Fulbright 2010-2011

[Sally]

Hey everyone: General Question regarding the ETAs

I applied to the India ETA this year but was unfortunately rejected. I'm wondering if I should reapply next year and would like everyone's input. Here's my take: I have an extremely strong teaching background. I've taught English classes for middle and high school students who were from non-English speaking backgrounds as well as tons of private tutoring. In addition, I've taught 3 semesters of a sophomore level biology course in College as the primary teaching assistant (overall I've had over 500 students). I'm graduating with a BA in Art History and Archaeology as well as a BS in Neurobiology/Physiology.

The Fulbright coordinator at my university told me that for ETAs, an English or Education major is preferred but I called Cara Doble (the regional program director) and she said the FSB looks for this sort of diverse background which is probably why I was recommended to the host country. However, this is pure speculation, I think because my nationality is Chinese, I was not looked upon favorably by the decision makers in India. I mean, I do kind of understand if they feel kind of "uneasy" in letting a Chinese person teach English in India. I am extremely fascinated with India and would definitely want to go there to teach, but I don't want to be involved with this excruciatingly slow process again only to be rejected again.....

What do you guys think?

Thanks a ton.

Kevin,

Similar concerns have crossed my mind about my Middle Eastern background, but I really think they are unfounded. If you look at the Fulbright blog you'll see there are plenty of Fulbright ETA winners with various cultural backgrounds. We have to believe the people making the Fulbright decisions understand that a Chinese American is just as capable of teaching English as any other American who group up speaking the language. I would absolutely give it another shot next year. I would just take this extra time to get more feedback on your application and do all you can do to make your essays compelling and make yourself stand out. I know oftentimes the difference maker can be your knowledge of the native language. So that might be one area where you could improve. Having formal classes in the language on your application can make a big difference I think. (Which you may already have, I don't know..)

You might also look into other teach abroad programs. That way you'd have a fallback plan if you get turned down a second time from Fulbright, and could possibly still go to India! I don't know of any of programs in India off the top of my head (although they may exist). However, my friend had a great experience with the WorldTeach program in China. They also have a program in Bangladesh that you might consider: http://www.worldteach.org/

They have 15 yearlong programs in various countries/regions in Asia, South America and Africa, so others who don't get the Fulbright this year (or who are looking for another international experience the following year) might want to check it out.

At any rate, good luck Kevin. And never say die!

Sally

Edit: It's actually not too late to apply for a WorldTeach position in Bangladesh for this year! The deadline is June 1, but they said they accept applicants on rolling basis, so if you're interested you should apply ASAP! Here are the deadlines and departure dates for all the WorldTeach programs: http://www.worldteac.../deadlines.html

It sounds like the Bangladesh program is brand new: http://www.worldteac...angladesh_year/

You'd be helping with classes at a women's university. But it sounds like they accept both male and female volunteers for the position.

Also, if you were wondering, I know that in China, my friend was given a free fully furnished apartment in addition to the $300 a month stipend. Seems like the details of each country program is different though so I would ask about that..

Edited April 13, 2010 by Sally

[Anthro78]

Has anyone actually recieved their notification for Sub-Saharan Africa yet for the IIE? If so - was it just a letter or a package, or what? I am out of the country at the moment trying to tell people what to look for in the mail so any advice would be helpful.

[ccaraway]

Update for China applicants: called Jonathan, said the earliest he hoped letters would be sent out is the beginning of next week, and the latest would be the end of the month.

[BMCGirl10]

Has anyone actually recieved their notification for Sub-Saharan Africa yet for the IIE? If so - was it just a letter or a package, or what? I am out of the country at the moment trying to tell people what to look for in the mail so any advice would be helpful.

On the spreadsheet Niger, South Africa, Ghana, and Malawi all received their notification. Two of those Accepted received a large envelope, the Alternates a regular business sized envelope.

