THE FULBRIGHT ESSAYS

Adapted from the Yale Fellowships website

Two essays are required: The Personal Statement and the Statement of Grant Purpose. These

essays serve very different but complementary purposes. Unless noted, the following information

comes straight from the Fulbright Web site.

THE PERSONAL STATEMENT (1 Page)

The following information is applicable to ETA applicants:

The Personal Statement should be a narrative giving a picture of you as an individual. Remember,

applicants are not interviewed on the national level. The Personal Statement is your opportunity to

“talk” about yourself and to tell the committee more about how you came to this point in your life

and where you see yourself in the future. There is no single “right way” to approach the Statement;

rather candidates will consider what they think is important for people reviewing the application to

know about them.

The Statement can deal with your personal history, family background, influences on your

intellectual development, the educational and cultural opportunities (or lack of them) to which you

have been exposed, and the ways in which these experiences have affected you. Also, you may

include your special interests and abilities, career plans, and life goals, etc. It should not be a

recording of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your Statement of Grant

Purpose. It is more of an autobiography, and specifically related to you and your aspirations.

Adhere to the following format:

 Statement length is limited to a maximum of one typed, single-spaced page. Longer

statements may be detrimental to your application.

 To ensure a smooth upload and readability, use 1” margins all around and Times Roman 12

pt. font

 At the top of the Word Document, in the upper left-hand corner

o On line 1, type PERSONAL STATEMENT. Do not place this information in a header

o On the next line, type your name, country of application, and field of study

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS STATEMENT of GRANT PURPOSE

(1 Page)

Since you are applying for an ETA, you are not expected to present extensive research plans. The

following are guidelines as to what you could include in your Statement:

 Why would you like to undertake a Teaching Assistant assignment?

 Why have you chosen the particular country?

 What specific qualifications, training, and/or experiences do you have related to the

overseas assignment?

 What use will you make of your time outside the classroom (Most ETAs work no more than

20-30 hours/week?

 How you expect to benefit from the assignment, and what use you will make of the

experience upon your return to the United States?

Keep in mind that the maximum length for the Statement of Grant Purpose and Personal Statement

is one-page each. Therefore, you should construct these Statements in such a way as to include all

pertinent information, but so as not to be redundant. Most ETA programs expect that grantees will

Adapted from the Yale Fellowships website

engage in an independent academic, vocational, or community service project. You should briefly

describe what you would like to do in the Statement of Grant Purpose.

Since applicants will not know exactly where they will be located, this description is not expected to

be detailed. You simply need to indicate the activities that you intend to pursue outside of the ETA

responsibilities and why you have chosen this/these activities for the country to which you are

applying. In addition, any community service activities or extra-curricular activities that you think

you might conduct should be described.

If you have a very specific proposal for study or research, you may wish to consider the

Study/Research option, since in the ETA program you will not be able to choose where you will be

placed and you will not have very much time for independent research or study. Furthermore,

successful ETA's are those who value the experience of working in an educational environment first

and foremost. We have seen highly qualified applicants not selected because the impression from

their Statements indicated that they were more focused on a project than on the ETA assignment.

Adhere to the following format:

 For English Teaching Assistantships, the Statement length is limited to a maximum of one

typed, single-spaced page. Longer statements will not be presented to screening

committees.

 To ensure a smooth upload and readability, use 1” margins all around and Times Roman 12

pt. font.

 At the top the page of your Word document type the following. Do not place this

information in a header, it will not upload.

o On line 1, type STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE

o On line 2, type your Name, Country of Application, and English Teaching

Assistantship

ADDRESSING ENGAGEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY

Since the primary aim of the Fulbright Program is to further mutual understanding between the

people of the United States and other countries, it is important to address this issue in your

application. Your application should demonstrate a clear commitment to the host country

community. Being involved in the local community will contribute significantly to the Fulbright

Program's goals and will enhance your experience in many ways. IIE advises that applicants should

describe any volunteer or extracurricular activities of interest to them and relate the activity to the

Fulbright grant experience. You can choose to address this in your Project Statement, if the planned

activity is an integral part of your study or research, or in the Personal Statement, if the planned

activity is more extracurricular.

If you will be in a university environment, this activity could be extracurricular (joining a club,

participating in a sport, etc.); it does NOT have to relate specifically to your study proposal. Other

examples of community involvement could include teaching or tutoring English or American

Studies; volunteering with a charitable organization, volunteering for a school renovation project,

volunteering in a healthcare facility, etc.

ALSO SEE:

 "Writing Fellowship Essays":

http://www.yale.edu/yalecollege/academics/fellowships/application/essays.html

 U.S. Student Fulbright Applicant Blog: http://blogs.fulbrightonline.org/usapp/

Adapted from the Yale Fellowships website

 Podcasts: http://blogs.fulbrightonline.org/usapp/new-podcasts-available-on-httpus-

fulbrightonline-org

NOTE: When you have drafts of your essays, please send them to me for critique. At that time,

I will supply you with strong samples as points for comparison so that you can continue to

polish your own statement.

Please resist the temptation to look at the samples below BEFORE you have completed LMU’s

Fulbright pre-application and have begun to sketch out your own reasons for applying. While the

samples linked below are useful for demonstrating well-structured essays, it is the quality of the

content (the clarity of your convictions and your own purposes for applying) that set the

foundation for strong essays. Samples from others cannot do that work for you!

 Samples of Winning Essays On-line:

Penn State University: https://www.e-

education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/p5_p4.html

Temple University: http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/students/fulbright/sample_essays.htm

University of Iowa: http://international.uiowa.edu/funding/fulbright-resources

University of Rochester:

http://www.rochester.edu/college/CCAS/fellowships/fulbright/samples.html