Fulbright 2017-2018

[catsbloom]

On 3/2/2017 at 8:37 AM, edon16 said:

@tommec @Jess2323 @catsbloom, just received an email request for an interview. Eeek! The selection of emojis on gradcafe are not adequate enough to detail my emotions right now.

Congrats! When is your interview? Did they give a range of dates for the days they're doing interviews? I wonder if this is the last round of interviews before they make decisions. 

[inkstainedarm]

On 3/4/2017 at 4:59 AM, indexes said:

Mine was 15 minutes. I was close to sending an email to confirm it after quadruple checking the time and date. They called just before I hit sent. That was a relief! ? 

It's for Poland! I was nervous, could have done a lot better but I didn't blank and the interview lasted the estimated amount of time so that is a plus! Hopefully said things on topic, can't for the life of me remember now what I said! ??

15 minutes late?? Oh god, I would have been overwhelmed with anxiety! Haha yeah, from what I've heard from some current Fulbrighters it sounds like literally everyone's interview answers become something of a blur after the fact-- I can barely remember what I said in mine. But at least we've both got that stressful bit over with!! On to the anxious waiting!

[inkstainedarm]

On 3/4/2017 at 11:00 AM, legato said:

Hey there!

I am also a UCL Fulbright semi-finalist (I'm going for the UCL - Institute of Education award) and I have yet to hear back about a phone interview. Have you head from anyone yet? Are they still delayed? I just want to know if I should keep waiting to hear from someone...

Either way, best of luck!!

Hey! So I'm a UK semifinalist too, and i had my interview last Monday-- the latest person to be notified that I know of had their interview this past Friday too,  and we were both notified the week before that. But it has been later this year than in past years, according to the spreadsheet, so it's possible notifications *could* still be coming out? Have you checked your spam folder? (If you haven't, do--people have missed their deadlines to accept the interview because the Fulbright email went to spam)

[patient0]

I'm an at-large applicant for the open award to UK. I was named a semi-finalist but have not heard anything about an interview yet. Any other at-large applicants out there? 

[edon16]

4 hours ago, catsbloom said:

Congrats! When is your interview? Did they give a range of dates for the days they're doing interviews? I wonder if this is the last round of interviews before they make decisions. 

 

Thanks! It's tomorrow (Monday) morning at 9 a.m. EST. No, they didn't give a range of dates - they pretty much offered Monday between 4-6 p.m. (GMT +2), but I'll be sure to ask them about their anticipated timeline for decision making. 

[catsbloom]

59 minutes ago, edon16 said:

Thanks! It's tomorrow (Monday) morning at 9 a.m. EST. No, they didn't give a range of dates - they pretty much offered Monday between 4-6 p.m. (GMT +2), but I'll be sure to ask them about their anticipated timeline for decision making. 

Good luck! The wait is slowly killing me, ha. 

[AKACaz]

Hi again all - sorry to burst the bubble of waiting, but I wondered if I could ask: is there a chart or resource about the dollar worth of Fulbright grants per country, comparable to the notification dates chart?

I ask because I was poking around on the Netherlands Fulbright site and discovered that they apparently award 1,100 euro a month, for nine months; another site puts the total award for the grant year at 10,500 euro. No doubt my perspective on living costs is skewed because I'm used to living in New York City & its environs, where it's pretty bloody difficult as a single person and renter to get along on less than $25,000 a year. Even so, 10,500 euro seems... astonishingly low, especially when other resources are telling me I could easily spend 600+ euro on rent and utilities alone in Den Haag each month, and I will have a lot of traveling to do for my work. Frankly, if this is true, I'm almost wondering why I bothered to apply to the Fulbright as a graduate student when my university has a competitive yearlong grant that could award me up to $28,000 (the euro and the dollar are practically at parity at the moment, so this award would give me at least 2.5x as much financial support as the Fulbright).

Am I missing something here? Is there a matching program or something else which boosts these figures supplied by the host country? If not, I'm honestly surprised that the Fulbright seems to attract so much attention for its name, and not for its funding levels.

Apologies in advance, too, for this formless, entitled bewilderment/whining. I should have known about this, or asked about it, going in...

Edited March 6, 2017 by AKACaz

[hobakie]

1 hour ago, AKACaz said:

Hi again all - sorry to burst the bubble of waiting, but I wondered if I could ask: is there a chart or resource about the dollar worth of Fulbright grants per country, comparable to the notification dates chart?

