Fulbright 2018-2019

[ItsAllTheyHad]

14 hours ago, Muse_ said:

Does anyone know when Germany will notify research and study finalists? I'm tempted to contact them inquiring about it due to an upcoming enrollment decision deadline for a Ph.D. offer of admission.

I am in the same situation. Contacted the person who was helping me at IIE on Friday and she told me that notifications will be sent out until approximately April 15. At least they are sticking to their deadline. 

[kkrisi]

NoKicktheBaby also waiting to hear about the Master's at Maastricht! Good luck!

[cmadd]

On 3/12/2018 at 2:42 PM, thepictureisstill said:

Also semi-finalist for Ireland research! What is your proposed topic?

Cool!! And hello! So, I applied for the archival research Fulbright at NUIG. I'm hoping to continue some folklore research, and also spend time with the papers of a few Irish writers who use folklore in their work. I'm in a PhD program for literature and creative writing (poetry), with an emphasis in folklore, and I'm interested in how and why folklore and/or "unofficial culture"  is employed in creative work. How about you?

[Tactopoda]

Hi all! Recently made an account. Any other semi-finalists for study/research in South Korea? 

[dbookworm]

On 3/16/2018 at 9:29 PM, Monsieur Vénus said:

Hey y'all, here's a question I've been wondering about in regards to the French ETA (maybe a little TMI but I don't really know where else I might ask this). I have RA and need my medications to not be in constant pain. I know people teaching in France through TAPIF receive French health insurance while working and that the ETA is basically an extension of TAPIF, but do people working through the ETA still get that health insurance?

In other words, I'm poor and rely on state health insurance. Can I expect some kind of health insurance while I'm on a French ETA (if I'm selected at all)?

Hi Monsieur Venus, I noticed no one had answered yet. This is the only info I can find on Fulbright-provided health insurance, you may have already seen: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/current-fulbrighters/health-benefits-summary I would assume you'd be covered by Fulbright's version rather than TAPIF's version? Anyone have any ideas?

[Monsieur Vénus]

@dbookworm hey thanks for the response! I think I'm going to wind up having to wait until I hear if I'm actually accepted to figure this out because there's really very little info online. Fulbright's Health Benefits doesn't really seem like it's actually *insurance*, and it seems like it's a possibility that I would be just as eligible for state health insurance as a TAPIF worker because I am still receiving the same TAPIF stipend from France's ministry of education plus the Fulbright stipend? I don't know, it's all very confusing and terrifying, haha

[marie1025]

Hey all:) Can't really tell anymore since the google sheet has descended to madness- but wanted to give sincere congratulations to anyone who got notified about Fulbright today! to everyone else- good luck and hope yours comes soon:)

[jbconnor]

Come on guys, move to slack so we don't have to deal with fake notifications messing with our emotions and reverting the chat all the time.

 

http://www.fulbrighters.slack.com

Edited March 20, 2018 by jbconnor

[dontor]

How does the category (field) of your proposal affect your application? I applied to Germany with Engineering for research 1 year proposal but I could have chosen biomedical sciences or something else. Just wondering if it increases in competitiveness or something.

Edited March 20, 2018 by dontor
clarification

[jbconnor]

48 minutes ago, dontor said:

How does the category (field) of your proposal affect your application? I applied to Germany with Engineering for research 1 year proposal but I could have chosen biomedical sciences or something else. Just wondering if it increases in competitiveness or something.

https://us.fulbrightonline.org/country-review-resources

Check out the criteria in detail here.

[dontor]

what are some ways you guys said you'd immerse yourself in the culture of your country?

[ayasofaya]

17 minutes ago, dontor said:

what are some ways you guys said you'd immerse yourself in the culture of your country?

I applied to German ETA and just talked about soccer a lot. I love soccer. It was a no-brainer to me. Instant fan of whatever local team. Done and done. Cliché maybe, but 100% truthful.

[erein42]

38 minutes ago, dontor said:

what are some ways you guys said you'd immerse yourself in the culture of your country?

I applied for Turkish ETA and I talked about rock climbing, volunteering for local political organizations, and enjoying musical performances, pretty much the only things I do here.

Edited March 20, 2018 by erein42

[poindexter]

1 hour ago, dontor said:

what are some ways you guys said you'd immerse yourself in the culture of your country?

netherlands applicant. discussed cycling and volunteering with the programs that teach youth, elderly, and expats how to navigate the cycling culture and infrastructure. also discussed volunteering at a local not-for-profit with a mission that mirrors some of the items discussed in my personal statement.

[dontor]

I don't speak German/never have taken it. Germany doesn't require it but recommends it. I applied for research study grant and all of the scientific community speaks English there. Anyone know how that affects an applicant, particularly with Germany.

And my cultural immersion was that I am into stand up comedy, I contacted a comedian there who agreed to take me with him on tours throughout the country. So would be an awesome opportunity if I got the scholarship.

[Jill Josh]

Has anyone heard back from Poland yet?

[hopeful456]

Hi, this is a bit more of a random question regarding the acceptance dates and dates of departure. First, do you know how long we have to decide if we are accepting the invitation to Fulbright? Also, how strict are they within the boundaries of start date? My country says must begin before March 2019, but I'm wondering if they would be able to allow me to start May or June 2019...work stuff may come up and make it hard to leave earlier.

 

Thanks!!

[GAFH]

5 hours ago, dontor said:

I don't speak German/never have taken it. Germany doesn't require it but recommends it. I applied for research study grant and all of the scientific community speaks English there. Anyone know how that affects an applicant, particularly with Germany.

