Fulbright 2010-2011

[kev]

Hey Rachel,

Wow, its so nice to hear back from another Fulbright finalist for India! Did you apply for the full grant or ETA?

I called Cara Doble again, and she told me that India has made their decisions and the recommended applications have been forwarded to the FSB board. She said we should ideally hear back by early April, but it could take as long as May. Keep me posted if you hear any more updates, and good luck!

- Pooja

Hey Pooja,

I applied for the ETA to India and the coordinator ( I forget his name) emailed me and told me we should be receiving letters from the middle to the end of March. Hopefully he wasn't lying to me

Best of luck to you!

Kevin

[Intaglio6]

I want to say all of them; the form says something like "fill out completely," and "do not leave anything blank." When I scheduled my appointment I said, "I need a full physical including blood work and x-rays." I'm preparing myself to be poked and prodded.

Oh and, as an uninsured student, it was almost completely impossible for me to get an appointment within the time frame allotted by IIE (within 3 weeks of receiving paperwork). That was exciting.

Best,

j the z

Any idea if these procedures can be done abroad?

[schatzie]

Any idea if these procedures can be done abroad?

I haven't received a letter yet, so I'm not completely sure. I think that all the procedures must been done here first and cleared by the State department.

J the Z, do you know how much the physical will cost? Hopefully not too much!

[Pooja_2010]

Hey Pooja,

I applied for the ETA to India and the coordinator ( I forget his name) emailed me and told me we should be receiving letters from the middle to the end of March. Hopefully he wasn't lying to me

Best of luck to you!

Kevin

Hey Kevin,

Thanks for the update! Do you know if ETA and full research grant applicants hear around the same time (I applied for the full research grant)? I am going to be checking my mailbox frantically from now on...

Good luck on your grant and keep us posted!

-Pooja

Edited March 22, 2010 by Pooja_2010

[zymurgist]

I haven't received a letter yet, so I'm not completely sure. I think that all the procedures must been done here first and cleared by the State department.

J the Z, do you know how much the physical will cost? Hopefully not too much!

One clinic said the physical (poking and prodding) would run me $150; x-rays and blood tests are additional.

Here is some advice I wish I would have received (back at the end of January) regarding the physical: if you are an uninsured student then as soon as you find out you are a finalist call a local clinic and schedule an appointment for a physical. Here are a couple of reasons why:

i) sometimes you can qualify for low-cost or free services, but the processing time for that takes around 5 weeks,

ii) sometimes just getting an appointment for a physical can be daunting (either there are no appointments available within the next few weeks or you start going down the list of local clinics and soon realize most of them can't see you soon enough for various reasons),

iii) if you find out you are not a FB recipient you can always just call and cancel your appointment (seems like there is no cancellation fee if you cancel with a 24 hour notice).

As a full grant recipient for Germany I only have 3 weeks to return my physical. I was not able to find anything within my area soon enough––I now have to travel a couple of hours back to my home town to have the physical done. And the earliest available appointment they had was for two weeks after I received my notification and physical eval forms––two weeks in feels like I'm cutting it close.

Hope this helps future candidates.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

Edited March 22, 2010 by zymurgist

[zachidacki]

I haven't received a letter yet, so I'm not completely sure. I think that all the procedures must been done here first and cleared by the State department.

J the Z, do you know how much the physical will cost? Hopefully not too much!

When I was going through the medical stuff for my Fulbright last year, the prices were ridiculous. My total turned out to be about $800 (full blood work, x-rays, the exam). Since I had had a full physical nearly a year before (but not quite), and since my insurance only allowed one a year, the costs were high. I talked to my Fellowships Office and my university paid. It's worth a shot to ask if money is an issue for you.

Edited March 22, 2010 by zachidacki

[kyjin]

Just got my letter from the NY office- alternate for Japan. I was hoping to be out-right rejected rather than having to wait longer. Does anyone know how to find out how you rank in the alternate pool?

