U.S. Archives

2005/06 US Student Fulbright Recommendations are Announced

IIE received 5,672 complete applications for the 2005/06 US Student Fulbright Competition. The applications were reviewed by 90 different sub-committees of the National Screening Committee (NSC). The committee meetings were held at all of IIE’s US based regional offices. Each committee consisted of 3 members and one IIE staff member who facilitated the committee. NSC  members are specialists in various academic and artistic fields and area studies.

Letters were sent on January 31, 2005 via regular mail to all candidates notifying them of the NSC’s decisions. We regret that IIE cannot initially provide information about the decision by phone, fax or email. Candidates must first be informed in letter format. Candidates who do not receive their letters by February 15, 2005 may call IIE and ask for the result.

This completes the first stage in the competition, when Applicants are deemed either recommended or non-recommended. Non-recommended applicants are no longer under consideration. Applications of recommended candidates have been transmitted to the supervising agencies abroad for further review. Notifications to IIE from these agencies will begin to arrive by approximaely March 1, 2005. Until that time, no further information will be available for any country.

Non-Recommendation & Re-Application

Reasons for Non-Recommendation
It is our policy that reasons for non-recommendation cannot be given. Practically speaking, it is impossible to explain specifically why an applicant is not selected, since each applicant is judged by the members of the National Screening Committee (NSC) in relation to all the other applicants who have applied to a particular country in a given year’s competition, and relative judgments must be made given the facts at hand. It has been the experience of IIE that NSC members review all applications with great care and are scrupulously fair in their evaluations and recommendations.

Re-Applying in a Future Competition
Applicants who are not recommended for a 2005/06 Fulbright grant are encouraged to reapply in a future competition. We often find that applicants are successful in subsequent competitions, and that non-recommendation has no bearing on the screening of a future application.

The ratio between the number of awards offered in a given country and the number of applications received often means that the competition for some countries is especially keen, and many well-qualified applicants cannot be accommodated. Therefore, we encourage applicants to consider re-applying for less stringent country competitions where it is also possible to complete their proposed projects.

There are two areas of improvement that we often suggest for non-recommended applicants when considering a future application. Language skills and host country affiliation. Applicants often underestimate the level of language proficiency that they will need in order to submit a successful application. We highly encourage all applicants to continue their language study so that they are evaluated at a higher level in a future application.

Applicants who did not successfully establish a host country affiliation are encouraged to continue their efforts to find a host affilition, where appropriate. The lack of a letter of support from a host institution often weakens an otherwise strong application. Please note that this is only relevant in country programs where it is the applicant’s responsibility to establish host country affiliations.

The 2006/07 US Student Fulbright Competition will open on May 1, 2005. Information and application materials will be available at that time. The application will again be online and we encourage you to continue reading the Applicant Newsletter.

Recommendation & Final Selection

The applications of recommended Fulbright candidates have been forwarded to the supervising agencies overseas. It is up to the supervising agency in a particular host country to make the final nominations for Fulbright awards. All nominations must also receive the approval of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB). The FSB is composed of 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States. Only nominated candidates approved by the FSB will be ultimately offered Fulbright awards. IIE's National Screening Committees recommend at least one and a half to two times the number of candidates as there are grants available to each country. For this reason, most countries will choose principal and also alternate candidates to nominate to the FSB. The country may also non-select some candidates who will receive no further consideration. Simultaneously, U.S. Department of State officials, responsible for the Fulbright Program, are determining final funding levels for each participating country. Individual country decisions and FSB approval are sent to IIE separately so final selections can be received anytime between the beginning of March to the end of May. However, we anticipate receiving most results by the beginning of April. This is a complex process, with many entities who need to provide feedback to IIE before applicants can be notified. We want to assure you that we all work very diligently to notify applicants of their status as expeditiously as possible. As competition results come in, we mail out final notification letters to applicants’ permanent addresses, on a rolling basis. We cannot inform applicants of competition results over the phone or via email. Therefore, expect to receive a letter from us as early as March, but as late as May 2005. We appreciate your patience during this process and wish you the best of luck in the competition!

Recommended Candidate FAQs

1. What does it mean to be a recommended candidate for a grant?

To be a recommended candidate means that your application has passed the initial screening process here in the U.S. and has been forwarded to the country to which you applied for further consideration. There is no assurance, however, that because you are a recommended candidate you will get a grant. The final decision regarding your application will be made by the supervising agency in the host country and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

2. What is the ratio of candidates recommended to grants given in each country?

The National Screening Committees recommend at least one and a half to two times the number of candidates as there are grants available to each country.

Example: 10 grants available – 15 to 20 candidates recommended

From the recommended number, host countries will choose their principal candidates and will also name alternate candidates. Some students may be non-selected and will be out of the competition.

3. What does alternate candidate status mean?

An alternate candidates is someone who may receive a grant if a principal candidate declines the offer of a grant or if funds become available for additional grants.

4. Will it take until June to be notified of final status?

Some countries will make their decisions as early as February, others take longer. It is anticipated that all principal candidates will receive notification no later than May 13th. Unfortunately, candidates who have been named as alternates may not hear of a promotion to principal status until much later. Since those originally offered awards are given three weeks, and sometimes longer, to make their decisions to accept or decline. Also, additional funding may not be made available until the spring. It is for these reasons that alternates are strongly encouraged to keep IIE notified of their addresses, since offers of award have been made as late as September.

Returning Sample Materials in the Creative & Performing Arts

Candidates who submitted supplementary materials in the creative or performing arts may request that their materials be returned. For those of you who submitted postage with your materials the works will be returned to you as quickly as possible and within the next two months. Candidates who were recommended for a grant may have had their sample materials forwarded to the supervising agency abroad and so their materials will be returned to them by the supervising agency.

Candidates who wish to pick up their materials from IIE headquarters in New York can do so by appointment. Please contact Walter Jackson at wjackson@iie.org to arrange a time when you can pick up your materials. Please do not show up at IIE without a prior appointment, as it is unlikely that your materials will be ready without notice.

Supplementary materials not returned or picked up will be destroyed by June 1, 2005.

Grant Start Dates & Pre-Departure Orientations

Grant Start Dates
Grant start dates will greatly depend upon the academic year calendar in the host country and the supervising agency. In general, candidates may begin as early as July 2005, and as late as March 2006. However, all grant start dates are subject to approval by the supervising agency.

Pre-Departure Orientations
For some country programs, Fulbright grantees are expected to attend pre-departure orientations that are normally held in Washington DC between June and July. These orientations are held by region and include, China, the Africa regional program, the countries of the Near East & South Asia and the East Europe (non-commission countries only)/Eurasia regions. When making plans for the summer please check with the appropriate Fulbright program manager to find out when the orientations will be held so that you can plan your summer with room to participate in the orientation.