Anastasoula Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 Does anyone know if they (the FSB members) make the decisions one country at a time or if instead they do it in another process to explain why notifications for the same country come out at different times?
Johanna Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 because they are sadists. i swear, when they sent the ambiguous email to the German ETA's where I couldn't tell whether it was an acceptance or not i was just a mess. and johanna, i actually haven't seen the official letter yet and won't until this weekend, since they sent it to my home address -- i'll let you know if i figure out the PAD confusion Yeah, they sent it to everyone's home address, which is a total pain. I just had my mother scan it and email it to me. The letter makes it very clear that it's an acceptance, but then it's still a little ambiguous what you need to do from that point -- for example who you need to email to accept. Why can't they just give a clear set of instructions??
zacharylamel Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 So I just got off the phone with a really nice lady at Rachel Holskin's desk in NY. I applied for an ETA to Belgium, and she said the letters are in the mail tomorrow, April 9! I'm not sure if this is just for Belgium, or if it will be for other European countries too. Though, Belgium only has 2 ETA spots, and I believe 5 research grants, so I'm assuming other people will be notified in tomorrow's mailing. I'm in Seattle, so I probably won't hear until Monday or Tuesday of next week. Sad. Good luck!
Lisa Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 I received notice that I am an alternate for Germany ETA; however, I got 2 letters. One from Germany and one from New York (and the New York one was in a manilla envelope). Anyone else get 2 letters? Does that mean anything? Also, I second whoever asked how alternates work. Does every finalist either receive the grant or become an alternate, or are people actually flat out rejected? Just wondering.
hbw Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 Has anyone received notice that they HAVEN'T gotten the German research grant? It seems like everyone's either gotten it or been an alternate.
maisie112 Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 Lisa: I was flat out rejected last year. This year I got it (research grant, Czech Republic). I received notice that I am an alternate for Germany ETA; however, I got 2 letters. One from Germany and one from New York (and the New York one was in a manilla envelope). Anyone else get 2 letters? Does that mean anything? Also, I second whoever asked how alternates work. Does every finalist either receive the grant or become an alternate, or are people actually flat out rejected? Just wondering.
beatkinda Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 yoooooo anyone have any word on the netherlands? shit is killing me. some girl who got it last year said she got an email before she got anything in the mail......
Albanski Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 can someone clarify how alternates work. Do all people who do not get an award become alternate. If you really think about it, it makes sense that those that do not get the award become alteratives. Let me explain this theory further. IF country Y has 4 finalists for 2 spots, they will grant 2 awards and 2 alternatives. However the alternatives are ranked in case only 1 awardee decides to withdraw. In case both of them withdraw, both alternates will become awardees. This should be right, but someone should confirm this theory by calling one of the program managers and asking them how this process works. I have a feeling that this may not be the case in countries with a high volume of applications such as German, UK, and France
jadoreviie Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 can someone clarify how alternates work. Do all people who do not get an award become alternate. If you really think about it, it makes sense that those that do not get the award become alteratives. Let me explain this theory further. IF country Y has 4 finalists for 2 spots, they will grant 2 awards and 2 alternatives. However the alternatives are ranked in case only 1 awardee decides to withdraw. In case both of them withdraw, both alternates will become awardees. This should be right, but someone should confirm this theory by calling one of the program managers and asking them how this process works. I have a feeling that this may not be the case in countries with a high volume of applications such as German, UK, and France No, not all people who do not get an award get to become an alternate. It depends on the country and types of candidates. Sometimes they flat out reject people and then have a certain number of alternates. But basically you are not defaulted automatically as an alternate if you aren't a principal candidate.
failureparade Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 Yeah....I haven't heard anything from the Netherlands either (applied for a research grant). This wait is getting a little absurd.
rugby Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 It is also getting really close to the end of the school year - lots to figure out between now and the start of a Fulbright! It makes it difficult to plan things like IRB review, student visas (a long process in a country like India), and whether I will be accepting University funding next year. Very frustrating...
orcappuccino Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Hi everyone! Still waiting to hear from South Africa; compulsively checking mail, can't sleep, eat, or think of anything else. So glad I found this forum to commiserate, and congrats to everyone for making it this far! Any words of wisdom are much appreciated.
summernights77kt Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Hey everyone, my friend at work just told me that her roomate found out that she got a research grant to South Korea. I just wanted to let you guys know in case there is someone on this forum applying to East Asia.
summernights77kt Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 I just want to suggest that if we do get the Fulbright and if we are asked at the end of our Fulbright term for feedback to improve the process- let's please suggest that they send email notifications before doing snail mail and to please make decisions earlier. The past 3 weeks have been killer for me. Also, just wondering what people's backup plans are if they don't get the Fulbright?
