Fulbright 2015-2016

[RNM2015]

Have any other countries gotten responses yet other than the two from the other day? I am so ready to hear something.

[Dostoprimechatel'nosti]

Alright guys, who wants to waste time learning about the selection process this weekend?! I found this online.

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/country-review-resources

You can find out who was on the NSC committee, some stuff about the FFSB, the ranking system, etc. I should work on my thesis instead of reading this, but ...

This makes you my hero!

[alifbaarbie]

Have any other countries gotten responses yet other than the two from the other day? I am so ready to hear something.

My spidey senses tell me next week will be eventful 

[cloudysky16]

Glad it's helpful (or is it?)! I literally just went on the us.fulbrightonline.org website and typed "principal alternate" into the SEARCH bar. That's it!

[abeez]

Hey there! I'm a finalist for the Nat Geo Digital storytelling grant in Japan. I'm just seeing if anyone else is out there, knows anything, or has heard any updates? This seems like a new program so I'm not sure if there is a "normal" to how it can go. Anxiously waiting......

Edited March 7, 2015 by abeez

[ltsax]

Hey there! I'm a finalist for the Nat Geo Digital storytelling grant in Japan. I'm just seeing if anyone else is out there, knows anything, or has heard any updates? This seems like a new program so I'm not sure if there is a "normal" to how it can go. Anxiously waiting......

 

Hey, your the first person (besides me) that I have see on this forum who also wants to go to Japan! What is your project about?

[Photogeographic]

Hey there! I'm a finalist for the Nat Geo Digital storytelling grant in Japan. I'm just seeing if anyone else is out there, knows anything, or has heard any updates? This seems like a new program so I'm not sure if there is a "normal" to how it can go. Anxiously waiting......

Congrats !!! That's amazing !

[bailey24]

Hi bailey24,

 

Congrats on the acceptance! It’s nice to know that one way or another you’re going to be in Europe in the fall! I'm not personally familiar with the CBYX for young professionals, however a girl I knew my freshman year at college took a gap year to do the CBYX youth program before starting school. Granted it's a bit of a different environment/feel than the professional program, but she loved it. She came back fluent in German due to the language classes they provide and from living with a host family.

 

I haven’t heard anything yet about the USTA – I think notifications are supposed to be sent starting April 1. Who knows if I’ll get accepted to either one, but I’m not sure what I’d choose if I’m lucky enough to get chosen for both the USTA and ETA. I’d probably go with the Fulbright because of my ties to Germany and the prestige it holds… but I’m still not sure! Either scholarship would be amazing.

 

Do you know anyone who has done the USTA before? It sounds like a great experience, but I don’t know too much about it aside from reading the website and from filling out everything on the application.

Hey irvine36,

 

Thanks so much for your advice! 

 

I have a friendly acquaintance from German courses in college, and he just decided to stay a second year doing the USTA in Vienna. Apparently they allow some of the fellows to stay on for a second year with the program. He absolutely loves it. He also mentioned that it pays more than the ETA, but I'm sure the cost of living in Vienna brings them back to a similar level. The structure of the programs sounds very similar, but the Austrian program is a bit shorter. I think it both starts later and ends earlier than the ETA, which could be beneficial if you are considering summer internships or jobs or something, but it also gives you less time abroad. Hopefully you find this information helpful! If you have any other questions and think I would be of help feel free to message me!

 

viel Glück 

[irvine36]

Hey irvine36,

 

Thanks so much for your advice! 

 

I have a friendly acquaintance from German courses in college, and he just decided to stay a second year doing the USTA in Vienna. Apparently they allow some of the fellows to stay on for a second year with the program. He absolutely loves it. He also mentioned that it pays more than the ETA, but I'm sure the cost of living in Vienna brings them back to a similar level. The structure of the programs sounds very similar, but the Austrian program is a bit shorter. I think it both starts later and ends earlier than the ETA, which could be beneficial if you are considering summer internships or jobs or something, but it also gives you less time abroad. Hopefully you find this information helpful! If you have any other questions and think I would be of help feel free to message me!