I ask because I was poking around on the Netherlands Fulbright site and discovered that they apparently award 1,100 euro a month, for nine months; another site puts the total award for the grant year at 10,500 euro. No doubt my perspective on living costs is skewed because I'm used to living in New York City & its environs, where it's pretty bloody difficult as a single person and renter to get along on less than $25,000 a year. Even so, 10,500 euro seems... astonishingly low, especially when other resources are telling me I could easily spend 600+ euro on rent and utilities alone in Den Haag each month, and I will have a lot of traveling to do for my work. Frankly, if this is true, I'm almost wondering why I bothered to apply to the Fulbright as a graduate student when my university has a competitive yearlong grant that could award me up to $28,000 (the euro and the dollar are practically at parity at the moment, so this award would give me at least 2.5x as much financial support as the Fulbright).

Am I missing something here? Is there a matching program or something else which boosts these figures supplied by the host country? If not, I'm honestly surprised that the Fulbright seems to attract so much attention for its name, and not for its funding levels.

Apologies in advance, too, for this formless, entitled bewilderment/whining. I should have known about this, or asked about it, going in...

I was told (by former fulbrighters) that there are opportunities to request funding for your research projects in addition to the stipend they give you. Other than that the stipends for Europe from what I know have always been small ,but people have survived before.

I don't think anyone does the Fulbright for the money or to live incredibly comfortably during their year however just about everyone seems to enjoy it.

If you are really worried email some former fulbrighters for your country and ask about the stipend and what they did housing wise etc. They are your best source of information atm.

[LibbyCreek]

3 hours ago, AKACaz said:

Hi again all - sorry to burst the bubble of waiting, but I wondered if I could ask: is there a chart or resource about the dollar worth of Fulbright grants per country, comparable to the notification dates chart?

I ask because I was poking around on the Netherlands Fulbright site and discovered that they apparently award 1,100 euro a month, for nine months; another site puts the total award for the grant year at 10,500 euro. No doubt my perspective on living costs is skewed because I'm used to living in New York City & its environs, where it's pretty bloody difficult as a single person and renter to get along on less than $25,000 a year. Even so, 10,500 euro seems... astonishingly low, especially when other resources are telling me I could easily spend 600+ euro on rent and utilities alone in Den Haag each month, and I will have a lot of traveling to do for my work. Frankly, if this is true, I'm almost wondering why I bothered to apply to the Fulbright as a graduate student when my university has a competitive yearlong grant that could award me up to $28,000 (the euro and the dollar are practically at parity at the moment, so this award would give me at least 2.5x as much financial support as the Fulbright).

Am I missing something here? Is there a matching program or something else which boosts these figures supplied by the host country? If not, I'm honestly surprised that the Fulbright seems to attract so much attention for its name, and not for its funding levels.

Apologies in advance, too, for this formless, entitled bewilderment/whining. I should have known about this, or asked about it, going in...

I asked my Fulbright Commission about the stipend as they had an old pdf on the website which had two separate numbers but was also dated 2013. They simply didn't answer the question, even though they responded to other questions in the same email. I heartily agree with @hobakie that asking current or past Fulbrighters in your country about their personal experiences. 

[kyjin]

Thirding the "contact current or former Fulbrighters." They'll be able to tell you best what the situation is in your particular country, as it really does vary. For example, Japan's stipend is incredibly generous and they offer extensions for graduate fellows thanks to private donations to the local Fulbright commission. 

[BeeKayCee]

8 hours ago, AKACaz said:

Hi again all - sorry to burst the bubble of waiting, but I wondered if I could ask: is there a chart or resource about the dollar worth of Fulbright grants per country, comparable to the notification dates chart?

I ask because I was poking around on the Netherlands Fulbright site and discovered that they apparently award 1,100 euro a month, for nine months; another site puts the total award for the grant year at 10,500 euro. No doubt my perspective on living costs is skewed because I'm used to living in New York City & its environs, where it's pretty bloody difficult as a single person and renter to get along on less than $25,000 a year. Even so, 10,500 euro seems... astonishingly low, especially when other resources are telling me I could easily spend 600+ euro on rent and utilities alone in Den Haag each month, and I will have a lot of traveling to do for my work. Frankly, if this is true, I'm almost wondering why I bothered to apply to the Fulbright as a graduate student when my university has a competitive yearlong grant that could award me up to $28,000 (the euro and the dollar are practically at parity at the moment, so this award would give me at least 2.5x as much financial support as the Fulbright).

