Fulbright 2017-2018

[Photogeographic]

13 minutes ago, PGxalex said:

Ah okay, that makes sense... I'm still wondering how they control the number of people who are recommended, then, since the number of grants for each country varies so much, and they say they recommend 1.5-2 times the number of grants.. Where were you able to find the stats based on discipline? 

 

 

 

I applied as an arts candidate so It was under the Arts Application Statistics. Although after reading that I feel like I'm even more confused. 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Photogeographic

[Horb]

25 minutes ago, Photogeographic said:

To my understanding that is correct. So the first round you should be viewed by the committee of your discipline, then the 2nd round you are technically competing against everyone who has moved forward to the in-country committee/panel regardless of your discipline. For example, not every country is listed on the NSC Member List (PDF). Although I'm not sure what the means for the countries that are listed. Maybe you're looked at by both your discipline and a country specific committee. 

I only have 3 committee members looking at my discipline (based on the stats 31 of my discipline were reviewed and 9 go forward). But I guess if you have 300 applicants that might be a bit harder for only 3 members to review? Maybe they have country specific panels in the first round to help with the number of applicants. Also, I'm curious if the committee members in the first round are actually in the same room discussing the applications together, or if they're all submitting our ratings online? 

Hmmmmm.

I've heard something slightly different. They do meet (it mentions that on the website) and they discuss applicants. You are ranked and sent to the host country in ranked order. They may just accept the ranked order (so they send 100 people for 50 spots. The top 50 may get it and then they may take 15 alternates, and reject the rest OR they may choose differently). But the selection committees are required to keep the host country goals in mind. For instance, some countries have strict requirements for ETAs (they want X number of years teaching or maybe they care more about something else) and they may reject someone who wasn't a good fit based on the country description. So the people are discipline specific (but you might have a history person looking at another humanities app that isn't in history) and they are well versed on the country requirements. So if Germany said no history apps (for example) they would reject all history apps, regardless of how good they were.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Horb
Clarity

[Mossy.artist]

31 minutes ago, Photogeographic said:

I only have 3 committee members looking at my discipline (based on the stats 31 of my discipline were reviewed and 9 go forward). But I guess if you have 300 applicants that might be a bit harder for only 3 members to review? Maybe they have country specific panels in the first round to help with the number of applicants. Also, I'm curious if the committee members in the first round are actually in the same room discussing the applications together, or if they're all submitting our ratings online? 

Hmmmmm.

I found this very informative document about the selection process when I was poking around the web recently:

http://gradfellows.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Fulbright-Selection-Process.pdf

I don't understand why everyone can't get detailed information like this. I go to a pretty big school and I can't think of anything like this that our Fulbright advisers have ever made available to us :/

[Photogeographic]

2 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

I found this very informative document about the selection process when I was poking around the web recently:

http://gradfellows.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Fulbright-Selection-Process.pdf

I don't understand why everyone can't get detailed information like this. I go to a pretty big school and I can't think of anything like this that our Fulbright advisers have ever made available to us :/

 

Wow. Thanks for this ! This clears up things a bit ! 

[Horb]

4 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

I found this very informative document about the selection process when I was poking around the web recently:

http://gradfellows.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Fulbright-Selection-Process.pdf

I don't understand why everyone can't get detailed information like this. I go to a pretty big school and I can't think of anything like this that our Fulbright advisers have ever made available to us :/

Having read that, I think even if I did make it to the final round, I'd be rejected considering I am studying the rise of the radical right wing and not in a favorable light...

[Mossy.artist]

1 hour ago, PGxalex said:

In regards to all the disheartened science people... I actually missed this the first time I looked at the list of NSC members (because I was so focused on the country-specific people), but there is a category of "Science" evaluators, in the "Committees of Academic Fields by Discipline"... underneath the committees on Architecture, Business, and Creative Writing. Then, in the NSC Review Process and Rating Scale document, I noticed it said this:

THE REVIEW PROCESS

A comparative approach is used in the National Screening Committee review process. It includes both rating and ranking the applications for a specific country or, in a few of cases, for a specific field.

Then further down the page:

0. FIELD OF STUDY: SCIENCE (LIMITED), BUSINESS (LIMITED), CREATIVE WRITING, ARCHITECTURE

   • Field specialists

   • Professionals & faculty

   • Country/World Region experience optional

I interpreted this to mean that regardless of the country you applied for, if your application was science-based, it would get sent to the Science committee rather than the country committee, and the science applications would be ranked against each other, rather than against the other applicants for that country... This part confused me, though, because some countries designate a preference for STEM applications, so I'm not sure how the science rankings could be integrated into the country rankings, if it's all evaluated separately... Alternatively, I guess the science committee could provide the ratings of applications for feasibility, past experience, etc., and leave the absolute ranking up to the country committees. Does anyone have any other ideas about this? Or any other interpretations of what this means...?

