Fulbright 2010-2011

[Jason Thorpe Buchanan]

I will be going to Germany, and my primary affiliation is the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Anyone else on here going to be in the area? Also, does anyone have any suggestions for finding housing this far in advance as suggested in the letter?

Thanks so much and good luck to all.

[BMCGirl10]

I found out yesterday that I will be going to Russia on an ETA - I'm very excited. Congrats to everyone who has heard, and good luck to those who are still waiting.

Congrats! You're the only Fulbright applicant for Russia that I've noticed - if you could put your information on the spreadsheet for next year's applicants that would be great!

[Mfrancais]

Hi all,

I filled out my information on the spreadsheet (smanon for France ETA). I have not heard notification, but noticed that my slot had been filled in to say "accepted" on 3/27. Did someone accidentally post there? Has someone been notified about a France ETA? Let me know please! Thanks.

[Sally]

Hi all,

I filled out my information on the spreadsheet (smanon for France ETA). I have not heard notification, but noticed that my slot had been filled in to say "accepted" on 3/27. Did someone accidentally post there? Has someone been notified about a France ETA? Let me know please! Thanks.

Mfrancais --

As admin of the spreadsheet I can look at the "Revision history" and see the order that changes were made (although i can't see who made them unless they were logged into a google account.) In this case, I can't see who made any of the changes, but I can tell you this order of things:

It looks like you created the "manon" name yesterday.

Then, later the same day, someone created another name called "smanon" directly below yours and imput the info about being accepted. At the same time they change the colors (presumably by mistake), so that your entry is highlighted in grey and green, as if you were accepted but with no additional info imput.

Then, someone went to turn your entry back to white; and then it appears they inadvertantly moved your country name into your "name" feild. So your name changed from "manon" to "France" and your country field was left blank.

Anyway... long story short, it looks like "Smanon" is a different person, who apparently did receive notification about his status for a France ETA position. I am changing your name back to "manon".

Also, here's a link to the spreadsheet for anyone who needs a link and doesn't want to go back several pages: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Avu5CeaRG24EdGFXVzh4aUt2ZTFUbTZPdzZiSGRoWUE&hl=en

Edited March 29, 2010 by Sally

[Mfrancais]

Mfrancais --

As admin of the spreadsheet I can look at the "Revision history" and see the order that changes were made (although i can't see who made them unless they were logged into a google account.) In this case, I can't see who made any of the changes, but I can tell you this order of things:

It looks like you created the "manon" name yesterday.

Then, later the same day, someone created another name called "smanon" directly below yours and imput the info about being accepted. At the same time they change the colors (presumably by mistake), so that your entry is highlighted in grey and green, as if you were accepted but with no additional info imput.

Then, someone went to turn your entry back to white; and then it appears they inadvertantly moved your country name into your "name" feild. So your name changed from "manon" to "France" and your country field was left blank.

Anyway... long story short, it looks like "Smanon" is a different person, who apparently did receive notification about his status for a France ETA position. I am changing your name back to "manon".

Also, here's a link to the spreadsheet for anyone who needs a link and doesn't want to go back several pages: https://spreadsheets...ZiSGRoWUE&hl=en

Thanks for clearing that up, Sally! It looks as though decisions may be out so I'll be running to check the mail tomorrow...

[cLeveLand88]

Nope, my institution wasn't part of CSC. I had to get my affiliation to ask the Foreign Affairs Office at the university to ask what it would take to admit a Fulbright visiting student, but that was all I had to do so far. Which university are you applying to? I put my affiliation as Shenzhen University.

Hey, my affiliation was Nanjing Normal University. Sorry for the late reply, I just came back from spring break and had zero internet access. I have this hope that we might hear back sooner this year because a lot of Europe decisions seem to have been made earlier than previous years, but who knows? I wonder if they have made their decisions yet, I assume they have around 100-140ish applications to go through (with there being 70 available grants and all).

Here's a question for anyone: I'm in that sticky Fulbright situation where I have to get back to a job about whether or not I will be working for them pretty soon. There's no set reply date but they are putting the pressure on. I'm afraid if I don't let them know soon they will rescind the offer. I am hesitant to ask the Fulbright Asia coordinator because he's been pretty vague and he might just get annoyed, since I already emailed him two weeks ago. I'm not sure what to do (other than obsessively check my mail and hope decisions will come soon). Is it ok to call and ask if decisions have been made?

