so, you want to apply for fulbright?
Are considering to apply for a Fulbright award? As a fellow Fulbright applicant, let me help you with the process! It can be quite a cumbersome venture, and I know that if I didn't have the help of my scholarship advisor, I would've been totally lost!
Not only are there a lot to consider before applying, but there is a lot to do during your application process. For this reason, I wrote this post to hopefully help you through it.
Disclaimer:
This series is intended to cover the very start of a Fulbright application to the very end of becoming a Fulbright Grantee of the South Korea Elementary English Teaching Assistantship! I have applied for specifically the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 South Korea Elementary English Teaching Assistantship Award while enrolled at Winona State University, so my experience and know-how may be different than what you will experience.
step 0: are you eligible?
Before getting lost in the application process, please verify if you're eligible to get a Fulbright award. To find out Fulbright's eligibility requirements, click here!
step 1: choose your country and award type!
I personally think it's important to choose your country first rather than the type of award because each country offers something. Some awards can be quite universal throughout all countries, but you don't want to choose a research award only to find out it's not available in the country of your choice. To see all of countries available, click here!
I also recommend checking the number of awards a country offers when making your choice. Don't get lost and overwhelmed, though, if you see a small number of awards available for your proposed country. Sometimes, there could be only a small number of people applying for these sorts of awards, so your chances to get awarded could be higher than you expect. To find out past years' applicant to awardee ratio for your country and award, click here!
Ultimately, I'd say you should consider the following questions when deciding your path:
What country/countries are you passionate about?
What language are you most wanting to be immersed in?
What brings you the most joy? / What award would bring you the most joy?
When you think about these questions, the answer to which country and which award to apply for will become more prevalent. It's best to follow your heart, and the rest will play out according to your application!
step 2: consider finding a scholarship advisor if you haven't already!
Do you have a scholarship advisor or are you on your own?
Fulbright applications can be filled out either At-Large or through a U.S. institution. Regardless, I strongly advise getting someone to help with the Fulbright process. It is so nice having another set of eyes to look over essays and catch little things you may overlook while filling out your application.
If you're currently enrolled at an American university or have graduated from one, research your university's study abroad or global education offices for an advisor that helps with Fulbright awards.
Fulbright also has a search function for a network of registered program advisors based off of U.S. institution or state to help you along the process. To search for an advisor, click here!
step 3: do you have enough time to complete everything?
Consider the Fulbright application timeline with your personal schedule. Do you have enough time to get all components of your application complete before your university deadline and/or national deadline?
Fulbright applications typically open in the spring around the end of March. In the past, it would be for a year before you would be given your award; however, COVID-19 changed award durations and the application timeline. For example, when I applied for the 2020-2021 South Korea ETA award, my application opened March 31, 2020 but I potentially would start my award in January of 2022.
This can be really confusing now with the pandemic, but make sure you have enough time to compile an application before your university deadline/national deadline for the award year you want to go abroad. As I said before, applications typically open the end of March, and Fulbright's national deadline is typically in October of the same year. To check the full application timeline, click here!
Now that you've hopefully checked the award timeline, please review the application components for your specific award! It does vary between award type. To see specifics to include in your application, click here!
Fulbright also has application checklists specific to your chosen award type. To review the application checklist for your specific award, click here!
step 4: start your application!
Now that you got all pre-application measures handled, officially open a brand new application!! Click here to open up the online application. Either you'll create a new profile, or use an existing profile if you have ever applied for an IIE scholarship before!
miscellaneous : information sessions
The final thing I will include in this blog post is about Fulbright's Information Sessions. Fulbright quite frequently hosts webinars to share useful information to applicants, Fulbright program advisors, and awardees.
Especially given COVID-19, these webinars are quite helpful to see what's the same and what has changed in the application/award process. To see any scheduled information sessions, click here!
conclusion
This concludes my Fulbright blog post! I hope this is helpful for you start your application off on the right foot! Again, if you're thinking of applying this upcoming 2021-2022 award year, the application opens end of March of 2021. Do the following steps above in the next couple of months before your personal schedule gets too busy!
Disclaimer: The following statements, thoughts and information presented are my own and do not represent the U.S. Department of State or its Fulbright Program.
