V. Eremita Posted July 21, 2011 Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) That didn't quite come off the way that it I wanted it to. I should have added that I think anyone who would have been awarded both grants should ideally have been given some sort of recognition that could be put on a resume. On another note, I wonder if recipients of the IIE International Research grant will want to form some sort of online group, perhaps on Facebook or Google+, to network and share information. Edited July 21, 2011 by V. Eremita
dandocerto Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 Hi all, Congratulations to everyone who received the grant. And luck to anyone who didn't...here's hoping you have other funding to carry your projects through! I'm wondering how people are handling the late notification, and perhaps changes to original research time-line, in terms of the actual research time and how that might affect funding, since they say they cut funds if you don't stay as long as you had said. My original start date would have been July 1st, and I actually started research before then, and my visa will expire before the original end date. I'm wondering if anyone has already talked to them about adjusting the time line and how that's playing into the actual funding amount.
olympia Posted July 24, 2011 Posted July 24, 2011 On a similar note, has anyone thought asking whether it's possible to slightly decrease their time in-country to better fit the new award amounts? Hi all, Congratulations to everyone who received the grant. And luck to anyone who didn't...here's hoping you have other funding to carry your projects through! I'm wondering how people are handling the late notification, and perhaps changes to original research time-line, in terms of the actual research time and how that might affect funding, since they say they cut funds if you don't stay as long as you had said. My original start date would have been July 1st, and I actually started research before then, and my visa will expire before the original end date. I'm wondering if anyone has already talked to them about adjusting the time line and how that's playing into the actual funding amount.
dandocerto Posted July 24, 2011 Posted July 24, 2011 On a similar note, has anyone thought asking whether it's possible to slightly decrease their time in-country to better fit the new award amounts? This is exactly one of the things I need to do. Partially because I'll be done with research, partially because of the visa, and partially because I won't be able to afford the same amount of time on what they gave me... I'm wondering about how to go about bringing this up so I don't get any cash cut...
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 This may be something to ask our FPAs..? Sorry---what's an FPA?
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Fulbright Program Adviser Ah, is this the same as the "project director"? ie, the person at our schools who oversees the fulbright app process, etc.? In any case I don't think it will do me much good as I really need to talk to them today (I'm already in the field) and my home Fulbright person is only in the office on Tues and Wed. in the summer. But I think it's a good idea!
olympia Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Yeah, it's the same as the project director. Let us know how talking to IIE goes! Good luck!
ReferenceCheck Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) By how much has your funding been reduced? I don't think it's a good idea at all to talk to program advisers or IIE/Mellon about reducing your time abroad because of an ostensible inadequacy in the level of financial support. I say this mainly because I'm certain that in putting together our budgets the IIE/Mellon folks carefully considered how much money students actually need to travel, live, and conduct research abroad in a given country or city. Also, it may be helpful to acknowledge that Fulbright-Hays grants provide students with far(!) more money than they need to live and research abroad. Better, I think, to readjust expectations for levels of funding and actual costs of living abroad than to tell IIE/Mellon or program advisers that you plan to shorten the timeline of your proposed research abroad yet not give up any of the money they have offered. This doesn't seem to be a reasonable request to me (unless IIE/Mellon cut your funding by over 50%). My IIE/Mellon funding package is significantly smaller than the budget I originally proposed in my Fulbright-Hays application. Still, they have offered me over twice as much money as other grants for which I applied (for the same project and timeline) and I will be able to live very comfortably during my research abroad. I'm grateful Mellon has come up with any funding whatsoever, and honestly, I expected them to award less money than they did. On a similar note, has anyone thought asking whether it's possible to slightly decrease their time in-country to better fit the new award amounts? Edited July 25, 2011 by ReferenceCheck rising_star 1
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Well, I already talked to them this morning, just explaining my situation. I'm already in the field, and I know how much my living costs are. The budget they gave me is just not realistic for the amount of time. The original Fulbright budget was way too much, true, but this one, while generous, leaves me absolutely scraping by (and I am very very frugal!). I'm basing this of two months already living here and three months here last year. And since I already started on the project, if they obliged me to stay until the original end date, I would be on 13 months of research, more than I requested. And if they start the timeline now, it would be even longer. It's not a matter of adjusting expectations for me, it's a matter of feasibility. Anyway, I talked to Pam Jennings just to ask about these things, especially since my original start date already passed. She asked me to send some details, so I did, comparing the OG budget to what my actual expenses are and the amount they gave me. I'll see what they say.