Edited March 29, 2010 by d4zy588

[bobmarshall]

just got acceptance to mexico. zacatecas, here i come.

[Ahab]

It's a new week! C'mon East Asia and Pacific notifications, it is time for some good news!

[gurl2561]

It's a new week! C'mon East Asia and Pacific notifications, it is time for some good news!

For real! I just had to ask for an extension on a scholarship from another program.

[L08]

I am still waiting to hear on a France full grant, and received contradictory e-mail responses from the Fulbright office: One stating that my letter had been sent to my present rather than permanent address (I thought it should have been sent to the latter), and another one -- an hour later -- asking whether I had received an e-mail notification about my status at the end of January (of course I did!).

Edited March 29, 2010 by L08

[zymurgist]

Hi everyone;

My colleague received an acceptance letter to Germany ETA postmarked March 19.

I have other colleagues who applied directly to the Austrian Commission for ETAs (w/ the deadline of Jan. 15); anyone also apply to that? Any word?

Thanks in advance for any response.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

[steph_me]

Hi everyone;

My colleague received an acceptance letter to Germany ETA postmarked March 19.

I have other colleagues who applied directly to the Austrian Commission for ETAs (w/ the deadline of Jan. 15); anyone also apply to that? Any word?

Thanks in advance for any response.

Best,

jim the zymurgist

Hey, so I am a German ETA who just got notified of my acceptance a week ago!!! I also applied for the Austrian one you are referring to. We are supposed to hear back from them by the end of April, so nothing yet.

[Johnnyquest2009]

I feel for everyone in this long wait. I run to the mailbox every evening. I do realize that it might take alot longer . I spent time last night looking at the 2009-2010 board and many didnt hear until May. I hope I am not one of those.

[Sally]

Hey, my affiliation was Nanjing Normal University. Sorry for the late reply, I just came back from spring break and had zero internet access. I have this hope that we might hear back sooner this year because a lot of Europe decisions seem to have been made earlier than previous years, but who knows? I wonder if they have made their decisions yet, I assume they have around 100-140ish applications to go through (with there being 70 available grants and all).

Here's a question for anyone: I'm in that sticky Fulbright situation where I have to get back to a job about whether or not I will be working for them pretty soon. There's no set reply date but they are putting the pressure on. I'm afraid if I don't let them know soon they will rescind the offer. I am hesitant to ask the Fulbright Asia coordinator because he's been pretty vague and he might just get annoyed, since I already emailed him two weeks ago. I'm not sure what to do (other than obsessively check my mail and hope decisions will come soon). Is it ok to call and ask if decisions have been made?

I would tell the person who offered you the job your situation. Or if you feel like you can't do that I would try to stall as long as you can. If it comes to the point where you can't stall anymore, I would accept the job, then quit if you end up getting the Fulbright (unless you think the job is the better opportunity.) Sure, they probably won't want to hire you when you get back. But hopefully there will be other employers out there who will appreciate your Fulbright experience.

I have never heard of anyone successfully getting advance information from Fulbright about their award status. I probably wouldn't bother -- but you can try if you want!

[Pooja_2010]

Hey guys,

I called Cara Doble today and she explained how the application process works...

1) All applications sent to IIE in New York to determine finalists. (This happened last fall, and we were notified of decisions end of January.)

2) All finalist applications are sent SIMULTANEOUSLY to the respective Fulbright commissions abroad and to the FSB in DC. The FSB does not meet in person to make the decisions, nor does the entire board see all of the applications. Each member is assigned several countries' applications that they look at, and there are only two or three board members looking at each application. For example, two or three members of the FSB are currently viewing the India finalist applications. Instead of meeting in person, the members receive the applications (through mail I suppose) and they then make their decisions independently and forward it to the Program Managers for each region. This is an ongoing process, and as soon as the Program Manager has received both the decision of the commission abroad as well as the decisions made from the two or three FSB members who were appointed to decide on that particular country, the decisions can be mailed out to us.

While this may overlap quite a bit, the Fulbright commissions abroad predominantly make their decisions based on what projects could help their country while the FSB members are more concerned about the feasibility and logistics of the proposed projects.

