kbui

I greatly appreciate this advice pelevinfan. I know what to do now! (But, still waiting on hearing from both places. LORD please let me have at least ONE scholarship!)

I've applied for the Boren and Fulbright ETA scholarships, which are both very prestigious. From what I've heard, the Fulbright does have a very good name while the Boren is less known outside the government or academia. I've gotten into the final round for the Fulbright, and I'm still hearing back from the Boren. If I am blessed and receive both, which one should I take? Fulbright Pros: Teach English to university students, connect back to my native culture, increasing my own Vietnamese language skills, talking to the people to get a deeper insight into the health and societal problems of the people of my host environment Cons: It's an ETA and not a research grant, once I get a Fulbright ETA I won't be able to get another grant, it'll just be one bullet point on my resume/graduate school application Boren Pros: Finish my B.A. in Mandarin Chinese in addition to my B.S. in Biology, achieving fluency/proficiency in the language (currently, I'm at the advanced level), experience a new culture/language, it'll be a great addition to my resume if I've studied abroad and is proficient in three languages (English, Vietnamese, and Mandarin) Cons: Many people have a double majors so I won't have an edge, it's not a Fulbright, the scholarship won't pay for all of my fees so I'll need to take out more loans (unless I get the other scholarships I'm applying for also) Either way, I think I'll be able to incorporate a health aspect to it to go towards my future aspirations to develop a career in Global Health in China and Southeast Asia. Please help! What do you think would be the best? Thank you GradCafe community!

The Gilman application is due tonight. I sent mine in a couple days ago, so hopefully everything goes smoothly and I get a positive reply soon. Good luck to those who applied!

After following last year's thread, I don't think the e-mails are coming until mid-March. Hopefully we all get one! *Fingers crossed*

This wait is so tortuous!!! Especially because this grant will make or break my post-graduation career! Lol, sigh.

I can't believe I applied to both the summer and academic year Boren scholarships! Boren sent me an email (I almost died) saying that I can only apply for one program, and that they are giving me a chance to change my academic year program essay if I want to by Friday. I don't know if this is a good sign or not.

I was just wondering if any past Gilman winners would be willing to look over my essays to help edit/correct them? I want it to be well polished and carry my messages through so I can earn this wonderful scholarship to fund my year abroad in Taiwan. Please email me at kbui@macalester.edu if anyone is able. Thank you in advance!

Wait, have people JUST received their ETA recommendations? I thought they sent them out in mid-January. But congratulations nonetheless! I hope we all get it and experience this new chapter in our lives

Waiting is so agonizing!

I didn't find a Gilman Scholarship forum on here yet, so it's time to start one for this upcoming round! Applications are due March 1st, and the website is here: http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program. I hope alumni can offer advice, and I hope this can be a thriving post for applicants. I'm applying for the Gilman for 2012-13 to go to Taipei, Taiwan. What about everyone else?

Really?! That's surprising since we assume the Gilman would be easier! I hope everything goes well with the Boren. Do you have any advice on the Gilman of what to do or what not to do?

I think some of my favorites are: 1. "Oh... what's the Fulbright?" 2. "You're working on applications, AGAIN?" 3. "Wait, so you're NOT going to medical school?" 4. "Damn, how many things are you applying to?" 5. "That sucks." 6. "You'll be fine." I personally love this one the most, since most of the time when people say this they have no idea what I'm applying for or what the application is like, lol.

So I just handed in all my application and supplementary materials!!! I'm so nervous. I special requested my study abroad adviser to spend the money to send it overnight rush delivery. Now it's just waiting for a couple months. Meanwhile, it's time to work on the Gilman and other smaller scholarships! I applied for both the summer and yearlong Boren, so hopefully my hard work for will finally be paid off. Hope everyone who's been treading the forum great luck in these upcoming months.

AHH!!! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the thread and my Fulbright essays. I never thought this day would come when I saw that Fulbright has recommended me for an ETA in Vietnam! So excited. However, to those who got rejected, I've gotten rejected more times than I can count, but the acceptances wash away all of those. Keep your heads up and think positive. Even though you didn't get it, your experience will make your next application massively better. I've been there--don't give up!

Congratulations to those who passed onto the second round! I applied for the 2012 CLS in China, but unfortunately didn't make it. I was extremely disappointed at first, but this is just the motivation I needed to pump out the essays required for other scholarships.

What Chinese programs are you applying for? Could you list them?

Thank you for the advice! How detailed should my description be with my future government service requirement

Hey Everyone, I'm new the the gradcafe and I'm also applying for the Boren 2012-2012 round. It'll be great to have a community that's supportive and informative about the process. I am planning to apply to Taiwan for Mandarin Chinese language studies. I've done intensive programs and have studied Chinese for about two years now, so hopefully this will be an advantage over other applicants (China has the most applicants!). I was wondering if there were any applicants for Chinese and if they can give me some tips