Fulbright 2014-2015

[socal14]

Discordant, did you apply to the full research/study grant or ETA for Germany?

I was talking about ETA, which seems to be announced the first Tuesday of April. That's why I think it will be next week. I could've misread the spreadsheet or looked at the wrong row though.

[Neurovivor]

Omg I just noticed the statistics (late bloomer). 5 recommended from the US to Armenia, and 2 were accepted by Armenia. Holy crap. 

 

I think 5 represents total applications to Armenia, not the number that the US recommended.

[Eclectic580]

Oh my! Just joining the conversation. Just got rejected from the DAAD (applied for a Masters)! Is it a sign?!

Although...I applied to complete a research project with the Fulbright. 

[blue_bird]

Are rejections sent out at the same time as acceptances, or are they staggered?

 

Applicant to Norway, still haven't heard.

 

Another Norway applicant who still hasn't heard!

[miri1776]

For the statistics page on the Fulbright website, the stats are predetermined for some countries while others are not. The predetermined number doesn't mean that they already know who will receive the award. I think some countries just have more sway than others and are designated a certain number of awards.

 

I hope everyone is right about April 15. I just can't believe it because we received our first email later than usual. I think Fulbright has made me a cynic.

[BeatriceHolm]

Sorry I never replied to your initial response, Blue Bird! I am a journalism applicant; I am interested in learning about cross-cultural mental health so I can help mitigate stigma and increase awareness of psychological disorders like bipolar and schizophrenia. I proposed to hang out at a brand-new, federally funded mental health clinic and write about my experiences there.

[aremaley]

What about the document makes you think next week and not today?

I was looking at the document too and it looks like most years they notify the first week of April. 

4/4/2007 4/11/2008 4/2/2009 3/23/2010 4/4/2011 3/26-28/2012 4/2/2013  

So hopefully we'll know next week! 

[BeatriceHolm]

I am also VERY Norwegian. (I was fifth generation at St. Olaf College and actually took Norwegian there as an undergrad.)

[GnosisExchange]

I just jumped because my phone dinged. I guess that regardless of how much I new that trying to guess that date of Korean notifications is pointless, I really hoped it was today.

[BeatriceHolm]

Do they ever send out rejections on one day and acceptances on another?

[aliddy]

So i've been looking through all the anxious posters by the German people, and I just wanted to share the email I got from Cara Doble, the senior Fulbright program officer for Germany. I wanted to see if she could give me a sense of the timeline of the notification process, because I have been officially offered another fellowship but need to let the other people know soon. 

 

She said:

 

"Unfortunately, I am not able to predict when final decisions will be released for Germany.  For all of the reasons you mention below as well as added issues, we are delayed this year compared to last. This is why we cannot determine an exact notification date from year to year. At this point, it is much of a waiting game."

 

So Germany just happens to be delayed this year. what's helped me is getting excited about all the billion other things I can do next year that WOULDN'T be the Fulbright. We should probably all be outside and enjoying the longer spring days than obsessively checking our emails  

 

at least I've been trying to convince myself to do that... I'm the first to admit it's easier said than done

[GnosisExchange]

A treat I found on last year's forum while trying to figure out around what time Korea announced (~5PM, BTW):

lunita, on 22 Mar 2013 - 11:34 AM, said:

So, I wrote everyone a poem. lol ;-)

 

O Fulbright, dear William,

why have you forsaken me?

Here I wait, and my email is like a swallowed bait

on purpose laid to make me mad.

Mad, in pursuit, and in possession so,

Had, having, and in quest to have extreme,

a bliss in proof, but proved a very woe.

Before, a joy proposed, behind a dream.

All this the world well knows, yet none knows well

To shun the heaven that leads men (and women) to this hell.

 

Okay, so its mostly Shakespeare, the sonnet I memorized just took over, and I was surprised how part of it fit the email addiction. It ended a little darker than I expected, I planned to write a satire of the waiting experience, so it's more of a melo-dramatic satire, but I wanted to share!

 

 

I think we could all use some LOLs.

