This newsletter is sent to everyone enrolled in a JHU Fulbright Canvas course. If you are no longer planning to apply for a Fulbright grant this cycle, please use the link at the very bottom of the page to unsubscribe and please unenroll on Canvas as well. Thank you.
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Mark Your Calendars!
JHU-Specific Deadlines for All Applicants
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First Draft Deadline for Late Starters: if you joined our process late and had your intent form meeting with us after our universal first draft deadline on June 30, your first draft materials are due 10 days after your intent form meeting (via Canvas)
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Monday, August 21: Campus Deadline for ETA and Study/Research Applicants to have a complete (though not final!) application in the Fulbright online application system. More details coming in the next newsletter...
Events for JHU Fulbright Applicants
No registration required - just go to the Zoom link provided here.
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Tuesday, August 1, 5:30-6:30 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
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Weds, August 2, 1-2:30 pm ET: Study/Research Personal Statements - Drop-In Writing Support
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Weds., August 2, 7:30-9 pm ET: Study/Research Personal Statements - Drop-In Writing Support
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Thursday, August 3, 12-1 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
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Tuesday, August 8, 5:30-6:30 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
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Thursday, August 10, 12-1 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
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Tuesday, August 15, 5:30-6:30 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
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Thursday, August 17, 12-1 pm ET: Fulbright Q&A with NFP Staff
Fulbright-Sponsored Events
Fulbright program staff at IIE offer virtual info sessions and office hours throughout the summer. Registration required (via links provided here).
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Weds., August 2, 2023, 2pm-3pm ET: ETA Supplemental Project Panel
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Friday, August 4, 2023, 3-4 pm ET: Alumni Ambassador Panel - BIPOC
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Tuesday, August 8, 2023, 2pm-3pm ET: Alumni Ambassador Panel - ETA
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Thursday, August 10, 2023, 2-3 pm ET: Study/Research Q&A Webinar
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Monday, August 14, 2023, 2-3 pm ET: ETA Q&A Webinar
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Weds., August 16, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: East Asia/Pacific
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Friday, August 18, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: South/Central Asia
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Monday, August 21, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: Europe/Eurasia (Study/Research)
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Friday, August 25, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: Middle East & North Africa
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Tuesday, August 29, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: Sub-Saharan Africa
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Thursday, August 31, 2023, 4-5 pm ET: Regional Office Hours: Western Hemisphere
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Register Your Recommenders
As the end of July approaches, everyone who has not already started their online application AND registered three recommenders should do so now. Really, now! (We know this is most of you because we can see this info in the advisers' view of the application system.)
You need to register recommenders ASAP to give them adequate time to prepare and submit their recommendations, which are due in your application by our campus deadline on August 21 (please be sure you let them know this!). You should also do it ASAP because it allows us to email them with helpful information about how to write you the most helpful recommendation possible. We will be sending those emails next week and we can't include recommenders who aren't registered.
Start Your Online Application, if You Haven't Already
Please be careful about the email address you use when registering, noting that you will potentially receive emails to that address for up to a year after you push submit this October. We strongly recommend you do not use your JHU account unless you will remain enrolled for at least another year, as JHED email addresses remain available to graduates for only a few months post-graduation.
Please be sure to select "Johns Hopkins University, MD" as your institution.
Register Your Recommenders
In your online application, click on "Recommenders & Language Evaluators" in the left-hand navigation menu. Read all of the guidance and instructions on that page. When you are ready, use the link at the bottom to register your three recommenders. This is also the place to register your language evaluator, if applicable. Please take care to ensure that you are entering the correct email address for each.
Registering a recommender in your online application generates an email to them from Fulbright with a link that your recommender will need to fill out the rec form (ETA) or upload their letter directly to your application (S/R). If any of your recommenders loses track of this email, you can resend it.
When you register them, please use the "Personal message to recommender" textbox to note that the recommendation is due by the JHU campus deadline on August 21 in addition to any other note you wish to include. It is essential to convey this deadline information (in this note and in your correspondence with your recommenders) because the official email they will receive from Fulbright includes the final deadline of October 10 in bold, as the date on which the recommendation submission system closes.
