Fulbright 2014-2015

[Mozartgirl53]

Hello my Sub Saharan Africa colleagues! Has anyone heard anything yet?

[Maliyazi]

Hello my Sub Saharan Africa colleagues! Has anyone heard anything yet?

 

I called the office yesterday (Friday) and the same lady I spoke to before answered my call. She said Jermaine is still out on a business trip but should be back on Monday. She said I could email him or call back on Monday because 'he may have some good news'. I have no idea what she meant by 'good news' since she didn't have any of my personal info, but hoping that 'good news' means we will be hearing from them next week. Or they could be playing a trick on us lol!

[Mozartgirl53]

I called the office yesterday (Friday) and the same lady I spoke to before answered my call. She said Jermaine is still out on a business trip but should be back on Monday. She said I could email him or call back on Monday because 'he may have some good news'. I have no idea what she meant by 'good news' since she didn't have any of my personal info, but hoping that 'good news' means we will be hearing from them next week. Or they could be playing a trick on us lol!

[Mozartgirl53]

Good morning Maliyazi! Thank you for calling! I'm intrigued! "May have some good news." WOW. That could mean almost anything, lol. I suspect (or hope) it means he'll have a date for us, or even "this week." I like the way your mind works: "He could be playing a trick on us!" Hahaha! Funny. Like, "The good news is that we didn't select ANY of you, bwah haha ( evil genius laugh). Or, "the good news is I saved 15% by switching to Geico!" Strangely though, even her cryptic answer makes me feel better because my sense is she wouldn't just toss away that line as if it were nothing. I'm sure they must understand the anxiety we're going through. THANK YOU FOR CALLING! I guess I'll try not to dwell on it over the weekend. I feel like the five or six of us SSA people on this forum should be standing together holding hands and wishing each other good luck!

[tspier2]

Seeing as I have not heard anything about the Fulbright, I made the decision last night to accept the admissions offer from Tulane. Was anyone else forced to make this decision?

[cgerry14]

tspier2, I also decided to accept my graduate school offer before hearing back from Fulbright (PhD in Chemistry to Harvard).  I wasn't thrilled about doing it because I am really excited my proposed Fulbright project in Sweden, but several people at Harvard (both administrators and students) have told me that I should be able to defer admission until Fall 2015 if I'm awarded the grant.

 

Have you talked to anybody at Tulane about deferring for a year?  All of the schools that I looked at seemed flexible about it, so I would be surprised if Tulane wasn't similarly accommodating (at least in rhetoric...action is another story).  

[SmarteyMartey]

Seeing as I have not heard anything about the Fulbright, I made the decision last night to accept the admissions offer from Tulane. Was anyone else forced to make this decision?

Interesting... did you ever ask Tulane if they would be willing to wait? I know some students who have been able to make that arrangement with their graduate schools...schools want to benefit as well if their incoming students are going on Fulbrights so some have been very understanding. They did not see it as a slight.

[tspier2]

Interesting... did you ever ask Tulane if they would be willing to wait? I know some students who have been able to make that arrangement with their graduate schools...schools want to benefit as well if their incoming students are going on Fulbrights so some have been very understanding. They did not see it as a slight.

 

I did let Tulane know that I was awaiting a decision about the Fulbright, but they didn't know for sure if I'd be able to defer. In fact, they are still trying to find out if it would be permissible, viz. given the small cohort size.

[Bluefit]

Question: Fulbright Schuman award. Harder to get than most?  Pays a bit better, but they only take two.. Anybody with any advice.. They tend to take a wide range of people so thought maybe with a few years professional experience, maybe i would have a shot.

 

Thoughts 

[SmarteyMartey]

I did let Tulane know that I was awaiting a decision about the Fulbright, but they didn't know for sure if I'd be able to defer. In fact, they are still trying to find out if it would be permissible, viz. given the small cohort size.

Goodness....I wish you the best with this and hope that everything falls into place in a way most beneficial to you.

[Mozartgirl53]

Question: Fulbright Schuman award. Harder to get than most?  Pays a bit better, but they only take two.. Anybody with any advice.. They tend to take a wide range of people so thought maybe with a few years professional experience, maybe i would have a shot.