I noticed this when I was going over the document and wondered that myself. I imagined that your application would be reviewed by your country committee and maybe one person from the science committee? The people selected for specific country groups all have some sort of experience with that country and I feel like it would still be important to have their input on applications regardless of the discipline as they might have an opinion as to whether the applicant and their project would go over well in the potential host country...idk.

Anyway, the selection of reviewers for the science field is still isn't that great for me personally. The most similar discipline to my own is "Biology" and the individual studies microbiology, bleh. Out of everyone there are only 3 reviewers who's fields are ecology/environmental; understandably for Brazil and "The Southern Cone", and oddly for the Netherlands?

Ah well, maybe I'm grumbling for nothing. I wish Tuesday would get here already!! 

[Mossy.artist]

2 hours ago, iDance said:

I am right there with you. I'd green arrow it but it's still saying I've used all of mine up for the day. Although my topic is interdisciplinary, it's got a lot to do with profiling patients in a specific sect. I was lucky--my FPA and mentors told me to take out the jargon. Reading over the list of judges, I'm so glad they did that because none of them are even close to medical science. In some ways that's good, as my project is pretty qualitative and medicine is in a quantitative preferential state right now, but at the same time I'm not sure if most people would understand the need to know your patients to work with them for the best outcomes. I think my app is strong enough that that shouldn't be a reason if I'm eliminated since I worked with people in the humanities to expand my knowledge lacks, but it's still kind of a let down. But yeah, I found the lack of any health science and minimal (sorry humanities folks) "hard" science people on the boards a little disheartening. Maybe we'll be on them one day! 

Yeah, I did my best to make my proposal easy to understand for anyone as well (using up a bunch of space in the meantime! :/). But like you, I worry about readers really grasping the importance of my research. Or maybe I just wanted it to be read by some environmental person who would be like, "Yeah! Save the plants!". Eh, I'm sure it will work out alright. I had my proposal read by plenty of non-science people and generally, they were interested in the topic. 

We just need something to complain and worry about until Tuesday ><

[Mossy.artist]

33 minutes ago, Horb said:

Having read that, I think even if I did make it to the final round, I'd be rejected considering I am studying the rise of the radical right wing and not in a favorable light...

Yeah..it can be tricky knowing how much is too much. Is the right wing in power in the country you're applying to?

I'm just studying mosses and even I'm worried about being seen in a bad light by the government. I mentioned a forest which is controversially being logged by Poland's new right wing government and I wonder how much involvement the government has with Fulbright selection in the host country. I have hear a variety of things. Or maybe I'll fly under the radar because Poland is usually overwhelmed with History and Art proposals and they won't even see me coming! Hehehe! 

[Horb]

7 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

Yeah, I did my best to make my proposal easy to understand for anyone as well (using up a bunch of space in the meantime! :/). But like you, I worry about readers really grasping the importance of my research. Or maybe I just wanted it to be read by some environmental person who would be like, "Yeah! Save the plants!". Eh, I'm sure it will work out alright. I had my proposal read by plenty of non-science people and generally, they were interested in the topic. 

We just need something to complain and worry about until Tuesday ><

I've sat in on selection committees before. Your project sounds like the type everyone would be giddy with joy over (and I'm from the humanities). Usually, it is something like: "OMG, moss? That sounds so cool!" It will be different than trying to determine which of the many projects that deal with drug delivery should be funded (since many sound very similar and it becomes a question of which seems more feasible). 

[Horb]

2 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

Yeah..it can be tricky knowing how much is too much. Is the right wing in power in the country you're applying to?

I'm just studying mosses and even I'm worried about being seen in a bad light by the government. I mentioned a forest which is controversially being logged by Poland's new right wing government and I wonder how much involvement the government has with Fulbright selection in the host country. I have hear a variety of things. Or maybe I'll fly under the radar because Poland is usually overwhelmed with History and Art proposals and they won't even see me coming! Hehehe! 

Well...I'm more worried about the final US approval, since it goes to someone appointed by the President...which is Trump at that time...so yeah... The other country definitely has gov't officials look at it, but usually as long as you aren't outright insulting them, it is ok. Some countries are obviously more touchy than others (studying the Armenian genocide in Turkey, for example, would not fly). 

