Fulbright – Timeline of Events

Greetings to all Fulbright applicants this year. Every single time the Fulbright application opens up for a scholarship to the US for a fully funded Masters or PhD program, thousands of people apply. You must have heard that the whole process is strenuous and requires a lot of patience- it’s true. In my experience over the years, one of the queries that all applicants have every year is regarding the timeline of the events: when are candidates informed of their interview shortlisting; what about final short listing; when do you need to submit the documents; so on and so forth. It is one of the many “frequently unanswered questions” regarding the Fulbright scholarship.

So for the ease of the applicants this year and hopefully many more to come, I have compiled for you an approximate timeline of what happens when. It starts with the application deadline and is updated to the point of “Final Placement” when your university is selected for you and you receive your Terms of Agreement (TOA).

15th May – Usually the deadline for submission of the application.

30th May – Usually the deadline to take the GRE.

1st September – Interview calls  and emails start coming in. (if you do not respond on your primary contact number, they will call you on your emergency number or your home landline – whatever you provide in the application. So please ensure to provide accurate and updated contact information)

3rd October to 15th  October – Calls and emails start to come in regarding final selection – either as a principal or an alternate candidate. You also get your award letter in the email and a hard copy is posted to you.

15th October onwards: The award letter email will mention dates within which you need to ensure submission of documents – this usually includes the following –

• CV
• Passport with ten years validity
• GRE score reports
• TOEFL score reports
• Bio-data form
• HEC attested documents (this in itself is a long and strenuous process sometimes so ensure you begin early)

November 1st onwards – GRE/TOEFL retake requests start coming in. (I have witnessed candidates retaking these exams for as high as three times even – of course they are paid for by the USEFP/IIE)

15th November onwards – Candidates start receiving submission plans/placement plans

15th November onwards – Expected communication from IIE – the person in charge of placing

December – GRE TOEFL retakes can still happen

December – February – Submission of tailored statements for all respective universities on your plan (not for everyone), updation of scores , submissions of application to uni’s, so on and so forth.

During March – Candidates Start receiving university responses – (acceptances/rejections). Some candidates start receiving final placements also.

During April – Candidates for sure start receiving final placements (final decision regarding where you are placed and where you are going for University).

During April – Candidates start receiving medical forms – wherein you also have to get updated vaccinations (MMR, DPT, POLIO)

Mid March – End April – Almost all candidates receive their final placements and most alternate candidates get converted to principal candidates. Please note that this whole process is the same throughout for principal as well as alternate candidates, except for final placement.

April – May – Candidates start receiving their TOA (terms of agreement for the scholarship) and some start receiving their DS-2019, the form required to start the VISA process.

This will be all folks. I hope that this helps you all and offers some ease of mind. For more information and upcoming articles on GRE, Fulbright and other nerdy things, please do subscribe to the blog.

Disclaimer: The views and information presented is my own and does not represent the Fulbright Program, the USEFP nor the U.S. Department of State.