...said one confused college student to another slightly older and hopefully less confused college student (or recent grad). To give you some background, the Fulbright Program offers approximately 1,800 Americans the chance to teach English, study, and conduct research in countries around the world every year. It is competitive and involves an application process that demands dedication and purpose from its applicants, but the payoff in the end is incomparable and immeasurable. For more background information, look here: http://www.marist.edu/publicaffairs/fulbrighttopproducer.html (And, yes, Marist is a top producer among master’s universities in the country so you know you’ll be getting the best of the best in terms of guidance and support -- in Pat Taylor, we trust.)
Unfortunately, there is no “How to Fulbright for Dummies” on Barnes & Noble shelves just yet, so I’ve tried to outline some beginner tips here instead (from the perspective of someone who considered applying this year but didn’t plan well enough to give it their best shot). START EARLY. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you want to start on your Fulbright journey in the months following graduation, and you aren’t thinking about this junior year, you aren’t thinking about this, period. If you’re open to working a bit and then applying, that’s an option, too. But for undergraduates who want to embark on this journey after their senior year, you absolutely have to start considering location and purpose junior year (and there's nothing wrong with starting even earlier). RESEARCH. I would say this speaks for itself but it really doesn’t. I’m not talking the kind of mediocre half-hearted research you do for your research paper in that random history class you have to take to fulfill your core. I’m talking this-is-where-you’re-going-to-live-for-a-whole-year-so-learn-everything-about-it kind of research. If you don’t know the first thing about the competition or how you want to structure your year abroad - whether it’s at the front of a classroom, behind a desk, or in the wilderness with your mentor studying animal habits on the environment - you’re not going to enjoy the application process or your time abroad. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. In high school, my business teacher always drilled it into us that location was of the utmost importance when setting up your own business - he would make us yell, “location, location, location,” until the saying had no meaning in our life if it wasn’t somehow related to business or entrepreneurship. Well, the Fulbright fellowship is similar to that. Choosing a location is paramount, not only because it’s where you’re going to live, but also because the more reasons you have for choosing a particular place, the more likely your shot at being chosen to live and teach, work, or study there. HAVE A PLAN, but keep in mind that plans change. And that is A-OK. I remember when I went to a Fulbright discussion last spring, where three alumni spoke of their experiences - one in Thailand, one in India, and one in New Zealand (so yeah, different worlds entirely) - one thing each kept repeating was how much and how often things will change. Especially if you’re conducting research, Nick Holmer insisted that you keep an open mind because your original research idea will change in some form or another. Building an idea in America is one thing, but executing it in a foreign land is a whole different hurdle. Know what you want to do abroad, set up plans, have goals, but do NOT close your mind to all the possibilities that await once you land on foreign soil. Though I have not been in this position myself in terms of Fulbright, I know firsthand how quickly things change when you have expectations for situations or locations you know little about. But, this is just a sneak peek at all the great information you can hear this Wednesday, November 30, at the Fulbright panel discussion Pat Taylor (Marist’s graduate school and fellowship advisor) is holding in Fontaine’s Henry Hudson Room (3rd floor) starting at noon!! To attend this event, please RSVP to [email protected] and show up Wednesday, 11/30, at noon in the Henry Hudson Room - with questions galore! And for further updates on scholarships and fellowships, please LIKE the Scholarship Fox at Marist Facebook page!!
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