International Fulbrighters Fall2011

[Kathiza]

Actually, some of the Fulbrighters here already got offers - including me. But I'm still waiting on some funding info from one school and on admissions decision from another. So nothing's final with me just yet. But I know several Fulbrighters from my country who already made a decision and accepted an offer.

About UMass: It's a good school. I've been there and of course it depends on your major, but it has some really good programs which are also highly ranked. And if the IIE picked this school for you, I don't think you should question them. They have been doing this for several decades; the head of placement is in her job for over 20 years now. They really KNOW what they are doing - you should trust them more than some strange reviews. If they suggested you go do UMass, there is certainly a reason for that and I'm sure it's a good fit for you. They also have a great campus and many gread facilities.

If you look at reviews and things like that - look for the ones in your field of study and for the ones for graduate studies. Because you're not going to have something to do with undergrad studies there. So who cares if some undergrad majors are not highly ranked? You are doing something totally different.

And again, I know I'm repeating myself: The IIE are the experts in this field. They would never pick a "bad" school for a Fulbrighter. Fulbright is a very prestigeous association - trust me, they want their people to go to good schools. Otherwise it would just be a waste of their money.

[matilda]

Actually, some of the Fulbrighters here already got offers - including me. But I'm still waiting on some funding info from one school and on admissions decision from another. So nothing's final with me just yet. But I know several Fulbrighters from my country who already made a decision and accepted an offer.

Well, I thought that no-one here got an actual offer?! We are still waiting on funding, including me, but I have no idea which school accepted/rejected me...I don't know to which schools IIE has applied on my behalf.

What was your TOEFL score?

And yours, Anette, too?

Just curious does it play any role...

[Kathiza]

Well, I don't think TOEFL plays an important role. As long as you are over 100 points it should not matter that much (of course this depends on the field; in my field one should be over 110, but it's still different for every school). GRE scores are much more important.

But I think it's strange that you don't even know to which schools your application was sent to.. But you did get your Fulbright grant, right? Or do you also have to wait on that?

The Fulbright systems work so differently in some countries...

[Annette]

When is your deadline to decide? Did they tell you anything on medical clearance? UMass is a great place to be! You might be surprised of the program.

Did you have any word to say which school would be your top-choice? Or IIE and your local Fulbright coordinator chose for you? I am not acquainted with the whole Fulbright process in Russia...

Coordinator said I need to decide asap. As for the medical clearance, we filled out forms for medical insurance in February and as far as I know this is it for the medical part.

Back in October we sent our preferences, mine were Columbia (long shot, I know), Georgetown and NYU. I've read a lot about public policy programs and it certainly helps when you're studying in DC and can get internships or in NY where you are close to the UN and can intern there. I don't know if IIE applied to any of these schools, because they don't tell us anything. I've got 115 on TOEFL, but doesn't really matter, as far as I understand, if the other parts of your application are strong. Some people in Russia were asked to retake TOEFL though, because their score was too low, I guess.

I'm still considering of course, I only got an offer a couple of hours ago, I hope to get an advice from coordinator as well

[matilda]

Well, I don't think TOEFL plays an important role. As long as you are over 100 points it should not matter that much (of course this depends on the field; in my field one should be over 110, but it's still different for every school). GRE scores are much more important.

But I think it's strange that you don't even know to which schools your application was sent to.. But you did get your Fulbright grant, right? Or do you also have to wait on that?

The Fulbright systems work so differently in some countries...

I got over 100 points, but to be honest, I have no official e-mail or something stating, yes, you got it, we just need to find you a school and/or funding. As far as my situation goes, I am in the same position as the first day I sent out my application. We have no idea till the last offer comes...or does not come.

[Kathiza]

It's me again. I'm not working for the IIE, I'm just a fellow Fulbrighter (in case you're wondering because I keep defending them). But I really feel like they do a good job (except the delay in communication... I got the rejection from Columbia and it took them one and a half week to verify it...). You are right, they are bargaining to get the best offer for us. Because, and let's be honest: A really really good, fully funded offer from a top 15 school is worth much more (for them and for us!!!) than an unfunded offer from a top 5 school. Do you know why? Because in many cases (not in all - due to the bad economy and budget cuts) this means that the top 5 school does not want us as badly as the top 15 school. This means that the top 15 school would care very much for us and look after our success, because they already invested a lot of money in us.

Internationals such as myself tend to go by ranking only. We only know the big names from films and books and stuff... So we think anything less than an ivy league is not worthy of our attendance ;-) But those rankings are often for undergrad. So they shouldn't bother us at all. If you want to make your decision after a ranking (which is not a good idea, because academic fit is much more important and will benefit you much more for your later career) - then look at rankings for your field, your specific department, your graduate program. You will see that the picture is totally different.

