<p>The prestige colleges’ students can get lots of Fulbrights because:
- They are able to get excellent advice from their schools and peers about Fulbrights since so many students have gotten them, and some professors also are on the selection committee.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The students have done more research than have students at most other schools.</p></li>
<li><p>The students also are more likely to have the language and travel experiences indicating they have the maturity and sophistication to be able to flourish while spending a school year abroad.</p></li>
<li><p>The professors know how to write recommendations supporting the student’s Fulbright. They aren’t going to write recommendations emphasizing how humble a student is (and yes, I have seen those kind of recommendations from well-meaning professors at third tier schools), but will write recommendations stressing the student’s sophistication, research and writing skills and other intellectual abilities.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The professors at the top schools also are well known in their fields for their research, and they probably know or are known to people on the Fulbright selection committees, so their recommendations will carry a lot of weight.</p>