There is more information on Canvas in the NFP Guidelines (first module on both the ETA and S/R courses) on choosing recommenders (if you are still finalizing your choices), what to do if a recommender needs to edit a letter they submitted, etc.
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Get Started on Your Short Answers
The first substantive parts of your application visible to the selection committee are your three "short answers." You'll find them in the "Program Information" section of your online application. Reviewers will encounter them on pages one and two of the application PDFs they receive. These compact essays are readers’ initial glimpses into your application and they succinctly capture the three most important aspects: your project, your dedication to cultural engagement, and how the Fulbright fits into your academic/life trajectory. Since these are topics you also address in your Statement of Grant Purpose and/or Personal Statement, your challenge with the short answers is to write about these areas in ways that complement, but don't repeat, what you write in the longer essays. Our guidance below will help you do that. Please also see our downloadable guides on Canvas: ETA | S/R
PLEASE NOTE THIS CRITICAL POINT: While there will naturally be considerable overlap with what you write about in the short answers and your longer essays, vary your language as much as possible. Never cut and paste a sentence or even a substantial phrase from one essay to another. Whenever giving advice on the short answers and essays, Fulbright representatives always urge: don't repeat!
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Short Answer I: Project Summary (up to 1750 characters, including spaces)
ETA Applicants
The first short essay asks ETA applicants: “Why do you wish to be a Fulbright grantee and undertake an English Teaching Assistant opportunity? Why are you applying to this specific country?” While it’s not officially part of the prompt, you also need to answer, what can you contribute to the country X ETA program as an assistant teacher? As in the larger Statement of Grant Purpose, your answers to these questions must focus on teaching: why you want to teach English and American culture abroad, what about teaching and/or the educational system in your chosen country excites you, your qualifications to teach, and what you would be like as an ETA in the specific type of classroom you’d be assigned to. Remember that you are aiming to show that you are well-suited to that country’s specific ETA program; highlight how you fit key parts of the profile. Avoid platitudes about the country and the experience that any candidate could offer, like you’ll see firsthand what life is like in a non-Western society, you’ll gain cultural competence, expand your international horizons, etc. — instead be as precise as you can!
Study/Research Applicants
S/R applicants are asked to “Prepare an executive summary detailing the what, where, and why of your proposed project․ If you are proposing the pursuit of a graduate degree program, summarize the program and relevance to your career/education plans.” Be sure that you’ve included enough basic information so that a generalist audience can understand your research project or the core issue that motivates your choice of study program and grasp its intellectual significance. Also make clear why you wish to carry out this work in your host country. Avoid using technical terms that require defining (defining takes space) unless absolutely necessary. Make sure you touch on any distinguishing features of your study program that draw you to it or, for a research project, key aspects of the research itself and the methodology and practicalities of carrying it out to completion.
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Short Answer II: Host Country Engagement (up to 1750 characters,
including spaces)
All applicants get the same prompt: "A key purpose of the Fulbright program is to be a cultural ambassador while living abroad. How will you engage outside of the workplace to fulfill this mission? In what ways do you plan to share your culture and values in your host community? Provide specific ideas.” In response, all applicants should aim to accomplish two goals.
1) Demonstrate an eagerness for community engagement during your Fulbright year through specific ideas for activities.
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FOR ETA APPLICANTS: In your SOP, where teaching is the focus throughout, you should offer ideas for engaging your students in cultural exchange outside the classroom. In the short answer, you can and should broaden out to discuss activities you are excited to undertake to engage your host community and learn about the host country's culture. Learning the host country's language is a good goal to include, but it should not be your only activity beyond those mentioned in the SOP. Emphasize bi-directional exchange: think about ways you can contribute to your host community while also learning about it.
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FOR S/R APPLICANTS: You're offering some community engagement ideas in your SOP and should briefly summarize those activities in your short answers—but be mindful of the order of application elements. The short answers comes first, so don't refer to material in your SOP as if reviewers will have already read it. Then, add another activity, to help make this essay distinct. When selecting this new activity, the same advice applies as for preparing your community engagement paragraph in your SOP. Specific ideas for engagement should ideally derive from activities you already do in the US, so that you demonstrate preparation for and knowledge about being involved in them (unless you want to try something new, which can be great, too). When describing where you’ll volunteer, take classes, interact with others, etc., provide names and other details. Fulbright expects this, so do a little Googling and be specific. Finally, emphasize bi-directional exchange: think about ways you can contribute to your host community while also learning about it.