And my cultural immersion was that I am into stand up comedy, I contacted a comedian there who agreed to take me with him on tours throughout the country. So would be an awesome opportunity if I got the scholarship.

Did you get an interview? 

[trade4925]

@Tactopoda I'm not a semifinalist for the pure study-research grant, but am for the Korean graduate degree grant. Good luck!!

[Samye23]

7 hours ago, dontor said:

I don't speak German/never have taken it. Germany doesn't require it but recommends it. I applied for research study grant and all of the scientific community speaks English there. Anyone know how that affects an applicant, particularly with Germany.

And my cultural immersion was that I am into stand up comedy, I contacted a comedian there who agreed to take me with him on tours throughout the country. So would be an awesome opportunity if I got the scholarship.

My school FPA is a German professor who has had a lot of luck in Germany and I wanted to apply there but she told me German is basically a hard requirement and that they can make you take some sort of exam to prove comprehension/fluency - but I was going to do ETA, so I'm not sure it's the same. She said if I wasn't very conversational to not even try to apply, but if you've made it this far it mustn't be too big of an issue, so stay positive!

Edited March 20, 2018 by Samye23

[JH437]

7 hours ago, dontor said:

I don't speak German/never have taken it. Germany doesn't require it but recommends it. I applied for research study grant and all of the scientific community speaks English there. Anyone know how that affects an applicant, particularly with Germany.

And my cultural immersion was that I am into stand up comedy, I contacted a comedian there who agreed to take me with him on tours throughout the country. So would be an awesome opportunity if I got the scholarship.

Finally caved and made an account here after being a long-time lurker...I am also a semi-finalist for research in Germany and am in the same situation where all my research would be at an English-speaking institution. I am a beginner in learning German too, but I have been trying to do Duolingo lessons lately.

Just to follow up on the other responses I'd like to add that Germany has not done interviews in the past, and I don't think they did them this year either (at least I didn't have one). The language requirement is different for research vs. ETA. For research, it says that they recommend 1 year of study (or novice level), whereas for ETA they require 2 years (intermediate level). You can find those details under the award descriptions here: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/countries/selectedcountry/germany

I'm not sure how much they care about German speaking ability for research semi-finalists. Hopefully not too much!

[dontor]

Yeah, I didn't receive an interview either and my advisors told me there'd be no interview. I also started doing Duolingo but will do a more formal class if I receive the scholarship. @JH437 what city did you apply with/what field?

Edited March 21, 2018 by dontor

[ayasofaya]

4 hours ago, Samye23 said:

My school FPA is a German professor who has had a lot of luck in Germany and I wanted to apply there but she told me German is basically a hard requirement and that they can make you take some sort of exam to prove comprehension/fluency - but I was going to do ETA, so I'm not sure it's the same. She said if I wasn't very conversational to not even try to apply, but if you've made it this far it mustn't be too big of an issue, so stay positive!

 

4 hours ago, JH437 said:

The language requirement is different for research vs. ETA. For research, it says that they recommend 1 year of study (or novice level), whereas for ETA they require 2 years (intermediate level). You can find those details under the award descriptions here: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/countries/selectedcountry/germany

I'm not sure how much they care about German speaking ability for research semi-finalists. Hopefully not too much!

Germany ETA semi-finalist here! They had us find a German instructor and have them submit a language evaluation form - This is a separate form completed in addition to the recommendations you already had to submit, and speaks specifically about your German proficiencies. I take private classes so I had my instructor submit both the language form and a regular recommendation. 

[GAFH]

9 hours ago, ayasofaya said:

 

Germany ETA semi-finalist here! They had us find a German instructor and have them submit a language evaluation form - This is a separate form completed in addition to the recommendations you already had to submit, and speaks specifically about your German proficiencies. I take private classes so I had my instructor submit both the language form and a regular recommendation. 

Yes, but we were only required to have a "novice" level of German. Which all in all is pretty low. If you are looking for German classes, I recommend the Goethe Institut. They have fairly small classes and have offices all around the country/world and are internationally recognized. Otherwise you should try to find a private tutor. Though many master degree programs are taught in English in Germany, depending on the city where you are, you'll want to be able to converse a little (if you are studying in Berlin though I wouldn't bother, nearly everyone speaks English). English is most often compulsory in the education system and usually they begin learning it at age 10. Though if you do know at least Standard German it opens you up to a more diverse group of people and your cultural experience will be a lot richer. 

[ayasofaya]

49 minutes ago, GAFH said:

Yes, but we were only required to have a "novice" level of German. Which all in all is pretty low. If you are looking for German classes, I recommend the Goethe Institut. They have fairly small classes and have offices all around the country/world and are internationally recognized. Otherwise you should try to find a private tutor. Though many master degree programs are taught in English in Germany, depending on the city where you are, you'll want to be able to converse a little (if you are studying in Berlin though I wouldn't bother, nearly everyone speaks English). English is most often compulsory in the education system and usually they begin learning it at age 10. Though if you do know at least Standard German it opens you up to a more diverse group of people and your cultural experience will be a lot richer. 

Yup, my point was more of a "if it was important, they would make sure you knew" kind of deal. 

I take my classes at Goethe! I highly highly highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn the language, and to anyone hoping to get some conversational skills before heading out there. I took one year of classes at Brown and then placement-tested into B2 level when I wanted to take more classes a few years later. They're also (and I'm not sure if it varies per location), verrrrry well priced for the amount and level of instruction. My instructor was a really great resource during the Fulbright app process and he also holds a linguistics PhD so he made a point to observe the language-learning patterns of each student and optimized each class period accordingly.