[arigold36]

I just jumped because my phone dinged. I guess that regardless of how much I new that trying to guess that date of Korean notifications is pointless, I really hoped it was today.

There's always Friday... Or next Tuesday... Assuming they stick to the Tuesday/Friday pattern... 

 

I'm not sure if the fact that we are invariably getting closer to an actual decision makes me happier, or more anxious... 

[lalakey]

So i've been looking through all the anxious posters by the German people, and I just wanted to share the email I got from Cara Doble, the senior Fulbright program officer for Germany. I wanted to see if she could give me a sense of the timeline of the notification process, because I have been officially offered another fellowship but need to let the other people know soon. 

 

She said:

 

"Unfortunately, I am not able to predict when final decisions will be released for Germany.  For all of the reasons you mention below as well as added issues, we are delayed this year compared to last. This is why we cannot determine an exact notification date from year to year. At this point, it is much of a waiting game."

 

So Germany just happens to be delayed this year. what's helped me is getting excited about all the billion other things I can do next year that WOULDN'T be the Fulbright. We should probably all be outside and enjoying the longer spring days than obsessively checking our emails

 

at least I've been trying to convince myself to do that... I'm the first to admit it's easier said than done

 

 

Ugh. I just don't know what to do regarding my other offer if it's going to be that much longer. The Fulbright is definitely more desirable, but I don't know how much longer I can put them off. Should I just accept and then go back on it? That seems so messed up to do. 

[arigold36]

Another potentially worthwhile line of inquiry for further date speculation would be to see if there is any pattern in the number of days/weeks various countries waited between initial first round notification from the US, and sending out their own notification.

 

For example, in 2012 (for the 2012/13 grant cycle...) US notifications for the first round went out on 1/19/12 - a date in the 3rd week of the year.  Notifications for Korea (for example...) went out on 3/27/12 that year - a 10 week time lapse. 

 

Now, I haven't tracked down enough US notification dates to be able to see if there are grounds for a pattern here, but if we figure a minimum 10 week lead time between US notification and say, Korea's notification date, then given this years' US notification date of 1/28/14 (5th week of the year) - we might be in a situation where we aren't going to hear until the 15th week of this year, giving us potential Tuesday/Friday notification dates of April 8th and April 11th respectively... 

 

Anyone with some extra time on their hands feel like following that one up? lol... 

[meg89]

So i've been looking through all the anxious posters by the German people, and I just wanted to share the email I got from Cara Doble, the senior Fulbright program officer for Germany. I wanted to see if she could give me a sense of the timeline of the notification process, because I have been officially offered another fellowship but need to let the other people know soon. 

 

She said:

 

"Unfortunately, I am not able to predict when final decisions will be released for Germany.  For all of the reasons you mention below as well as added issues, we are delayed this year compared to last. This is why we cannot determine an exact notification date from year to year. At this point, it is much of a waiting game."

 

So Germany just happens to be delayed this year. what's helped me is getting excited about all the billion other things I can do next year that WOULDN'T be the Fulbright. We should probably all be outside and enjoying the longer spring days than obsessively checking our emails

 

at least I've been trying to convince myself to do that... I'm the first to admit it's easier said than done

When did you receive this reply? 

[BeatriceHolm]

....I've given up hearing about Norway today. I'm assuming the results don't all come out on the same day.

[raymondnorth]

Ugh. I just don't know what to do regarding my other offer if it's going to be that much longer. The Fulbright is definitely more desirable, but I don't know how much longer I can put them off. Should I just accept and then go back on it? That seems so messed up to do. 

 

 

Hey lalakey, just wanted to chime in really quickly here, since I can absolutely relate to your situation.  I am similarly situated in that I was accepted to a graduate program with a funding offer that fits my needs, and I also thought that I would have heard back from my country by now (Colombia issued their notifications on 3/7 and 3/16 the past two years).  That being said, while your graduate program is pressuring you, you can absolutely put that decision off until April 15.  Some schools are a lot more aggressive about trying to solidify decisions prior to April 15, but most graduate schools have signed a resolution (see http://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf) stating that students are under no obligation to make a decision on a funding offer prior to April 15.  

