Fulbright Hint #5 – 2014
REMINDER: The SU deadline is Monday, September 15th!
HINTS:
#1 – Remember that you can save your Fulbright application and complete it in sections. Don’t hit “submit” until you are really done (which won’t be until after you’ve had your campus interview). Once you hit “submit,” you can’t go back to your application and edit or change it!
#2 – You will need an OFFICIAL transcript from every college or university you have attended. DON’T wait until the last minute! Order your transcript(s) now, or at the latest, when you return to campus at the end of August. You can go to the Registrar’s Office in 106 Steele Hall and get your SU transcript, or you can go to the webpage for the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.syr.edu/ and order it electronically. (In the left margin click on “students” then “transcripts” and follow the directions for ordering a transcript.)
Follow the appropriate process to request an official transcript from each of your institutions.
Once you have your official transcript(s), you need to scan it (them) and upload the scanned document to the application. If you actually receive a Fulbright, they will ask you to snail-mail them an original hard copy.
#3 – Ask for your references early! Let me repeat – DON’T wait until the last minute! When you fill out the reference request form, be sure to use a valid email address for your referee. The Fulbright application system sends each person an email – using the email address that you provided – with instructions on how they can submit a reference.
Note that full research Fulbrights require letters of recommendation, but the ETA requires a reference form only.
Also, provide each of your referees with information to help him or her write a strong recommendation for you. A copy of your application essay drafts, your resume, a note explaining the Fulbright, and any other materials that would be helpful are appropriate to give to each person who you ask to write for you.
Your references are due by September 15th as well. Be sure to tell all your referees about that date, as the Fulbright / IIE folks only list their deadline (in October).
#4 – If you need a language evaluation, arrange for it as soon as possible. The faculty of the Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics Department in HB Crouse Hall are very helpful. Go to the LLL Office and make an appointment for a language evaluation as soon as you are able to do so. Your language evaluator will need to submit the evaluation on-line, so be sure to register him/her accurately.
If you are using 1 person as both a referee and your language evaluator – email me! There are special instructions to do that.
#5 – About Question 16. Plans upon return to the U.S.
When answering this question, consider what Fulbright wants from their scholars. This does not mean that you should change your plans to suit Fulbright, but you should express what you want to do with the Fulbright mission in mind.
Sample of answers that are accurate and factual, but don’t consider Fulbright’s mission:
After I return to the U.S I plan to begin my graduate studies in Public Administration and apply for Foreign Service.
When I return, I will teach for 5 years and then pursue a career in school leadership.
To convey the information above and still keep the Fulbright ideals and mission in mind:
My plan after returning to the U.S. is to begin graduate studies and apply for the Foreign Service. I have a passion for public diplomacy and wish to have a career in the Foreign Service, as I believe that people-to-people diplomacy is a beneficial way of promoting cultural exchange.
When I return, I will continue teaching in a school that celebrates cultural exchange and diversity. I will pursue a career in school leadership and education policy, fighting for the kinds of policies that support equal education and gives every student the chance to reach his or her full potential. This experience as an ETA, seeing another country’s development and practices, will inform my work and decisions throughout all of these positions.