moregraceful

Just stopping by this forum to wish all of next year's applicants good luck! Those of you who are reapplying ESPECIALLY deserve to get it this time around! In a few short weeks I'll be headed to Vietnam on a Fulbright. Last year's forum helped immensely with my nerves. (Well, it put them on edge at times, too, but the good outweighed the bad.) Feel free to message me if any of you are planning on applying to Vietnam, I'd be happy to field any questions from you. (I had no other Vietnam applicants to commiserate with last year, unfortunately.) Chúc may mắn!

Just wondering: Have other Fulbrighters sent in their medical clearances and gotten them approved? How long did it take? I have next to no reason to be worried about not being approved, but the uncertainty still perturbs me. I don't like the idea of buying airplane tickets before I get the stipend or final approval!

Congrats! Nice to see another East Asia/Pacific alternate get promoted.

It looks like Eileen O'Malley is your IIE Program Manager. Here's her contact info: Eileen O'Malley 212-984-5326 eomalley@iie.org I would ask her for specific questions. I'm surprised they haven't yet told you when you're heading out! Otherwise, I was guided towards this website which has information on all the forms we have to fill out before the grant is finalized: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/resources-for-pre-grantees

Does anyone know of any good Fulbrighter blogs? I've been reading through some of the Vietnam ones and I want to look through some more! Blogs with excellent photography are a plus.

Good luck! That sounds like a truly awesome opportunity.

You shouldn't let that dissuade you! If politically-similar minds all move to the same areas (as is the trend in recent years), America is going to continue to become more and more politically and socially polarized. I'm of the opinion that we're already too polarized, so this is a dangerous proposition.

Prepare for the worst, and hope for the worst. Don't even try hoping for the best. Heck, I'm still in disbelief that I got promoted from alternate, that's how hopeless I was before yesterday afternoon. And then freak out and celebrate if your fears were wrong. It is a roll of the dice whether or not the country you applied to found additional funding, so try not to worry about what your chances are and focus on finding another meaningful project to pursue next year.

Congrats!! I'm lovin' seeing all the other alternates getting promoted.

Thank you, CrystalDee! Here's to hoping you hear similar news pretty soon as well

You should offer libations to the Fulbright gods in the hope that funding will fall from the sky and into your lap! And by libations, I mean alcohol In all seriousness, I feel like being promoted from alternate to a full grant is just a matter of utter luck. I was told that Vietnam had more money in their coffers for applicants, and so +/- 5 more alternates will be offered grants. I really hope Taiwan pulls through for you! It's just luck whether or not they have extra money for more applicants, or whether another applicant will drop out of the program, or whether someone's health is so bad that the State Dept does not approve them. Best of luck to you though, no matter what path you go down! I know going through the job search is a tough gig (hell, I'll be doing it next year...), but I hope something you love pulls through for you.

This story is AWESOME!! I hope everyone with a Fulbright comes back with a story of similar humor.

Thanks for all the congratulations! I had mentally accustomed myself to the idea of getting a job and staying in the States for a few more years - in other words, I told myself I was rejected - when this email came from out of the blue. I was told that funding opened up for the country and that there would be room for more applicants. Gosh, I'm so freakin' happy! By the way, for any other alternate applicants still in limbo, the email came from the regional director and he asked me to give him a quick call. I found out that I was accepted via phone, and the official email was sent out an hour later.

ALTERNATE TO ACCEPTED!!!! Funding opened up and I'm headed to Vietnam!

Alternate to Vietnam, found out a couple hours ago. I'm actually not too bummed about it, it just makes life a little bit harder from here on out. My email was worded SO oddly, as others have mentioned. It starts: "We are keenly aware of the pressure on candidates to make their plans for the coming year." Is this how they usually start the alternate emails?

There are so few Recommended's left on the spreadsheet! There remains 53 out of 374 total candidates, plus 30 who have not updated their status. Never would I ever have thought that I'd STILL be waiting to hear this late in the game. Its been so long after the Vietnam ETA applicants heard in years past - twelve days to be precise. Kudos to all 52 of the rest of you waiting here with me! We're a tough bunch of Fulbrighters-to-be. Just think, though - these next two weeks will probably be the final stretch for ALL of us. The end is in sight!

Everyday that goes by when no one gets a notification is a day that I feel like we've all been forgotten and left to lament by ourselves! I really hope these budget issues start resolving themselves ASAP.

You're post gave me an idea. I just counted and it's been about 3 months and 1 week since we heard about our Finalist status in January. The time it took for Fulbright to whittle down the applications and select the finalists from October to January? Approximately 3 months and 1 week. We've been waiting just as long for the final decision as we waited to hear about recommendations, even though there are less candidates in the final stage. This wait is so much more excruciating, too! Hurry up, Fulbright, I beg of you!

Norway was the new Germany on this forum once the German applicants got all their notifications. What county will take it's place as the main source of anxiety on this forum now??? Congrats to those accepted, and good luck to those selected as an alternate or rejected. Everything works out in the end, just remember that.

Sweet! Congratulations on the promotion!!!

Well, this is officially the longest Vietnam ETA wait in Gradcafe's books. Guess I should be proud that I've broken a record?

Congrats Russia grantees!! This is awesome news. I believe some of you weren't expecting a notification until the end of the month so I hope you're happy with the early surprise

Just want to point out to everyone that we've officially surpassed last year's Fulbright thread in terms of page count. And it's only April 10th! Either we're a very chatty group or an abnormally anxious one.

Thanks for posting this! A small bit of relief that the cuts are "small" and that the "majority" of grants are being awarded.

I'm so sorry you had to hear this news! This is tremendously unprofessional for the program to do, but I'm sure the State Department went through some tough decisions regarding which countries to fund which to cut because of the sequester. I hope to god that this won't happen for a single country in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.