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Fulbright Program: U.S. Applicant Podcast
Transcript For: Prior in country experience
July 17, 2007
How does prior experience in your selected host country affect your chances of being selected for the Fulbright? Program managers address this concern at the May 16, 2007 Info Session.
Valerie: Hi, this is Valerie Hymas Tony: And Tony Claudino Valerie: And we’re here, and we want to announce the questions and answer session for the most recent U.S. student guidance session Tony: And so, if you couldn’t make it to any of the six locations that were having these info sessions, here’s a chance to listen to some of the Q & A we have for these sessions. Question: I’m looking at possibly going to do a Fulbright in Zimbabwe, and I’m wondering about, I have spent time in the country, and I’m wondering about why it is considered by the committee as a disadvantage to have done that. I also know that I’m going to be pursuing language studies prior to, in preparation for what I would like to study with my Fulbright. And it seems to me that that is disadvantageous from what was said earlier. Answer: Can I ask first of all how much prior experience you have in Zimbabwe? Question: I was at the University of Zimbabwe for my masters. Answer: So you have about what 1 or 2 years of prior exposure to that country? Question: Yes Answer: Well, I don’t think it’s the kind of thing that would automatically disqualify you, I’ll put it that way. And Zimbabwe tends to get, you know, Zimbabwe tends to get a fairly sparse number of applications, so I don’t think you’d have much competition for that country. Having said that though, all other things being equal, your one or two years of experience, prior experience in Zimbabwe, especially as we get more towards the 2 year end of things, it could be a liability for your candidacy. Again, not an automatic strike, but it’s something that could potentially hurt your chances relative to others who have less or no prior experience in the host country. The reason that we say that, and this is true worldwide, is that this Fulbright program really is geared towards giving people with little to no prior experience, especially overseas experience, especially in the country in which they’re applying, a first shot at going. I do need to follow up on what Jermaine said. What Jermaine was speaking about was specific to Sub Saharan Africa. Just about anywhere else in the world, a year or two, and particularly a graduate level experience in the host country will virtually make you ineligible for a grant. So if you have done graduate level experience in the host country, have graduate level experience in the host country, or the country to which you are applying, pay attention to what it says in the summary, and if in doubt ask one of the program managers. This is a very unusual situation; it’s the exception rather than the rule in Fulbright. The Fulbright program has a preference for selecting people who have not had the opportunity for extended study or research abroad. That said, we do not consider any sort of study abroad program that was a part of a US college or university as a disadvantage in this process. So if you did a junior year abroad, or a semester abroad, that was part of a US college or university curriculum, don’t worry about it, it’s not going to put your application at a disadvantage. But yes, in the overall scheme of things, if you have had a lot of experience doing some sort of an independent study or research abroad in another country and you are applying for a Fulbright grant to that same country, it is going to put your application at a disadvantage. Valerie: And that’s it for the questions some candidates have asked us during one of our guidance sessions. Please remember that if you have a question, feel free to email us, or contact us. Our information is all online. Tony: And, look for the next podcast. Thanks.
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