 

Thoughts 

Hi Bluefit, I felt badly that you had not received any feedback on your question so I wanted to let you know that I do care and so do others in the forum. Weekends are pretty slow here at TheGradCafe, especially now that so many notifications have been sent out. Unfortunately, I have no advice to give you. I am not at all familiar with the Schuman award. Are you saying they only take two world-wide or two in a variety of countries? Either way, it certainly sounds competitive. Hopefully on Monday our regular group will be here and someone can answer your question. :-)

[Mozartgirl53]

Seeing as I have not heard anything about the Fulbright, I made the decision last night to accept the admissions offer from Tulane. Was anyone else forced to make this decision?

 

tspier2, I also decided to accept my graduate school offer before hearing back from Fulbright (PhD in Chemistry to Harvard).  I wasn't thrilled about doing it because I am really excited my proposed Fulbright project in Sweden, but several people at Harvard (both administrators and students) have told me that I should be able to defer admission until Fall 2015 if I'm awarded the grant.

 

Have you talked to anybody at Tulane about deferring for a year?  All of the schools that I looked at seemed flexible about it, so I would be surprised if Tulane wasn't similarly accommodating (at least in rhetoric...action is another story).  

Hi tspier2, it's unfortunate that Sub Saharan Africa is usually the last region to send out notifications. I wish they could somehow speed up the process in the future for this very reason! For me it's OK because I'm in the middle of my doctoral program, but for many like you, they have other things they need to respond to earlier than Fulbright SSA gets it's notifications out. As cgerry14 and SmarteyMartey said, perhaps you can defer, but it sounds like your doctoral program at Tulane is cohort-based, and that can indeed get tricky because they partly choose candidates based on their sense that they would all fit in well with each other. (Although I should say I am a big fan of cohort-based programs. My master's degree in cultural studies at UW Bothell was cohort based and we were so close that to this day I could call any one of my 19 colleagues at 3 AM and tell them I;m stuck somewhere out in the tulies and not one of them would hesitate for an instant to come get me.)  I'm curious, are you still awaiting a decision from U of Florida? The Tulane opportunity sounds amazing and I probably wouldn't give that up if it were to come down to that OR the Fulbright, but of course that is your decision. I'll be rooting for the ideal--an acceptance from Fulbright AND permission to defer at Tulane!

 

cgerry14, you also have an amazing opportunity! Chemistry at Harvard! Wow! I also didn't realize Sweden hasn't sent out notifications yet! I will also send out good vibes that you too can get the Fulbright and defer admission to grad school! By the way, my brother is a prominent geo-chemist. He's at Lawrence Labs, Berkeley right now. What kind of chemistry are you going into?

[padthai234]

how can we find the actual stipend amount for what our fulbright is = to in our country?

[Mozartgirl53]

how can we find the actual stipend amount for what our fulbright is = to in our country?

Good morning padthai234! Others in this forum may have a more precise answer, but my understanding is that the stipend varies, as you suggested, by country and even by region within a country, depending upon where you are placed. From what I have gleaned from the Fulbright website, the stipend is the median income in the area in which you are placed. I think they don't want us to live like "the ugly American," living in relative wealth compared to what the people we are working with and amongst. My guess is once you are selected you will get a LOT of paperwork and somewhere in there they will mention the stipend or give you a contact person in your country that you can talk with regarding the details of the funding.

[Cynti]

I hope my Fulbright Colombia (South America in general) people are holding up well. Maybe this week is our week; It's mid-April. Congrats to those who were accepted and good luck to the rest. For those who did not get the grant...change the plan, but keep the goal. You all are awesome. I am really thankful for this community. 

Edited April 13, 2014 by Cynti

[kafcat]

how can we find the actual stipend amount for what our fulbright is = to in our country?

Actually it says on the fulbright website of each country. For example., in the Fulbright España site, it said the stipend amount depending on the assignment. You should try looking it up like that, some countries do have it on the website.

Edited April 13, 2014 by japaniia

[cgerry14]

 

cgerry14, you also have an amazing opportunity! Chemistry at Harvard! Wow! I also didn't realize Sweden hasn't sent out notifications yet! I will also send out good vibes that you too can get the Fulbright and defer admission to grad school! By the way, my brother is a prominent geo-chemist. He's at Lawrence Labs, Berkeley right now. What kind of chemistry are you going into?