 

viel Glück 

 

Thanks, I appreciate the help! I might be messaging you soon with some questions, especially if I find out I didn't get an ETA and am relying on a USTA acceptance... we'll see!

[SMartin11879]

Do you remember where you found those stats about this year's placement numbers by state?

https://www.usta-austria.at/site/resources/participants This link breaks down USTA placements by province. There are also school addresses listed with each participant name. Were those the stats you meant? 

[RosyPosy68]

cloudysky, you're awesome. Thanks! More info that makes me feel like I'm doing something productive about this waiting process! haha

 

Also, whoever fixed the formatting/ filters on the spreadsheet: Thank you!!!!! Everything got all mis-sorted the other day and I was stressing, though I'm not sure why...

 

ANOTHER ALSO: Happy World Women's Day!  

[Bluefit]

Heard UK scholar and ETA's wrapping up this next week.. Let's hope...Notifications forthcoming

[omhk]

Hey all, I graduated in 2014 and am currently taking a gap year to do some research abroad. I'm planning to apply for a research Fulbright for the 2016-2017 cycle and just had a few questions:

 

1) I did a study abroad semester and my grades were pretty bad (A-, B-, and C+ in the courses that transferred over back at my home university). My grades overall though are good. I graduated magna cum laude, have good research output and have published a paper where I was first author. How badly are these grades likely to affect my application? The only thing I can really say is that I was a bit distracted during that study abroad semester (it was 4 years ago, I was dumb and young). But when I got back home, I made sure I was on top of my game in those courses by auditing the equivalent course at my university.

 

2) If I'm applying for the research Fulbright and I'm positive the research group I would be invited to work in uses English as the main language (since the group is very international), how important is demonstrating fluency in the local language? I know that it would obviously help, but does it look very bad to not have some sort of certification if it's not absolutely required for the work I'll be doing? I'll be applying to do research in Germany. I'll be spending 4 months doing research at a German university. I took German in high school and did one semester of it in college, but I'm VERY rusty. I think if I put my head to the books and spent some time dusting off, I could definitely pass A2 certification. B1 with quite a bit of work. Just wondering how necessary this is since I'll have to keep an eye on test dates for the exams.

[RosyPosy68]

Hey all, I graduated in 2014 and am currently taking a gap year to do some research abroad. I'm planning to apply for a research Fulbright for the 2016-2017 cycle and just had a few questions:

 

1) I did a study abroad semester and my grades were pretty bad (A-, B-, and C+ in the courses that transferred over back at my home university). My grades overall though are good. I graduated magna cum laude, have good research output and have published a paper where I was first author. How badly are these grades likely to affect my application? The only thing I can really say is that I was a bit distracted during that study abroad semester (it was 4 years ago, I was dumb and young). But when I got back home, I made sure I was on top of my game in those courses by auditing the equivalent course at my university.

 

2) If I'm applying for the research Fulbright and I'm positive the research group I would be invited to work in uses English as the main language (since the group is very international), how important is demonstrating fluency in the local language? I know that it would obviously help, but does it look very bad to not have some sort of certification if it's not absolutely required for the work I'll be doing? I'll be applying to do research in Germany. I'll be spending 4 months doing research at a German university. I took German in high school and did one semester of it in college, but I'm VERY rusty. I think if I put my head to the books and spent some time dusting off, I could definitely pass A2 certification. B1 with quite a bit of work. Just wondering how necessary this is since I'll have to keep an eye on test dates for the exams.

 Hello Omhk!

 

I don't know very much about the Germany programs, but I want to make sure you have some of the good website resources to get a good idea of what kind of participant profile Fulbright is looking for.  Although a strong academic background is required (I'm quite sure you magna standing will make up for a few mistakes a while ago), the ultimate focus of Fulbright is leadership, ambassadorial skills, and an ability to/interest in enhancing relationships and understanding between the U.S. and your country of placement.  If you can make an excellent case for why your background and your proposed project set you up for that, then you are a much better candidate than if you had a perfect academic transcript and none of those qualities.  (Just as a side note-- I started learning German this year on my own and I'm working on preparing for A1... Props on getting to B1... This is hard!!!)

