Fulbright 2015-2016

[vagodwin]

Hey guys! I've been creepin for awhile so I thought I'd finally make an account...turns out I already had one   
I applied last year for an education project in Costa Rica and wasn't recommended, but I'm very thankful since I now know that it wouldn't have been a good fit. So this year I'm giving Mexico a go for a project in public health, something I'm much more excited about.  About to submit for the campus deadline! Wishing everyone luck!

[alifbaarbie]

Hey there! There have been past applicants who have succeeded in getting a grant with an average GPA.

 

Check this out: http://www.profellow.com/tips/5-things-they-dont-tell-you-about-the-fulbright-student-grant/

 

And this too: 

 

As for selecting a country...I say the safest bet is to pick the place with the most meaning to you and your goals where you can ALSO have a significant impact on the local population. Is that place Greece? Examine it and be honest with yourself and you'll find the answers to all of your questions. What worked for me was applying the Socratic method of questioning. Don't stop once you've asked yourself a question. Follow with the why to that answer, and the why to that one, and so on until you get to the heart of it. 

 

Thank you so much for the advice. I did end up asking myself those questions, and still- my heart is set on Greece. I've submitted all my materials to the Fulbright Campus Advisor and now will just work with her to make sure that everything is polished and ready to go. (I'm the only person at my school applying to Greece even though my institution is one of the top producing schools of Fulbright Scholars.

 

 

Good luck to everyone!!!!!

[potatopower12]

I wanted to let everyone know that universities do not rank applicants anymore. They stopped this year, presumably because the fellowship advisors were skewing the ranking system to give their applicants favorable standings rather than demonstrating actual preparedness and feasibility of the project. 

[chethedoctor]

Hello Everyone,

 

A friend recommended this forum. Looks like a very good place to ask questions and get info. So I have been working on my application all summer and I have campus interview on the 29th. I am applying for a Fulbright partner university study grant to the UK from the US.

 

How can I make my application competitive? What are some not-so-obvious big NO NOs? Does it help that I speak 3 languages fluently? Is it true that the fulbright is skewered more towards the natural sciences and away from the humanities and social sciences?

 

Good luck everyone

[Horb]

I would honestly say that Fulbright is more skewed towards Natural sciences. I attempted to make mine a combo of humanities and social sciences (anthro) in order to seem more inclusive (I also did UK). Languages doesn't really help. I think what you hope to do with them does. Fulbright is geared more towards projects that are useful and candidates with pasts that prepare them for this project/show they have the skill set to complete it.

[chethedoctor]

Horb Thanks. I was going through the 14-15 forum and I see that you were recommended last year. Did you go to Leicester?

[Horb]

Unfortunately no. The person who won it the year before me applied for the same program I did (which I didn't know when I applied) and it went to a science person, based on publications. It is also insanely difficult to get a UK grant, but it is insanely difficult to get a Fulbright to begin with!

 

I'm going to reapply in a few years, once I have my MA. It is a long process, but I learned so much about it, especially about what not to do in applications. If you have any questions, especially around interview time, let me know

Edited September 25, 2014 by Horb

[chethedoctor]

Well if I go as far as you did, I would be extremely delighted. I am applying for MA in international relations and world order at Leicester. 13 people including you applied last year and who knows how many will apply this year.I know the UK is difficult but if anything the experience will make me a better person. Would you be willing to email me a few tips of what not to do in applications?

[umamam]

Hi all! I'm at PhD student in the social sciences at a large public university applying for a Fulbright to Germany to start my dissertation research. I'm applying at large (long story). 

 

I saw someone mention here that having spent too much time in your desired host country could hurt your application. I lived in Germany for four years as a child, and have been back many times since to visit family and friends, though I have never studied in Germany. Will this hurt my application?  My project absolutely cannot be done outside of Germany, and requires native/near-native fluency to connect with the population I'm working with, so it seems a bit silly that they'd judge me for that - not sure I understand the logic. How might I frame the situation so it is less detrimental to my application? Anyone else in a similar boat?

Edited September 28, 2014 by umamam

[baw-bee]

15 days until the application deadline! I hope everyone is handling the anxiety better than I am!

[rugggg]

Just had my campus interview today for the Fulbright ETA in Taiwan, was more of a discussion that an interview really. I suppose it went pretty well other than mixing up what room it was in at first  . Only a few edits to the essays left now. Already feeling nervous/anxious about if I've done enough and if my application is quality. *sigh* Not much to do other than submit and wait now. 

