Fulbright 2017-2018

[daishahistory]

14 minutes ago, Dilemma1 said:

People close to me have been telling me "don't bring up politics...no matter what!!" if I get an interview, but at this point there is no way to avoid it.  With the UK parliament having scheduled a debate to to either ban the state visit or relabel it an official visit I feel that the US/UK are very interconnected right now and it would be a glaring oversight to not comment on it if asked during an interview.

 

Thanks for your tip and thoughts @daishahistory  

We won't be interviewed by US committees, but a UK panel. They despise him. And to be quite honest, his agenda stands against everything the Fulbright promotes, so don't fear. Be honest! You don't have to lie! I have been practicing my statements with my friends and my professors in my department. Especially Trump questions. We should just be prepared for it!

[Dilemma1]

5 minutes ago, daishahistory said:

We won't be interviewed by US committees, but a UK panel. They despise him. And to be quite honest, his agenda stands against everything the Fulbright promotes, so don't fear. Be honest! You don't have to lie! I have been practicing my statements with my friends and my professors in my department. Especially Trump questions. We should just be prepared for it!

I completely agree with you!  Are you competing for a partnership or the open award?

[LibbyCreek]

Good luck Polish interviewees! I hope it all goes (went) smoothly for you! 

[McGhee]

1 hour ago, daishahistory said:

Tip for UK semi finalists! Just talked to one of the Fulbright finalists from this year. When you interview be prepared to respond to questions about Trump.

Also, don't worry to much about the State department or challenging right wing extremism.

Just be yourself and stay true to the work you want to research. Don't pander.

Best of luck to you all.

 

Thanks for the tip!!! I've been prepping ideas on what to say for Trump if I make to an interview--good to know the likelihood is 100%. I was getting confused on exactly who was interviewing since the decision comes from FFSB, but then there was a UK panel. So glad to know it is the UK panel that (if interviewed) we will be speaking to!!

[ibette]

I am getting pretty anxious now. My country has released their finalist decisions around third week of March. D: Every passing day gets more real and antsy about the outcome. I can't help feeling a little impatient now. Good thing is that I have a lot of conferences and travels in March so that will keep me occupied. However, February will be a slow month for me.

[daishahistory]

2 hours ago, Dilemma1 said:

I completely agree with you!  Are you competing for a partnership or the open award?

I am going for a partnership with Royal Holloway, so I messaged the finalist this week! How about you? 

[daishahistory]

Has anyone for the UK received a request for interviews? 

[Dilemma1]

7 minutes ago, daishahistory said:

I am going for a partnership with Royal Holloway, so I messaged the finalist this week! How about you? 

I'm going for a partnership with Leicester.  I messaged the finalist as well! She mainly focused on responding the the cultural ambassador type questions.

5 minutes ago, daishahistory said:

Has anyone for the UK received a request for interviews? 

Last year the earliest interview notification was Feb 3...so some might be finding out by the end of this week!  Last year I found out on the 10th and had the interview on the 26th.  You have a week to respond confirming you want the interview and that the contact info is correct.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Dilemma1
changed to the correct interview date!

[indexes]

To those that have had interviews already: when they say the interviews are 15 minutes, is that pretty accurate? I am getting more and more nervous as my interview date approaches.  Doesn't help that my interview is at 5:30AM...

Edited February 1, 2017 by indexes

[Photogeographic]

They said early feb pre-departure dates would Be announced correct ?! I was offered a job during the first weekend of June that I have to accept or deny and I am afraid the d.c orientation dates would fall on the same date. I'm also worried that I'll turn down the job and not even become a Fulbright finalists ... 

[Horb]

19 minutes ago, Photogeographic said:

They said early feb pre-departure dates would Be announced correct ?! I was offered a job during the first weekend of June that I have to accept or deny and I am afraid the d.c orientation dates would fall on the same date. I'm also worried that I'll turn down the job and not even become a Fulbright finalists ... 

You can find the dates from last year's cycle online (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/pre-departure-orientation-schedule-2016-2017). It seems like many are in mid-June. Hopefully, they'll stick to the same dates.

[jarp729]

For anyone here that applied through the University of Pennsylvania, I just got this news from our Fulbright adviser:

" Traditionally, Penn affiliates have had better odds than 50/50 at this point - for example, last year there were 36 semi-finalists and 23 were offered grants. "

Best of luck to everyone!

[Horb]

5 minutes ago, jarp729 said:

For anyone here that applied through the University of Pennsylvania, I just got this news from our Fulbright adviser:

" Traditionally, Penn affiliates have had better odds than 50/50 at this point - for example, last year there were 36 semi-finalists and 23 were offered grants. "

Best of luck to everyone!

I mean, I'd kinda expect that from an Ivy. It is great they have figured out the best way to help students apply and present their applications.

[ibette]

4 minutes ago, Horb said:

I mean, I'd kinda expect that from an Ivy. It is great they have figured out the best way to help students apply and present their applications.

I forgot about a university that encourages everyone in their honors college to apply for a Fulbright their senior year and being the most awarded college for a Fulbright. I mean, if I had four years to work on my project proposal it better be picked lol (I took three years on this one XD). 

[ibette]

By the way @Horb I noticed we both applied in the 2014-2015 cycle too. Hopefully we get Finalist status this time around. 

