Fulbright ETA v. Research Scholarship Forum

[paperworkjim]

Hey all,

Tried to search this up but there didn't seem to be much information on it. Is there a difference between how LS Admissions (specifically Yale, Stanford) regard Fulbright English Teaching Assistant positions rather than the Research Scholars Program? Are either considered more prestigious? Thanks in advance for any info.

[throwaway2410]

Current Fulbright ETA here. As I understand, research is significantly more well-regarded in PhD admissions. In terms of law school admissions, my understanding is that there is virtually no difference between the two. If there is any difference in law school admissions, it is not significant enough that you should base your choice between ETA and research on it. Either is a great opportunity, and I encourage you to apply based on whichever interests you the most.

[AvatarMeelo]

Current Fulbright ETA here. As I understand, research is significantly more well-regarded in PhD admissions. In terms of law school admissions, my understanding is that there is virtually no difference between the two. If there is any difference in law school admissions, it is not significant enough that you should base your choice between ETA and research on it. Either is a great opportunity, and I encourage you to apply based on whichever interests you the most.

Do you think it's worth including in our resumes if we made it to the semi-finalist stage only to have the program suspended by Fulbright? I was really looking forward to going to the country I selected and figured I'd be on a Fulbright right now had they not suspended the program, so just trying to figure out if there's anything to be done with that. Very jealous of your experience!

[jbagelboy]

Current Fulbright ETA here. As I understand, research is significantly more well-regarded in PhD admissions. In terms of law school admissions, my understanding is that there is virtually no difference between the two. If there is any difference in law school admissions, it is not significant enough that you should base your choice between ETA and research on it. Either is a great opportunity, and I encourage you to apply based on whichever interests you the most.

Do you think it's worth including in our resumes if we made it to the semi-finalist stage only to have the program suspended by Fulbright? I was really looking forward to going to the country I selected and figured I'd be on a Fulbright right now had they not suspended the program, so just trying to figure out if there's anything to be done with that. Very jealous of your experience!

No, this would look rather silly.

If you are interested in teaching english abroad, there are usually other substantially similar programs in the larger countries, sometimes run through the government in collaboration with IIE (the institute that operates the Fulbright programs).

[throwaway2410]

I'm very sorry to hear the program to which you applied was suspended. I do have to agree with the above poster, and suggest that you do not include semi-finalist on your resume. A Harvard admissions officer visited my undergrad last year and I remember her saying "We often see things like 'Marshall Scholarship semi-finalist' on resumes. Well, that means you aren't quite a Marshall Scholar, doesn't it?" That's pretty rough, especially since the finals were foreclosed in your case. Nevertheless, only 1/2 to 2/3 of semi-finalists are chosen as finalists, and speculating what might have happened is not worth much. Again, very sorry to hear it, and I hope you can reapply program is reinstated.