Garden De-gnomer
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Posts posted by Garden De-gnomer
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Hello all, I am a first time poster but a long time lurker. I found out yesterday that I am an alternate to Cyprus ETA, which I was surprised I made it that far, given that I applied at-large (not by choice). I really wanted someone else's opinion on this. I did apply at-large because my university, mainly the FPA on my campus, chose to not back me. Is this normal? My university is a mid-size and to-date they have only had one person ever get the Fulbright, so (to me) it seems like they would want to do everything they could to help out someone who is applying. Also, I must add that there are no set steps/procedures in applying for the Fulbright on my campus, because hardly anyone is aware that it even exists. My friend, who attends another university, told me that they have required seminars and meetings. My university has none of that. Anyways, I approached my FPA approximately six to seven weeks before the deadline to tell her that I wanted to apply and to ask her if I even had a shot. Especially, given the fact that I had graduated in 2010. At that point, I had already contacted my three references and had rough drafts of my essays, which I made her aware of all of that. She was somewhat helpful, and told me that she would email the committee and get back to me. After a week to a week and a half, I still had not heard back from her. So, I emailed her. She quickly responded, saying "Though it is an excellent committee, they are all busy professionals and so I think it is unlikely that we could have the kind of turnaround time that would be needed to help you in this cycle." To be honest I was shocked, given that she had told me no one else was applying at that time and I had studied abroad three times through her office. I emailed her asking if there was anyone on the committee that would be willing to assist me in my application, just to proof my essays and give me feedback. That email received no response. I feel like I should say something to someone (above my FPA) so that my university gets a set procedure for the Fulbright application process, or at least some deadlines to notify the FPA that you want to apply. I just don't want this to happen to someone else. So basically I am wondering, if this had happened to you what would you do? Would you just sit back and say nothing? Or would you try to get it changed for future Fulbright applicants? Also, how would you go about doing this, so that you don't step on anyone’s toes? Thanks in advance.
Man, that's rough! Good job on everything you have accomplished on your own! My first thought is that it might be helpful to write the university president and tell him/her about how well things have gone for you in your Fulbright application on your own. You might communicate that although you requested assistance from the university in preparing your materials, no one was able to help, and so you felt that you had to apply "at-large." I think that a respectful, fact-based letter suggesting that procedures be put in place to help future applicants should be well-received. After all, having students win Fulbrights is a feather in the cap for any university, and it would seem to me that any university president would be concerned if staff and faculty were somehow holding students back or failing to give them the help they need.
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So I was just talking to some of my friends, and when I told them about the Fulbright I'm always reluctant to tell them that it's for teaching English instead of a research grant. How do you think a Fulbright ETA compares with a Fulbright Full Grant in terms of prestige?
My guess is that most people are not even aware that there ARE these two different types of Fulbright grants. A Fulbright is a Fulbright. It's just that in one sort you often (though not always) do independent research, whereas in the other, you are more likely to be actively engaged with a significant number of people. Each is a different sort of challenge with different benefits. It's been said before, but an eye and a hand are quite different, yet both are highly valuable in their own ways!
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oh man, I TOTALLY applied to the wrong country
Dude, government funding won't get you to Narnia. You gotta be in with the Big Cat to get there!
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I have kind of a weird question: does anyone know anything about bringing pets along while you are studying on a Fulbright? I'm really hoping to bring my dog to Austria- but I have no idea how that works. Anyone encountered this kind of issue before?
My wife and I are going to Germany on a faculty research Fulbright, and we are planning to bring our dog (and maybe our cats, too, if we get a bit crazy). Apparently, you can get an EU Pet Passport. We are still looking into it ourselves, but it seems like it's not too hard. Only, it's worth checking out right away, in case some vaccinations have to be completed during a certain time period before your departure.
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ahahahha.... I needed a good laugh.
Ahh--I didn't notice the "ETA" part. I take back my congratulations!
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Just received notice that I've been awarded an ETA in Canada!
Congratulations!
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I've been looking into this, too. Most PhD programs I've seen require a Masters from the beginning, but as a previous poster mentioned, there are ways to earn tuition remission. While I initially started out looking at Int'l Ed, I switched my focus to Higher Ed. Admin. Within HEA programs, there seems to be a lot of flexibility for earning-- you might teach/TA, but internships are often available in other areas on campus. Plus, many HEA programs allow you to specify an area of interest, like international education. So that may be something for you to look into.