[zymurgist]

Hi All,

I have a question about the grant amount: does anyone know the approximate amount of a Fulbright Full Grant to Germany (in US dollars)?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

[zymurgist]

Hi All,

I have a question about the grant amount: does anyone know the approximate amount of a Fulbright Full Grant to Germany (in US dollars)?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

In answer to my own question, it looks like it's between 750-1000 euros per month (http://www.fulbright.de/togermany/grants/student.html).

Does anyone have any experience with whether or not this is enough? --A colleague of mine is on Fulbright in the US and has said something like, she has already managed to spend her entire scholarship.

-jim

[BMCGirl10]

In answer to my own question, it looks like it's between 750-1000 euros per month (http://www.fulbright.de/togermany/grants/student.html).

Does anyone have any experience with whether or not this is enough? --A colleague of mine is on Fulbright in the US and has said something like, she has already managed to spend her entire scholarship.

-jim

My friend who did a Fulbright in Spain actually used her monthly stipend to support both herself and her significant other. He wasn't her fiancee then or her husband, so he wasn't counted as a dependent. If two people can do it - certainly one can.

[zymurgist]

My friend who did a Fulbright in Spain actually used her monthly stipend to support both herself and her significant other. He wasn't her fiancee then or her husband, so he wasn't counted as a dependent. If two people can do it - certainly one can.

Good to hear, and I do agree.

Thanks BMCGirl10.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

[mmclean0260]

In answer to my own question, it looks like it's between 750-1000 euros per month (http://www.fulbright...ts/student.html).

Does anyone have any experience with whether or not this is enough? --A colleague of mine is on Fulbright in the US and has said something like, she has already managed to spend her entire scholarship.

-jim

I think it will depend where in Germany you are placed. I studied abroad for a semester in Freiburg (close to the Swiss and French borders) and it was a little pricey, but have heard bigger cities like Berlin are cheaper (go figure right, not sure if that's just bad intel). I'm hoping they provide you with housing, which would be huge because, in Freiburg at least, a flat in a good location was very expensive. I lived in university housing and had about $700 USD to work with each month and I had to really live frugally, but I was over there when the dollar first tanked (about two years ago now. Wow, didn't realize till now how long its been haha) so that might have had something to do with it.

[Sally]

My friend who did a Fulbright in Spain actually used her monthly stipend to support both herself and her significant other. He wasn't her fiancee then or her husband, so he wasn't counted as a dependent. If two people can do it - certainly one can.

True. Although, isn't cost of living a bit less in Spain than in Germany?

The stipend for full grant recipients in Spain is 1345 euros per month. For ETA's its 1541.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Sally

[AngelaDS]

I applied to Australia, anyone know the status? Notification dates? Anything?

Thanks!

[zymurgist]

I think it will depend where in Germany you are placed. I studied abroad for a semester in Freiburg (close to the Swiss and French borders) and it was a little pricey, but have heard bigger cities like Berlin are cheaper (go figure right, not sure if that's just bad intel). I'm hoping they provide you with housing, which would be huge because, in Freiburg at least, a flat in a good location was very expensive. I lived in university housing and had about $700 USD to work with each month and I had to really live frugally, but I was over there when the dollar first tanked (about two years ago now. Wow, didn't realize till now how long its been haha) so that might have had something to do with it.

According to their website (linked previously), they provide you with housing when you get there, then I do believe you're on your own.

I stayed in Berlin for a couple of months about four years ago and was able to find awesome, cheap accomodations in a desirable kiez. I'm headed for a big city this go round and am hoping I can find a reasonably priced room again.

Also (and commenting to Sally here), 1375 is considerably more than 1000 euros.

I suppose though I could make it work if I find a room for under 200; that's 800 left over (if I'm on the high end of the award amount)--enough for one month's worth of living expenses.