Just to give you an example. Mizzou (University of Missouri) is often listed as the No 1 journalism school in the world. Who would have thought of that? Everybody thinks for journalism one has to go to columbia or nyu. But no, there are many great programs out there - you just have to do a little research and not let yourself be blinded by big names and reputation and things you know from the movies.

And as I said above: IIE works closely with Fulbright and they look after their reputation. They would never send any of us to a "bad" school or a "bad" program. That's also the reason why we have to ask the IIE before we take a job there: Because they don't want Fulbright grantees to wash cars or something like that. I was told that we are only allowed to take "suitable" jobs at the university etc.

[Maankamaanka]

It good to see this forum getting busy. I have learnt a lot in the last dazs of this Fulbright. Congrats to Annette! Now concerning quality of schools I think the program should be the focus. My program Arts Administration has mostly gret programs with similaritis. So for me the IIE will help me get to schools where I wil best fit considering my credentials. In my country Zambia we are 4 and the get 2 or 3 and I think no one has heard anythin. I dnt knw how much the stipend is niether.

[matilda]

I would have to agree with Kathiza. During my interview at the US embassy, they asked me why Harvard, and why No.35 on the world ranking University I said, yes, Harvard has great staff, great opportunities for research, lot of funding potential, but also, No.35 may be a great fit. Why? Because in my country I have none. There is not one university that can teach me the stuff I could get to learn in the USA. And I said, any University would be a bonus, in some of them - maybe they will care more for me, as Kathiza mentioned, and on Harvard, maybe my advisor will be rather busy to meet me more frequent that usual. I don't know, I believe that it is the Universities, as Kathiza said that "fight" for you, and IIE for the best bargain. So, if Harvard didn't fight for me, then why not accepting UMass for example if they would be proud and consider it a success of having a student from the Balkans under their roof? I said, I would accept any University because my chances for research here are equal to zero. And getting a Fulbright and that kind of experience would be the best thing that could happen for me right now.

It is just the anticipation that makes me go little over the edge and makes me nervous

[remyxomatosis]

Hey all,

I see it is getting busy here :-). Congrats to all who actually know something now! I got my first semi-positive message today. After beeing in contact wth a professor (he contected me) I have been wait listed by Columbia University. Is this any good news at all? Two other applications are still pending but i am slowly loosing my sanity...

Just wanted to share this,

remyxomatosis

[matilda]

Hey all,

I see it is getting busy here :-). Congrats to all who actually know something now! I got my first semi-positive message today. After beeing in contact wth a professor (he contected me) I have been wait listed by Columbia University. Is this any good news at all? Two other applications are still pending but i am slowly loosing my sanity...

Hey there, and congrats!!

I just hope that you get to Columbia...it is my dream faculty, I have to admit...any I envy you a little bit:)

[Maankamaanka]

Hello everyone,

Its about checking your mail every two minute and the time difference has not helped anyone. The US is at least 7hours behind so I have to wait until 11pm local time to have any possibility of anything.

I agree with most people that all universities in the states would offer a dream for a person coming from a country like Zambia. To start with we do not even have programmes I want to pursue there. So it does not really matter what school I end up in so long as the IIE see it as a good possibility. Am also happy in a way that when they offer the scholarship in our country its a complete package there is little that can change. It is not that I still have to decide which schools I go to it is just a question of whether I want the programme or not.

I want to believe that whatever school I can work hard and adapt to it than worrying about the ranks etc.

Today is the last day, I understand for one of the schools to inform IIE on one of the candidates here. It seems in Zambia the Fulbright is decided as a whole in terms of all the finalist not just as they become approved. So when we know we know at the same time whether we are in or out.

All the best everyone!

[tew]

So thought I might finally join this discussion. I'm one of the lucky (apparently, few) Fulbrighters who already accepted an offer, and a great one at that .

I have to say that I am quite happy with the work IIE did. And that's although I got rejections from my top two choices. I still believe they did the best they could do even for these schools, it's just that there's a lot of competition out there, especially for international applicants (my top choice program only admitted one). And yes, I wasn't too happy at first with one of the universities that they put on my application plan. However, after looking a bit closer, it did exactly what it was supposed to - provide balance to my application plan while still having good academic fit. Had I not gotten the offer from Maryland, that IIE-chosen university would still at least have been competitive with most European universities (my general backup plan).

One specific point @ esraetna: The whole "pending"-thing might just be because there's often two steps in getting accepted. First, the acceptance by the department you applied to. This acceptance, however, is often contingent on the later acceptance by the university-level Grad School administration. Although the second step is usually just pro forma, an acceptance is not official until you have both.

The very best to all of you in your endeavor!

