Fulbright 2016 - 2017

[kafcat]

But either way congratulations to all of the new grantees!!!!!!!!!! This will be the best year of your life I can assure you of it!!

[centillion]

3 hours ago, kafcat said:

 

I heard of Fulbright literally my senior year as I was writing my undergrad thesis...so writing a proposal for the research Fulbright seemed daunting. Additionally, I think Fulbright advisors at some universities take pride in that they are a high producing fulbright university and they want to keep that label..so they highly encourage students to apply for the ETA. My advisor even told me that it would increase my chances of going to a PhD program! I don't regret anything about the Fulbright experience since it has been the best year of my life! But, had I known that it would do literally nothing except give me a label for the rest of my life, I would have applied for the research grant. Now that you're in the PhD, do you know if we can apply for the research grant later on for dissertation purposes? I have heard both, yes and no (mostly yes). 

Also another very important thing for future Fulbriyhters. Having the Fulbright label does NOT automatically open doors for you. People outside of academia/education/do not generally know Fulbright. Upon return I had a hard time trying to convince employers that Fulbright is a legit program as opposed to a backpacking trip in Europe. You want to go to as many networking events as possible in your host country so that you can put something else in your resume other than just "teaching english." I think there is this sadly common misconception (also echoed by Fulbright) that once you get the grant, you will have access to all sorts of things. The reality is a lot more different. My fellow Fulbrighters also had a hard time looking for a job back home while applying for grad programs. 

I mean obviously, ETA is not prestigious or all that competitive since you're primarily just teaching English.

[theonionman]

3 hours ago, kafcat said:

Now that you're in the PhD, do you know if we can apply for the research grant later on for dissertation purposes? I have heard both, yes and no (mostly yes).

Haha who told you "no"? You absolutely can (and should!) apply for the research grant for dissertation purposes. That's what I'm doing, and I'm by no means alone among my cohort. I'm a little out of the ordinary because I already did a Fulbright research grant, right after undergrad, but that was 1) some years ago and 2) in a different (though nearby) country. That said, I know of cases where people have received multiple research grants to go to the same country, so it really just depends.

 

The only thing to keep in mind about dissertation research is that there's a separate Fulbright grant, the Fulbright-Hays, specifically for that purpose. Unfortunately it's something of a red-headed stepchild as far as Congress is concerned, and requires its own separate appropriations process every year, which basically means that there's only about a six-week window between the announcement and the due date. And depending on the year it may not happen at all! Furthermore, even if it does happen, and you manage to get your application in on time, the timing is extremely strange; you're never going to hear whether you got the Fulbright-Hays until after you would have had to make a decision on any regular Fulbright you may have been offered, meaning the Hays is only relevant for people who 1) were rejected or 2) didn't get an application in. The truly crazy part? Notwithstanding all of the above, the Fulbright-Hays dissertation research grant is the most prestigious student-level Fulbright grant.

[matsukoDELUXE]

On 3/24/2016 at 4:59 PM, kyjin said:

I downloaded the document from their website and filled out everything on their computer, then saved as a docx. I doubt they care about our handwriting; the sample was typed after all. For my photo, I just took a recent photo of my profile where I'm smiling and in a nice top, though I don't think it particularly matters if we go for a more formal photo or not. I'm sure if they want something else, they'll let us know! 

Ughh...Thanks!  Of course I could just type in the document downloaded from the website!!  Just about to send it off to JUSEC.  Thanks!

[busybee]

16 hours ago, centillion said:

I mean obviously, ETA is not prestigious or all that competitive since you're primarily just teaching English.

I don't think so. The acceptance rate for my country is about 10%, and after I found out that I was a semi-finalist, I let the schools to which I was applying know. The professors with whom I was corresponding were very impressed. Not to mention, in my country, ETAs are expected to work only about 20 hours each week, and are highly encouraged to conduct their own research while on the fellowship. If I reapplied to graduate school with it, I would certainly talk about it in my statement of purpose and interviews--the experience of teaching preparing me professionally, what I learned about the culture and language (a necessity for my doctoral work) for nearly a year abroad, and the research I conducted which would undoubtedly be connected to my future dissertation work. I don't think the admissions committees would brush it off as, "She only taught English and learned nothing, what a useless Fulbright." I wouldn't want to go to a school where people are that elitist, anyway. 

The ETA was a good option for me, as well, since I was working on graduate school applications and was abroad at the time. I need graduate school training before I can really conduct the kind of research I want to do, anyway, so a research award for this cycle was totally implausible. And I am sure you are probably all correct that the award wouldn't be given much weight for a career in academia--and solely written on a CV with no context, I can see that--but in different context, during an interview or in a statement of purpose for example, I think even the ETA award could hold a lot of weight and merit. 

