FranzisKaner!

Congratulations! Unfortunately, did not work out for me this time around. Bummer.

I'm interested in whether anyone knows of any internships, fellowships, or traineeships in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland for graduating seniors. It seems like most of my experience is in the political realm. I do have a strong background in the German language and have worked abroad in Germany in a very official capacity with governmental entities in Germany before. Now I'm looking to branch out, but my majors, Political Science and German, are not particularly conducive to business-oriented jobs or things of that nature. I'm just trying to dredge up any options that might still be viable before graduation hits. Any and all posts would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, I called today just to ascertain a few more variables in order to help us gauge our chances of getting the DAAD grant. The individual I spoke with today stated that there were about 700 people who applied this year and there are roughly 200 spots. It seems like it is definitely competitive, but not 1 in 15. Apart from that, she now stated that the applications are still in review and we're likely to hear back in May now. It'd be great if someone would check on this to verify this is when we hear back. I suggest calling the New York Office: http://www.daad.org/page/contact/ as this is where they process the applications.

The Graduate Study Grant was what I inquired about when I contacted their offices, and the program director said the acceptance rate was roughly 1 in 4 last year. Saying that, the competition statistics are subject to change every year, but I highly doubt it would be 1 in 15. Additionally, when I called and inquired specifically about when the decisions would be reached for this grant, they said we will hear back in early April. Essentially, the inquiry regarding the date we hear back was basically an attempt to see if what they have on the website, which says we hear back at earliest in late March, was on target or whether we should expect to hear back later. I hope this brings some clarity to the discussion regarding those two components of the application.

I called today, and they said they would get back to us in early April. Wow. What a long wait.

I guess here is what it says on the site: Applicants for Master's programs should have a study proposal explaining why a particular program has been chosen and how it will further the applicant's educational and career goals. As German university deadlines are later than our deadline, you may not have yet been admitted to a German university; however, if already enrolled in Germany and applying for the second year of the Master’s, applicants must submit evidence of admission to a German university. Those beginning their Master’s do not need to submit any evidence of contact with a German institution. Applicants for independent study are expected to have a well-defined study or research project that makes a stay in Germany essential and should have an invitation from an academic partner at a German university or research institution. Scholarship recipients are required to complete two courses per semester and obtain "Scheine" (certificates of credit) for them.

Thanks for the responses. I'm interested in what your proposals looked like. In reading the instructions, I assume that most people designed a research project and then made an argument for why a specific university would be conducive to them completing that project. Mine was much more vague and didn't mention a specific research proposal, but rather how study in Germany in a specific program would figure into my academic and career goals. The application essentially thrown together at the last minute, because of some logistical complications, and I'm concerned that this is most likely another dead end.

It's sort of shocking to not even make the first cut. I wish I knew why.

To be honest, I'm not sure why there isn't a topic that's already started on this, but basically I applied for the DAAD study grant to the University of Passau for their International Relations program, and I'm essentially trying to determine what kind of a shot I have at this point. I can't seem to find anything on the competition statistics from years past, although the program did say it was about 1 in 4 last year. Although, competition changes every application cycle, and it'd just be good to get some dialogue going regarding this. Supposedly we hear back in March regarding the results.

Does anyone know if advisors can let us know when they've received the notification?

I think it's fairly unlikely. The interview committees are responsible for determining both the strength of the application as well as the quality of the applicant themselves. I don't think it would serve the Fulbright Committee well to use social networking as a metric for assessing candidates. While the Fulbright is administered by the US Department of State, it's not as if we have to undergo background checks and things of that nature. It's an academic scholarship, not a security clearance or something like that.

In my opinion, it really depends how crucial Russian is to your program and over-arching goals. The Critical Needs Language Programs are fantastic, but if you didn't do it during your graduate career, having it on your resume is an accolade nonetheless. If you were thinking about working for the State Department as a Foreign Service Specialist at some point, having this specific scholarship would be beneficial, but not critical to you getting this position. As I'm sure you're aware, there are a ton of other government positions that you'd be eligible for simply by virtue of having a high proficiency in a Critical Needs Language. It may be an oversimplification of your question, but I think if you can figure out how Russian is going to fit into your future goals, if a higher level of fluency would be helpful, go for it. It would at the very least get something on your resume that makes you stand out in both an academic and internationally-minded individual.

So, at the end of this last semester, my GPA dipped below a 3.5 to a high 3.4. I'm interested in whether anyone knows if this will affect my chances of getting accepted for the Fulbright. Will we have to submit any more documents after the January notifications if we do indeed make it through the first round?

I applied to Austria for the Diplomatic Academy Grant, and I'm interested in whether anyone else has applied for this before, and second whether anyone else who has previously applied to Austria could tell me when they were notified as far as making it through the first round is concerned. I realize it will be sometime in January, but I just wanted to know on which end of the spectrum this country is for notifications. Seeing as it's fairly small, I would hope that they could render their decisions sooner than other countries such as Germany or elsewhere. Just thought I would ask. Greatly appreciated!

Okay, I'm interested in whether anyone applied for the Diplomatic Academy Grant in Vienna, Austria. I'm also interested in whether anyone is familiar with the timeline on the application and what the reputation is for Austria in terms of getting back to applicants. I'm a bit nervous and just wondering if anyone else applied for this as well.