Oh gracious. My D just called to say she’s progressed as a “semifinalist/finalist??” for a Fulbright research position. She was walking into class and gave no details. She didn’t think she had a chance so I’d forgotten she applied months ago. She may have a hard decision to make if she actually gets it (still a long shot).
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S21 is ‘probably’ in line to graduate, and definitely has a job lined up in London starting in August/September. He still needs to track down some credits transferring from community college to ensure he is on track to graduate.
It sure seemed like he had a great experience during his four years at UT Austin. The internship/job opportunities were out of this world. It’s some crazy mix of luck, hard work, and skill.
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So fun to see everyone’s updates.
D21 is also set to graduate in May and like @DramaMama2021 's kid, also just learned that she’s a Fulbright semi-finalist, so that’s fun! (It looks about 50% percent of the initial pool advanced, so now their chance of acceptance is about 40%.)
Her Plan B is to teach abroad somewhere else in the Spanish-speaking world (one of her majors was Spanish) and then eventually grad school, but probably not for awhile. She’s got serious wanderlust.
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Your daughter probably knows about this, but just FYI, the government of Spain has a program that sponsors young adults from the US to teach English in elementary (and possibly secondary) schools throughout Spain. English degree or ESL certificate not required. It’s called the NALCAP Cultural Ambassadors program. Maybe something for her to check out! I have read that the private English schools throughout Latin America can sometimes be problematic and a little exploitative in their expectations relative to pay/job security. Of course, there is also Peace Corps! Kudos to her for her adventurous spirit!
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Thanks, and yes, that exact program is Plan B: she’s working on that application now. Plan C is to through-hike the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail, runs from Canada to Mexico). This kid has quite the bucket list 
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She sounds like a kid after my own heart!
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How very exciting about the Fulbright Scholars, you must be so proud!!
My S21 is now a 25.5 graduate after a health issue sophomore year. He has a research position this summer at Columbia and then he just needs to finish his final semester and his thesis. He is thinking he will work in research for a year or two before applying to graduate school.
Congratulations to everyone for surviving this whole process!!
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YAY, my D21 just graduated from UMD last December. She applied to med schools last June and still waiting for an acceptance to any schools of of the 23 applications (5 rejections so far 
) . She also started to work as an internship for the Federal Fellows program, along with volunteering a few hours a week at the local hospital. Her plan is keep busy until she get accepted or when she needs to reapply again.
As for us, we will join other “Parents of HS Class of 2025”, sine my second daughter is applying to colleges. Hopefully, she will get accepted to UMD, which will reduce the pain of paying for college for us. 
Congrats to all us parents in this journey. 
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My older daughter graduated with a 3.85 and good MCAT scores. Applied to 23 medical schools last year and got one interview. Worked another year and has reapplied to 25 schools this year. Has one acceptance and 3 interviews so far.
It’s a tough process - tell your D to hang in there.
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You are right. It’s a tough process with so many excellent applicants for limited seats. She is hoping for any acceptance in this cycle, but continue to build up her ECs hours to prep for the next cycle.
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Med school is really so insanely competitive now. Give your kids tons of credits for working hard and making it happen!
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Booked my flight, car and house for graduation. 90 days to go!! It went by so fast 
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Only 90 days?! 
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I booked a hotel last July (2024), and there were just a few rooms left in the area, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten a hotel room.
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What is the status of the Fulbright offers? The international Fulbright scholars studying in the US just had their funding from the State department terminated mid semester.
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No news. D21 is a ETA semi-finalist and has heard zero from Fulbright so far. Their website is still active and says that the next application cycle will open ‘in the spring’. But given everything else that’s going down, I’m very pessimistic and sad and mad for my kid.
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Oh my, how fun I stumbled on “our” thread again. I loved catching up on everyone’s updates and can not believe we are here 4 years later! My D21 is still working on her degree- since she needed to take a leave of absence after freshman year. She’s been working full time and going to school, and now she will be moving to NYC next month. It’s a full circle moment because that is where she was born. I’ll be curious to see how she feels when winter hits because she has definitely loved southern California weather for the last 10 years. Cheers to all the success stories and adventures ahead!
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My D (Fulbright Research semi-finalist) has just been officially notified by Fulbright and her college that funding remains “on hold” indefinitely. The approximately 30 semi-finalists at her school have been instructed to seek other opportunities next year due to the uncertainty of the program.
I cannot put into words how upset and sad I am for these students… and for the communities they were prepared to serve.
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That is so terrible!
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D21 also got her internship on paused and then cancelled last month. It was part of the federal fellowship program, that she really wanted to be a part of.
I don’t know what they are trying to achieve, but this is certainly not the way to “make America great again.” 
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