studentb2011

Because I don't have medical insurance and therefore no primary care doctor assigned, I just made an appointment with a gyn to have all of this done at their office. Usually specialty doctors can still do physicals and blood tests. I think they're gonna send me to a lab for the PPD. But I'm pretty sure as long as the test results are there and someone with the title Dr. in their name signs it, it's fine. A nurse could be doing all the work and it still needs to be the doctor that signs it.

Last time I called the office (wasn't Rachel that picked up) to inquire about the medical forms, the person told me we won't hear the placements or ANYTHING else until the medical clearance is complete. The medical forms are supposed our way of accepting the offer, so nothing is finalized until that's done. So basically don't expect to hear anything until three weeks or so after you sent the medical forms in for clearance. How we will find out, I don't know. My guess is by mail, being that the program was so strict about mail-only decisions. And honestly, I wouldn't try asking them. They're gonna keep giving vague answers and they will be irritated that we're bothering them. lol

Thanks for calming me down. I was freaking out over how harsh they are on these medical clearances. I was waiting to buy my plane ticket for the DC orientation until after the medical clearances but if the day of my doctor's appointment the doctor says everything looks fine, I will buy ASAP. I hate these hurdles we have to jump.

I hate to keep asking you guys these questions but I dont wanna annoy the Fulbright offices more than I already have... Does anyone know how STRICT the medical clearances are? I have a doctor's visit next week and I'm kinda worried that my cholesterol will be high or I might have some other issues (not life-threatening but the doctors always take things seriously yanno). Does it really just come down to whether or not a certain problem would require routine medical attention and take away from the Fulbright responsibilities? I mean, I'm healthy now as far as I know but I've never really had such in depth medical exams in years so I'm scared of what might come up and how seriously the State Department will scrutinize it. Obviously, if I have cancer or something I have other problems to deal with besides making the cut for Fulbright (and I don't think I do). lol But I just wanna know if something like high blood pressure could affect this.

Well, that's for grants. I wanna know about ETAs. They say "maintenance costs" - does that mean housing? I guess if the city was outrageously expensive they won't pay for all of it. But I mean, none of us are going to expensive Moscow so what exactly would they pay for??? I hope they tell us blatantly when we find out our placements. I really need to know. Really, all I can afford is the extra spending money I'll need and that's it.

Yeah, I guess. I'm surprised they don't give us much info on that firsthand. I mean, as greatful as I am for getting the ETA, if I have to pay an exhorbitant amount for food and housing for the entire year I may not be able to accept. I just don't have that kinda money right now.

You can add Vladivostok and Ekaterinberg to that list as well. I've heard of those. Basically, I think they are the larger cities that are scattered around Russia outside Moscow and St. Petersburg that have universities. I don't think they send anyone to the actual small villages. And I doubt they've been sending anyone to the Caucasus regions.

This is gonna sound stupid, but does anyone know if Russia ETAs get housing provided for or at least assisted with or are we entirely monetarily responsible for housing?

Make sure your school is printing the address correctly. I've had that happen before. My school had problems with certain addresses because the address had too many lines or something.

Alrighty. I'm crossing my fingers with you on this. If I don't get anything tomorrow, I will call Rachel on Tuesday.

Olympia: I am in the Midwest. You? Please tell me you're in the Midwest or further East so I won't feel as anxious! lol Part of the problem is, I have a permanent address on the application and I put a different temporary address. HOWEVER, I am not living at the temp any more and I specifically noted on the app that the address would expire in December. So I don't know where they sent it to. I've been trying to contact the landlady at the temp address and as of Friday she told me she hasn't received anything and she would call me. I've been trying to call her today and she hasn't answered.

That's what I'm about to do. A few other users on this board have received their notifications from Russia and I haven't gotten anything. If I don't get anything in the mail tomorrow, I'm calling them to see if they can tell me or if there's a way to track down the letter or not.

Oh, I see. Nothing arrived in the mail today so I'm guessing Monday something should come. Thanks for updating us on when the mail got sent out. Only thing is, I see that comradekari is in Missouri so I don't see why I'm not getting it today when I live in the Midwest as well. lol I know I'm lame. I've never clutched to the mailbox so closely before.

Someone several pages back in this thread said Rachel told them they were mailed out Monday or something. I've been sitting on the edge of my seat since. Gosh, this is horrible. I wish they would just give the decisions out by email.

Did any Russia applicants get their decisions yet? I saw an earlier post that they were mailed out on Monday. I live in the Midwest, but they should have arrived by now. I don't know if this means I was rejected and it takes longer for our rejection letters to be sent? Do ALL the decisions get sent out at the same time?

Hi everyone, I am applying for an ETA right now and I know the decisions will be made soon but to alieve some the anxiety of waiting, I just wanna ask.. Does anyone know how much importance is placed on the language tests? I know I had an excellent application and references but I got nervous during the over the phone interview and I bombed it. The lang requirements for my program were intermediate proficiency, I believe. I just want to know how badly it reflects on the entire app if I did well in everything except the language test. Thanks