cteed Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 For Bulgaria, I found it on the Bulgaria Fulbright Commission's website. If Spain's commission has their own site it might be on there! Thanks for this suggestion! I did figure it out from their ETA page which is helpful for planning. Also, I meant that I will *now* have my fingers crossed for a few months.
JohnT Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Well, today, January 20, I received (via email) my rejection for my US Scholar application to Mexico. I'd inside information that the substantive review team in Washington, DC loved my application. Alas, a disastrous Skype interview in Spanish with a group of 5 academics in Mexico City doomed my application. I'll still conduct my project, which is an oral history project for which I've got a book publication contract. still, the Fulbright would have been nice! So, a word of warning to those applying to the US Scholar program: practice that language!
waiting279 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Just another plug for the 2015-2016 spreadsheet. Lurkers, you can add yourselves without having to make a gradcafe account, and the spreadsheet is anonymous (you choose what info to add, if any). Notification of (non)recommendation came out early this year (whew!), which is probably why this year's thread has much less traffic than other years. However, other years have 400+ entries in the spreadsheet, and we're so far just over 100. If you haven't already, please add yourself, and if you have any friends who have applied, encourage them to enter their country info also. Oliebollen 1
Horb Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Does anyone know how many Germany ETA applications there are for the spots? I didn't see it on the website.
boreophyll Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) 140 spots for 395 applicants last year. Check the German ETA commission website (if there is one) to get a better idea of how many grants are available for this year. I believe official statistics were not released until the middle of March last year. http://us.fulbrightonline.org/eta-grant-application-statistics Edited January 20, 2015 by boreophyll
minimouse Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 I talked to my mom yesterday and told her I'm a finalist. She wasn't happy. She called back yesterday and said that she had thought about it more, and she was proud of me and would support me if I went. But she still didn't want me to go. She didn't mention anything about my dad, so I asked what his thoughts were, she just said "he's really upset." I hadn't kept it a secret from them that I applied, I guess they just assumed I wouldn't get it since the chances are so slim. I'm super close with my parents so this is pretty tough for me. I started having self-doubts after the conversation. I have perfectly good other options, why should I put my family through this? What if they're right and it's horrible? Is anyone else dealing with family or loved ones that aren't so thrilled about your decision to apply for the Fulbright? Hey, I'm really sorry you're going through this. I didn't get recommended, but I KNOW my family would react the same way. My mom told me I was going to one of two of the closest schools to her. She had separartion anxiety when I spent the night with a friend on campus a few years ago. She thinks I'm kidding, but I finally told her I wanted to go to South Korea. She doesn't know I applied, and am still looking into it/applying/have support from other adults willing to do whatever they can... But if I got all my documents/passport/VISA/TESOL(?) and told her something serious like I have a Skype interview.... Crap would HIT THE FAN. I feel like I used to be close to my family, but my mom especially has tried to monitor me and hold me back from growing up and doing normal activities as a young adult. She hasn't gotten that slap of reality yet, that she can't control my life forever, and there will be hell to pay when that does come around. I know you're close to your family, but DO NOT let them deter you from living your life! You may truly regret it. At least take a chance at such a great opportunity that you've gotten this far in! And here's a video I could TOTALLY relate to, when it comes to parents' dissatisfaction with you moving aborad:
Bluefit Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Well, today, January 20, I received (via email) my rejection for my US Scholar application to Mexico. I'd inside information that the substantive review team in Washington, DC loved my application. Alas, a disastrous Skype interview in Spanish with a group of 5 academics in Mexico City doomed my application. I'll still conduct my project, which is an oral history project for which I've got a book publication contract. still, the Fulbright would have been nice! So, a word of warning to those applying to the US Scholar program: practice that language! John was in your shoes last year. Selected and then not funded. I became an alternate pending funding which never came. This Friday, but i'm good on language it's in English. Try again,
minimouse Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Hi everyone! First time applying, senior in college graduating in May. I found out yesterday that i was recommended for my South Korea application (not for ETA or research, but for the Korean Studies Graduate Degree Grant). Super excited!!!! Now I need to begin the process of not getting my hopes up too high as I await the final decision... I also need to apply for said graduate degree! Oooh, you're going to South Korea for your graduate degree? Interesting! Maybe I'll look into this as well!