[kafcat]

3 hours ago, busybee said:

I don't think so. The acceptance rate for my country is about 10%, and after I found out that I was a semi-finalist, I let the schools to which I was applying know. The professors with whom I was corresponding were very impressed. Not to mention, in my country, ETAs are expected to work only about 20 hours each week, and are highly encouraged to conduct their own research while on the fellowship. If I reapplied to graduate school with it, I would certainly talk about it in my statement of purpose and interviews--the experience of teaching preparing me professionally, what I learned about the culture and language (a necessity for my doctoral work) for nearly a year abroad, and the research I conducted which would undoubtedly be connected to my future dissertation work. I don't think the admissions committees would brush it off as, "She only taught English and learned nothing, what a useless Fulbright." I wouldn't want to go to a school where people are that elitist, anyway. 

The ETA was a good option for me, as well, since I was working on graduate school applications and was abroad at the time. I need graduate school training before I can really conduct the kind of research I want to do, anyway, so a research award for this cycle was totally implausible. And I am sure you are probably all correct that the award wouldn't be given much weight for a career in academia--and solely written on a CV with no context, I can see that--but in different context, during an interview or in a statement of purpose for example, I think even the ETA award could hold a lot of weight and merit. 

Completely agree with this, I was just speaking for people who get the Fulbright ETA and do nothing on the side. I was pretty lucky to engage in conferences and community outreach in my country which helped my applications. But from what I have heard, an ETA is not as impressive as a research grant in order to get into PhD programs. Maybe other grad programs, yes, ( I had a couple of fulbright friends that got into the foreign service programs, law school, teacher's college, etc). 

[GK Chesterton]

Hi all, does anyone know what the stipends look like for PhD-level finalists who get research grants for western Europe? Mine is for Germany, but perhaps it's comparable with France, Italy and the UK?

[wildchartermage]

47 minutes ago, GK Chesterton said:

Hi all, does anyone know what the stipends look like for PhD-level finalists who get research grants for western Europe? Mine is for Germany, but perhaps it's comparable with France, Italy and the UK?

What kind of grants?

I'm a finalist for Italy Study/Research grant..and the amount is €13,800 for 9 months. 

[GK Chesterton]

Thanks for your response -- it's a study / research grant. I talked to friends who have had Fulbright grants for Austria, and they report receiving 920 euro / month (which it is hard to imagine being enough to live on). 

I've now received a few letters from them, but still haven't heard an actual number on the monthly stipend. 

[wildchartermage]

8 minutes ago, GK Chesterton said:

Thanks for your response -- it's a study / research grant. I talked to friends who have had Fulbright grants for Austria, and they report receiving 920 euro / month (which it is hard to imagine being enough to live on). 

I've now received a few letters from them, but still haven't heard an actual number on the monthly stipend. 

wow, €920 per month? That's not enough to live in Europe.

I did get an email from the Italy Fulbright Commission telling me they are going to give me €13,800 for 9 to 10 months, which is not too bad. Maybe it differs for each Fulbright Commission on the amount they give to you.

By the way, I assume this isn't just whether you're a PhD student or not. I actually only have a B.S. degree and managed to get a research/study grant.

[kafcat]

18 minutes ago, GK Chesterton said:

Thanks for your response -- it's a study / research grant. I talked to friends who have had Fulbright grants for Austria, and they report receiving 920 euro / month (which it is hard to imagine being enough to live on). 

I've now received a few letters from them, but still haven't heard an actual number on the monthly stipend. 

The stipend depends on the cost of living. Depending on where your friend is placed, Austria can be significantly cheaper than Italy. 

[GK Chesterton]

Vienna. But I have a hard time believing there are places where 920 euro a month is anything other than "scraping by". 

Also, I believe the rates are set to a large extent independently by the Fulbright Commission in each country -- so while some countries do vary the stipend based on cost of living, not all do, and they certainly aren't varied across countries on that basis. France's Fulbright Commission pays substantially more than the German one (50% more or better), for example, regardless of where one lives  Incidentally, the Italian grant that wildchartermage received is precisely one that doesn't vary based on the cost of living. 

[kafcat]

@sierra918 what's wrong with my post about the cost of living lol? 

Anyways, that information I got it from the fulbright commission that I was part of, but maybe @GK Chesterton has it right also. 

Edited March 28, 2016 by kafcat

[sierra918]

24 minutes ago, kafcat said:

@sierra918 what's wrong with my post about the cost of living lol? 

Anyways, that information I got it from the fulbright commission that I was part of, but maybe @GK Chesterton has it right also. 

My apologies! That was a total accident. It's corrected now!

[L08]

Does anyone know whether you can delay the start date of the full grant? (Not to the next academic year, which I know is not allowed.)

