Dynamom

I filled in the survey too - definitely thought they could have done a better job of talking frankly about safety in foreign countries and also about experiences of non-traditional applicants.

sigh! Sorry, guys - I'm just here to pout. This looks like an amazing opportunity. I was thinking about applying for Chile and have drafted the first 2 essays. I like my proposal, and the competitive side of me wants to go for it, but my practical side says NO because: 1. I've already applied for the Fulbright and an NSF grant. In the event that I win either, I would withdraw from the Boren (can't double up on federal fellowships) 2. I could only go for 12 weeks in the summer, as I have school age kids and the South American school system runs Mar-Dec (they would lose a year of schooling if I stayed longer). 3. Upon my return, we'd have to shack up with my parents until I got a new job on campus and then got a full paycheck from that job. 4. I live on the West Coast and wouldn't be thrilled about committing to work for federal agencies which are primarily based in DC. 5. Given all of the above, the application is really quite an investment of time and energy. So why is it still so hard for me to let it go???

I did! I have a Kindergartener and think it would be a great immersion experience for her, too. I'm hoping for Valencia, but would be thrilled to go anywhere.

OK... anybody else wierded out by this... I went to submit my AAUW Career Development Grant app, and the website said I had to pay $35 to apply. Is this for real, or just a lottery? Does anyone know someone who has actually won? I contacted the local chapter, which does not charge to apply to their scholarship, but the rep said that this was something from the national organization that she wasn't familiar with.

What a great thread! I am mid-thirties and just started my MA. After the past 12 years of juggling marriage, a career, and 4 kids it's been AWESOME to rediscover my passion. I dropped out of grad school when I was 22 - I am a COMPLETELY different person studying a completely different subject now. I think life experience that has both humbled me and focused me.

YES I am antsy. It would be an amazing opportunity for both me and my kids to get a "real-world" education. Definitely worried about my UG GPA, and whether having a family will count against me. In the middle of a dreary winter in a rural area, it's hard not to dream about Mediterranean beaches in Valencia, Spain! 8 more weeks till 1st cuts...

Hey, I'm signing up for Winter Quarter courses...debating whether or not to take a Spanish class in prep for the Fulbright to Spain or just plug along in my program. Anyone else making changes/choices in prep for winning? Are you guys assuming (secretly) that you will or that you won't get it? I suppose taking more Spanish won't hurt my career regardless of whether or not I win in this round...

Hola! I applied for ETA-secondary in Spain, hoping for Valencia... My friend suggested I start reading the Sp mag El Pais, it's at the campus library. Are you doing anything to get ready?

I can't believe it's down to the wire. Less than a week! I do have some questions... 1. I'm in my first year of grad school, and for my current (grad school) transcripts I just uploaded my current class schedule - it seems silly, but FastLane said my app was incomplete without some kind of an upload (?) 2. I've gotten the comment from peer-reviewers (who are admittedly not that familiar with GRFP) that my methods (not procedure) section is "vague" - I'm not sure I have space to say much else besides "correlation and regression." How did you guys approach it? Oh yeah - and to the person with the disability - nobody's perfect. I don't have a phys disability, but got a 3.0 in undergrad and have a sporadic work history b/c I had 4 kids after undergrad. I chose to address it really tactfully (I think) in the personal statement, talked about courage & parenthood w/o mentioning # of kids, lessons learned in college w/o mentioning gpa... I think there's a difference between being authentic vs. confessional... Thanks!

First post on this board (Eigen - I accidentally hit a red arrow on one of your posts - sorry!) I just stumbled onto this forum a couple of days ago after hanging out in the Fulbright room, looked into it and realized that I've spent the past decade doing research in STEM Education (am a re-entry student) and I DO need $$$ for a PhD! My campus is holding the informtional meeting about this grant next week. Only drawback I see is this year you are not allowed to hold two federally funded fellowships. Reality check: getting either Fulbright or GRFP is a long shot, but all you can do is put your best foot forward, right? I think it was Juillet that successfully re-applied in Year 2 of grad school? That's encouraging. Question - I believe I read that international travel would be funded if deemed necessary/important for the project. How does that work - does that come out of the $30,000? Similarly, how are incentives for respondents/participants handled? thanks so much - you guys are an awesome community - it's a great to know I'm not the only out there with anxiety about this process.

ok - has anyone else had the campus interview? It was really odd... me + 4 panelists = several extended intervals of silence... I couldnt seem to connect with them. Now I'm officially insecure about my app. From the comments I'm not certain they read my essays very carefully, but they did make some helpful suggestions based on the conversation. Is that an indication of how the national committee operates? How are post-interview revisions going for you guys?

I agree that prostelytizing is probably the issue, but also have no authority. We have campus interviews next week - I'll ask. A lot of my volunteer and teaching experience is in church, so I included that in my personal statement and in the application... which I submitted today Plus, I grew up in a meditation ashram (mom is a hippie), so stuff about that is in my personal statement, too. I don't believe the religious part anymore, but there's a lot to learn from growing up in a communal environment. Sorry if that's prostelytizing. I listened in on the webinar yesterday, it was actually helpful - I was planning to submit a letter of affiliation from a Professor in Spain (am applying to Spain ETA). They said that's a "BIG NO." It's a tough competition, I was kind of hoping for something to boost my app, but I guess that won't be it!

Possible lead: I googled "at risk youth in portugal" and came across a doc stating, "Portugal is in a particularly vulnerable position in what concerns education, particularly for disadvantaged children and youth with higher levels of failure and early school leaving." They reference the Eurostat (Education, Internet metadata file). Good luck!

Busti06 - I volunteer as a music teacher, so my campus advisor encouraged me to propose a supplementary music education program. Has your FPA given you any suggestions? I have a friend who is an FPA at another campus and he recommended making sure to emphasize the benefit to the host country. BTW, I decided on researching attitudes toward standardized testing in Spain vs. US instead - it's more in line with my master's thesis.

Hi, I'm glad to know there is this forum. I just read through most of the 2009-10 forum, this seems like quite a process! I have children, and was wondering if anyone knew of anyone with a family who was awarded a fulbright. I'm applying for an ETA position in Spain, I think my app is reasonably competitive, but I'm very nervous about how much carrying dependents will detract from my app. Thanks!