Fulbright 2016 - 2017

[wildchartermage]

28 minutes ago, TianaL said:

Hello All! 

So happy to have found this forum! I was chosen as a semifinalist for the MPA at SDA Bocconi in Italy for the 2016-2017 school year. I have basically been imagining my new life in Italy, trying to gain some grip on the fact that I still haven't actually won anything. I guess I am mostly just curious if anyone else has applied for this grant, and if being a recent undergrad will have a negative effect on my application. I know that they prefer candidates with a few years of experience, however I will be graduating in May of 2016 and the proposed grant will begin in September of 2016. I do have extensive experience that boosts my resume (i.e. I have interned within the governmental sector for almost a year now, I have developed and run my own yoga program for children in group homes around my city, and my major [public health] closely aligns with my proposed field of study [public administration]) -- all in all, I am just nervous and living on a prayer(:

Congrats! I didn't apply to the Bocconi program, but only the Study/Research program for Italy.

I am also nervous and praying that I win one of the 14 Fulbright grants. Haha. Best of luck to you!

Have you been to Italy yet? 

[Dostoprimechatel'nosti]

I had a dream last night that when our respective countries made their final decisions, IIE airdropped letters to us from helicopters.  When I received mine, I was chosen as an alternate again.  Ugh, so tragic!  And all this time, I thought that I was so much more calm this application season.  

[pooful]

To the people who submitted their transcripts electronically:

What is the email address you sent them to? I just want to make sure I didn't goof up and send them to the wrong address. Thanks! 

[Dilemma1]

11 hours ago, Dostoprimechatel'nosti said:

I had a dream last night that when our respective countries made their final decisions, IIE airdropped letters to us from helicopters.  When I received mine, I was chosen as an alternate again.  Ugh, so tragic!  And all this time, I thought that I was so much more calm this application season.  

Airdropped letters would make this wait sooooo worth it....

[oco25721]

Just heard back yesterday that I was not recommended for the next round for a Clinton Fulbright

I think I was cutting it too close to the five consecutive years of residency abroad (and I'm still abroad) so I probably shouldn't be too surprised.

Best of luck to everyone left!!

[sat0ri]

On 1/26/2016 at 7:38 AM, emiliajulia said:

I'm so glad that this forum is here!  I'm a semi-finalist for the study/research grant in Poland (actually received the recommendation notification while having a beer in downtown Warsaw, which was nice).

And thus begins the waiting game...

 

19 hours ago, emiliajulia said:

I just got an email requesting a Skype interview with the committee in Poland; naturally they scheduled my interview for the one hour of the week when I'm teaching a class and really truly am not available. Here's hoping they'll be flexible!  Has anyone got any interview tips?

So that was a very short waiting game haha (less than 48 hours?)... but congratulations! It sounds to me like you're the first on this board to get an interview invite.

What did it say in the email? How long is the interview supposed to last?

As far as interview tips I'd say 2 things I would add--which are exclusively based off what I read in this thread--are:
1) Someone here said something to the effect of, if you have an interview, they already have in mind if you are a principal or alternate and the interview is just to make sure you don't bomb. So, if you are a principal, a bad interview could knock you down to alternate or even nonselect. However, if you an alternate a good interview will not bump you up (comparatively it's less likely). Provided this is valid information, to me, I would take this as a bode of confidence, that your fate is already determined to an extent so don't over stress about making a big, positive splash on the interview; just be confident enough to not totally fall apart because it is mostly out of you hands at that point. This information (if true) should ease some of the pressure of the interview.
2) Again I'm getting this info through this thread, people have cited in the past how important having strong affiliations with the host location. So apart from having everything in your application totally down pat, I'd pay special attention strengthening you reasoning of, in your case, "why Poland?" and really be well prepared to knock that particular question out of the park.

Again, just my thoughts, hope my two cents adds up to more than nonsense!

Edited January 28, 2016 by sat0ri

[emiliajulia]

2 hours ago, sat0ri said:

 

So that was a very short waiting game haha (less than 48 hours?)... but congratulations! It sounds to me like you're the first on this board to get an interview invite.

What did it say in the email? How long is the interview supposed to last?

[edited for space]

Again, just my thoughts, hope my two cents adds up to more than nonsense!

I received the initial notification on the 15th, and the interview invite yesterday. The coordinator for Fulbright Poland hasn't responded to me re: changing the interview time though, so not sure that's a good sign--but here's hoping for the best! It's a 15 minute Skype interview, and the email was pretty straightforward, with an invitation to interview, assigned timeslot, and request for my skype login. 

And thanks a ton for the advice! It's a really helpful perspective and much appreciated! ("Why Poland" is a question I have to answer every time I explain my work, so hopefully I can field that one by this point....)

[salmazahran1992]

On October 31, 2015 at 7:43 PM, Dreams said:

 

Judging by your posts, I think you need to first make a decision on what is more important for you: either getting into an ivy league (or other "prestigious") school or getting into a school that stands out in your field and will prepare you for what comes next.  The Fulbright committee in the end is going to choose the school that would be the best fit for what you want to study and your goals based on your application.  They also say to be flexible, as almost everyone want to go to an ivy. 