Edited March 28, 2016 by L08

[Swingin_Sween]

The waiting is beginning to wear on me. I just got a job working for the USDA in Hawaii and I have to let them know within a few weeks, so I am hoping we all find out ASAP.

 

Anyone else in a similar position with a job offer or grad school?

Edited March 28, 2016 by Swingin_Sween

[justme17]

6 hours ago, L08 said:

Does anyone know whether you can delay the start date of the full grant? (Not to the next academic year, which I know is not allowed.)

It depends on the grant! For an ETA or study grant, probably not - you're pretty much tied to their academic year. For research, take a look at what your country says under "Grant Period." Some will say something like "Research grants will begin on September 1, 2016." Others will say something like "All grantees must arrive prior to March 2017." If your grant is in that last category, there's a good chance you can work with your host country's commission to arrange a start date that works well for you.

Edited March 28, 2016 by justme17

[2014_FSU_Seminole]

1 hour ago, Swingin_Sween said:

The waiting is beginning to wear on me. I just got a job working for the USDA in Hawaii and I have to let them know within a few weeks, so I am hoping we all find out ASAP.

 

Anyone else in a similar position with a job offer or grad school?

I am in a similar position. My pursuit of employment has basically been "on hold" for the last few months waiting for this notification from Fulbright, so this email can't come fast enough!

[kbui]

23 hours ago, wildchartermage said:

wow, €920 per month? That's not enough to live in Europe.

I did get an email from the Italy Fulbright Commission telling me they are going to give me €13,800 for 9 to 10 months, which is not too bad. Maybe it differs for each Fulbright Commission on the amount they give to you.

By the way, I assume this isn't just whether you're a PhD student or not. I actually only have a B.S. degree and managed to get a research/study grant.

For its "prestige," Fulbright doesn't really provide a lot of money. It's a bare necessities type of grant, though it comes with a lot of connections professional opportunities during the grant and post-grant.

[chelliott]

3 hours ago, Swingin_Sween said:

The waiting is beginning to wear on me. I just got a job working for the USDA in Hawaii and I have to let them know within a few weeks, so I am hoping we all find out ASAP.

 

Anyone else in a similar position with a job offer or grad school?

I was chosen as a semi-finalist for ETA Norway and after the interview the coordinator said that if I had another offer for the things I was applying for, I could shoot her an email and let her know and she'd push the wheels of the bureaucracy bus. I'm not sure if this applies to other folks and it is frustrating to know that the bureaucracy bus can be pushed (implies it's not already going full speed). Maybe contact your campus advisor, if there is one? Seems like a legitimate reason to get the notification quicker. 

Definitely feeling the stress of not having received that email yet!

[clueless801]

Just got the incredibly sad email that all programs to Bangladesh are being suspended for the 2016-2017 year due to credible security threats. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it because I know this is for the best interest of citizens (especially given recent events) but I was looking really forward being able to go. Right now, I'm still on my study abroad in Spain without any plan of action for when I get back in a few weeks. Any of you have advice?

[emiliajulia]

Congrats to new grantees, and solidarity to those still waiting!

for those of you who've already received your full detail package--did this come via email or snail mail? I've been checking both compulsively, it'd be nice to just worry about one mail box! 

[jenrd]

17 minutes ago, clueless801 said:

Just got the incredibly sad email that all programs to Bangladesh are being suspended for the 2016-2017 year due to credible security threats. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it because I know this is for the best interest of citizens (especially given recent events) but I was looking really forward being able to go. Right now, I'm still on my study abroad in Spain without any plan of action for when I get back in a few weeks. Any of you have advice?

Sorry to hear that, about a year ago I was all ready to leave for the Peace Corps only to get a similar email saying that my particular program had been cancelled due to security threats. I found this out with just a couple months to go. It is such a let down. It is hard to give too much advice on plan of action since I don't know what you are studying/want to study or what field you work in, but I do know that you will figure something out because I did when my program was cancelled for the Peace Corps. I just know what you are feeling right now, and it is a huge let down.

[kyjin]

1 hour ago, kbui said:

For its "prestige," Fulbright doesn't really provide a lot of money. It's a bare necessities type of grant, though it comes with a lot of connections professional opportunities during the grant and post-grant.

It really depends on each country's commission though. For example, my package is incredibly generous, and I've spoken to previous Fulbrighters in the same country who have saved money on their stipend. 

1 hour ago, emiliajulia said:

for those of you who've already received your full detail package--did this come via email or snail mail? I've been checking both compulsively, it'd be nice to just worry about one mail box! 

Mine came via snail mail about a week after my original notification. This should come from your country's Fulbright commission, not IIE, if that helps!

[nehagreddy]

Any Fulbright in India applicants getting exhausted from waiting and waiting :'((