 

I'm sure you can get more specific info from other Fulbright Germany applicants, but in the mean time, check out some of these resources:

 

U.S. Fulbright Website

Specifically, I'd read all the information under "Countries" about Germany and then read all the tabs under "Applicants" to get a good understanding of what Fulbright wants. (You may already know all of this... But just in case!)

 

German Fulbright Commission

 

The commissions play a huge role in application decisions if your application becomes a finalist after the IIE screening. They are the review board in the actual destination country. 

 

 

If you have questions after all of that, emailing or calling your undergrad institution's Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) or the the IIE directly usually has good results, although I'd wait a month or two to reach out to IIE since they're probably being bombarded with panicking finalists about decisions right now.

 

I wish I had more info to give you, but I hope this helps a little! It's how I started out with my UK application process.

[RNM2015]

Today could be the day!

[irvine36]

Hey all, I graduated in 2014 and am currently taking a gap year to do some research abroad. I'm planning to apply for a research Fulbright for the 2016-2017 cycle and just had a few questions:

 

1) I did a study abroad semester and my grades were pretty bad (A-, B-, and C+ in the courses that transferred over back at my home university). My grades overall though are good. I graduated magna cum laude, have good research output and have published a paper where I was first author. How badly are these grades likely to affect my application? The only thing I can really say is that I was a bit distracted during that study abroad semester (it was 4 years ago, I was dumb and young). But when I got back home, I made sure I was on top of my game in those courses by auditing the equivalent course at my university.

 

2) If I'm applying for the research Fulbright and I'm positive the research group I would be invited to work in uses English as the main language (since the group is very international), how important is demonstrating fluency in the local language? I know that it would obviously help, but does it look very bad to not have some sort of certification if it's not absolutely required for the work I'll be doing? I'll be applying to do research in Germany. I'll be spending 4 months doing research at a German university. I took German in high school and did one semester of it in college, but I'm VERY rusty. I think if I put my head to the books and spent some time dusting off, I could definitely pass A2 certification. B1 with quite a bit of work. Just wondering how necessary this is since I'll have to keep an eye on test dates for the exams.

 

Hey omhk,

 

I second what RosyPosy68 had to say about the grades. I know someone working as an ETA in Indonesia this year, and she only had about a 3.2 in undergrad. It sounds like overall you finished with some really strong grades though, so you should be fine. 

 

Based on the Fulbright website, I think language proficiency is more important for the ETA program, but isn't vital for the research applicants. I noticed under the 'foreign language proficiency' section all it says is 'recommended' for the research grant applications. It also says:  "German language proficiency commensurate with the nature of the proposed project is required. " 

 

On the ETA page under language requirements, it says "strongly recommended, intermediate to advanced," plus 2 years of college level study of the language. I think you would only need to be concerned about your current level if you were applying for an ETA, but if you know you'll be working/researching entirely in English, it sounds like you should be good go to go!

[taiwantroubadour]

finally the weekend is over and the workweek is back! time to get back to working on my email-refresh induced repetitive stress disorder!

[rockermaster]

I really hope to hear back soon. Got less than 2 weeks to register for my language exam if I get it.

[RosyPosy68]

Today could be the day!

 

This is me every day. Even on the weekends. Even though my country is still interviewing.  ha!

[Photogeographic]

Does anyone have any insight into how the in country selections are made ? other than what might be noted on the counties page on the Fulbright website ? Does anyone know how we are compared to other applications that might be completely different ?  

[rockrmoose]

Hey everyone! While anxiously waiting for a notification from Fulbright, Ive been waiting to hear back from Volunteers in Asia as well. I'm scared that their notifications won't coincide....Fulbright is my first choice but its very likely I will hear later from them than VIA, and VIA only gives 3 days to decide once notified...would it be unprofessional of me to ask for an extension on timeif I get accepted?