Until very recently, SIT Graduate Institute partnered with Peace Corps Masters International to offer an MA in Intl Ed, but it looks like they've cut that program in favor of other Master's Intl degrees... bummer. NYU looks like it has a great program, too.
Busti, perhaps I have misunderstood the situation, but it looks like you are considering applying for a Ph.D program without doing a master's degree first. Assuming that is the scenario--here are some thoughts.
I agree with Eternal Icicle and smurfgurl. Don't forget that getting a Ph.D usually requires demonstration of a mastery of the whole field, as well as your particular thesis. Doing a master's degree first allows you to lay the groundwork for that, and therefore makes life easier in completing the Ph.D. It also lets you nose around the field for a while and figure out a really great topic for your thesis. Also, getting admitted to a Ph.D program is more likely with a master's degree in hand. It shows you've paid your dues, it gives the admissions committee more of a record for them to make a decision, and it also gives them a stronger rationale for admittance. If the admissions committee admits someone with just a BA for a Ph.D. program, and then the student fails, then the admissions committee might start to get some questions about their own competence. That makes them tougher on BA applicants from the get-go. You'd better be some sort of rock star to jump from BA to Ph.D at an elite institution (figuratively speaking--I'm not sure of just how successful most rock stars would be in doctoral program applications). :-) All around, everything just seems to go more smoothly if you go from BA to master's and then to Ph.D. If anyone remembers driving a stick shift, it's like working up through the gears--jumping from second to fourth gear can be jolting.
Consider too--it might be easier to get into the master's program than the Ph.D program at the university of your choice. Once in-house, so to speak, one can often make a transition to the Ph.D. program at that university much more readily than someone applying cold from the outside. After all, you've already got a master's degree from their own institution. How can they denigrate that? That was the advice I received at Oxford, and that's exactly how it worked out.
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So sorry, minorcharacter! That's horrible. Any chance that the bleakness of the moment can be fed constructively into the writing of the novel?
I know it's little consolation, but I'm at the (adjunct) professor level, and over the past few years I have had over fifty rejections for professor jobs before getting this Fulbright junior faculty grant. My Oxford D.Phil didn't quite open doors as quickly as I had hoped. My encouragement is to persist. The fact that you were a finalist here means that your work is excellent. Also, we are not privy to all the criteria used to make the selections. I have a hunch that funding constraints, geographical distribution, and spreading the awards among various subjects means final selection must be based at least in part on several contingencies over which none of us has any control.
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I have visited this discussion regularly in the last few weeks, and am now emerging from the undergrowth to add a bit of new information. I applied for a junior professor research grant for Germany, and had been notified late last year that I was a finalist. Today I received a small white, agonizingly thin envelope from Berlin. My wife wasn't home yet, so I got to sit in the kitchen staring at it for an hour and a half until she arrived. While I was waiting for her, I analyzed the data from the spreadsheets. I noticed that small white envelopes last year were almost always the bearers of disappointing news. But then again, T Pain got a small white envelope from Belgium this year, and it turned out to be good--even though the New York office refused to recognize it yet. Notification this early in March seemed to indicate good things. But then again--small white envelope!
In the end, this particular small white envelope, mailed from the German-American Fulbright Commission in Berlin on 03/09/12, held an acceptance. (By the way, I have received no emails). The letter reads, in part, "This letter serves as a preliminary grant confirmation; the actual grant authorization with all additional information [read--large manila envelope] will be prepared and mailed at the beginning of April." Another piece of information--I applied for the maximum ten month grant, but was awarded five months (Sept-Feb): "Unfortunately, we could not always offer the full grant period as requested; we ask you for your understanding in view of the current budget uncertainties."
Best of luck, everyone! This forum made me anxious, but it helped, too. God bless everyone reading this--may you all succeed!!
- Eternal Icicle, bdoll, judehermes and 1 other
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Fulbright 2012-2013
in The Bank
Posted
I've seen some material on the Fulbright site as well breaking down award recipients based on geographical distribution within both Germany and the U.S. So simply spreading the grants around geographically may represent a factor in one's selection over which we have little control.