<p>I am now entering my sophomore year of college and have made the decision that I will be a Fulbright scholar upon graduating. There is nothing in the world I want more. </p>
<p>I am a Biology/Psychology double major - so I want a research grant. I was Dean’s List my first two semesters of school, so I’m sure that GPA will not be an issue for me. What can I start doing now that will secure me a Fulbright scholarship? I need to start getting everything together now.</p>
<p>Also - will being a Fulbright help my chances of getting into the grad school I want? (Ahem, Columbia.)</p>
<p>I have heard that there are certain schools that have a much better record with Fulbrights than others. The successful schools have professors who really know the ins and outs of the grant application process. Find out if your school has such a person and use them.</p>
<p>Shouldn’t you be applying to the Fulbright program and graduate schools at the same time? If you get the Fulbright, defer your graduate program for a year. Otherwise, you go ahead to grad school. :P</p>
<p>Something that is obviously central to every successful Fulbright application is the proposal. It should be sound and creative but reasonable, and telling you what you should propose to do (and how you can make it happen should you receive funding) is obviously something we can’t do. Since you want it so bad, I guess that means you know exactly what you plan to do with your year already.</p>
<p>Rather than worrying about how to be given a Fulbright, you should spend the next two years doing your best academically, making close relationships with professors (particularly ones who teach in the geographical/academic field of your proposed project), and having interesting experiences. Those are things that will make you competitive, not planning ahead this long in advance. </p>
<p>The two core parts of the application are your project proposal, and the affiliation. Since those things call for selecting a particular country for study, I would suggest that you put it out of your mind for a while. Your interests will evolve over the next two years until the time of application, and you may end up applying for a country that you wouldn’t even suspect right now.</p>
<p>First, I suggest you go to the [Fulbright website](<a href=“US Fulbright Program - Home Page”>http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html</a>) and see if IIE is offering any information sessions in your area. Download the student brochure, read the stories, and use the website as a resource. The brochure also lists the kinds of Fulbright programs in different countries. You are interested in a research grant for biology? psychology? so check which countries have programs in your area. Some countries offer more scholarships than others, so the odds of getting a scholarship in a country with a lot of scholarships are probably better than those with fewer scholarships unless your research is in a highly specialized field.</p>
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Your research proposal needs to be realistic, something with well-defined parameters which can be accomplished in an academic year. You probably will have to defend your proposal to a committee at your undergrad school to "vet’ it before they will even allow you to submit it. Take any criticisms or suggestions & make necessary revisions to your proposal.</p>
<p>The affiliation is also important. Do the research on where you can best accomplish your work. Do not be vague or general (ie. I want to study in Country A). Be very specific about where you want to go (ie. I want to study at the University of X because Professor Y is conducting ground-breaking research in subject Z). Offer a second & third choice (ie. Professor A at University B is also doing similar research on subject Z; these professors are collaborating in their research with Professor C at University D). </p>
<p>The final piece is the recommendations. Develop solid working relationships with your professors. Do internships or research projects & ask your mentor to write a recommendation. A recommendation from a well-known professor or mentor will help tremendously. Use your professors & pick their brains for advice. Were any of them Fulbrighters? They might have some suggestions for research in your field.</p>
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This is not your decision, but that of the Institute for International Education. Finally as a former Fulbrighter, I would offer a piece of unsolicited advice: you need to distinguish between “needs” and “wants.” Nobody “needs” to be a Fulbright scholar, but many people “want” that kind of scholarship. It is an honor & a privilege to be selected.</p>
<p>While I really… enjoy… hearing your confidence, I agree with jahiliyya in the sense that you should focus on your studies and relationships. You’ve done one year, which for some people can be a tough transition resulting in lower grades, but in all reality covers much more basic material. At least that’s the experience I had in engineering undergrad.</p>
<p>Apart from that, I don’t have much to contribute except to say that you might benefit from using a semester to study abroad. I have a friend that is a Fulbright Scholar and she knew where she wanted to go because she had already been there; this is complementary to 12rmh18’s comment, since your experience abroad will potentially allow you to gather another contact and make a better informed decision about returning. </p>
<p>Furthermore, while grand aspirations are good to have, it’s wise to:
a) plan alternatives (read: Apply to grad school at the same time),
b) realize you don’t make the decision about who becomes a scholar,
c) know there are factors at place which you can control only so much but will greatly effect your success – school, contacts, etc, and lastly,
d) you have a long time ahead of you in which your goals could/will change, and you can’t do everything or much of anything at this moment to assure yourself that spot.</p>
<p>What’s your motivation for being a Fulbright Scholar, anyways? You mention grad school, so is it just a stepping stone in your mind? A line on your future resume? You can get research grants and training in other ways (ie undergrad research, grad school, become a lab tech/assistant before grad school, etc), so why is the Fulbright the thing you want most in the world?</p>
<p>So here’s my question: why do you want to be a Fulbright scholar?</p>
<p>Because the way you worded it is odd. Most people say they want to do international research and so they apply to a Fulbright, along with other opportunities, in order to do that research that they want to do abroad. Or they want to be an English Teaching Assistant and Fulbright is one way to do that. But you just said that you want to be a Fulbright scholar, for no particular reason. You want a research grant. What do you want to study? Is there a particular scholarly problem that you <em>need</em> to go to another country to do research for?</p>
<p>The most successful Fulbright grants are focused and have a compelling reason for research and study in the targeted country. In many cases, you will need to know the local language in order to successfully carry out a study (in biology perhaps not; in psychology, probably yes). So learning a language and studying abroad to enhance language skills may be one thing you can do to increase your chances. Also, get involved in a research project now or soon. Find out if you actually like doing research and if there is a niche in your field that requires international study.</p>
<p>Check out the new Fulbright booklet. In some countries, there are Fulbright/Fogarty public health research internships targeted towards biological researchers. If you write a full grant on your own, you will need to secure international affiliations yourself in virtually all of the countries you apply to; studying abroad can facilitate that but you need to start the process early. Also, carefully read the eligibility requirements and preferences. For example, in Cameroon there is a preference for biologists, so a full grant written in biology for that country has a better chance than, say, a psychological study (which is not on the preferred list).</p>
<p>Make sure you find out if your university has an earlier deadline to look over your application. Mine required the Fulbright application 2 weeks before the actual deadline.</p>
<p>Also, find out if your college participates in the Watson fellowship program:</p>