Lisa Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 I just want to suggest that if we do get the Fulbright and if we are asked at the end of our Fulbright term for feedback to improve the process- let's please suggest that they send email notifications before doing snail mail and to please make decisions earlier. The past 3 weeks have been killer for me. Also, just wondering what people's backup plans are if they don't get the Fulbright? I'm going to grad school (PhD program in lit)
cschields Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 yoooooo anyone have any word on the netherlands? shit is killing me. some girl who got it last year said she got an email before she got anything in the mail...... I haven't heard anything official, however I emailed Rachel Holskin who replied with the following information: "While the Netherlands Commission has made their decision, we have yet to receive Foreign Scholarship Board clearance for the candidates. Once this arrives, we will issue notification letters; however, it
jadoreviie Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Everyone who is still waiting who has asked the IIE representative how long it will be, has received a two week speculation if they haven't heard anything. It's standard. I was told it would be two weeks about two weeks ago and then told again today it would be another two weeks. If this experience has taught me anything, it's that I am more patient than I thought I was because every day I am 5 seconds away from running down to IIE myself and protesting for a freakin decision. This forum has been like a support group because the wait has given me serious anxiety.
Anastasoula Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 I just wanted to let everybody know that in the event that you graduated in Dec. 08 and your mailing address changed (AND you specified that on your application anyway), the IIE will probably still send it to that address. That's what they did to me and so while they really did send my letter over a week ago, they directed it to an address I no longer was receiving mail and it had to be forwarded to my permanent mail address.
Dreydenn Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Slight update for us China folks: The letters haven't been sent out yet, but I think that it's very close. They're waiting for FSB final selection. If you applied for the Critical Languages Enhancement Award, you might have gotten that email that erroneously indicated that we have received the Fulbright. While that was retracted, I was told by a friend who is also applying that he just received a request for clarification of information on his CSC application, so they're looking at those now. Again, as of yesterday, letters had not been sent out. They gave the standard "two weeks" reply. Good luck to all *Edited for accuracy
Snowy Owl Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Update for all of you waiting for news from the Netherlands: I spoke with my campus representative today. She was at the UN yesterday and received the "inside" word that our letters will be sent out next week. This is very credible information. Out of seven candidates, I am the only hope left for my college to have its first Fulbright scholar. Talk about pressure! Good luck to everyone!
suenteus Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Thanks for posting that! The anxious limbo of this waiting process has been driving me bonkers. Let's hope for good news. Update for all of you waiting for news from the Netherlands: I spoke with my campus representative today. She was at the UN yesterday and received the "inside" word that our letters will be sent out next week. This is very credible information. Out of seven candidates, I am the only hope left for my college to have its first Fulbright scholar. Talk about pressure! Good luck to everyone!
suenteus Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 I just want to suggest that if we do get the Fulbright and if we are asked at the end of our Fulbright term for feedback to improve the process- let's please suggest that they send email notifications before doing snail mail and to please make decisions earlier. The past 3 weeks have been killer for me. Also, just wondering what people's backup plans are if they don't get the Fulbright? I just got a job, so I'll be saving money and paying off some of my student debts. The project I proposed to Fulbright has been a dream of mine for years. God willing, some day I'd like to be financially stable enough to fund my own way over to the Netherlands.
jacksondietrich Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 I just called Jonathan Akeley's desk regarding HK ETA results. A woman answered, and she was pretty short with me when I asked if they had any idea when we'd be receiving notification (they're probably sick of all the calls). It took me several tries to interject during her long "each country works at their own pace, we don't push them to make their decisions quickly, etc." spiel before I was able to confirm that our applications are, indeed, still in HK (or with the FSB - she seemed to be mixing up the two). Looks like we've got several more weeks of waiting to come. I'm stressing out 'cause I'm already several weeks into the matriculation process of another program. They'll allow me to defer for Fulbright, but I still don't want to lead them on and defer at the very last minute, though it looks like I may have to if all things work out on the Fulbright end.
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