[ssa2010]

I was listed as an alternate for sub-Saharan Africa. bummer. A few questions:

Do I need to hope for somebody to turn down a grant from my country, or are the alternates dealt with at the regional level? Also, has anyone been successful in getting information about either where they fall on the alternate list or how their application could have been improved?

Thanks!

[snowblossom2]

Anyone hear back from the Philippines yet? I didn't see it on the spreadsheet...

[wildcat88]

I was listed as an alternate for sub-Saharan Africa. bummer. A few questions:

Do I need to hope for somebody to turn down a grant from my country, or are the alternates dealt with at the regional level? Also, has anyone been successful in getting information about either where they fall on the alternate list or how their application could have been improved?

Thanks!

I think alternates are dealt with at a regional level, except for South Africa. I called Jermaine this morning to ask about where I was on the list, and then I stupidly forgot to ask about the AL-1. Since I already called and gave him my full name, does anyone else want to call and ask about the AL-1? Or has anyone gotten an alternate letter that does not have that on there?

Unfortunately, he told me that it's Fulbright's policy not to tell anyone where they fall on the rank list. He wouldn't even give me any hints, just said that if we haven't heard from them by mid/late June, it's very unlikely that we'll get a grant.

[Sally]

The story changes for Spain

Liz Reports on the spreadsheet...

4/13: From Rachel this morning- "I’m hoping we can issue these letters this Thursday or early next week."

--------

I noticed that Andorra notifications are coming in. I thought I heard Andorra and Spain decisions were made together I guess they got the Andorra ones done first...

----

Another Spain update, made by M:

4/13-- called Rachel and she said that the decisions were actually due a month and a half ago, so Spain is really behind, and that now they have selected more than they can fund, so they are reviewing their funds right now to know what to do with the 3 extra candidates-- whether they will be able to actually fund them, put them on alternate status, or reject them. Ugggg.... --M

Edited April 13, 2010 by Sally

[Kar]

Hello guys...

I am also applying for the India Fulbright grant...

Called Cara yesterday morning and she told me the decisions are still being made by FSB board in D.C.

I feel so queasy awaiting the results... My stress levels have risen! Can't even sleep much anymore!

Kartik

[evoldeer]

have any vietnam full applicants heard decisions yet? when will these come in? updated competition statistics on fulbright website says 15 full grants will be awarded to vietnam this year.

[evoldeer]

any recent news for applicants for full grants to EAST ASIA/PACIFIC area (CAMBODIA, HONG KONG, LAOS, MACAU, SINGAPORE, VIETNAM or the PACIFIC ISLANDS)? i talked to jonathan today who said, "decisions for singapore have not come in yet. we hope to get notifications out by the end of april."

[BMCGirl10]

I emailed Europe's coordinator today to ask her about all of the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia).

She said:

If we receive the budget confirmation from the State Department when expected, letters will go out for all of the Baltics on Thursday (4/15).

[zazabell]

Update for China applicants: called Jonathan, said the earliest he hoped letters would be sent out is the beginning of next week, and the latest would be the end of the month.

Thanks for the update, Ccaraway. I applied for the ACC program in Beijing for the CLEA, but my deposit and forms are due the 21st of April; I hope I'll hear about the Fulbright by then. Did you pay the deposit for Harbin, or have to? Kinda tricky to know what to do.

Also, do you think that we can ask about our status once letters start going out, aka beginning of next week, even if we haven't gotten the hard copy letter yet?

[edie]

I emailed Europe's coordinator today to ask her about all of the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia).

She said:

If we receive the budget confirmation from the State Department when expected, letters will go out for all of the Baltics on Thursday (4/15).

1) Thank you ever so much for checking with Rachel about all of the Baltic states.

2) The decision is near! Hurrah!

[5lions]

Good news from Cara Doble on the South part of the Central/South Asia applicants. No word on the central part of the Central/South Asia applicants.

"No filthy rumors!