Edited April 8, 2011 by tew

[matilda]

I agree with most people that all universities in the states would offer a dream for a person coming from a country like Zambia. To start with we do not even have programmes I want to pursue there. So it does not really matter what school I end up in so long as the IIE see it as a good possibility.

I cannot agree with you more on this! As I take a look at our scolastic system, man... do I get angry sometimes. But, also, if I mention that people here are actually scared of leaving their city, because they are afraid of the unknown gives you all a perspective of the society I live in.

So, an open mind is what I need right now, a good university with open-minded people with great advisors and basically an opportunity to learn more on the things I am interested in. Being able to that for 10 months, in the USA, you cannot imagine what a blessing that is for me. I will say this, again and again - I just hope that this anticipation ends soon. So that I know what am I to do in the next year of my life.

[matilda]

And, sorry, folks, just to add up: those of you that got an acceptance/rejeting letter, can you please clarify when/how (e-mail, mail)/choices/medical clearance....sort of details on the final decision?

As I can see from here, the final decisions started coming out from IIE.

[Kathiza]

I got the acceptances/rejection through my local Fulbright officer via the IIE. And then I got sent the admission letters in paper (also first to IIE, then to my local Fulbright office and then to me). I got one letter after every acceptance, so there were no choices to make immediately. The first letter came at the beginning of March... the last one at March 10 - and I'm still waiting on one school...

About medical clearance: I don't know what that is. I guess I don't need it and it depends on the country. I just had to fill out a Medical Form for my insurance in the US, where a physician certified that I'm healthy. That's all.

And final decision: That's up to me. So I wait on the one last school and on funding offers from another school that already accepted me. And then I can make a decision.

[tew]

And, sorry, folks, just to add up: those of you that got an acceptance/rejeting letter, can you please clarify when/how (e-mail, mail)/choices/medical clearance....sort of details on the final decision?

As I can see from here, the final decisions started coming out from IIE.

Well, in my case I received everything by eMail through my local Fulbright office. First rejection and first departmental acceptance (including financial offer) arrived on February 7. I got two more rejections in early and mid-March. Then I had basically already made my decision to accept the first offer, but had to wait for the university acceptance corresponding to that departmental acceptance, which only arrived last week. At that point I officially informed my local Fulbright office of my choice. I also got a second departmental acceptance last week, where they would be working out the funding now if I hadn't accepted the other offer. Deadlines for all offers would have been April 15.

As for medical clearance, we have to do the Fulbright-required one by May 1, at this point I just need one more visit to the doctor to finalize it. Maryland will apparently require it's own medical clearance mainly for immunizations once I'm there (of course it's all stuff *already* covered by the Fulbright checkup ).

Edited April 8, 2011 by tew

[Maankamaanka]

I just got a call from our local Fulbright office saying I have been given a scholarship a full funding she then sent me an email from IIE which basically says the details will follow later. Details to follow later! But I need to get to the school to work out the housing situation any ideas it Columbia University - Teachers College?

All the best to all who are still waiting, the call for me came so unexpected!

[matilda]

I just got a call from our local Fulbright office saying I have been given a scholarship a full funding she then sent me an email from IIE which basically says the details will follow later. Details to follow later! But I need to get to the school to work out the housing situation any ideas it Columbia University - Teachers College?

All the best to all who are still waiting, the call for me came so unexpected!

Wow! Congrats Maankamaanka!!! I just hope that you get the details soon, and oh, can I say that I envy you big time

I got an e-mail yesterday, saying that nothing yet on my placement has been decided, yet.

Waiting kills me...

[Maankamaanka]

Thanks I learnt today that am the first to get information the other three are still waiting so like 75percent are stil waiting. You are nt alone. Thanks fingers crossed for you! LoL

[matilda]

I am the only one from all the other candidates that did not get a placement yet

[artzkiv]

Okay, I got an acceptance from my safety school, while the schools where I'd really like to go are still thinking. Buy oh well, at least it's USA for sure now.

[Maankamaanka]

congrats!

when do you hope to get more data?

[matilda]

Okay, I got an acceptance from my safety school, while the schools where I'd really like to go are still thinking. Buy oh well, at least it's USA for sure now.

I know exactly how it feels! I know that I shall go, but I would also like to know where

Hang in there. There are at least two of us still waiting

[remyxomatosis]

make that three...

I am still waiting for an acceptance, I am a bit worried now. Anyways, good luck to all that are still waiting!

[Maankamaanka]

Morning everyone, I have been away for sometime. How is it going for the others that haven't gotten news yet? I hope things turn out good. However, i wanted to find out if anyone has any idea on the accommodation situation, am thinking of getting on campus housing but in a shared apartment as I think if I get a good roommate it will be easier for me to acclimatize to NY.THe question is how expensive is shared apartment compared to single in whitter hall (for those who have been at teachers college, columbia university). I do not know my fulbright specs yet. some idea please