Fulbright Scholarships

Parents Forum
1

<p>How competitive is it to get a Fulbright? I realize that many more of them are awarded each year than other, more prestigious, scholarships like the Rhodes.</p>

<p>What does it say about a school like Boston College which was ranked 8th in Fulbrights this year among national research universities?</p>

<p>Here is the link: [Top</a> Producers of U.S. Fulbright Students by Type of Institution, 2011-12 - International - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Top-Producers-of-US/129452/]Top”>http://chronicle.com/article/Top-Producers-of-US/129452/)</p>

2

<p>It seems to me most colleges have an office to help students apply for this type scholarship. They can offer the student advice and support as to what is appropriate.</p>

3

<p>Anyone have anything more to add to this?</p>

4

<p>There’s some expertise involved in helping the applicant “package” the application, and some schools are a lot better than others at helping with that. (Or, some schools are better at enforcing the review process and weeding out unlikely applicants.) D’s public U regularly has a dozen or more Fullbright winners, but most of the student winners come from the much smaller honors college. </p>

<p>But… is it being fully funded this year?</p>

5

<p>Some schools put a greater value on undergraduate research, especially in the social sciences and humanities, which put students in a better position to apply for research Fulbrights. Other schools (sometimes the same schools) have really excellent language and area studies departments and heavily supported study abroad programs (usually their own) which makes it more likely that applicants for teaching Fulbrights will succeed. </p>

<p>Mentoring and good support offices are also helpful.</p>

6

<p>Thank you, both.</p>

7

<p>

The level of competition for a Fulbright varies tremendously by country. Without knowing the countries involved, it’s difficult to compare one university to another. </p>

<p>For example, last year Cyprus received 3 applications and had 2 scholarships available, so very good odds indeed. Applicants to the UK were less fortunate, with about 19 applicants per scholarship.</p>

<p>There is also a big difference between the study/research Fulbright awards and the English teaching Fulbrights.</p>