The Fulbright Tradition at Smith

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

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 the chance of a lifetime! If you can see yourself in this role (or if you would like to), now's the time to get started—no matter your current academic year or grad school or job/career plans.

Ready? Set? Go!

Some stall before they start because they erroneously believe they need to start with information that really is not necessary at the beginning. You do NOT need to have a research project concept before you can proceed. You do NOT need to have chosen a country to go to. You do NOT need to speak a foreign language. You do NOT even need to know whether you want to do an English Teaching Fulbright or a Research/Study Fulbright.

Just take the first step of submitting the Fulbright enquiry form and a whole new world of about 350 varied options—including unimagined possibilities—will be opened to you!

The magic of our program is that you can go in without a single plan in place, not even the vaguest idea, at the start. You will be led through a process that will unveil possibilities you would not have imagined on your own.

It is immensely important to start your Fulbright Enquiry as soon as possible in your Smith College career. You can begin as early as your first year, and you must start before your senior year, preferably by spring break of your junior year. Even if you aren't sure you want to do a Fulbright, it is smart to explore your options early. There are multiple impelling reasons to start your Fulbright enquiry early:

• You will gain information you need to make the best decision about whether a Fulbright is right for you. You will have a chance to find out what the U.S. Student Fulbright Program offers, what you can bring to the program, and how you can benefit from it.
• You can learn how to make yourself the strongest candidate for a Fulbright Fellowship—and you will have the greatest amount of time to ready yourself. You will gain a crucial foothold on the Fulbright application process.
• You will be taking the first step toward registering to apply for a Fulbright through Smith. You will be introduced to all sorts of campus resources and direct guidance that will help you.
• You will begin making connections and building your Fulbright network. This is the first step to establishing formal relationships with the many people involved in the Fulbright application process, including your faculty mentor, staff and alumnae consultants, the director of the Smith Fulbright program (Don Andrew) and others who need to be in place early, ideally well before the end of your junior year.

All you have to do to begin is complete the Fulbright enquiry form. It's quick and easy!

What are the risks of waiting?

If you wait until your Senior year to try start your Fulbright application, you will be shut out of applying. Generally, the longer you wait, the more likely you are to:

• Miss critical deadlines. Our program has four levels: Enquiry, Preparations, Registration and Application. You must meet deadlines within all of them.
• Have difficulty finding professors who can fit you into their advising schedules.
• Struggle to line up recommenders who can write letters in support of your application.
• Have to rush to develop a research project, and therefore you have difficulty securing affiliations with colleges and professors in your target country. Professionals need to see a feasible, carefully thought-out, polished research project proposal before they will support it.

All of the above situations lead to the same result: Impossibly pressed for time, you get squeezed out of the application process. Be sure you know what to do and when to do it so this does not happen to you! Don't wait until it's too late to begin your Fulbright application! Follow our advice and begin your Fulbright process early.

When is the best time to start?

Early. First-years and sophomores give themselves the most time and the best opportunities. You should start the process by at least the early spring of your Junior year to allow yourself time to establish good working relationships with the professor who will serve as your faculty mentor and as your consultants, and also with your central point-person, Don Andrew. Starting by spring break of your junior year also gives you time to strengthen the skills you need for the Fulbright you choose (e.g., teaching experience or language skills).

Here is a solid sequence of Fulbright involvement (though there are other options too):

Want to learn more?

• Qualify yourself by reviewing the Smith Fulbright eligibility guidelines (including U.S. citizenship and 3.5+ GPA)
• Scan this overview of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to give yourself just enough knowledge of the program to be clear about your interest. (Don't get bogged down in detail. Just speed-read the page to orient yourself. The Smith Fulbright Program will give you clear, step-by-step instructions to help you successfully navigate the application process.)

Smith's official FPA (Fulbright Program Adviser) is Don Andrew, the college's director of the Fulbright Program. Appointments to speak in person on campus or via FaceTime, WhatsApp or Skype, or phone, are made directly with the FPA via your Smith email to dandrew@smith.edu.

