Fulbright 2010-2011

[soimpatient]

i just found out yesterday that i got a full grant to india!! i can't believe they made us wait sooo long! i am beyond excited and i hope everyone in this forum gets it. i'd love to hear about people's projects if they're going!

[lightningtea]

I was hoping someone could help me.

Does anyone know what Fulbright's policies/regulations are regarding returning to the U.S. for a short visit if you pay for your own plane ticket? If you are overseas and need to come home for a few days for personal reasons is this a possibility as long as it does not interfere with your project and/or teaching duties? My thinking is that Fulbrighters have opportunities/breaks to travel out of their host countries to sight-see, but are there restrictions about returning to one's own country?

Any information someone can shed on this topic would be very helpful! Thanks!

I'm wondering about this as well. I kind of think that once you are in your country there isn't much guidance or connection really to Fulbright and that you would have to clear it with your institution. But, I could be way off here, does anyone have accurate information about out of country travel and/or travel back to the U.S.? We might just have to wait until D.C. to get the full rundown...

[holahnyoung]

I noticed on the spreadsheet and last year's Fulbright forum that the time line for Alternates to Acceptance can vary. From two weeks to a month. I also called Rachel to find out about the Alternate wait list for Lithuania. I'm one of two for the country but she couldn't give me a ranking system.

I know procedure differs from country to country but why is that the program managers each seem to have a different philosophy or rulebook in giving out information?

I read somewhere that Croatia which only has four full grants to distribute has ten alternates while Lithuania has four full to distribute with two alternates? What's with that?

IIE should make the alternate process more transparent and provide more information on it. It's our decision to stay on as alternates but its unfair to keep us blind during the process and to possibly not even receive a response in the end.

[mig]

I'm wondering about this as well. I kind of think that once you are in your country there isn't much guidance or connection really to Fulbright and that you would have to clear it with your institution. But, I could be way off here, does anyone have accurate information about out of country travel and/or travel back to the U.S.? We might just have to wait until D.C. to get the full rundown...

On page 59 of the orientation handbook:

9. During recesses or normal vacation periods, the grantee may leave the host country for a period of

approximately two weeks without deduction in grant benefits if such absence is approved by the Cultural

Affairs Officer or other appropriate officer of the Post, and by the host institution. Grantees may not leave the

host country for other periods, without prior approval of IIE.

[TheMole]

On page 59 of the orientation handbook:

9. During recesses or normal vacation periods, the grantee may leave the host country for a period of

approximately two weeks without deduction in grant benefits if such absence is approved by the Cultural

Affairs Officer or other appropriate officer of the Post, and by the host institution. Grantees may not leave the

host country for other periods, without prior approval of IIE.

A friend of mine, who has a full grant right now told me that he and his fellows are able to leave the country at will, the sole restriction being that they have a cap of days - something on the order of 21 - they can take out of the country. If they exceed this number, then it is their responsibility to remain in-country after the end of the grant period (June 14th, I believe) for the same number of days they exceeded this allotment, thereby making them up.

[Sally]

dudes whats up with the spreadsheets? i cant open it! is it my computer? is it lost forever???

Hmm the spreadsheet still works fine for me:

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

Also, it won't ever be totally lost forever. Google automatically backs it up; plus I've been saving copies on my desktop every once in awhile..

Sally.

[Intaglio6]

It's our decision to stay on as alternates

Were we supposed to indicate to IIE that we want to remain alternates? My mom received the physical letter and paraphrased it for me; I never got to read the full text. I assumed that they'd consider us alternates unless we specified otherwise?

[Ms. Foucault]

Were we supposed to indicate to IIE that we want to remain alternates? My mom received the physical letter and paraphrased it for me; I never got to read the full text. I assumed that they'd consider us alternates unless we specified otherwise?

It's my understanding from the letter that you're only removed from the alternate list if you submit a letter to IIE indicating that you want to be withdrawn from consideration. So no need to worry; hopefully it'll just be positive news and no eternal limbo!

[Kar]

I dunno about you guys... but it has been 2 days since I have gotten my acceptance letter to India... and it still hasn't sunk it yet!!! I wake up in the morning and ask myself... Are you sure it wasn't a dream???

Have you guys had similar experiences??

Edited April 22, 2010 by Kar

[knownothing]

I dunno about you guys... but it has been 2 days since I have gotten my acceptance letter to India... and it still hasn't sunk it yet!!! I wake up in the morning and ask myself... Are you sure it wasn't a dream???

Have you guys had similar experiences??

I am so jealous of your life right now. haha

[wildcat88]

I know procedure differs from country to country but why is that the program managers each seem to have a different philosophy or rulebook in giving out information?

I read somewhere that Croatia which only has four full grants to distribute has ten alternates while Lithuania has four full to distribute with two alternates? What's with that?

IIE should make the alternate process more transparent and provide more information on it. It's our decision to stay on as alternates but its unfair to keep us blind during the process and to possibly not even receive a response in the end.

Has anyone heard how many alternates there are for South Africa? It looks like there weren't any rejections for SSA, which makes me think we're all alternates.

Also, my FPA told me that leaving the country generally isn't a problem, although some countries are more of a stickler for the 21 day rule than others. Apparently it depends on the in country Fulbright person.

[Intaglio6]

I noticed on the spreadsheet and last year's Fulbright forum that the time line for Alternates to Acceptance can vary. From two weeks to a month. I also called Rachel to find out about the Alternate wait list for Lithuania. I'm one of two for the country but she couldn't give me a ranking system.