JohnT Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 John was in your shoes last year. Selected and then not funded. I became an alternate pending funding which never came. This Friday, but i'm good on language it's in English. Try again, Thanks for the kind words! I won't reapply, though, at least not for this project. I have a sabbatical in the fall and will conduct my research and interviews and write the book, which will be published in 2016. So, the book should be sitting on bookstore shelves before I'd get the Fulbright grant, even if I proved successful in re-application. Of course I'm disappointed, but this isn't the end of the world. This will be my second oral history project in recent years and my first, which culminated in a book called Kalamazoo Gals, succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. So, I'm really optimistic about this next book, despite failing on the Fulbright front. Good luck to others, though!
aquarialily Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 hi all -- i just found this forum and wanted to say hi! i applied for a research grant to Taiwan, and found out i got recommended (while i was on vacation, no less, which was kind of awesome). trying not to get my hopes up too high since i know it's still a slim chance from here on out, but my boyfriend (who did the scholar program a few years back) reminds me that just getting this far is an honor since it's so competitive. i know being on this forum probably won't help my declaration that i'm not going to think about it until the next notifications come through (which is what i did for this first round -- submitted and never looked back and didn't even think about it or reread my materials) but i feel like now it's a little bit harder, esp given the "who knows" timing of the final decisions. anyway, nice to meet you all!
jadesg1 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Hi all! So this is exciting. It's my second year applying for an ETA grant to Jordan, and I was recommended as a finalist last year as well as for this application cycle! I'm feeling more confident about the process this year considering that since my last app I conducted research in Morocco, taught a university seminar, and taught English in Palestine for three months! Any other MidEast applicants? I'm excited and nervous all at the same time, all over again! Good luck everyone!
saritaf3 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Hey guys, Has anyone pursuing an ETA done one of those TESOL/TEFL(?) certifications? How do you know an online source is legitimate? And any brief background on all it entails? Thanks if anyone answers! Hey everyone! First off - I got recommended for an ETA in Spain! Yay! Congrats to the rest of the recommended folks and good luck to those who didn't get it this year... don't give up! Secondly, in answer to this question. I'm finishing my M.A. in TESOL right now and while I don't know a whole lot about certificate programs personally because I didn't do one, I do know that generally the CELTA is pretty well-regarded in the TESOL world. You can read a little more about the different options here and here. I hope that was somewhat helpful! I would definitely say you should look for a program that has a good balance of theory vs. practice! A million hours in the classroom reading theory won't prepare you for the real thing, but at the same time I definitely think my teaching has improved from studying some of the theory! Good luck everyone Now we settle in for another nice long wait... Ugh. minimouse 1
boreophyll Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Hey guys, Has anyone pursuing an ETA done one of those TESOL/TEFL(?) certifications? How do you know an online source is legitimate? And any brief background on all it entails? Thanks if anyone answers! Minimouse, if you don't mind me asking, what is the reason you are inquiring about a certification in TESOL? I can provide some insight for you if you are able to divulge a little more information.
potatopower12 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Does anyone have a list of which countries interview finalist? Oliebollen 1
thefairhelen Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Does anyone have a list of which countries interview finalist? I second this question! I got recommended for a study/research grant to Australia. Does anyone know if I will have to interview? Thanks! Glad to have found this forum.
amdowler Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I was recommended for an ETA position in Germany. Does anyone know what percentage of applicants are eliminated in the first round of selections? So say 400 apply, what amount (on average) make it to the next round?
waiting279 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I second this question! I got recommended for a study/research grant to Australia. Does anyone know if I will have to interview? Thanks! Glad to have found this forum. Congrats on your recommendation! The two countries I've seen specifically named for phone interviews at this stage are UK and Russia, though there may be others. Edited January 21, 2015 by waiting279
novicescientist Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Hi guys, I also received the email on Friday the 16th about hearing back. I applied at large (graduated in 2012) to the UK for a Masters in Immunology candidacy. I have an unconditional acceptance to UCL for the last 2 years. I have held it off because I cannot pay for it. This is my 3rd time applying for Fulbright. My 1st time was for Ireland and the last two for the UK. I still have not heard from them.. is anyone else in my situation?