kisu1492 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Hey Dando why don't you ask them if they can make your award retroactive a couple of months? Given the date of the announcement, they might be able to do that. Mine was cut from $27k to $21.1k. I'm very thankful as well because I was going to go ahead and do my work with some small grants I got and with money I earned from teaching the summer session and doing construction work. After the cancellation notice I took on this extra work as plan C (plan b fell through as well). I am wondering if any of the earlier participants in the conversation have received word yet?
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Yeah, that was one of the thins I asked about this morning--what exactly would my start date be since it´s already passed. She didn't know if they could post it retroactively or not, she was going to find out. But even if they do, I'll need 2 or 3 months less time to work the budget, and I've already paid for my plane ticket. I got less than 40% of the original. The original, because of Fulbright's monthly rates, was waaay too much, yes. But I need about 45 or 47% of the og to work it. It's not going to do me much good if I can't go to research events because I can't afford it, for example.
kisu1492 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 what were you going to do about money if the Mellon funding hadn't worked out?
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 what were you going to do about money if the Mellon funding hadn't worked out? I was going to eat my year of funding to write, ask for summer money, which is a new thing at my school, and hope for the best for work when I got back. I was also going to be doing some online tutoring from here, but now that's out since it's stipulated we can't work while on fellowship. I'm currently living off of money I saved from when I was here last summer with a FLAS and some other support and didn't need it all...
dandocerto Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Don't get me wrong people, I'm EXTREMELY happy and lucky to get this. There are just some issues, since everything got pushed back, and since they have the original time requirement that I don´t need now since I´ve already been here, and since I´ll be better off financially finishing a bit early (one month early) and going back to the US to work.
kisu1492 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 yeah i imagine they are going to encounter a lot of questions like that and will probably have to come up with an ad-hoc policy. I was in the field for 3 months before I had to come back to teach.
FormerSoviet Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Hi Everyone! Congratulations on the IIE/Mellon! After all we went through with Fulbright-Hays, this is exciting news. Like most of the people who have posted here, I too am dealing with a series of complications due to the late announcement. In any case, I just wanted to see if anyone else besides myself and Twister will be in Russia?
olympia Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 Hey, does anyone know how health insurance works under the IIE Graduate fellowship? The terms say that the IIE will supplement existing coverage, so does that mean we will still have to pay for/use the insurance provided by our universities?
FormerSoviet Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 @ Olympia: Yes they would probably encourage that. I had a regular Fulbright grant last year, and as far as I can tell from the paperwork, the IIE insurance works exactly the same way as the Fulbright insurance. The supplement they provide is good, but basically what it promises to cover are any additional costs that your regular insurance won't pay. I also think that it provides evacuation and some prescription coverage, but the bureaucracy is complicated. You should talk to Pam Jennings about the specifics. Hopefully they will send us more information...
TommyCarcetti Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I'm a Mellon-infused/DDRA Migrant. I've been using the abbreviation IIE GFIS for this. I'm still wanting on many details, but my funding through IIE GFIS will allow me to live comfortably for my 12 month stay.
geografo Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 Hi all: Congratulations to this year's recipients! I have a quick question for those in the know. What sort of support does the DDRA provide for tuition and fees for the grantee institution? Meaning, will I have to pay my own tuition while I'm in the field or does FH/Mellon defray those costs? Thanks much!
Mooshel Posted August 15, 2011 Posted August 15, 2011 FH/Mellon doesn't defray those costs. At my institution you can register "in abstentia" for the time spent working out of the country, or out of state. tuition and fees are greatly reduced under this type of registration and if you ask your department may be able to pay these for you.
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