Fulbright Stipend- A call out for all fulbrighters out there

[salmazahran1992]

Is it enough to pay rent, buy food, transportation, and clothing?   Need any help!! 

[kafcat]

So I donlt know which country you chose but I can definitely tell you from experience that it will be enough to live comfortably. However, if you want to travel a lot and buy tons of stuff, I would suggest getting small side jobs to supplement your income. Its not necessary but if you want a little bit more, teaching esl on the side usually does the trick.

[Horb]

19 hours ago, salmazahran1992 said:

Is it enough to pay rent, buy food, transportation, and clothing?   Need any help!! 

It depends on your location. I know someone who got a grant to Germany (Tubingen) who lived comfortably. I know someone who got a grant to Germany (Munich) and barely paid rent and half of their food with the stipend due to the high cost of living (and they were being frugal too). So it all depends.

[kbui]

For the Fulbright ETA to Thailand, the money was adequate. But if you have bills to pay back at home (which I did) you will have to be very frugal.

[GK Chesterton]

It varies a lot by country. The current German rates of 750 / 800 eur a month for non-PhD research grants / ETA grants are not enough to survive on -- they are below the minimum for welfare in the country (about ~850 eur / mo). 

[Horb]

On 3/30/2016 at 11:56 AM, GK Chesterton said:

It varies a lot by country. The current German rates of 750 / 800 eur a month for non-PhD research grants / ETA grants are not enough to survive on -- they are below the minimum for welfare in the country (about ~850 eur / mo). 

Any idea what they are like for study people? (I'm working on a PhD atm)

[farflung]

On 11/13/2016 at 6:55 PM, Horb said:

Any idea what they are like for study people? (I'm working on a PhD atm)

Which country would you be going to? The Fulbright IIE stipend is similar around the world (around $1200 at the moment). So, while $1200 in rural Latin America goes quite far, it will barely pay your rent in many major cities around the world. If you're working on a PhD, I think you'll be disappointed with the amount that Fulbright IIE grants provide you.

Fulbright-Hays grants are for doctoral dissertation research only. They pay MUCH better, so be sure to apply when Fulbright-Hays applications are open in the spring!

[Horb]

3 hours ago, farflung said:

Which country would you be going to? The Fulbright IIE stipend is similar around the world (around $1200 at the moment). So, while $1200 in rural Latin America goes quite far, it will barely pay your rent in many major cities around the world. If you're working on a PhD, I think you'll be disappointed with the amount that Fulbright IIE grants provide you.

Fulbright-Hays grants are for doctoral dissertation research only. They pay MUCH better, so be sure to apply when Fulbright-Hays applications are open in the spring!

I would, but I don't do modern language or area studies, so I can't apply for the Hays. I figured it'd be around 800 euro (that's what my friend got, but I wasn't sure if they do an increase based on the relation between the euro and the dollar or living costs.

[haughtysauce007]

On 3/4/2016 at 4:21 PM, salmazahran1992 said:

Is it enough to pay rent, buy food, transportation, and clothing?   Need any help!! 

it depends on the country but it was more than enough for me... they also pay all luggage fees/flight/ a conference/ and you can hire a research assistant if you apply for the extra funding

- whenever they send out links about applying for extra funding, do it and then if they don't ask them about it...for my year and country I got paid even more to hire a research assistant and more for funding to go to a conference of my choosing 

when it comes to money you have to be proactive about it and you will find a lot of hidden gems...goodluck!

[Horb]

14 hours ago, haughtysauce007 said:

it depends on the country but it was more than enough for me... they also pay all luggage fees/flight/ a conference/ and you can hire a research assistant if you apply for the extra funding

- whenever they send out links about applying for extra funding, do it and then if they don't ask them about it...for my year and country I got paid even more to hire a research assistant and more for funding to go to a conference of my choosing 

when it comes to money you have to be proactive about it and you will find a lot of hidden gems...goodluck!

Do you mind sharing which county you went to?

[WildeThing]

I guess this is mostly for US Fulbrighters but foreign ones get a stipend depending on the metropolitan area and it gets adjusted every year. It was 2400 for NY, 2100 MD/DC, 1600 for TX (might change depending on where in TX) this year. 

[catsbloom]

Any other Bulgaria ETA applicants? I found this information this morning on the Fulbright Bulgarian American Commission for Educational Exchange's page on the ETA program:

Grant Benefits

• Monthly stipend – $ 800 per month
• Round-trip air travel allowance – $ 2 000
• Relocation and incidentals allowance – $ 1 000
• Allowance for independent local study of Bulgarian language – $ 500
• Health insurance (for grantees only)

The basic amount of the Fulbright – America for Bulgaria Foundation grant is not increased for accompanying dependents. Housing is provided to grantees by their respective host schools free of charge. Grantees are responsible for covering utility bills.

 (http://www.fulbright.bg/en/grants-for-us-citizens/english-teaching-assistants/)

Edited December 27, 2016 by catsbloom