The Fulbright program is among the very prestigious scholarships granted to anyone willing to pursue their studies in the United States. For the little history, the program was named after its founder, senator James W. Fulbright, who had always believed in peacebuilding through international relations, and shaped the program to increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship. I am among those who have been recently bestowed upon this wonderful opportunity and carry JW Fulbright’s legacy as a Fulbrighter, and currently pursuing my study in environmental sciences in a graduate program at the State University of New York, College of Forestry and Environmental Science. In these next few lines, I will stretch out all those erroneous thoughts that people generally have about the application so that it would help you to crack it just so you know that what you could think of a reason not to apply is just a bad reason.

“Fulbright is for those who had records of outstanding academic performance”. Well, not necessarily, that would be just an asset among the many others that exist. The Fulbright committee will surely require you to have a record of good academic performance, however, not having such should not be a reason to back down and persuade yourself that this kind of scholarship is not for you. I know people that have been selected for their academic credentials, but I met others that have been sorted thanks to their wonderful careers. As for myself, I was not gathering high scores on a regular basis back in the days at the ESSSA-University of Antananarivo. But yet I made it!

“The application is so tedious, so many things to fill in, it’s not for me”. Yes, it is. A whole preview of the application is taking up to thirty-one pages on average, all your personal information included. It is really intimidating at first glance, but good preparation will kill these pages in a glimpse. I would suggest you make a schedule. Fill in each section at your own pace by keeping in mind that there are important sections where you have to prove that you are the right person for this year. Those important sections include the personal statement and the research objectives. On the one hand, your personal statements should be “personal”. Tell them why you, why this year, what is making you a good candidate, but especially how you would fit in a completely new environment and what your experience on that are so far. Tell everything about your strengths and assets as an individual, and as a person living within a community. Do not be shy! It is one of the rare opportunities in your life where being assertive is encouraged. Also, talk about your weaknesses, and do not forget to highlight how you are currently working each day to get over those shortcomings. On the second hand, the research objectives are about your academic experience, and the topic you are rooting for to further in later that would benefit both yourself and the United States (Keep J.W. Fulbright in mind!). Additionally, I would suggest you to respond to these questions: “What did you study? What was your thesis? What were your findings? In what kind of program do you want to get enrolled as a future learner in the US and what are your projects towards that? How studies in the US are a good fit for your career?”

“Not selected this year, let’s turn the page”. People generally asked me if I made it to the very first shot. Hell no, I was rejected two years in a row. That was a big shot in my head, reminding me that I was not enough. However, I took it as an opportunity to improve some parts of my application. My tips would be to hang on and learn to improve and embrace your failure as a new opportunity. If you really want this, I assure you it will come to you. I have always dreamed about this program since high school, at the end of which I remember myself attending an international study fair at Carlton Hotel Anosy at that time, hearing about people sharing their wonderful experiences. To make you more comfortable, I would even add that there are people that applied for it more than five times and made it!

If you feel like you want to apply to this program, I will suggest you to prepare ahead of time. Embrace habits of living in an American environment early. Listen to English songs, watch American TV shows and movies in their original version, talk to your friends in English and connect to people that could help you achieve your goal. Not only would that make you ready for the application but especially for the next set of the very long process which includes the interview, the English proficiency test (TOEFL), and the graduate study test (GRE). The latter is the tough one, even Americans are not comfortable with this and yet, it is made in their native language.

To date, I am living a great experience. The classroom experience is on a whole new level. Everyone is so involved that it challenges you, and everything on campus is made for you to succeed academically. However, not all about the United States is good for a born and bred Malagasy guy that I am:  meat is not as tasty as in Madagascar, the winter is harsh, getting a fresh haircut is really complicated, and there are so many others that much inks could be spilled just to talk about that.

I wish I could tell/write more about it but I still have two semesters to go before coming back. I am wishing a successful application for all those applying this year and for the years to come. The application for this year is now open till April 29^th, enough for you to wrap up all the needed documents in time. I hope this article was valuable for everyone willing to pursue their studies in the US through the Fulbright program. My last words are “Keep in mind the word “preparation” and last, keep good contact with those you are seeking letters of recommendation, remember you need at least three of them so don’t mess up your network”. Cheers!