Rachel told me that there are 4 alternates for Latvia, which seems a bit odd given that there are only four grants available. If they didn't decrease the number of grants (i.e. 6-8 people were named finalists), it stands to reason that no one was rejected.

[mb2]

I was wondering if anyone else on this site is going to Cameroon. I'm going as an ETA, and Jermaine Jones said that this year there will be 4 ETAs and 3 Full grants at Cameroon. I know I'll probably meet you at the orientation, but....I'm a little impatient.

Also, this is the blog of the current ETA to Maroua, Cameroon. It makes for an interesting read and may be helpful for other Sub-Saharan Africa ETAs. I devoured it during the waiting-to-hear-back-from-Fulbright process.

http://undercameroonianskies.wordpress.com/

Best of luck to everyone.

--M

[rach2010]

I dunno about you guys... but it has been 2 days since I have gotten my acceptance letter to India... and it still hasn't sunk it yet!!! I wake up in the morning and ask myself... Are you sure it wasn't a dream???

Have you guys had similar experiences??

Did you get the email from USIEF yesterday? I've found the sudden bombardment of information a little overwhelming. You wait for months and months and boom. More paper work than you can possible imagine!

Are you, or any of the other Indian Fulbrighters, planning on going to the orientation in New Delhi? Also, anyone headed to Mumbai?

[Jessica1]

Hopefully so! To all China CLEA people, what Jonathan wrote was: "The CLEA notifications will probably go out at the end of this week and they will be via e-mail."

So no promises, but hopefully?

Seems like everyone is doing CET-Harbin, but that's too cold for my blood (I was going to apply to the summer program but they cancelled it)! I applied to C.V.-Starr Middlebury program in Hangzhou and was accepted, so now I just have to wait and see if I can actually go. It was a bit of paperwork, but at least they've been really nice about letting me wait on the deposit!

Good luck to everyone!

Just got an email from Cara Wolinsky for China CLEA awards!

[abacus]

I got listed as an alternate for a CLEA scholarship to China. Does anyone have any idea how long it takes before alternates are notified about whether we have a chance? The email I got says "you will remain on the Alternate list for the award indefinitely" which, um, sounds like a really long time..

[ChinaGrad]

I got listed as an alternate for a CLEA scholarship to China. Does anyone have any idea how long it takes before alternates are notified about whether we have a chance? The email I got says "you will remain on the Alternate list for the award indefinitely" which, um, sounds like a really long time..

I got one of these e-mails as well, but if I don't get the award I'm not going to the program. I can't afford it. The cruel joke is that the non-refundable deposits are due in a few weeks (in addition to the application fee). So you risk losing a few hundred dollars. I had that happen to me once with IUP-Beijing. It was a nightmare, and I never got my $500 back.

[Brian]

Hello Everyone...My name is Barnesy and I am probably one of those people who check the forums everyday and do not post anything. Everytime I check my email or my mailbox..I die a little inside...I wish I can find out before May 1st if I get an ETA to Macau? Does anyone know if the Macau decisions will be sent out with China's?

Hey, Barnesy. You should join our Facebook group for updates! We are equally anxious...

http://www.facebook....57131829&ref=ts

[papa]

Just got an email from Cara Wolinsky for China CLEA awards!

Did the email say you got the CLEA or did is simply state for more information regarding your proposed program?

[Jessica1]

Did the email say you got the CLEA or did is simply state for more information regarding your proposed program?

It said that I got it. It seems like the process for the award is pretty long (need to fill out a lot of forms and make sure things on file before they can do anything official with the program you'll enroll in), so for all the people who are alternates, that's probably why it said "indefinitely." Either someone declines the award immediately, or something happens later on the process (who knows when) that would force the person to give up the award and make it available for an alternate.

[Weiningqi]

It said that I got it. It seems like the process for the award is pretty long (need to fill out a lot of forms and make sure things on file before they can do anything official with the program you'll enroll in), so for all the people who are alternates, that's probably why it said "indefinitely." Either someone declines the award immediately, or something happens later on the process (who knows when) that would force the person to give up the award and make it available for an alternate.

Congrats! I myself am an alternate, though I'm suspecting that's not going to pull through. Out of curiosity, what is your language background like? I'm wondering if the fact that I studied in China for a summer and am a Chinese major had anything to do with me not getting it. What program are you doing and have you already applied for it?

[Ms. Foucault]

Either someone declines the award immediately, or something happens later on the process (who knows when) that would force the person to give up the award and make it available for an alternate.

This whole process is quite cryptic to me, and any clarification is insightful!

What do you think may be a factor that "happens on the process (who knows when) that would force the person to give up the award and make it available for an alternate"? (I realize that an obvious one may be that an alternative/better opportunity crops up for the grantee, but other than that are you aware of any common reasons for declination?)

Edited April 23, 2010 by Ms. Foucault

[BMCGirl10]

My friend who was notified that she was an Alternate for Morocco in March just called me! Funding became available and she's now Accepted for Principal status. She's over the moon and so am I. Hoping the same for Lithuania.

[scd244]

MENA Regional Folks-- decisions were mailed from the IIE in New York on April 22, 2010.

I received my acceptance about a half-hour ago, via snail mail in a manila envelope. (I live in NYC.)

I can't stop shaking with excitement. Oman, here I come!!

To continue the funny photo trend, I want to say, fellow finalists:

Thank you for being such an encouraging an awesome community! It's been a loooong wait & I'm glad that we had each other. I feel fortunate to have even made a few friends on here!

Edited April 23, 2010 by scd244

[nescafe]

OMG- now I'm nervous! Thanks for update scd!

And congrats!

Edited April 24, 2010 by nescafe