Fulbright 2017-2018

[Horb]

17 minutes ago, BeeKayCee said:

So I was reading this the other day too and maybe im just not well acquainted with the admissions process. But if all countries have their selections due on the same day, why do they have such different final notification dates? Is it just reflective of relative bureaucracy speed in whatever country? What is this mythical FFSB doing that pushes notification for countries like morocco well into April?

 

I honestly don't think that all countries select and finalize by one date. It wouldn't be fair to places like Germany that have 75 grants to finalize compared to other countries that only have a handful (or to countries with more red tape than others).

[Dilemma1]

2 hours ago, Horb said:

SO....how is everyone doing? What have you been doing to pass the time? I'm studying for oral examinations, which is not fun, but distracting, so useful.

I'm not handling it that well...I'm trying to find things to distract myself but it's not working that well.  Thankfully I have to go to work soon so that will take my mind off waiting for an email for a little while.  I'm starting to wish the UK didn't have interviews so it wasn't another thing to worry about....

[BeeKayCee]

17 minutes ago, Horb said:

I honestly don't think that all countries select and finalize by one date. It wouldn't be fair to places like Germany that have 75 grants to finalize compared to other countries that only have a handful (or to countries with more red tape than others).

I agree with you there, I think thats why I was thrown for a loop with the March 3rd deadline. Though when do Germany results come out? They have 75 grants and seem to be much more on the ball with earlyish announcements. Morocco has 12 and results are mid April.

Why do I always pick the countries with slow Bureaucracy? It must be my inner impatience trying to test itself...

[Horb]

2 hours ago, BeeKayCee said:

I agree with you there, I think thats why I was thrown for a loop with the March 3rd deadline. Though when do Germany results come out? They have 75 grants and seem to be much more on the ball with earlyish announcements. Morocco has 12 and results are mid April.

Why do I always pick the countries with slow Bureaucracy? It must be my inner impatience trying to test itself...

Germany has heard the third Wednesday of March for the last two years (fingers crossed, cause otherwise it is the first week of April). That is for the research/study grant. ETAs usually hear later (april). Idk. I'm trying not to think about it, but now that we are closer to a month out...idk...

[aheather]

Silly question, but where can I see data for previous years w/r/t notification dates? 
I applied for an ETA in Malaysia and have just tried to put it out of my mind (grad schools are notifying for the next month or so, so I'm a bit occupied with anxiety about all of that), but it'd be nice to know when to expect to have my dreams crushed or solidified! 

[minswho]

1 minute ago, aheather said:

Silly question, but where can I see data for previous years w/r/t notification dates? 
I applied for an ETA in Malaysia and have just tried to put it out of my mind (grad schools are notifying for the next month or so, so I'm a bit occupied with anxiety about all of that), but it'd be nice to know when to expect to have my dreams crushed or solidified! 

There's actually a gradcafe spreadsheet for it.
I think everyone uses it as kind of an anxiety therapy?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AlU2xDiiVhQjK3quPy6qXJuhgXYghzzG8L4YNT0unX0/

[minswho]

On 2/3/2017 at 6:43 AM, Dilemma1 said:

I noticed on the spreadsheet this is your second time applying! Did you apply to the UK the first time as well?

Sorry for the late reply!
But yeh, I applied last year for the same partnership award to study the same subject.

[BeeKayCee]

7 hours ago, Horb said:

Germany has heard the third Wednesday of March for the last two years (fingers crossed, cause otherwise it is the first week of April). That is for the research/study grant. ETAs usually hear later (april). Idk. I'm trying not to think about it, but now that we are closer to a month out...idk...

Same boat. Good luck! Take up a hobby! (It's what im trying to do)

[emmajust]

Hey everyone! I am starting to worry because I have yet to receive an invitation to interview with the UK. I was interviewed last year (but ultimately didn´t get it), so I am not sure what´s going on. Can anyone provide some insight into this? Do you think there´s still a chance I´ll have an interview, or is it already too late? Based on previous comments, I know some of you guys are on the same boat. Have you heard back about the interview yet?

[Emma987]

Hi everyone! I need some advice. I'm a semi-finalist for an ETA position in Mongolia. I've also been applying to grad programs for the fall, with the hopes that I can defer school a year if I get the Fulbright position. I'm trying to decide whether I should notify the schools of my semi-finalist status. On one hand, it is an accomplishment to get this far, and hopefully shows academic drive, but on the other hand, I wouldn't want my intention to defer to impact my chance at acceptance. What do you guys think?

This is my first time posting, but I've been following the thread since about two weeks before semi-finalist notifications!

 

[Dilemma1]

11 hours ago, minswho said:

Sorry for the late reply!
But yeh, I applied last year for the same partnership award to study the same subject.

 

 

No worries! How did your interview Monday go?  

