for a one way...but only 1K for round trip. where are you flying from?

That would be something you'd want to call either orbitz or the airline about. I know that also when an american carrier doesn't fly to the place you need to go, you have to take an american carrier as close as possible, then you can take a foreign carrier. On orbitz it can be hard to tell what's what, but when you look at the summary, does it say "multiple airlines"? or does it say the airline in Continental, with a little footnote about the flight being a codeshare? The fulbright website is a pretty good place to start to understand how this all works, there's a pdf about it here: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/resources_current.html

No, you can't just buy the tickets from orbitz or airfare.com, because those are more like travel agencies. Your ticket needs to be bought from an american airline. You could buy your ticket on orbitz, say, for an American Airlines flight, but not for an Air France flight. However, if you buy your ticket from American Airlines, and that flight is a codeshare with Airfrance, that's ok. What really counts is who issued the ticket: an american based airline, or a foreign one. Here is a list of US Flag Carrier Airlines: http://www.ctlr.msu.edu/COTravel/FlagAirCarriersUS.aspx

you only have to buy the tix from an american carrier. code shares are fine, as long as the charges come from an american based airline. and yeah, the idea is that you buy the tickets then get reimbursed. my real dilemma comes from the arrival dates. I want to arrive 5 days before my grant begins, but am not sure ill have the visa lined up for it

yeah, that's what i'm thinking. Italy gets 500eur now, then 500eur our last month there and I'm not trying to pay extra!

Most people have reacted extremely positively and are impressed to the point that I get embarrassed. However, my work doesn't know yet, so I've had to keep it a secret from my work friends, which is sooo difficult. I actually ran into someone the other day who mentioned it in front of one of my co-workers. That was really awkward, thank god that co-worker is one of my best work buddies. I think because I can't tell my work yet, it's not fully sunk in. Has anyone bought their plane tickets yet? I'm waiting on my official grant documents to show up, as I watch the airline prices go up and up...

I'm sorry but I have to laugh at this prof. What a baby! If the relationship with the Fulbright program hinged entirely on you accepting the grant, I'm afraid it's no failure but his own.

hmmm i don't see any results for the username, what is your direct url?

I'm on couchsurfing - http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/toasty/ - add me! Also, it looks like there already is a fulbright group: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=20823

That's weird, i was under the impression that your visa application had to include proof of your flight dates, and also that you had the funds in place to return, or that you already had a return ticket. (I'm sure it varies by country)