Good luck to everyone this week!

Edited March 9, 2015 by rockrmoose

[Dostoprimechatel'nosti]

Good luck to everyone this week!! I'm hoping that we'll get a lot of notifications over the next 5 days. Fingers crossed!

[RosyPosy68]

Hey everyone! While anxiously waiting for a notification from Fulbright, Ive been waiting to hear back from Volunteers in Asia as well. I'm scared that their notifications won't coincide....Fulbright is my first choice but its very likely I will hear later from them than VIA, and VIA only gives 3 days to decide once notified...would it be unprofessional of me to ask for an extension on timeif I get accepted?

Good luck to everyone this week!

 

I can't imagine that would be viewed as unprofessional! They may not accept that proposal, but it shouldn't be viewed negatively, as long as you find an appropriate way to word it! Feel free to run any drafts by me via message if the time comes where you need to ask for an extension! I always like to have extra eyes on my writing when I reach out to people making decisions about my future. 

 

Anyway, maybe we will get extra lucky and everyone will find out early this year.....right?

[rockrmoose]

I can't imagine that would be viewed as unprofessional! They may not accept that proposal, but it shouldn't be viewed negatively, as long as you find an appropriate way to word it! Feel free to run any drafts by me via message if the time comes where you need to ask for an extension! I always like to have extra eyes on my writing when I reach out to people making decisions about my future. 

 

Anyway, maybe we will get extra lucky and everyone will find out early this year.....right?

Thank you so much Rosyposy68! I will definitely message you if that is the case! Belgium and Luxembourg gives me hope that we'll all hear back earlier than last year, so fingers crossed! I'm on the quarter system so I have finals next week...it'd be such a stress reliever if I found out then!

[Damis]

Hey all, I graduated in 2014 and am currently taking a gap year to do some research abroad. I'm planning to apply for a research Fulbright for the 2016-2017 cycle and just had a few questions:

 

1) I did a study abroad semester and my grades were pretty bad (A-, B-, and C+ in the courses that transferred over back at my home university). My grades overall though are good. I graduated magna cum laude, have good research output and have published a paper where I was first author. How badly are these grades likely to affect my application? The only thing I can really say is that I was a bit distracted during that study abroad semester (it was 4 years ago, I was dumb and young). But when I got back home, I made sure I was on top of my game in those courses by auditing the equivalent course at my university.

 

2) If I'm applying for the research Fulbright and I'm positive the research group I would be invited to work in uses English as the main language (since the group is very international), how important is demonstrating fluency in the local language? I know that it would obviously help, but does it look very bad to not have some sort of certification if it's not absolutely required for the work I'll be doing? I'll be applying to do research in Germany. I'll be spending 4 months doing research at a German university. I took German in high school and did one semester of it in college, but I'm VERY rusty. I think if I put my head to the books and spent some time dusting off, I could definitely pass A2 certification. B1 with quite a bit of work. Just wondering how necessary this is since I'll have to keep an eye on test dates for the exams.

 

1. I served as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador after my year (well, I still sorta do now as well). One thing they stressed to us during orientation is that they don't want a cookie cutter, 4.0 student (nothing wrong with that). They're interested in folks with edges, curves, and imperfect squares as well (my words, don't want to put anything on the Commission lol). By that, I mean you don't have to have a very high GPA or even a high GPA to win. The narrative that you weave explaining who you are and how effective you would be as a cultural ambassador is most important. I've personally seen folks from a range of academic institutions and grade levels win. Thus, I wouldn't be too worried about how they would construe the study abroad grades.

 

2. I knew Research grantees who did not have ANY German fluency. If you're researching STEM related material, for instance, it'd be almost impossible to have the proficiency to do so in German. That said, I think that if you're researching Goethe or something that requires archival retrieval then you'd see the Commission start to question how you'd be able to accomplish what you're researching. Altdeutsch is a MFer.