The reason why I have wondering about the financial details is because I know Fulbright prohibits its full grantees from working while abroad, and they also deduct from the awarded amount if the grantee is receiving benefits (from other scholarships) that might overlap with the Fulbright benefits; I have an upcoming application deadline for some funding for next year and am wondering if I need to apply for it--that is to say, I am wondering if I have to supplement the Fulbright grant with other sources of income.

Best,

jim

[Cantwell]

Howdy; I'm new!

A friend in Ohio received his rejection letter this afternoon. He'd applied for an ETA to Germany. White business envelope. Originated in New York. Dated 19 March.

-C

[schatzie]

Howdy; I'm new!

A friend in Ohio received his rejection letter this afternoon. He'd applied for an ETA to Germany. White business envelope. Originated in New York. Dated 19 March.

-C

Welcome! Did you apply for a grant?

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. He can always try next year. Do you know if the FSB has made their final decisions for everyone? I had the impression that we would not receive notification until mid April or so.

[schatzie]

When I was going through the medical stuff for my Fulbright last year, the prices were ridiculous. My total turned out to be about $800 (full blood work, x-rays, the exam). Since I had had a full physical nearly a year before (but not quite), and since my insurance only allowed one a year, the costs were high. I talked to my Fellowships Office and my university paid. It's worth a shot to ask if money is an issue for you.

Yikes! That's a lot of money. I applied "at large" since I graduated last summer, so I definitely cannot have my college pay for it. I wonder if there's anyway to get the prices lowered. I'm uninsured and don't make a lot of money. :-(

Any suggestions folks?

[BMCGirl10]

Welcome! Did you apply for a grant?

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. He can always try next year. Do you know if the FSB has made their final decisions for everyone? I had the impression that we would not receive notification until mid April or so.

Hey Schatzie,

If you check the spreadsheet (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=taWW8xiKve1Tm6Ow6bHdhYA&hl=en) you'll notice that there are three Germany ETA notifications posted. An Alternate and two Acceptances. So my guess is you should be hearing right about now.

[klärchen]

Hi fellow Germany ETA-ers,

I was really surprised today to find a big manila envelope from New York waiting for me in the mailbox. I'm in Maine, and they sent it to my current address, not my permanent. I've been accepted and I'm in complete shock!!! Soooo get ready, folks, it's coming! We're so lucky to find out so soon--I, too, was expecting to hear sometime in April. Also, I've heard that it takes a while longer to hear about our exact placements within Germany. But still, this is great!

Good luck to you all!

[der Träumer]

...I feel like a dog. I'm parked outside my mailbox, ready to jump at the first sign of the mailman.

[schatzie]

...I feel like a dog. I'm parked outside my mailbox, ready to jump at the first sign of the mailman.

Me too!

[zymurgist]

Yikes! That's a lot of money. I applied "at large" since I graduated last summer, so I definitely cannot have my college pay for it. I wonder if there's anyway to get the prices lowered. I'm uninsured and don't make a lot of money. :-(

Any suggestions folks?

Hi Schatzie,

I think local low-cost, low-income clinics would be the way to go here (as I touched on in comment above).

The main concern with these options are

i) they are impacted so it may be more than 3 weeks for an appointment, and

ii) you'll probably have to qualify for low-cost/free services (which could take around 5 weeks).

I too am unisured and living off a very meager student income; had I known sooner about the amount of time it takes to receive these low-cost benefits I would have gotten the physical exam ball rolling much sooner.

Hope this helps.

Best,

jim the zym

[Cantwell]

Welcome! Did you apply for a grant?

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. He can always try next year. Do you know if the FSB has made their final decisions for everyone? I had the impression that we would not receive notification until mid April or so.

Yeah! They accepted me (, the fools)!

I'm in Houston. Very exciting. How fun it will be to meet you all.

-C

[edie]

Update for Latvia finalists:

According to Rachel Holskin, the Fulbright people (I don't know what officially to call them) are still waiting on approval from the FSB and approximated that around mid-April they will be issuing letters.

Question...

What is the FSB? Is this in the US?

Thanks in advance!!

Edited March 22, 2010 by sidewalkchalk