So far, we’ve rec’vd the green light on India ETA and Sri Lanka Full/Research and ETA’s are going out this afternoon…

I am not 100% on how CLEA works – how they notify. She is out of town at the moment, but I can check.

Thanks,

Cara"

[BMCGirl10]

Saw an amusing tweet today from Georgetown's Office of Fellowships: 'Enterprising Fulbright finalists are using Google Docs to inform one another of when they are notified: http://bit.ly/bot9Zr

Edited April 13, 2010 by BMCGirl10

[cLeveLand88]

Update for China applicants: called Jonathan, said the earliest he hoped letters would be sent out is the beginning of next week, and the latest would be the end of the month.

Wow thanks! So I guess they're hoping for early next week...does this mean they're probably waiting for FSB approval right now? Either way, I guess the wait is soon over for East Asia applicants, good luck to everyone!

That tweet is pretty hilarious

[pittsburgh]

Hello, I'm new to the forum; it's nice to see there's people out there who are going through the same thing. To those who are finalists congratulations. I am currently a finalist for a full grant for research in Israel and like many of you am anxiously awaiting notification. I am wondering if anyone here can help me out as to when I should expect to receive notification.

[BMCGirl10]

Hello, I'm new to the forum; it's nice to see there's people out there who are going through the same thing. To those who are finalists congratulations. I am currently a finalist for a full grant for research in Israel and like many of you am anxiously awaiting notification. I am wondering if anyone here can help me out as to when I should expect to receive notification.

I think you should call the Program Manager for the Near East/North Africa region ASAP. In the spreadsheet there's an Israel Acceptance from a month ago (3/13/2010). Maybe they sent it to the wrong address or it got lost in the mail? Either way they'll reissue the decision to you.

[pittsburgh]

I actually called Jermaine, who told me I should receive notification sometime in April (he was extremely vague as to when exactly). It's odd that someone already was notified - I thought that a country sent them out at the same time. Do you think I should be worried?

[BMCGirl10]

That's really weird. Usually they do send out all the Full grant notifications together and all the ETA notifications together. If you've already talked to Jermaine about it I would say don't worry. Maybe you can ask him for a more definite date if you haven't talked to him recently?

[Sally]

I actually called Jermaine, who told me I should receive notification sometime in April (he was extremely vague as to when exactly). It's odd that someone already was notified - I thought that a country sent them out at the same time. Do you think I should be worried?

Are you an ETA? The person who received notice on 3/13 was a full grant applicant; so there could have been some hold up with the ETA awards (for example, determining the number of positions.) It seems like ETAs and Full grant apps have been notified seperately in many cases.

Here's the link to the spreadsheet so you can track if anyone posts their status:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Avu5CeaRG24EdGFXVzh4aUt2ZTFUbTZPdzZiSGRoWUE&hl=en

Bookmark it!

[BMCGirl10]

Are you an ETA? The person who received notice on 3/13 was a full grant applicant; so there could have been some hold up with the ETA awards (for example, determining the number of positions.) It seems like ETAs and Full grant apps have been notified seperately in many cases.

Here's the link to the spreadsheet so you can track if anyone posts their status:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Avu5CeaRG24EdGFXVzh4aUt2ZTFUbTZPdzZiSGRoWUE&hl=en

Bookmark it!

It doesn't look like Israel has an ETA program. https://us.fulbrightonline.org/statistics_country_neafrica.html :-/

[pittsburgh]

No, I'm not applying for an ETA, I'm applying for the full grant. I'll still call him tomorrow to verify and try to get him to be more specific.

[Certain_Entropy]

Good news from Cara Doble on the South part of the Central/South Asia applicants. No word on the central part of the Central/South Asia applicants.

"No filthy rumors!

So far, we’ve rec’vd the green light on India ETA and Sri Lanka Full/Research and ETA’s are going out this afternoon…

I am not 100% on how CLEA works – how they notify. She is out of town at the moment, but I can check.

Thanks,

Cara"

so no word on india full grants