Actually it would not have been a problem if I am not interested in a program unfortunately placed in the Ivy league. Don't get me wrong I am from Egypt, and I did not know what columbia was  I came across this program and then found out that it was at Columbia, which was an Ivy league  So, it is not about the looks and prestige! 

[TianaL]

On January 27, 2016 at 8:33 AM, wildchartermage said:

Congrats! I didn't apply to the Bocconi program, but only the Study/Research program for Italy.

I am also nervous and praying that I win one of the 14 Fulbright grants. Haha. Best of luck to you!

Have you been to Italy yet? 

Thank you! I hope that you win as well! It is so nerve-wracking waiting around for a response XD 

I went to Italy for a semester of undergrad in Milan, only for 3 months -- I would really love the chance to be there longer, experience and see so much more than I got to in my small time there. Have you been to Italy before??

[Dilemma1]

Fellow UK applicants have you already applied for your partnership universities?  

 

Here's the google sheet link again if anyone wants to add any information:

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AlU2xDiiVhQjK3quPy6qXJuhgXYghzzG8L4YNT0unX0/edit#gid=1893879233

 

 

[wildchartermage]

3 hours ago, TianaL said:

Thank you! I hope that you win as well! It is so nerve-wracking waiting around for a response XD 

I went to Italy for a semester of undergrad in Milan, only for 3 months -- I would really love the chance to be there longer, experience and see so much more than I got to in my small time there. Have you been to Italy before??

Yep, at least twice since last year!

Good luck to all of you guys!

[lyonessrampant]

22 hours ago, TianaL said:

Thank you! I hope that you win as well! It is so nerve-wracking waiting around for a response XD 

I went to Italy for a semester of undergrad in Milan, only for 3 months -- I would really love the chance to be there longer, experience and see so much more than I got to in my small time there. Have you been to Italy before??

Hi Tiana,

I also am a research semi-finalist to Italy.  A colleague in my Ph.D. program did the ETA to Italy and loved it.  I hope you receive the award.  Best of luck to all of us

[Tahlain]

Just got a UK phone interview invite!

[busybee]

On Monday I received a hit on my academia.edu page from Washington DC, yet I've applied to no graduate schools anywhere nearby DC.

Could this be the committee checking on my background?

[Carterware]

4 hours ago, Tahlain said:

Just got a UK phone interview invite!

Congrats! So did all the phone interviews go out today? 

[Tahlain]

1 minute ago, Carterware said:

Congrats! So did all the phone interviews go out today? 

Based on last year, I'm assuming not. They seemed to be staggered.

[Carterware]

1 minute ago, Tahlain said:

Based on last year, I'm assuming not. They seemed to be staggered.

I know a friend of mine got theirs today, so I don't think it's looking good for me. Were they staggered last year? Also is it possible they would award the grant without an interview? 

[Tahlain]

1 minute ago, Carterware said:

I know a friend of mine got theirs today, so I don't think it's looking good for me. Were they staggered last year? Also is it possible they would award the grant without an interview? 

Yes to both questions, I think. But I'm not entirely sure on either. It may depend upon the Partnership.

[sat0ri]

56 minutes ago, Carterware said:

I know a friend of mine got theirs today, so I don't think it's looking good for me. Were they staggered last year? Also is it possible they would award the grant without an interview? 

Was your friend applying to UK partnership or open award? Do you know what university they applied to?

[Carterware]

4 hours ago, sat0ri said:

Was your friend applying to UK partnership or open award? Do you know what university they applied to?

It was a UK Partnership award. I'm not sure which university though...

[sat0ri]

@Writer86 Did you receive an interview invite?

[bgp5]

Is there always an interview for the UK awards? Has there been a situation where a student is awarded w/o an interview? 

 

Thanks! 

[Carterware]

17 hours ago, Tahlain said:

Yes to both questions, I think. But I'm not entirely sure on either. It may depend upon the Partnership.

18 hours ago, Tahlain said:

Based on last year, I'm assuming not. They seemed to be staggered.

I just got my UK interview invitation today! Thanks for keeping me sane yesterday! 

[brown06]

UK Open award semi-finalist here, anyone up for this award receive their interview notification? 

[sat0ri]

7 hours ago, brown06 said:

UK Open award semi-finalist here, anyone up for this award receive their interview notification? 

Hey there, also an UK open award semifinalist (see Google doc) and I have not received any interview invites yet. Have you received an interview invitation?? I'm guessing not by the fact you are asking. I'm fairly worried myself based on seeing all these UK partnership awards being sent out, but based on last year final decisions notifications open awards might be sent later.

@Writer86 was also a semifinalist but s/he hasn't been on the cafe since their original posts. Earlier in the thread we were wondering how many open award semifinalist there were. They say 1.5-2 amount of the awards (so 3-4) but open awards might be different given the low numbers (so more interviews would be feasible) and high competition (more qualified applicants).