Fulbright Hint #6 – 2014

There is a lot of information in this email, please read it carefully and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Transcripts
You need Official transcripts from each institution you attended. Read your country requirements carefully to ensure that you are providing what they require.
– DO NOT WAIT until the last minute to request the official transcript. Go to the Registrar’s Office in 106 Steele Hall and get a transcript on the spot! You can also request your SU transcript via MySlice
– “Official transcript” is defined differently by each institution. Generally an official transcript has a seal, a signature, or both; and it is a sealed envelope. A transcript that says “issued to student” or “advising transcript” is NOT official.
– Once you have your transcript/s, you need to upload it/them to your application.
– As soon as you open your sealed transcript envelope, it becomes un-official! Don’t worry; it’s the seal/signature that Fulbright is looking for at this point. However, if you become a finalist/are awarded a Fulbright, you will need to get another official transcript, this time mailed directly to Fulbright in that very official envelope!
– You need to scan each transcript and upload the scanned document to the proper section of the application.
– In general, the Fulbright application allows you to upload multiple transcripts. If you have a problem with too many pages, however, combine the separate transcripts into a single document and upload that.

Reference letters
Ask for your references as soon as possible. Let me repeat – DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!
ALL recommendations are due and must be uploaded to your on-line application by September 15th.
– Insert the September 15 deadline date in question #48: Reference/Evaluation Due Date.
– When you complete the reference page on the application, be sure to use a valid email address for each recommender. The Fulbright application system sends each person an email – using the email address you provided – with instructions about what is required and how the referee can upload his/her reference.
– Note that Full Fulbrights require a letter of reference, but the ETA requires that a specific form be completed (no letter will be required or accepted for ETA applicants).
– Provide each of your referees with sufficient and appropriate information to help him or her write a strong recommendation for you. Minimally, you should provide a copy of your essays, your resume, and a brief description of the Fulbright program.
– You may give your recommenders Professor Wadley’s, Kate Hanson’s, or my emails if case anyone has questions about the scholarship or the process. sswadley@syr.edu, khanso01@syr.edu, jlorourk@syr.edu

Language Evaluations
If your program or country suggests or requires that you demonstrate competency or even familiarity with the native language, you MUST include both the language self-evaluation and an independent language evaluation form with your application. ALL language evaluations are due and must be uploaded to your on-line application by September 15th.
– Identify your independent language evaluator and ask him or her if they are willing to provide the language evaluation. It will involve talking to you in person to assess your abilities and skills and then completing the evaluation form.
– If you don’t know who to ask, go to the Language Department in 340 HBC and ask for help identifying an evaluator. Colleen Kepler in that office is very helpful in this way.
– Once you’ve identified your evaluator, you must complete the language evaluation page on line and Fulbright will then send your evaluator the necessary links to the forms s/he will need to complete.
– The evaluator needs this form when s/he is interviewing you!
– Make an appointment with your evaluator in a timely fashion so that s/he can complete and submit the form before September 15.

If you need, but do not see the “Foreign language evaluation” check box at the bottom of the “References/Evaluations” section on-line, you need to return to the “preliminary questions” section of your application and make sure that you have checked the appropriate box in question #3, “I only need one form 7” or “I need two copies of form 7…”

Affiliation Letters
This section does not apply to ETA applicants….
But if you are applying for a Full Fulbright you will need a letter of affiliation from some institution, organization, or individual indicating that you can, in some fashion, be associated with the institution, organization or individual. (There are rare exceptions to this rule, contact Professor Wadley if you are have any questions.)
– Your letter must be on official stationery (but it can be a PDF) that says the institution agrees to allow you to work with them during your Fulbright year.
– There is no specific content that the Fulbright affiliation letter must have, but it is useful if the affiliation letter includes statements that demonstrate that:
– The project/course of study is worthwhile – and it’s even better if the affiliation institute provides some rationale
– The project is feasible
– The affiliation organization or institute will support you as far as the affiliation can, including any expressed commitment of resources necessary to complete the project – examples of resources include space to work; access to books, records, or data that the institution controls; willingness to help the applicant make connections with other people useful or necessary for the project, etc.
– Since most projects are supposed to be done with a minimum of supervision, one should not assume that a close mentoring relations is part of the deal or that any financial support will be provided.

The Personal and Project Essays
Rewrite, rewrite, do it again – and then repeat! Seriously!
You should expect to revise, edit, and rewrite your essays between 10-12 times each. Look at each essay with a critical eye. Does your first paragraph tell the reader what, why, how and where in a clear, crisp manner? Once you have provided the basics, have you developed each in way that presents an organized word picture of you and what you want to do? Is it interesting to read?
Remember, Fulbright committees will be reading between 75-100 applications – you want your application to be the one that makes those readers say, “I’d like to talk to this person!”
It is also a really good idea to have several people read your essays and offer suggestions or comments. But in the end, it’s your application and you have to make the final decisions on what to write.
At the end of these email there we’ve listed a number of writing workshops that will be offered to help you.
Keep writing and don’t hesitate to ask questions!

Don’t leave blanks; answer all the questions on the application.
Occasionally, leaving a question blank is the only appropriate option; i.e., in response to the question that asks you to list your publications, if you haven’t published anything, then leaving this blank is the only possible answer.
But more often than not, leaving a question blank means you’ve missed an opportunity to tell the reader something about yourself. i.e., the question asking you to describe your Experience should ALWAYS have some response. If you haven’t had a salaried job, then consider the best way to include your volunteer experiences.
PLAN TO ATTEND THE SCHOLARSHIP BOOT-CAMP AND FULBRIGHT WRITING SESSIONS!

Are you going to be in Syracuse before classes start? Then plan to our Scholarship Boot Camp!
We’ll work intensively on all aspects of your application during these sessions.
Wednesday, August 20th from 1-5 p.m. in 205-a Maxwell Hall
Friday, August 22 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in 205-a Maxwell Hall

Be sure to attend more than 1 Fulbright Writing Sessions. Working in teams, we’ll help you polish and perfect your essays.
Tuesday, August 26th from 3:30-5 p.m. in 225-b Eggers Hall
Friday, August 29th from 10 a.m.-12 noon in 225-b Eggers Hall
Tuesday, September 2nd from 8:30-10 a.m. in 225-b Eggers Hall
Wednesday, September 3rd from 2-4 p.m. in 225-b Eggers Hall
Monday, September 8th from 3:30-5 p.m. in 341 Eggers Hall
Wednesday, September 10th from 9-10:30 a.m. in 225-b Eggers Hall

Your Fulbright Application – Complete! – is due on Monday, September 15th at 12 noon.