[AnnMarie]

I was browsing the Internet and I feel like I found a photo that describes our potential wait perfectly. Lol!

[Mossy.artist]

4 minutes ago, Horb said:

I've sat in on selection committees before. Your project sounds like the type everyone would be giddy with joy over (and I'm from the humanities). Usually, it is something like: "OMG, moss? That sounds so cool!" It will be different than trying to determine which of the many projects that deal with drug delivery should be funded (since many sound very similar and it becomes a question of which seems more feasible). 

Lol. "OMG, moss!" Yes that is what I will tell myself. I was worried it would be more like, "...moss? You mean that green mold stuff on logs? Who cares about that!? We need to fund the important things like cancer research and Holocaust studies!"

Thanks for the laugh  

[Horb]

3 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

Lol. "OMG, moss!" Yes that is what I will tell myself. I was worried it would be more like, "...moss? You mean that green mold stuff on logs? Who cares about that!? We need to fund the important things like cancer research and Holocaust studies!"

Thanks for the laugh  

Nah, humanities people would be like: Wordsworth wrote a BEAUTIFUL poem about moss. We must save it. 

[Mossy.artist]

4 minutes ago, Horb said:

Well...I'm more worried about the final US approval, since it goes to someone appointed by the President...which is Trump at that time...so yeah... The other country definitely has gov't officials look at it, but usually as long as you aren't outright insulting them, it is ok. Some countries are obviously more touchy than others (studying the Armenian genocide in Turkey, for example, would not fly). 

Well now you've really hit on it. How is Trump going to affect the Fulbright program? I have been wondering that myself since election day but so far no news about it. I was hoping that everyone involved in this cycle would have been selected by the Obama administration but I remember now, that last step which is supposed to be a technicality... well you're studying the right wing in another country right? I don't think it would be a problem if you got all the way to the last step. They were saying applications only really get flagged if you are related to someone in the state department or something specific like that. 

[Mossy.artist]

5 minutes ago, Horb said:

Nah, humanities people would be like: Wordsworth wrote a BEAUTIFUL poem about moss. We must save it. 

LOL, YES! POSITIVE ENERGIES!!! WE WILL ALL BE SELECTED AND HAVE AMAZING EXPERIENCES! 

[Horb]

4 minutes ago, Mossy.artist said:

Well now you've really hit on it. How is Trump going to affect the Fulbright program? I have been wondering that myself since election day but so far no news about it. I was hoping that everyone involved in this cycle would have been selected by the Obama administration but I remember now, that last step which is supposed to be a technicality... well you're studying the right wing in another country right? I don't think it would be a problem if you got all the way to the last step. They were saying applications only really get flagged if you are related to someone in the state department or something specific like that. 

It did mention if it poses a threat to the government or something like that, which I could see them arguing. I personally think the funding it set for our cycle, but I don't know about later cycles. I don't understand why you would cut a program that is about forming ties with other countries and connecting people across difference. It is a fantastic foreign relations program, which we need in times like these.

[Mossy.artist]

4 minutes ago, Horb said:

It did mention if it poses a threat to the government or something like that, which I could see them arguing. I personally think the funding it set for our cycle, but I don't know about later cycles. I don't understand why you would cut a program that is about forming ties with other countries and connecting people across difference. It is a fantastic foreign relations program, which we need in times like these.

Well we know how Trump is ALL about maintaining ties with other countries and encouraging diversity and understanding...:/ 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Mossy.artist

[describeblue]

23 hours ago, ad.eundum said:

Found the exact place I got this, it was actually in the 2016-2017 thread:

If you follow dosto's link and poke around those subsequent webpages, then you can find the link I posted.

So much new information!! Reading more statistics and methodology makes me happy that I was a finalist for the arts last time I applied. Good, but not good enough.

Happy waiting and happy long weekend, everyone! 

[Dash123]

Re: president-elect Trump

So in theory, he'd be choosing a new Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural affairs, yeah? Which could trickle down and impact which projects are approved or denied for Fulbright?

(*scrambles to recall where I may not have measured my liberal tone in an application essay written in the time of Obama*)

[Dash123]

@Horb - I hope they send you through. We need more Americans abroad now more than ever that don't fuel the "alt-right." If I'm chosen for my ETA, I imagine my first task will be assuring my class and colleagues that I'm not a disciple of Trump...