 

Thanks Mozartgirl53!  Yes...Sweden still has not sent out notifications, but they should come any day now (I've been saying that for 3 weeks...but who's counting).

 

Wow, that's so cool that your brother works at the National Lab!  I'm interested in organic chemistry/chemical biology.  If I get to go to Sweden, I would work in an academic group at Uppsala University that is developing small molecule therapies (i.e. drugs) for hepatitis C.  Hopefully the Swedish Fulbright Commission is as excited about this project as I am!

[Mozartgirl53]

Actually it says on the fulbright website of each country. For example., in the Fulbright España site, it said the stipend amount depending on the assignment. You should try looking it up like that, some countries do have it on the website.

 

how can we find the actual stipend amount for what our fulbright is = to in our country?

Hi padthai234 and japaniia, I was certain someone else knew more about this than I. Thanks, japaniia, for that information! I'm a Sub Saharan recommendee and none of the SSA countries say what their benefits are, except to say it includes round-trip air, a monthly stipend, and medical insurance. Most of the countries also say there is an extra $200-$300 a month if you bring dependents. I started looking around and it seems quite hit-or-miss. Thailand didn't say anything on their web page. But Ireland gives the figure of 16,000 euros for everything.

[Sel386]

Thanks Mozartgirl53!  Yes...Sweden still has not sent out notifications, but they should come any day now (I've been saying that for 3 weeks...but who's counting).

 

Wow, that's so cool that your brother works at the National Lab!  I'm interested in organic chemistry/chemical biology.  If I get to go to Sweden, I would work in an academic group at Uppsala University that is developing small molecule therapies (i.e. drugs) for hepatitis C.  Hopefully the Swedish Fulbright Commission is as excited about this project as I am!

Hi cgerry14, I'm waiting for Sweden also. I called a week ago Friday and was told notifications were being held up in the state department. Not exactly new info as other country applicants have been told the same thing, but I thought I'd pass it along to you. I really hope we find out this week, I have some big decisions to make!

I really hope you are selected, my father is ill with hep C and maybe he could benefit from your research someday. : )

[rkdude02]

I hope my Fulbright Colombia (South America in general) people are holding up well. Maybe this week is our week; It's mid-April. Congrats to those who were accepted and good luck to the rest. For those who did not get the grant...change the plan, but keep the goal. You all are awesome. I am really thankful for this community.

I'm hoping our decisions will come soon!

[kafcat]

Hi padthai234 and japaniia, I was certain someone else knew more about this than I. Thanks, japaniia, for that information! I'm a Sub Saharan recommendee and none of the SSA countries say what their benefits are, except to say it includes round-trip air, a monthly stipend, and medical insurance. Most of the countries also say there is an extra $200-$300 a month if you bring dependents. I started looking around and it seems quite hit-or-miss. Thailand didn't say anything on their web page. But Ireland gives the figure of 16,000 euros for everything.

 

Yeah they tell you how much you will get when you are actually awarded, but other than that the fulbright pages of the respective countries should have something. But as you pointed out, some countries have it while others don't.

[cgerry14]

Hi cgerry14, I'm waiting for Sweden also. I called a week ago Friday and was told notifications were being held up in the state department. Not exactly new info as other country applicants have been told the same thing, but I thought I'd pass it along to you. I really hope we find out this week, I have some big decisions to make!

I really hope you are selected, my father is ill with hep C and maybe he could benefit from your research someday. : )

 

Thanks for checking, Sel386.  Hopefully that means that we'll find out soon...this waiting game is killing me.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your father and I certainly hope that I can help in some way.  Regardless of whether I get a Fulbright or not, I know that there is some great stuff for HCV in the pipeline.

[danielaface]

I really hate this time difference. I feel as though I have an extra six hours to worry about news coming this day and it's killing me.

I have a feeling Russia will find out this Wednesday, but my fingers are crossed for today! Best of luck to everyone! Hopefully we find out sooner rather than later.

[FingersCrossed_118]

Feliz segunda-feira, Brazilian Fulbright waiters! Here's to hoping we hear back today - Mondays are historically the most common day Brazil people have been notified. And since last Monday Fulbright told me "hopefully this week!" then I'm hopeful it's today!  

[Horb]

Hi all! I just wanted to pop in and say good luck to the rest of you waiting! I hope you find out soon!