NEED HELP! Fulbright Foreign Student Nominee - MIS/MID

[Ella16]

5 hours ago, KhalifehA said:

I know it's very frustrating. And to make it even more frustrating, beyond this point in the application process I no longer have a say in where I go.

So when the acceptances start coming in, Fulbright have the final and only say in where I get to enroll. 

This is so weird. I was looking at the fullbright guidelines for my country and it clearly states "In case the scholar receives more than one acceptance he or she will have the final word in choosing between the universities". 

[KhalifehA]

16 hours ago, Ella16 said:

This is so weird. I was looking at the fullbright guidelines for my country and it clearly states "In case the scholar receives more than one acceptance he or she will have the final word in choosing between the universities". 

its totally different in Lebanon. When the acceptances are in, Fulbright informs you that they decided to send you to University X or Y, and ask you if you wish to accept the scholarship. There is no negotiating at that point. You either take it or leave it. I know a lot of people who were accepted to Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, etc. But ended up being sent to second tier schools because they were cheaper or because they exempted Fulbright from all or part of the tuition.

So at the end of the day, it goes down to how much you're going to cost the program and how many people they can fit within each country's allocated budget.

On 10/13/2016 at 1:40 AM, went_away said:

 

[KhalifehA]

On 10/13/2016 at 1:40 AM, went_away said:

Rather odd advice. If they're so hung up on 'prestigious' schools, I would submit the following list. 

1- JHU SAIS 

2- U of Denver Korbel

3- Syracuse 

4- U of Pittsburgh GSPIA

 

Substitute Yale for SAIS if you are feeling very confident in the competitiveness of your profile. 

 

I'm not really that confident in my profile's competitiveness. What pushed me to go for Yale is that in the week prior to my meeting with the advisor, I was having an email exchange with the director of admissions at Jackson. We went over my profile, scores, work experience, future plans, career goals, etc. She seemed very interested in my profile, and said that while she can't confirm that I can get in without consulting the committee that I am the type of candidate they'd love to have in their cohort. She encouraged me to apply because I'm a Fulbright from the middle east, and because they always have trouble attracting students from the region. She pointed out that my 162 quant score along with my BA in finance and my banking experience, are all attractive qualities.

So basically that correspondence is what encouraged me to insist on having Yale on the list. I know it doesn't have to mean anything, but it's something at least. 

So this is why I'm really hesitant about replacing Yale with SAIS. I tried to put both on the list but like I mentioned earlier my advisor didn't approve. However, she did mention in a previous email that she thinks Tufts and Duke to be less prestigious. So I might use that when negotiating a replacement for SAIS in our next meeting sometime next week. 

If she still doesn't approve I think will just stick to GWU.

[went_away]

On 10/15/2016 at 8:31 AM, KhalifehA said:

I'm not really that confident in my profile's competitiveness. What pushed me to go for Yale is that in the week prior to my meeting with the advisor, I was having an email exchange with the director of admissions at Jackson. We went over my profile, scores, work experience, future plans, career goals, etc. She seemed very interested in my profile, and said that while she can't confirm that I can get in without consulting the committee that I am the type of candidate they'd love to have in their cohort. She encouraged me to apply because I'm a Fulbright from the middle east, and because they always have trouble attracting students from the region. She pointed out that my 162 quant score along with my BA in finance and my banking experience, are all attractive qualities.

So basically that correspondence is what encouraged me to insist on having Yale on the list. I know it doesn't have to mean anything, but it's something at least. 

So this is why I'm really hesitant about replacing Yale with SAIS. I tried to put both on the list but like I mentioned earlier my advisor didn't approve. However, she did mention in a previous email that she thinks Tufts and Duke to be less prestigious. So I might use that when negotiating a replacement for SAIS in our next meeting sometime next week. 

If she still doesn't approve I think will just stick to GWU.

That's extremely promising and the director pointed out all the things I mentioned in my earlier post. With that kind of feedback, it sounds  like it would definitely be worth it to drop an application at Jackson. Honestly, it sounds like your Fulbright point of contact has rather limited knowledge of how 'prestigious' any particular school is and is basing it on some vague memories of US News magazine rankings from the mid-90s (ie overestimating how prestigious SAIS is because of the Johns Hopkins name and perhaps underestimating how prestigious Fletcher is). Best of luck - I would drop an app at Jackson if I were you. 

[Nararion]

Hi, @KhalifehA. What is the result of your placement under the Fulbright program? I'm interested to know as I have the same situation like you now. Thanks.