minimouse Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Minimouse, if you don't mind me asking, what is the reason you are inquiring about a certification in TESOL? I can provide some insight for you if you are able to divulge a little more information. No problem! I was asking because I applied for Fulbright's South Korea ETA and wasn't recommended, so I looked into other programs like EPIK and TaLK, and they seem to prefer that you have certification... Or it at least helps get accepted it seems. So that's why!
chethedoctor Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Hi guys, I also received the email on Friday the 16th about hearing back. I applied at large (graduated in 2012) to the UK for a Masters in Immunology candidacy. I have an unconditional acceptance to UCL for the last 2 years. I have held it off because I cannot pay for it. This is my 3rd time applying for Fulbright. My 1st time was for Ireland and the last two for the UK. I still have not heard from them.. is anyone else in my situation? Welcome to the Cafe! Have you been recommended? If so, the next stage is the phone interview. My understanding is that they will let you know the date and time of the interview.
novicescientist Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome to the Cafe! Have you been recommended? If so, the next stage is the phone interview. My understanding is that they will let you know the date and time of the interview. No, I have not heard anything. Neither a recommendation nor a rejection.
ca88 Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Well, today, January 20, I received (via email) my rejection for my US Scholar application to Mexico. I'd inside information that the substantive review team in Washington, DC loved my application. Alas, a disastrous Skype interview in Spanish with a group of 5 academics in Mexico City doomed my application. I'll still conduct my project, which is an oral history project for which I've got a book publication contract. still, the Fulbright would have been nice! So, a word of warning to those applying to the US Scholar program: practice that language! JohnT-what kinds of questions did they ask in your interview? I've been recommended for an ETA in Mexico and have an interview coming up. No idea what kinds of questions I will be asked/if the entire interview will be in Spanish/who will be on the panel/etc. I'm sure ETA and research interviews are different, but any help you could offer would be appreciated!
JohnT Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 JohnT-what kinds of questions did they ask in your interview? I've been recommended for an ETA in Mexico and have an interview coming up. No idea what kinds of questions I will be asked/if the entire interview will be in Spanish/who will be on the panel/etc. I'm sure ETA and research interviews are different, but any help you could offer would be appreciated! I received my recommendation back in October - the US scholar program is on a different timetable. The email notification also stated that my next step would be a Skype interview with some experts to assess how my project fit within my "professional goals and interests." No problem, I thought. Well, unless conducted in Spanish. I can speak everyday Spanish fine, but I do not speak the language at an academic level. I am now studying twice weekly with a tutor (great teacher!) and will do an immersion program this summer. In any event, the email message did not mention language. So, the interviewers were a group of 5 academics in Mexico City: sociologist, historian, law professor, and two others. They conducted a full substantive inquiry of my proposal in Spanish. To say I struggled would be a massive understatement. I did explain that I was studying Spanish and would do an immersion program in the summer. I figured that my less than impressive performance in Spanish had doomed my application. But, a week or three later, I met with one of my references for the Fulbright, a famous writer. He told me that two people on the committee in Washington DC had contacted him about my application and said that they "were blown away by it." The most impressive they'd ever seen. So, I let some optimism creep back in. Sigh. Anyway, I hope that this helps. The interview was about a half an hour during which each of the 5 interviewers each asked several probing questions.
Dostoprimechatel'nosti Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I have a quick question for other Fulbright Finalists. So, the next step for us is sending our official transcripts. The Fulbright website (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/information-for-recommended-candidates) seems to state that they only require the official transcript of the university from which we graduated, but my FPA seems to want transcripts of all institutions from which we transferred courses. What are your thoughts? Do I need to send a transcript from the university I transferred from even though all of those courses are listed on the official transcript of my current university?
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