Don will give you the profitable advice you need to get ahead with your Fulbright. Establish a relationship with him and keep him informed about where you are in the process from the time you submit your Fulbright Enquiry Form, through our Preparations and Registration processes (those come later), and after you are admitted to Smith's Fulbright application-support program.

Email Don updates about your Fulbright ideas, your progress (or lack of it), your Fulbright aspirations or concerns. If you keep him abreast of where you are in the process, he can see how best to work with your situation.

If you are stuck, bogged down, or you hit a brick wall, let him know. He can help you figure a way to overcome problems and find a way to the realistic, feasible Fulbright of your achievable dreams.

Ask him questions. Seek him out for clarifications. He can help you best if you keep yourself on his radar.

When emailing Don, always include the full thread of your and his previous messages in your emails so the conversation can be followed. He is usually exchanging emails with about 100 students at any one time. Having your entire email thread (regardless of the duration between emails) is essential for him to help you.

After reading this page and the links off the top left and top right corners of it, answer the questions on our brief Fulbright enquiry form. This form is how you will introduce yourself to us so we can help you decide what's best for you. 

NOTE: Alumnae, Ada Comstock Scholars and graduate students have a few additional questions on the Enquiry Form. More details about alumnae applications can be found in the section on Alumnae/Ada Comstock/Grad Student Applications later on this page.

Your form will introduce us to you and your Fulbright aspirations. This quick expression of interest will get you on our speedy Fast Track right away!

Remember: 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. 

All you have to do is take the first step and answer the enquiry form questions.

We are here to help every step of the way, but first you must help yourself by submitting your Enquiry Form as soon as possible. We cannot start to help you until we receive your Enquiry Form.

At this stage, nothing is fixed in stone. The sooner you start the process, the more options you have! Make a start, even if it is a tentative one. Just dip your big toe in the water.

Still not sure?

Talking to Don Andrew might help you as you soul-search and ponder your life aims. He can help you review what you have already accomplished, discuss what is important to you, and explain what happens next in the Fulbright process. All he needs is your completed enquiry form to help you get started. Send it today!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson (quoted by Nelson Mandela in his inauguration presidential speech)

Applying for a Fulbright through Smith, you will develop capacities you did not know you had by tapping resources hidden within yourself. The challenging application process inevitably proves rewarding, even for those applicants who are not selected.

"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint—and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."
Oprah Winfrey, founder of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa

The Smith Fulbright Program accepts qualified (as per above) Smith alumnae who are able to participate in at least three consultative or interview sessions over a period of months at a time when the Fulbright Program requires.

If you cannot physically be at the college for these sessions, we will consider conducting them via Skype, WhatsApp or other conferencing software, but you must make arrangements for remote meetings in advance.

Alumnae who are currently attending another higher-educational institution that has a Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) or who have graduated from such an institution must apply for a Fulbright through that institution. If your other institution does not have an FPA, we can consider enquiries case-by-case. We are also open to accepting Smith graduate students who are pursuing post-bac studies, post-doc research, or graduate degrees at Smith.

Graduate students in their first year at a university other than Smith sometimes wish to apply through Smith. This might be possible provided there are professors here who remember and can vouch for you. If you are interested in this option, an interview is required. Email Don Andrew for more information.

If you are over 30 years old (Ada Comstock Scholars excepted), or if you graduated more than five years ago, Fulbright no longer considers you a student and you should explore the Fulbright Scholars Program at www.cies.org, which is also for some professionals.

ESL/EFL Teaching Fulbrights typically have fewer restrictions and therefore might be a better choice for alumnae. We encourage alumnae, particularly those who have teaching experience, to consider applying for English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Fulbrights. For more information, visit the ETA Programs page on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website for one of the countries listed.

Congratulations! You have finished reading this page. Be sure to check out the links on the top right and left corners of the page, then hurry to submit your Enquiry Form (it will reach Don Andrew) so you can get started on the Fast Track to YOUR Fulbright!