Am I missing something here? Is there a matching program or something else which boosts these figures supplied by the host country? If not, I'm honestly surprised that the Fulbright seems to attract so much attention for its name, and not for its funding levels.

Apologies in advance, too, for this formless, entitled bewilderment/whining. I should have known about this, or asked about it, going in...

Two things to note about what I am about to say. All fulbrighters i have ever met are ETA. second I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer and most fulbrighters I know are previous PCVs too. 

Every fulbright I have come in contact with lives at standard of living for their respective countries. They are able to save a small amount of money, and are not short on cash, however they are not living large either, but they do have the money to travel around. 

As a fullbright I assume you will not be living in a nice apartment with all the ameneties you may be used to In NYC, (also lived in NYC for 6 years, 1k a month doesnt do jack i know), but youll have a place to stay, money for ameneties (perhaps not a restaurant every night tho), pocket money, and some extra. 

The stipend is based on standard of living so a country where you need more you should be getting more, meanwhile a country where you dont need as much you wont get as much. 

I have never met a fulbrighter who needed money, but dont plan on being able to make a nest egg or pay off loans while in fulbright. 

[Horb]

2 hours ago, BeeKayCee said:

Two things to note about what I am about to say. All fulbrighters i have ever met are ETA. second I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer and most fulbrighters I know are previous PCVs too. 

Every fulbright I have come in contact with lives at standard of living for their respective countries. They are able to save a small amount of money, and are not short on cash, however they are not living large either, but they do have the money to travel around. 

As a fullbright I assume you will not be living in a nice apartment with all the ameneties you may be used to In NYC, (also lived in NYC for 6 years, 1k a month doesnt do jack i know), but youll have a place to stay, money for ameneties (perhaps not a restaurant every night tho), pocket money, and some extra. 

The stipend is based on standard of living so a country where you need more you should be getting more, meanwhile a country where you dont need as much you wont get as much. 

I have never met a fulbrighter who needed money, but dont plan on being able to make a nest egg or pay off loans while in fulbright. 

Speaking of loans, what are peoples plans for that (assuming anyone else here has them)? I know for study they can be deferred because you're enrolled full time, but I know some loan providers don't allow deferments for ETAs. I'm not sure about research, which is what I'm applying for.

[Photogeographic]

Wonder if anyone will be notified this week ???

[Horb]

My money is on Belgium!

[ryanwinston]

1 minute ago, Horb said:

My money is on Belgium!

Horb, you're waiting on Germany as well right? Any idea when you think we'll hear about it?

[Horb]

3 minutes ago, ryanwinston said:

Horb, you're waiting on Germany as well right? Any idea when you think we'll hear about it?

I'm waiting on Germany Research. Study/Research tend to come out before ETA and S/R have tended to hear the third Tuesday or Wednesday of March, so I'm hoping next week.

 

[ryanwinston]

6 minutes ago, Horb said:

I'm waiting on Germany Research. Study/Research tend to come out before ETA and S/R have tended to hear the third Tuesday or Wednesday of March, so I'm hoping next week.

 

Cool, good to know. I've waited this long, what's two more weeks right?

[Paradoxin756]

I'm trying not to lose sleep over anticipation, but Finland has notified in the past right during my university's finals week. Talk about a double whammy.

[Horb]

It'd be great if we all could just go ahead and get a winner already! I want to start congratulating people. . . 

[lyonessrampant]

It looks like we're definitely delayed, or early notified people aren't here or updating. Last year I remember that there were notifications on March 2 for Iceland. Thanks, Trump! lol

[Promixmagus]

Anyone on here not have a Pre-Departure Orientation?

[edon16]

10 minutes ago, Promixmagus said:

Anyone on here not have a Pre-Departure Orientation?

Bulgaria doesn't. It seems like a good handful of countries don't have PDOs.

[lyonessrampant]

Italy doesn't. I think a lot of the European countries don't have it (though I'm not an expert on that fact).

[Horb]

1 minute ago, lyonessrampant said:

Italy doesn't. I think a lot of the European countries don't have it (though I'm not an expert on that fact).

Most European countries don't have it. 

[Horb]

1 hour ago, lyonessrampant said:

It looks like we're definitely delayed, or early notified people aren't here or updating. Last year I remember that there were notifications on March 2 for Iceland. Thanks, Trump! lol

If you look at previous Iceland years, they notified in April. It seems last year was very early, so who knows if there is actually a delay or if Iceland's release last year was just abnormal.