 

2 hours ago, emmajust said:

Hey everyone! I am starting to worry because I have yet to receive an invitation to interview with the UK. I was interviewed last year (but ultimately didn´t get it), so I am not sure what´s going on. Can anyone provide some insight into this? Do you think there´s still a chance I´ll have an interview, or is it already too late? Based on previous comments, I know some of you guys are on the same boat. Have you heard back about the interview yet?

 

 

I'm in the exact same position as you are.  I had an interview last year (found out about the interview the second week of February) and was named alternate...I'm planning on emailing my FPA on Friday about what this could mean or if she has heard anything (like maybe they aren't doing as many interviews).  Part of me wants to hope but really I'm going to assume that I need to pursue other ways of funding my study this coming fall.

 

Looking back at previous years I have not seen a single person on this Forum who has received the UK grant without receiving an interview.  I've read other people's response saying things like "they don't interview everyone" and every combination of that but from the data available I'm not sure how true those statements are.  Regardless, none of us will definitively know if we are going to (P), (A), or (NS) until the final selections happen mid-March.  So the best bet is to get it out of our minds (easier said than done) and have a little faith for good news come March.  I do strongly recommend making a plan B just in case to ease the mind.  I'm trying to find a mix of optimistic and realistic.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Dilemma1

[inkstainedarm]

Hey @emmajust and @Dilemma1, I also applied for a UK Fulbright, and I just got my interview invitation this morning (3:30am my time)! So don't panic yet--maybe they're just sending out later responses this year?

[bluet]

On 2/15/2017 at 10:52 AM, Horb said:

SO....how is everyone doing? What have you been doing to pass the time? I'm studying for oral examinations, which is not fun, but distracting, so useful.

A couple nights ago I dreamed I got an email from Fulbright with a big thumbs down in the subject line, so... xD

But during the waking hours I keep busy enough with grad school and teaching. I had an interview for a summer teaching job today, and am working on an internship application for the summer, too. Enough to keep my conscious mind from obsessing!

[BeeKayCee]

2 hours ago, Emma987 said:

Hi everyone! I need some advice. I'm a semi-finalist for an ETA position in Mongolia. I've also been applying to grad programs for the fall, with the hopes that I can defer school a year if I get the Fulbright position. I'm trying to decide whether I should notify the schools of my semi-finalist status. On one hand, it is an accomplishment to get this far, and hopefully shows academic drive, but on the other hand, I wouldn't want my intention to defer to impact my chance at acceptance. What do you guys think?

This is my first time posting, but I've been following the thread since about two weeks before semi-finalist notifications!

 

Hey! Congrats on semi finalist status!

I'm also a semi finalist currently applying to grad school. I would say no, theres no reason to let schools know at this point. Yes it is impressive but in my opinion not impressive enough if you dont have answers from them yet. If you get a finalist status then I would certainly tell them, but at this pointI'dd say no. I don't know though, maybe someone else thinks differently.

Best of luck for both Fulbright and Grad! Im jealous tbh all the grad programs I've applied to dont accept deferments...

[Dilemma1]

43 minutes ago, inkstainedarm said:

Hey @emmajust and @Dilemma1, I also applied for a UK Fulbright, and I just got my interview invitation this morning (3:30am my time)! So don't panic yet--maybe they're just sending out later responses this year?

Congratulations!  Thank you for sharing this information.  It's a relief to hear confirmation that they are still sending out interview invites!  

[Emma987]

3 hours ago, BeeKayCee said:

Hey! Congrats on semi finalist status!

I'm also a semi finalist currently applying to grad school. I would say no, theres no reason to let schools know at this point. Yes it is impressive but in my opinion not impressive enough if you dont have answers from them yet. If you get a finalist status then I would certainly tell them, but at this pointI'dd say no. I don't know though, maybe someone else thinks differently.

Best of luck for both Fulbright and Grad! Im jealous tbh all the grad programs I've applied to dont accept deferments...

Thank you! You as well! Yeah my programs say they "rarely" accept referrals, but I'm hoping that Fulbright will make the cut. Good luck! That's too bad that you'll have to choose between the two.

[ibette]

Today I saw both my FPAs and they seemed very hopeful. I am just hoping the next four weeks go by quickly. 

[Mossy.artist]

12 hours ago, bluet said:

A couple nights ago I dreamed I got an email from Fulbright with a big thumbs down in the subject line, so... xD

But during the waking hours I keep busy enough with grad school and teaching. I had an interview for a summer teaching job today, and am working on an internship application for the summer, too. Enough to keep my conscious mind from obsessing!

Dreams are crazy man. A few weeks ago I had a bizarre dream that Hillary Clinton picked me up in a private jet and flew me to the White House where we went into some tiny crawlspace room with a long observation window and she told me that I got the Fulbright XD The Fulbright is making us all crazy!

Has anyone else been having weird Fulbright-induced dreams?