[Horb]

1 hour ago, ibette said:

I forgot about a university that encourages everyone in their honors college to apply for a Fulbright their senior year and being the most awarded college for a Fulbright. I mean, if I had four years to work on my project proposal it better be picked lol (I took three years on this one XD). 

Right? I felt like when I first applied, I started in July because that is when I was told to start and I still felt rushed despite spending 3 months on it. Now, I spent from May to October working on it, but I've been ruminating on this project for a long time. I hope all universities get to the level where they can do intense outreach and have copious amounts of support. I know if can be hard for small colleges (or even larger ones but with strict budgets) to be able to do that. The Ivies definitely set a precedent for how to help students, which is nice, as you can figure out how to change your department, get more students applying, etc.

[minswho]

Hey guys!
I'm a UK semi-finalist who decided to stop lurking and post something in the forum

Anyways, I received an email from the UK Fulbright commission notifying me of my interview few hours ago and was wondering if there were any finalists here I could maybe speak to about the interview?

[Dilemma1]

1 hour ago, minswho said:

Hey guys!
I'm a UK semi-finalist who decided to stop lurking and post something in the forum

Anyways, I received an email from the UK Fulbright commission notifying me of my interview few hours ago and was wondering if there were any finalists here I could maybe speak to about the interview?

Congrats!  I had an interview last year and questions included "If you had a free weekend what would you do and why?" and also "what is a contemporary British issue you have been keeping up with?".  At least those were the questions that stuck out to me.  Expect a couple of questions about the program you chose and why.  Also on page 30 we have been talking about the very high possibility that a question about the current political climate and Trump should be expected as well.

 

Also here is a good resource (it's from 2011 but it is still useful):

http://www.depauw.edu/files/resources/ukfulbrighttelephoneinterviewquestions_pomona2011.pdf

Edited February 1, 2017 by Dilemma1
added link

[Mossy.artist]

@bluet, how did your interview with the Polish Fulbright Committee go!?

[bluet]

1 hour ago, Mossy.artist said:

@bluet, how did your interview with the Polish Fulbright Committee go!?

It went okay! Not perfect because nerves always get me, but I didn't totally blank or anything.  How was yours?

[Mossy.artist]

19 minutes ago, bluet said:

It went okay! Not perfect because nerves always get me, but I didn't totally blank or anything.  How was yours?

I'm actually a bit stressed about mine. My nerves were brain blocking me for days before the interview PLUS I worked the entire day before and 4-7am before my 9am interview so I only had about 4 hours of sleep. I did not feel prepared at all!! I'm ashamed to say it but I almost feel as if I "Trumped" some of my replies. I was so flustered! Its really been messing with me ever since to know that I could have messed up months and months of hard work and waiting in 20 minutes. Hopefully I'm just blowing the whole thing out of proportion in my memory. Its just driving me crazy! 

[ibette]

59 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

I'm actually a bit stressed about mine. My nerves were brain blocking me for days before the interview PLUS I worked the entire day before and 4-7am before my 9am interview so I only had about 4 hours of sleep. I did not feel prepared at all!! I'm ashamed to say it but I almost feel as if I "Trumped" some of my replies. I was so flustered! Its really been messing with me ever since to know that I could have messed up months and months of hard work and waiting in 20 minutes. Hopefully I'm just blowing the whole thing out of proportion in my memory. Its just driving me crazy! 

It's going to be okay <3 !!! I am sure you did great, and I am sure they also understand some applicants might be stressed. 

[daishahistory]

5 hours ago, Dilemma1 said:

Congrats!  I had an interview last year and questions included "If you had a free weekend what would you do and why?" and also "what is a contemporary British issue you have been keeping up with?".  At least those were the questions that stuck out to me.  Expect a couple of questions about the program you chose and why.  Also on page 30 we have been talking about the very high possibility that a question about the current political climate and Trump should be expected as well.

 

Also here is a good resource (it's from 2011 but it is still useful):

http://www.depauw.edu/files/resources/ukfulbrighttelephoneinterviewquestions_pomona2011.pdf

Do all the interview emails go out at once like the semi finalist notification? I didn't receive one...  

[McGhee]

1 hour ago, daishahistory said:

Do all the interview emails go out at once like the semi finalist notification? I didn't receive one...  

It made my stomach drop too seeing that!! Nonetheless, I don't think so, or at least I hope not! Based on the info from last year the dates varied somewhat (2/2, 2/3 and some even as late as 2/10). So us UK semi-finalists who haven't heard still have a chance. Sadly, the waiting game continues...ugh.

 

[bluet]

3 hours ago, Mossy.artist said:

I'm actually a bit stressed about mine. My nerves were brain blocking me for days before the interview PLUS I worked the entire day before and 4-7am before my 9am interview so I only had about 4 hours of sleep. I did not feel prepared at all!! I'm ashamed to say it but I almost feel as if I "Trumped" some of my replies. I was so flustered! Its really been messing with me ever since to know that I could have messed up months and months of hard work and waiting in 20 minutes. Hopefully I'm just blowing the whole thing out of proportion in my memory. Its just driving me crazy! 

Ooh, 4 hours of sleep sounds rough-- but it probably made your mind remember it as worse than it really was! I think it was really clear to the interviewers that I was nervous too (I rambled some and definitely didn't feel like I nailed my answers), and I bet they see that all the time. And they still have our proposals and other materials-- I don't think any interview could TOTALLY negate all that, you know? At least that's what I'm hoping.