Quick updates-

- While the India commission abroad has made their decisions, we are still waiting for the decisions from the FSB members. She said hopefully, decisions will be mailed out in the next couple of weeks.

- Also, the last batch of notification letters for Germany were sent out last week. (She told me to let any of my friends who applied to Germany know; guess she is now using me as a messenger....lol)

Hope this clarifies some of the confusion about the process. Good luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet!!

[ccaraway]

Hey, my affiliation was Nanjing Normal University. Sorry for the late reply, I just came back from spring break and had zero internet access. I have this hope that we might hear back sooner this year because a lot of Europe decisions seem to have been made earlier than previous years, but who knows? I wonder if they have made their decisions yet, I assume they have around 100-140ish applications to go through (with there being 70 available grants and all).

After reading your post I got inspired to call up Mr. Akeley's office and badger them about our notification date. The guy wasn't in but his secretary said, "We're just waiting to hear from them." Couldn't even confirm that we'd hear in April! I wish the Asia-Pacific region had someone like Rachel Holskin or anyone who's just more open about our statuses.

[BMCGirl10]

After reading your post I got inspired to call up Mr. Akeley's office and badger them about our notification date. The guy wasn't in but his secretary said, "We're just waiting to hear from them." Couldn't even confirm that we'd hear in April! I wish the Asia-Pacific region had someone like Rachel Holskin or anyone who's just more open about our statuses.

I just talked to Rachel and she was super nice. Let me know that decisions for Lithuania still hadn't been made and I'll hear in mid-late April.

[jtb01]

Hey guys,

I called Cara Doble today and she explained how the application process works...

1) All applications sent to IIE in New York to determine finalists. (This happened last fall, and we were notified of decisions end of January.)

2) All finalist applications are sent SIMULTANEOUSLY to the respective Fulbright commissions abroad and to the FSB in DC. The FSB does not meet in person to make the decisions, nor does the entire board see all of the applications. Each member is assigned several countries' applications that they look at, and there are only two or three board members looking at each application. For example, two or three members of the FSB are currently viewing the India finalist applications. Instead of meeting in person, the members receive the applications (through mail I suppose) and they then make their decisions independently and forward it to the Program Managers for each region. This is an ongoing process, and as soon as the Program Manager has received both the decision of the commission abroad as well as the decisions made from the two or three FSB members who were appointed to decide on that particular country, the decisions can be mailed out to us.

While this may overlap quite a bit, the Fulbright commissions abroad predominantly make their decisions based on what projects could help their country while the FSB members are more concerned about the feasibility and logistics of the proposed projects.

Quick updates-

- While the India commission abroad has made their decisions, we are still waiting for the decisions from the FSB members. She said hopefully, decisions will be mailed out in the next couple of weeks.

- Also, the last batch of notification letters for Germany were sent out last week. (She told me to let any of my friends who applied to Germany know; guess she is now using me as a messenger....lol)

Hope this clarifies some of the confusion about the process. Good luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet!!

Hi Pooja,

So she said that a handful of the FSB board will review their set of applications independently? That does not sit well with me as individual reviews could result in high selection bias. I would have imagined the process to be more structured so that the group of FSB members were together when they reviewed their given apps. I guess it is out of our hands at this point though and all we can do is hope for the best. Good luck!

[L08]

I am still waiting to hear on a France full grant, and received contradictory e-mail responses from the Fulbright office: One stating that my letter had been sent to my present rather than permanent address (I thought it should have been sent to the latter), and another one -- an hour later -- asking whether I had received an e-mail notification about my status at the end of January (of course I did!).

Well, I called, and they're going to reissue my letter to my permanent address -- so, more waiting for me, especially as I'm in a different time zone from it!

Edited March 29, 2010 by L08

[cLeveLand88]

I would tell the person who offered you the job your situation. Or if you feel like you can't do that I would try to stall as long as you can. If it comes to the point where you can't stall anymore, I would accept the job, then quit if you end up getting the Fulbright (unless you think the job is the better opportunity.) Sure, they probably won't want to hire you when you get back. But hopefully there will be other employers out there who will appreciate your Fulbright experience.

I have never heard of anyone successfully getting advance information from Fulbright about their award status. I probably wouldn't bother -- but you can try if you want!