2) Demonstrate your preparation to be a cultural ambassador in your host country by discussing your knowledge of the country and your dedication to learning about it.
How have you learned / are you currently learning / will you learn before the Fulbright grant would start about your country’s history, society, culture, and/or current events? Please be as specific as possible, citing books, news sources, movies, media, classes, etc. (This discussion should not focus on learning the language.)
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Short Answer III: Plans Upon Return to US (up to 850 characters, including spaces).
While the prompt simply says “Describe your career and/or educational plans after completing a Fulbright grant,” what it really means is: How will you use the knowledge and skills gained from your Fulbright year in country X to further your academic and professional goals and to benefit the future communities you will inhabit? In your answer, aim to accomplish these two tasks:
1) Relate your future plans, those immediately upon your return to the US and longer-term, to the Fulbright grant, discussing how it will allow you to advance professionally.
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FOR ETA APPLICANTS: This could be discussing how the teaching skills you gain will prepare you to teach/mentor/advise in the US (as a teaching assistant in grad school, a child/adolescent psychologist, or any other job working with youth or in a teaching capacity) or how the experience will prepare you for a career in an industry/company/government agency that requires strong cultural awareness.
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FOR S/R APPLICANTS: This could be discussing how the courses you take will prepare you to pursue a subsequent degree in the US or a job in a precise industry/company, or how the techniques and knowledge you gain through your research will prepare you to attend graduate school or work in industry X, or complete your dissertation.
2) Show how you can create a “ripple effect” from what you learn as a Fulbrighter (cultural, academic, linguistic, etc.) in the future communities you will inhabit. Discuss how you can use the knowledge and connections you gain to benefit others well into the future (not just when you return to the US). Remember: Fulbright wants you to be a life-long cultural ambassador for your host country long after your grant ends, so indicate how you plan to do this.
Additional tips:
- You can distinguish your short answer from what you say in your PS or SOP about future plans by focusing on what you will do the year you get back versus placing more emphasis on longer-term plans (or vice versa). But be sure one of these essays includes information about what you’ll do upon immediate return from the grant.
- Fulbright understands that it’s hard to predict precisely what you’ll be doing in two years, let along five or more, so you should offer your best estimate (and you can include an either/or scenario). But you must demonstrate that this Fulbright project will help you work toward these plans (both, in the either/or scenario).
- Future collaboration and ongoing relationships with the country and those you worked with are great to mention!
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FOR ETA APPLICANTS: Statement of Grant Purpose vs. Personal Statement - What's the Difference?
Last week, we offered a comparison of the SOP vs. PS for study/research applicants. This week, we offer the same for ETA applicants as you continue developing and refining your essays.
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Statement of Grant Purpose (SOP)
Goal: showcase your qualifications to be an ETA in this country.
That profile for the ETA program you're applying to, the one that you consulted on the Fulbright website as you researched countries and made your choice - that's the job ad. Your SOP is your cover letter.
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What has prepared you to teach English and American culture in this country? Relate this to the target age level and what you know about the educational system.
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What kind of activities would you do in the classroom? Think of your specific country placement, any subject matter noted on the county profile, and what you know about language learning. Try to include cultural teaching.
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What would you like to do beyond the classroom to engage your students and continue their learning? Does the profile prescribe activities? If proposing something new, consider what's feasible.
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What qualities will help you adapt to living and working in an unfamiliar cultural environment? Don't just tell us you're adaptable, flexible, etc., show us by past example.
- Why this country?
KEY ADVICE: Write for your host country!
The last question, why this country, is something that should be present throughout your application essays.
For the SOP, you can integrate this not only by addressing the particulars of the program profile, but also by doing some research on the country. What are its pedagogical traditions? What kind of environment will you likely be in and what activities are appropriate and feasible there? What cultural traditions interest you and provide points of entry for comparing and sharing American culture in the classroom and extracurricular activities you suggest?