[indexes]

On 2/15/2017 at 9:51 AM, BeeKayCee said:

So I was reading this the other day too and maybe im just not well acquainted with the admissions process. But if all countries have their selections due on the same day, why do they have such different final notification dates? Is it just reflective of relative bureaucracy speed in whatever country? What is this mythical FFSB doing that pushes notification for countries like morocco well into April?

 

I was thinking that since the board, made up of six members that probably don't meet everyday, has to approve them that they have some sort of rolling scale of approval for it, probably by some clearance factor (maybe to do with finalizing the grants themselves or maybe the institutions? On a quick glance, Europe seems to always be the earliest in notifying people, then Asia, Eurasia, then Africa?) 

I think that the March 3rd thing probably is a guideline to when they should have it done vs "get them all in or else." But the date for the IEE semi-finalist notifications was pretty spot on, it seems everyone received it by Jan 18th and 2015's version (via WayBackMachine) of that page didn't have any dates at all, so maybe this is a new thing? That page is password-protected now so maybe we weren't supposed to see it at all! Eek )^:

Edited February 17, 2017 by indexes

[lizie.johnson]

@Emma987 and @BeeKayCee Just thought I'd jump on the train regarding whether to notify your potential grad schools of your semi-finalist status.  The two grad schools that I interviewed with say that they only allow deferrals under certain circumstances, and I'm hoping the Fulbright would be special enough that they would allow me to defer.

I did end up telling both schools that I was a semi-finalist (I notified them about a week or two before my interviews), and I just got accepted to Duke! Still waiting to hear back from UNC.  My personal feeling is that if I am lucky enough to get the Fulbright, it would be awkward to tell them so late in the game, I'd rather give them some advanced warning.  The admissions people that I spoke to were all very congratulatory, because even being a semi-finalist is a huge accomplishment that can go on your resume.  Once I get my official financial offer letter from Duke with decision deadline and everything, I'm going to contact them to ask about deferring, and I can update you guys then.

I personally don't think notifying them can have a negative impact.  But I think if you're worried, it's a personal choice.  However, if you do become a finalist, make sure you let them know as soon as possible so they can either allow you to defer or give your spot to someone else.  On a separate note, I think that even if they don't let you defer, applying as a post-Fulbrighter, you'd have an even better chance of getting in, so you'd be fine!

Sorry for the long note, but I hope this helps make your decision

[inkstainedarm]

Hey for anyone who got email invites to interview, when you responded with your phone number or skype username did you get email confirmation they had received your response? Since there is a (tight) deadline to respond by for my grant, it's giving me a bit of anxiety to not have confirmation that they got my acceptance of the interview and phone info!

[Dilemma1]

22 minutes ago, inkstainedarm said:

Hey for anyone who got email invites to interview, when you responded with your phone number or skype username did you get email confirmation they had received your response? Since there is a (tight) deadline to respond by for my grant, it's giving me a bit of anxiety to not have confirmation that they got my acceptance of the interview and phone info!

Last year I received the interview invite on Wednesday the 10th and received confirmation of my confirmation on Friday the 12th.  You should hear back early next week.  If you don't receive an email confirmation I would recommend calling the individual who sent the initial invite and get verbal confirmation that way.  Did the email say when the deadline to respond was?

Edited February 17, 2017 by Dilemma1

[inkstainedarm]

4 minutes ago, Dilemma1 said:

Last year I received the interview invite on Wednesday the 10th and received confirmation of my confirmation on Friday the 12th.  You should hear back early next week.  If you don't receive an email confirmation I would recommend calling the individual who sent the initial invite and get verbal confirmation that way.  Did the email say when the deadline to respond was?

Ok, thanks for confirming that I should be looking for another email! The deadline to respond is around 9:30am my time Monday, which is why I'm a bit nervous about the lack of response so far...hopefully it's just delayed!

[indexes]

18 hours ago, Mossy.artist said:

Dreams are crazy man. A few weeks ago I had a bizarre dream that Hillary Clinton picked me up in a private jet and flew me to the White House where we went into some tiny crawlspace room with a long observation window and she told me that I got the Fulbright XD The Fulbright is making us all crazy!

Has anyone else been having weird Fulbright-induced dreams?

Yes, I just had one last night and it was the most banal, Inception-esque of nightmare. I got rejected, just to wake up in my dream to realize I was actually selected so I got on a plane in a 60s-style airport on my way to start the program...just to wake up AGAIN and realize it was all a dream. This 'waking up in a dream and finding an acceptance' happened two more time before I woke up for real!  Maybe it's my mind's poetic metaphor for the elusive acceptance.

[minswho]

On 2/16/2017 at 5:44 AM, Dilemma1 said:

No worries! How did your interview Monday go?  

It went okay!  Thanks for asking.

There were few questions I wish I answered better but I'm hoping they understand since it was a 6 am interview and I was quite nervous.

This wait is agonizing though. I was at least able to distract myself by prepping for the interview before. But now that it's completely out of my hands, I don't know.. I guess I feel more uncertainish? How are you guys feeling about the whole process?