Two years ago, I moved from doing Fulbright U.S. Student outreach and moderating screening panels for Institute of International Education to a position at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I am the Fellowship Coordinator for the Graduate College, advising all graduate students seeking degrees within the college. At UIC, Fulbright program advising duties are divided between myself and Beth Powers, who advises undergraduates and professional program students. UICís Fall 2003 enrollment included 16,012 undergraduates and 6,825 graduate students. In the most recent Fulbright U.S. Student competition, six UIC students received grants.
 
Having been on both sides of the table, I have a good perspective on the Fulbright competition. I know how panelists respond to different parts of the application. I know the turn-ons and turn-offs. Each year, I supplement this knowledge by attending FPA advisor sessions and sitting in a Fulbright screening panel in December. I also attend National Association of Fellowship Advisors conferences. If you would like to attend a Fulbright screening panel, call your nearest IIE Regional Center for information.
 
Being an FPA at a large public university ñ especially one in an urban setting ñis challenging but rewarding. I often encounter students who may be academically accomplished, but have never considered applying for a nationally competitive scholarship. I increased the number of applicants from Graduate College students last year by putting out the word about the grant. Beth and I actively seek applicants for the Fulbright, holding information sessions, sending out informational e-mails, posting flyers, and asking departments for recommendations.
 
When I get a student in my office who wants to talk about Fulbright, the first thing I want to know is where the student wants to go and why. If their interest is purely cultural, I encourage them to investigate research in their field that is being done in the country in which they are interested. I encourage them to take a look at scholarly journals: who is publishing from that country? If they want to pursue a degree, what university offers programs in their field? How are these offerings different from what they can get here?
 
If their interest is purely scholarly, I encourage them to learn about the country and culture. I suggest reading newspapers, watching films, surfing the Internet, and perhaps joining a language exchange circle. They wonít be fulfilling the Fulbright goal of increasing ìmutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries,î as it says on the IIE website, if they are shut up in a laboratory by themselves for nine months.
 
Sometimes a student asks me for advice on which country to choose for their proposal. If the student has suggested the UK, which is often the case, I tell them about the other countries where they can propose a project in English. I have even created a list of these countries to hand out to students. We also look at the competition statistics at the back of the Fulbright brochure if the students are unsure where to go. As recommended by IIE, the Korean teaching assistantship is a grant that I always bring up in these cases. However, I do tell them that while the competition statistics can be helpful, if they really dream of going to one country, they should apply there even if that country receives many applications. I tell them that their strong desire to study there will come through in their statement of proposed study.
 
When students ask, ìWhat wins the Fulbright,î I answer while academic achievement is important, it is not essential. The one component of the application that can win or lose the grant for a student is the essays. I tell them to be personal and honest on their personal statement, and clear and concise on their statement of proposed study. I urge them to explain why they are interested in the country to which they are applying on both a personal and professional level.
 
I also tell them that the second most important factor is the letters of recommendation. While they cannot control the content of these letters, they can control who they ask to write them. They should solicit letters from professors who are familiar with their work and can give an idea of how they will succeed overseas.
 
Most importantly, I am honest with the students when they ask about their chances. I know that if they have done similar work in the country to which they are applying for more than a few months, it will be a negative. I also discourage them from applying to countries that have language requirements that the student canít meet. I feel that it is better to help them select a country where I know they are fully eligible.
 
Once the applications are completed and we convene the campus committees, Beth and I work hard to ensure that the panels are made up of professors from the studentsí majors and/or who speak the languages the students propose. The feedback provided to the students by these panels can help them take their application from average to superior. Additionally, I attempt to include things about the candidate in the campus committee evaluations that the panel cannot see: how they react to questions, the passion with which they discuss their research, how personable they are. These kinds of qualities can determine how successful the student will be when interacting with researchers and peers overseas.
 
While the Fulbright competition is a lot of work for the FPA, the experience it provides for the students is invaluable. Even if the studentsí proposals are not funded, they now have a clear, well-written statement of what they are interested in doing with their educations that can serve as the basis for future projects. The experience of being interviewed by panel of specialists in their field, while daunting, is good preparation for the rigors of academia.
 
 
 
Angie Markley loves to talk Fulbright. You can reach her at (312) 355-3456 or angelam@uic.edu.
 
†