[Dilemma1]

5 hours ago, Mossy.artist said:

Lol. "OMG, moss!" Yes that is what I will tell myself. I was worried it would be more like, "...moss? You mean that green mold stuff on logs? Who cares about that!? We need to fund the important things like cancer research and Holocaust studies!"

Thanks for the laugh  

 

You have no idea how true the "lets fund cancer research" is!   While it is an area that is immensely important and greatly impacts everyone in society...but it would be nice if other areas got their chance to shine!  The last two Fulbrighter's for Leicester have been in Microbiology-cancer research, so I'm hoping this year breaks that streak.  

Your research on moss sounds like you would have quite the adventure out in the field! My fingers will be crossed for you!

 

1 hour ago, Dash123 said:

@Horb - I hope they send you through. We need more Americans abroad now more than ever that don't fuel the "alt-right." If I'm chosen for my ETA, I imagine my first task will be assuring my class and colleagues that I'm not a disciple of Trump...

 

I have a friend who is currently in Germany on a Fulbright and he was interviewed by the local news on the night of the election...he's been trying to explain and assure everyone about the results since then.  We absolutely need programs like Fulbright right now that will create positive interactions with citizens around the world and provide a more personal face to the idea of what an "American" is.

[Mossy.artist]

1 hour ago, Dash123 said:

Re: president-elect Trump

So in theory, he'd be choosing a new Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural affairs, yeah? Which could trickle down and impact which projects are approved or denied for Fulbright?

(*scrambles to recall where I may not have measured my liberal tone in an application essay written in the time of Obama*)

I guess there is a possibility but, I think the chance of Trump affecting this year's cycle is very small. He's so busy repealing the ACA that if we stay quiet he'll probably not notice until its time to make decisions for next year. *fingers crossed*

17 minutes ago, Dilemma1 said:

You have no idea how true the "lets fund cancer research" is!   While it is an area that is immensely important and greatly impacts everyone in society...but it would be nice if other areas got their chance to shine!  The last two Fulbrighter's for Leicester have been in Microbiology-cancer research, so I'm hoping this year breaks that streak.  

Your research on moss sounds like you would have quite the adventure out in the field! My fingers will be crossed for you!

 

I have a friend who is currently in Germany on a Fulbright and he was interviewed by the local news on the night of the election...he's been trying to explain and assure everyone about the results since then.  We absolutely need programs like Fulbright right now that will create positive interactions with citizens around the world and provide a more personal face to the idea of what an "American" is.

Trust me, I am not looking forward to a future spent begging for grants, I know how difficult it can be to be in academia in the Botanical world. Thank you for the good wishes! Is your topic scientific as well?

That is crazy that your friend was actually interviewed on the news! Honestly, I'm not sure if I could say the right thing in that position. I think many Americans are at a loss to explain how this could have ever happened...the truth is there is a deep rift in the American people, completely different views. But then right-wing governments are on the rise all over the world...what is happening??

 

Good luck to us all..

[iDance]

8 hours ago, Horb said:

It does mention under tips to write to a general audience, which makes sense considering it goes to the host country for approval and they don't send them out to specialists necessarily. Besides, all fields have jargon that even others in the field might not understand.

Truth--but as @Mossy.artist hit right on the nose, it takes up a lot of space. I think I managed to balance it out in the end, as only 2 people involved in my process were directly connected with my field and everyone else understood it and seemed interested. It's just kind of disheartening when you hoped someone at least connected to your field would read it. I'm not doing a huge impact thing like cancer research or something really intriguing like moss (not being sarcastic--I think that's an epic topic and you sound really excited about it--I'm excited to see where it goes!). It just makes me more nervous. Imagine an English proposal only being read by only physicists, mathematicians, and biologists. They still could understand it and be excited by it (maybe even more so since it's out of their range of expertise),but it's still a little nerve-wracking on the person being judged. And yes, I know you could argue that people outside your area won't be able to critique and find faults that experts could, but stress is still overruling logic a bit in my mind.

Along that note, not too many people in clinical sciences are accepted from the info I've found. The trick is we can't work with patients, so it has to be approached in an unusual way. I'm planning to interview dancers about their perceptions of their dancing, injuries, and recovery. Considering factors more than just "where does it hurt" is important for a "whole person" approach to treatment, which arguably increases good treatment outcomes. There's more in the proposal, but I'm just nervous that people who aren't in health sciences are going to discount it. It's not what I've found to be the case at school so it's kind of an illogical fear, but there you go. If you search my degree (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) with Fulbright, some professors pop up as recipients, but no students. It just eats away a bit. It stems from overthinking, but until the answers are out this kind of stuff just fuels the doubts.