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In the SOP, as you present your teaching qualifications and ideas, your plans to engage with your students, and your readiness to immerse yourself in an as-yet-unknown community in this host country, make sure you are always framing everything around this ETA program and what's possible and helpful for the kind of students you'll be teaching.
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Personal Statement (PS)
Goal: showcase your motivations to be an ETA in this country.
The long prompt Fulbright provides for this essay may seem intimidating. They want all that in one page? Focus on the final sentences: "It should not be a recording of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your Statement of Grant Purpose․ Rather, it should be specifically related to you and your aspirations relative to the specific Fulbright Program to which you have applied." In other words, the PS should be a narrative about what has led you to want to participate in this ETA program, with a brief discussion at the end of how it will help move you forward in life. This is fundamentally a retrospective essay.
We recommend that you structure your narrative around a set of examples (three generally works well) that all contribute to a central argument about you and your motivation. Ask yourself, what experiences have I sought out that are most relevant to being an ETA in this country?
- Teaching-related activities are of course relevant, but experiences navigating cultural differences overseas or in the U.S. can be rich material for the personal statement. The more directly they relate to the host country, the better.
- Choose experiences in which you were a leader or engaged participant and not merely an observer.
- Aim for the experiences you reflect on in your personal statement to be different from those you draw on in the SOP to highlight your qualifications. We know that's not always feasible. If you feel you need to discuss the same experience in both essays, be sure you approach them differently, to avoid repetitiousness.
KEY ADVICE: Stand out!
Fulbright's mission of cultural exchange tends to invite clichés. ETA programs, while they vary in the details, share a lot of common ground in the qualifications and motivations that draw applicants to them; a lot of candidates will discuss similar experiences, goals, and approaches.
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So, how do you stand out? Ground everything in specificities (your experiences, your own sentiments, the host country's distinctiveness) and not generalities ("global"/international," generic paeans to the power of education and/or language learning, the beauty of cultural exchange, etc.). Put your own spin on what it means to teach and connect with students, to share your version of American culture while exploring a new culture, immerse in a specific school and host community, and reap the benefits of a specific cross-cultural experience for yourself and those around you.
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Study/Research Applicants, Have You Started your Personal Statement Yet?
Here again is the information we provided in our last newsletter on resources for personal statement writing:
Personal Statement Self-Guided Workshop
Our video, "Getting Started on Your Personal Statement," and the accompanying exercises and readings on Canvas will help you start this often dreaded application component, from what you should be aiming for to generating material.
Drop-In Writing Support Sessions
In lieu of a formal workshop presentation, we're offering drop-in writing support sessions on Zoom the last week of July and first week of August. You can stop by virtually at any time during these sessions and talk to Nate McCabe, who is a our primary reader for S/R personal statements. The remaining sessions are:
Wednesday, August 2
- 1-2:30 pm ET
- 7:30-9 pm ET
Key Resources: The Personal Statement
On this single page in Canvas we provide links to the personal statement section of our Guidelines for applicants, sample essays, and several excerpts from writing guides and narrated PowerPoints that offer targeted advice on common writing issues that crop up when drafting personal statements.
Submit Your Draft for Feedback
Once you have a draft ready for review, please submit it on Canvas.
Good luck! We look forward to reading your drafts!
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Past Newsletters & Other Resources
We pack a lot of content into these newsletters and previous editions are available online for you to consult anytime. Wondering about language evaluations? Want to know more about how the Personal statement and Statement of Grant Purpose differ and work together for a study/research application? Then check out the July 18 newsletter here.
And there is a huge amount of information on Canvas! Please be sure to familiarize yourself with all the different sections so that you know exactly where to look when questions pop up, as they inevitably do. And please always remember our Guidelines, which are the first module on Canvas and cover each and every part of the application.
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The Scholars & Fellows Team
The National Fellowships Program (NFP) in Scholars & Fellows Programs (SFP) advises JHU students and recent graduates applying for nationally competitive fellowships, scholarships, and grants. You can find information about many awards, with detailed profiles for several, on our website.
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