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Updated 11/6/09

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GREETINGS and congratulations on your interest in our Fast Track to becoming a candidate for this exciting fellowship that can take you to one of about 155 countries for a year after graduating to do whatever you wish to propose, including teaching assistantships, for an invaluable experience that will leave an indelible impression.

We assume you are acquainted with Smith's tremendous success in producing distinguished Fulbright Fellows
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/successes.html
and realize how exceptionally fortunate you are to be in the right place at the right time to have about the best chance possible to win the prestigious and lucrative Fulbright Fellowship that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life and will open doors to a meaningful career of fulfilling purpose and enriching reward.

You know that a Fulbright will allow you to give to the world while benefitting yourself from an extraordinary experience building bridges of understanding between nations.

As outlined by Senator Fulbright, the purpose of the program is threefold:

1) To promote mutual understanding through a commitment to the free flow of ideas and people across national boundaries.

2) To expand, through this understanding, the boundaries of human wisdom, empathy and perception.

3) Through cooperation in constructive activities among people of different nations, to create true and lasting world peace.

This is truly a chance in a lifetime and, yes if you feel this might possibly be you and perhaps see yourself in this role, or would like to, now's the time to get started no matter your year or grad school plans.

Upperclasswomen have not a moment to pause so you don't miss the boat (seniors may have already but check to make sure about a possible “second chance”).

If you are interested in learning more, shoot off a quick message, from your Smith email address, to the Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) at Smith
dandrew@smith.edu
AFTER familiarizing yourself with the Fulbright by self-qualifying yourself at
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/elig_fulbright.html
(including U.S. citizenship and ~3.4 GPA) and then reading the pages at
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/fulbright_intro.html
and answering the questions below.

Also, scan the following three Fulbright pages to give yourself enough knowledge about the program to be clear about your interest.
But do not bogged down in the detail or worry about what they say you should do.

Don't do anything except speed-read these pages to help orientate yourself and then follow our instructions which take you on Smith's step-by-step Fast Track:
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about_programdesign.html
and
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/overview.html
and
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/preparing_beforestart.html

Our FPA is Donald Andrew, the college's Fellowships Adviser, in the Class Deans' Office.
Appointments are made directly with the FPA via your Smith email to
dandrew@smith.edu
after exchanging a few messages to confirm your eligibility and earnestness.

When emailing with the FPA, always include all your and all his previous messages in your emails so the thread of the conversation is recorded.
The FPA is emailing with about 100 students at any one time and must always have this thread to refer to regardless of the duration between emails.

STUDENTS

For now, from your Smith email account, tell him a little about yourself and your interest in the Fulbright.
Keep it short, and in this numbered point-form stack, with just your:

1. Your official "Smith" first and last names.
2. Citizenship (must be U.S.)?
3. Junior, Sophomore, Senior, or First-Year?
4. Current overall cumulative GPA.
5. Major/s, minor, if declared.
6. If not on campus now, where are you living?
7. Your Smith email address.
8. Do you speak the language of your target country?
9. Your Fulbright objective in three sentences max.

We will learn more about you and your aspirations later, as you will about our campus program.
A quick expression of interest via Smith email will get you on our speedy Fast Track right away!

Speed is of the essence.
The main reason students fail to complete a Fulbright application in time is because they delay starting the process for too long.

This procrastination is because they underestimate the time it takes or feel intimidated not realizing how much support they get from Smith to figure everything out all along the way.
Yes, there's a lot to do but, with all the help you get, it is not as hard as it looks.

Before you can even start the application itself, you first must figure whether to apply for a Research/Study Fulbright or a Teaching English Fulbright.
But like with everything else, we help you figure out what's best for you.

All you have to do is take the first step and answer the questions herein.
For Teaching English, you need related experience and some qualifications, the former usually requiring preparation quite far in advance.

For Research/Study, you must figure a research project, which could be more of a practical fieldwork type of proposal, more hands-on professional development apprentice internship volunteering type of project from which you perhaps arrive at some research-type findings or simply study in addition to the practicum, such as
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/fulbright_abs_japan.html
or
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/fulbright_abs_jamaica.html
though more formal research projects are the norm and more likely to be considered important by the host country.

Before you can propose anything, or simultaneously, you must find a country where you speak the language well enough for what you want to do there.
Figuring this and a research project in which you have some background experience usually takes at least many weeks, often several months.

It is only after coming up with a project concept that is feasible for you in a certain country that you can even begin to design that research project.
This initial conceptualizing is half the battle as you try on one idea and then test another against the realities of what makes for a viable Fulbright.

We are here to help with this all along the way.
But you have to help yourself first by starting NOW when you read this.

Be sure to catch these two hint-filled links on the left:
Fulbright Preparations
Winning Proposal Abstracts

It is never too early to begin from first year on because there is always some preparation you can be doing ultimately to strengthen your case, such as learning a language.
Pondering what your objectives might be is productive, so read again what it says on the front page at
http://www.smith.edu/fellowships/

ALUMNAE

We accept qualified (as per above) Smith alumnae who live close enough to attend at least three consultative or interview sessions at the college over a period of months roughly at a time when the Fellowships Program requires.

If attending another higher-educational institution or are graduated from one, you must apply through them.
Otherwise we are happy to consider enquiries on a case-by-case basis.

Graduate students in their first year at a university often wish to apply through the institution at which they were previously enrolled.
This may be possible with the personal interview, that is required, conducted via phone provided there are also professors here who remember and can vouch for you.

In exceptional circumstances, we may consider others who live farther afield and already have a developed, realistic idea what they want to do and preferably where.

Alumnae, please email the following information in point-form to dandrew@smith.edu:

1. Your official "Smith" first and last names.
2. Citizenship (must be U.S.).
3. Your Smith ID number.
4. Graduation year.
5. Overall cumulative graduating GPA.
6. Major/s, minor.
7. All advisers from pre-major through honors. State who for what.
8. Other professors who can vouch for or would remember you.
9. Further education beyond Smith.
10. Current occupation.
11. Age, marital status and dependents.
12. Do you speak the language of your target country?
13. Your Fulbright objective in three sentences max.