Thanks for reading my drivel. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but they're just little things that plague me when I'm trying to sleep lol.

Obama just assigned 2 new people to the Fulbright board the other day--it was on Twitter. I'm hoping this means it won't be touched by Trump for the foreseeable future.. I'm hoping he doesn't abruptly stop funding it, because I could see that being something he'd do. Ugh. I can't believe we're in this situation. Although if he does mess with it, perhaps my next proposal will be to Russia lol (sorry, couldn't help it). Fingers crossed that we're all in the position where we actually have to worry about that impacting us, because that means we got the grants!

Good luck guys. Less than 3 days. 

[BenWLol]

5 minutes ago, iDance said:

Truth--but as @Mossy.artist hit right on the nose, it takes up a lot of space. I think I managed to balance it out in the end, as only 2 people involved in my process were directly connected with my field and everyone else understood it and seemed interested. It's just kind of disheartening when you hoped someone at least connected to your field would read it. I'm not doing a huge impact thing like cancer research or something really intriguing like moss (not being sarcastic--I think that's an epic topic and you sound really excited about it--I'm excited to see where it goes!). It just makes me more nervous. Imagine an English proposal only being read by only physicists, mathematicians, and biologists. They still could understand it and be excited by it (maybe even more so since it's out of their range of expertise),but it's still a little nerve-wracking on the person being judged. And yes, I know you could argue that people outside your area won't be able to critique and find faults that experts could, but stress is still overruling logic a bit in my mind.

 

It's definitely a challenge to make it accessible to anyone reviewing it.

I tried to think of mine in terms of weaving details into the work in such a way that anyone can relate to the types of experiences I'm researching. Maybe kind of like the way that Bill Nye can make science really cool and engaging, even if I'm never going to devote my life to it.

But it was for sure intimidating when I did my campus committee interview and they had a professor in my exact field drilling me with questions about my proposal - it definitely helped put some things into perspective 

[Horb]

11 hours ago, iDance said:

Truth--but as @Mossy.artist hit right on the nose, it takes up a lot of space. I think I managed to balance it out in the end, as only 2 people involved in my process were directly connected with my field and everyone else understood it and seemed interested. It's just kind of disheartening when you hoped someone at least connected to your field would read it. I'm not doing a huge impact thing like cancer research or something really intriguing like moss (not being sarcastic--I think that's an epic topic and you sound really excited about it--I'm excited to see where it goes!). It just makes me more nervous. Imagine an English proposal only being read by only physicists, mathematicians, and biologists. They still could understand it and be excited by it (maybe even more so since it's out of their range of expertise),but it's still a little nerve-wracking on the person being judged. And yes, I know you could argue that people outside your area won't be able to critique and find faults that experts could, but stress is still overruling logic a bit in my mind.

Along that note, not too many people in clinical sciences are accepted from the info I've found. The trick is we can't work with patients, so it has to be approached in an unusual way. I'm planning to interview dancers about their perceptions of their dancing, injuries, and recovery. Considering factors more than just "where does it hurt" is important for a "whole person" approach to treatment, which arguably increases good treatment outcomes. There's more in the proposal, but I'm just nervous that people who aren't in health sciences are going to discount it. It's not what I've found to be the case at school so it's kind of an illogical fear, but there you go. If you search my degree (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) with Fulbright, some professors pop up as recipients, but no students. It just eats away a bit. It stems from overthinking, but until the answers are out this kind of stuff just fuels the doubts.

Thanks for reading my drivel. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but they're just little things that plague me when I'm trying to sleep lol.

Obama just assigned 2 new people to the Fulbright board the other day--it was on Twitter. I'm hoping this means it won't be touched by Trump for the foreseeable future.. I'm hoping he doesn't abruptly stop funding it, because I could see that being something he'd do. Ugh. I can't believe we're in this situation. Although if he does mess with it, perhaps my next proposal will be to Russia lol (sorry, couldn't help it). Fingers crossed that we're all in the position where we actually have to worry about that impacting us, because that means we got the grants!

Good luck guys. Less than 3 days. 

Oh yeah, true. I find the challenge in dealing with science critics as a humanities student is explaining the importance of my project. So much of science is forward thinking, whereas in the humanities, we frequently revisit the past to reimagine the present and the future and push forward. You also need to add a lot of context (this guy who you've never heard of and who isn't even that big in my field, well, he is revolutionary and we should stop ignoring him!). So you're both right: it takes up more space than it would if we could assume a general knowledge base.