Hmmm, it does seem logical to accept the job offer in case, but I think I'll call Mr. Akeley tomorrow just to try seeing if I could get some clearer information about decision notification dates?

After reading your post I got inspired to call up Mr. Akeley's office and badger them about our notification date. The guy wasn't in but his secretary said, "We're just waiting to hear from them." Couldn't even confirm that we'd hear in April! I wish the Asia-Pacific region had someone like Rachel Holskin or anyone who's just more open about our statuses.

So yeah, I'm going to try calling him tomorrow morning, I had another question regarding the CSC app anyway, so I'll try to drop in a quick, "How are China decisions coming along?" Who knows, maybe the response won't be terribly vague. Will update.

[5lions]

Thanks for this. I was e-mail with Cara today and she said the same thing, though she was a little less specific about the date we'd hear back. She said the country selections have been made [for Tajikistan] and they are waiting for board approval. One thing I did not clarify with her is whether decisions for the entire region go out all at once or they go out country by country.

I have applied at-large to Tajiksitan. Anyone else applying there?

Hey guys,

I called Cara Doble today and she explained how the application process works...

1) All applications sent to IIE in New York to determine finalists. (This happened last fall, and we were notified of decisions end of January.)

2) All finalist applications are sent SIMULTANEOUSLY to the respective Fulbright commissions abroad and to the FSB in DC. The FSB does not meet in person to make the decisions, nor does the entire board see all of the applications. Each member is assigned several countries' applications that they look at, and there are only two or three board members looking at each application. For example, two or three members of the FSB are currently viewing the India finalist applications. Instead of meeting in person, the members receive the applications (through mail I suppose) and they then make their decisions independently and forward it to the Program Managers for each region. This is an ongoing process, and as soon as the Program Manager has received both the decision of the commission abroad as well as the decisions made from the two or three FSB members who were appointed to decide on that particular country, the decisions can be mailed out to us.

While this may overlap quite a bit, the Fulbright commissions abroad predominantly make their decisions based on what projects could help their country while the FSB members are more concerned about the feasibility and logistics of the proposed projects.

Quick updates-

- While the India commission abroad has made their decisions, we are still waiting for the decisions from the FSB members. She said hopefully, decisions will be mailed out in the next couple of weeks.

- Also, the last batch of notification letters for Germany were sent out last week. (She told me to let any of my friends who applied to Germany know; guess she is now using me as a messenger....lol)

Hope this clarifies some of the confusion about the process. Good luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet!!

[Pooja_2010]

Thanks for this. I was e-mail with Cara today and she said the same thing, though she was a little less specific about the date we'd hear back. She said the country selections have been made [for Tajikistan] and they are waiting for board approval. One thing I did not clarify with her is whether decisions for the entire region go out all at once or they go out country by country.

I have applied at-large to Tajiksitan. Anyone else applying there?

Hi there,

Based on what Cara told me over the phone, the decisions go out country by country, not all at once for the entire region. Best of luck!

Pooja~

[Pooja_2010]

Hi Pooja,

So she said that a handful of the FSB board will review their set of applications independently? That does not sit well with me as individual reviews could result in high selection bias. I would have imagined the process to be more structured so that the group of FSB members were together when they reviewed their given apps. I guess it is out of our hands at this point though and all we can do is hope for the best. Good luck!

Hi,

Yea, that's what she told me. I agree, it does seem like there can be a relatively high amount of selection bias, however, I think it would take much longer for us to hear back if all the FSB members had to look at each individual application for each country. Anyway, all we can do now is keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Good luck!

Pooja~

[schatzie]

- Also, the last batch of notification letters for Germany were sent out last week. (She told me to let any of my friends who applied to Germany know; guess she is now using me as a messenger....lol)

Hope this clarifies some of the confusion about the process. Good luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet!!

Thank you for informing us! Just a quick question though. By Germany, did she mean full grants or ETAs?

Edited March 29, 2010 by schatzie

[rad81]

Hello all,

I have recently been considering writing a Fulbright submission for 2011 to Sweden. Does anyone know how competitive these full Fulbrights are? I know that England is the most competitive and Germany is probably the least because they offer so many but I haven't found too much information about Sweden. Are there any other fellowships for study abroad in Sweden for graduate studens (masters) that anyone knows about?

Thanks.