[chethedoctor]

I had my campus interview today. Wasn't adversarial at all. They did however suggest I re-write a big portion of my SOG essay. They felt it wasn't concise enough. I re-wrote and submitted my application. I feel young again. This has been one of the most stressful months of my college life. Now the wait begins!

[travelgirl125]

Just submitted my application yesterday for my campus deadline!! And now, the very, veeeeeery daunting task of waiting 

 

Good luck to everyone!

[Dostoprimechatel'nosti]

Hi everyone! I had a very successful campus interview today for a research grant to Moldova.  For anyone who has an on-campus interview coming up, don't be nervous! It was extremely helpful and the interview panel is positive and only wants the best for your application.  I actually left feeling more confident about my application than I did going into the interview.  My campus deadline for the final application is October 12th, I just can't believe that this part of the process is almost over.  The best of luck to everyone interviewing soon and good luck with all of your final applications over the next two weeks!!

[kmac11]

Another completed campus interview here!
It was really more like a consultation than an interview. The FPA had given us a list of practice interview questions, and I was studying those for the past week. But the panel only asked me 3 quick questions and spent the rest of the time going over the application with me page by page and giving feedback. It was very helpful! 

I have a lot of re-writing to do though. Glad I have the weekend to work on it.

[emilyIRL]

I haven't had my campus interview yet, but my FPA is organizing a committee. I'm a little bummed, because I emailed her like, a year ago that I was doing to be applying, and again when the application season opened. Then I emailed her a month ago asking if there was anything I needed to coordinate with her, because she had been pretty quiet, and she was all like, "WAIT, YOU'RE APPLYING? YOU KNOW IT TAKES A YEAR TO GET THE APPLICATION READY, YOU CAN'T JUST APPLY ON A WHIM!" And now she keeps e-mailing me with what she thinks are roadblocks (like recommendation and affiliation letters) that I'm already on top of. Argh. It's just very discouraging, but I hope I've responded with enough positivity to convince her that we can get this thing done on time.

[anna_y_l]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm applying for an ETA in Germany right now. I have two questions/concerns.

 

1. On the award statistics: are there actually more offers than the stats suggest? For example, if about there are 140 awards for the about 400 people who apply for the Germany ETA, but say, 15 people turn down the awards and alternates take their places, then, technically, 155 people were offered the grant. Is that right? (I know I shouldn't be worrying about too hard about the numbers at this point, but, you know, last minute anxieties.)

 

2. In my personal statement, I write about my experiences with education, mostly as a student but also as a teacher, and what my teaching philosophy (more or less) is now because of these experiences. However, because this is all a part of my "picture of myself" (growing up in a family of teachers, etc.), I don't really talk about my teaching experience (which, believe me, isn't very extensive, either way) in my statement of grant purpose, or otherwise it would be redundant. I do talk about my desire to go to Germany, what I want to do there, what I want to do afterwards, etc. My Fulbright advisor said I should try to switch this around (ex. put more about my teaching experience in the statement of grant purpose), but this is not something I can do, rhetorically, without re-writing everything, which I just do not have time to do. We've been speaking about this throughout the past few weeks, and this was, frankly, brought up pretty late in the game, and I have to submit my final final version of the app tomorrow night, so I may just have to forgo his advice. What do you guys think?

[rugggg]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying for an ETA in Germany right now. I have two questions/concerns.

1. On the award statistics: are there actually more offers than the stats suggest? For example, if about there are 140 awards for the about 400 people who apply for the Germany ETA, but say, 15 people turn down the awards and alternates take their places, then, technically, 155 people were offered the grant. Is that right? (I know I shouldn't be worrying about too hard about the numbers at this point, but, you know, last minute anxieties.)

2. In my personal statement, I write about my experiences with education, mostly as a student but also as a teacher, and what my teaching philosophy (more or less) is now because of these experiences. However, because this is all a part of my "picture of myself" (growing up in a family of teachers, etc.), I don't really talk about my teaching experience (which, believe me, isn't very extensive, either way) in my statement of grant purpose, or otherwise it would be redundant. I do talk about my desire to go to Germany, what I want to do there, what I want to do afterwards, etc. My Fulbright advisor said I should try to switch this around (ex. put more about my teaching experience in the statement of grant purpose), but this is not something I can do, rhetorically, without re-writing everything, which I just do not have time to do. We've been speaking about this throughout the past few weeks, and this was, frankly, brought up pretty late in the game, and I have to submit my final final version of the app tomorrow night, so I may just have to forgo his advice. What do you guys think?