 

From what I heard back from my Program Manager as well as some of the other people who have spoken to their representatives, it looks like Fulbright is doing their best to make decisions prior to April 15 so as to not unnecessarily burden people trying to make these decisions.  I am as on edge as anyone in this state of life-limbo, but lately I'm trying to accept and be grateful for each of these opportunities, and to realize that as much as I've invested in this pursuit, Fulbright doesn't owe me anything.  If I receive this award, it will be just that, a reward/prize/proverbial-icing-on-my-academic-cake, and I know I'll be more appreciative of the opportunity if I keep this mindset.

 

I really hope you get it- you've been here since page 1 of this forum, and while I wasn't in the mix last year, I know you were, and I can only imagine the resolve it takes to do it again.  If I'm not successful this time around, I'll have learned from you and those others that applied a second time that it's worth the effort, and will definitely do it again in a few years when I'm focusing on my dissertation.

[oceanblue]

I'm just posting this to rid myself of some anxietyyyyyyyy

 

 

33oirngo23bgh14tqivdiaqbewvevbkbervbfdfkjgbdjffkjbqwkjvbqowergib3o2gh14o3qrbvkjqebvkebqkvjbekjrv!!!!!!!!

 

i can't sleep without waking up feeling anxious grrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

 

i hope everyone is feeling ok because i feel nauseous, 98% of the time! 

[kbui]

I can't think about anything else besides Fulbright... it is consuming my life.

[Discordant_Aesthete]

Ugh. I just don't know what to do regarding my other offer if it's going to be that much longer. The Fulbright is definitely more desirable, but I don't know how much longer I can put them off. Should I just accept and then go back on it? That seems so messed up to do. 

 

If you are putting off a graduate school, please note that they cannot legally demand a commitment from you before April 15. It might be best for them to know earlier because they can then offer your funding to another student, but––and I cannot stress this enough––you have absolutely no obligation to let them know earlier. 

 

You don't want to commit to a program then back out if Fulbright comes through. Not only is it legally questionable (breach of contract if you have an assistantship that you agree upon), but professionally injurious to yourself.

[Discordant_Aesthete]

Discordant, did you apply to the full research/study grant or ETA for Germany?

I was talking about ETA, which seems to be announced the first Tuesday of April. That's why I think it will be next week. I could've misread the spreadsheet or looked at the wrong row though.

 

I applied to the full research grant, which would mean we should expect it this week. I guess Friday is my next day to obsess over it.

[blue_bird]

Sorry I never replied to your initial response, Blue Bird! I am a journalism applicant; I am interested in learning about cross-cultural mental health so I can help mitigate stigma and increase awareness of psychological disorders like bipolar and schizophrenia. I proposed to hang out at a brand-new, federally funded mental health clinic and write about my experiences there.

 

Wow, this sounds like a really interesting and important project! Best of luck to you. I'm also giving up hope for the Fulbright today. It looks like only one person received a notification today (and it was a rejection) - or maybe it was just an erroneous edit of the spreadsheet? Hopefully we'll hear something by tomorrow or Friday, as I am also waiting to respond to some grad school offers.

 

Congrats to those who made it so far, condolences to those who didn't get principal/alternate status, and good luck to those of you still waiting. I'm treating this whole experience as a character building exercise in how to be very, very patient. I can imagine that trying to coordinate so many applicants from so many countries can be very difficult at times.

[kafcat]

I can't think about anything else besides Fulbright... it is consuming my life.

 

Hey I just noticed you got the Boren! Did you end up interning at a government agency? I always wondered what it's like to get the Boren! 

[kbui]

Hey I just noticed you got the Boren! Did you end up interning at a government agency? I always wondered what it's like to get the Boren! 

 

Lol, it's quite glamorous! Though not as well-known as a Fulbright. I haven't interned at a government agency yet, but I'm thinking of either working with USAID in SEA, or working my way towards becoming a Foreign Service Officer.