As for #1, I don't know, but I do get the anxiety, saw a list of students from my university applying, noticed that a few others were also applying to Taiwan and got worried that about that for some reason.

With #2, I think that if you have specific examples of teaching experiences that have taught you something you can apply, then that would certainly be good to put in. I felt like the SOGP was basically why am I qualified, what will I bring to the table, what will I do besides teaching in line with the Fulbright ethos, and how it will help me moving forward. So if you can use the teaching experience in the sort of why am I qualified/what do I bring part that would certainly be good. Talking about being from a family of teachers =/= talking about specific experiences you have gained and will use teaching as an ETA.

At the end of the day though, this is your essay and it is late in the day to go about making sweeping changes. Good luck with it!

Edited October 4, 2014 by rugggg

[anna_y_l]

As for #1, I don't know, but I do get the anxiety, saw a list of students from my university applying, noticed that a few others were also applying to Taiwan and got worried that about that for some reason.

With #2, I think that if you have specific examples of teaching experiences that have taught you something you can apply, then that would certainly be good to put in. I felt like the SOGP was basically why am I qualified, what will I bring to the table, what will I do besides teaching in line with the Fulbright ethos, and how it will help me moving forward. So if you can use the teaching experience in the sort of why am I qualified/what do I bring part that would certainly be good. Talking about being from a family of teachers =/= talking about specific experiences you have gained and will use teaching as an ETA.

At the end of the day though, this is your essay and it is late in the day to go about making sweeping changes. Good luck with it!

 

"Talking about being from a family of teachers =/= talking about specific experiences you have gained and will use teaching as an ETA." Right and that's why that's in my personal statement, and not my statement of grant purpose. But my Fulbright advisor thinks otherwise. So who knows.

[laowhy]

Applied for the Taiwan ETA. Best of luck to everyone!

[rugggg]

Just submitted my application for the Taiwan ETA as well! Feels good to be finished, and at least for this week I can enjoy being done before waiting anxiously.   

[Kathles]

Submitted my application last week as an ETA in the Czech Republic. Such a relief to have the application finished,  but this long waiting process is already killer. Good luck, everyone!

[chethedoctor]

Good luck to all of you.

[emilyIRL]

...aaand campus interview done. Phew. Time for that cup of coffee I didn't have time to drink.

[Oliebollen]

My interview was very successful--much better than last year tbh! The first half was daunting, but I felt I was able to address all of their questions, and the second half (after they discussed and called me back in) was really positive. They gave me some excellent feedback I can totally work with. My FPA has not been supportive throughout this process, but the faculty on the committee were very encouraging. I walked out feeling a lot more confident about my application.

 

They threw me a curveball because they had to change up the committee last-minute, though--I was told there wouldn't be a foreign language portion so I should prepare a short description of the project in Chinese so they could assess my confidence, but there was a Chinese speaker there after all! Honestly it wasn't that bad, and it's probably for the best because I would've freaked myself out if I'd known.

 

Seems like now is sort of late for interviews, mine was about two weeks ago! I got feedback from my FPA on the rest of the application about a week ago. I worked on the application form based on her recommendations and updated my work history, which was a huge pain because I had to cut and paste every single line... the Embark platform is just so user-friendly. 

 

 

I haven't had my campus interview yet, but my FPA is organizing a committee. I'm a little bummed, because I emailed her like, a year ago that I was doing to be applying, and again when the application season opened. Then I emailed her a month ago asking if there was anything I needed to coordinate with her, because she had been pretty quiet, and she was all like, "WAIT, YOU'RE APPLYING? YOU KNOW IT TAKES A YEAR TO GET THE APPLICATION READY, YOU CAN'T JUST APPLY ON A WHIM!" And now she keeps e-mailing me with what she thinks are roadblocks (like recommendation and affiliation letters) that I'm already on top of. Argh. It's just very discouraging, but I hope I've responded with enough positivity to convince her that we can get this thing done on time.

 

Wow Emily, your FPA sounds like a gem! Ugh.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Oliebollen