I know that when I first decided to apply for a Fulbright Grant to be an ETA in South Korea, it was a spontaneous decision. Even as I got more organized and prepared, there are a lot of things that I wish I had known from the start of the entire process. So I decided to share a few tips and resources.

Please keep in mind that much of my advice is written with an ETA program in mind. Even more specifically, I am writing from the context of having applied to South Korea as an ETA. Every country varies, and for a complete understanding of expectations and requirements, I highly recommend looking at the specific page for the Fulbright Program you are applying to.

You can find country and program specific information here.

WHY DID I APPLY TO THE FULBRIGHT STUDENT PROGRAM?

My decision to apply was a lot of coincidences coming together at the perfect time. It was the summer of 2023 and I was working full time before my first and final year of graduate school for a Master of Arts. I was looking through the graduate school’s website for funding opportunities. I already knew what the Fulbright program was before I saw it advertised on my school’s graduate student website. But somehow, I hadn’t really thought about it as an option.

But there I was, one year in a graduate program and I would have to figure out my life.

The thing is, I knew that I eventually wanted to go back to school for a Ph.D. But I also knew that I couldn’t go straight from getting a Master’s degree to a Ph.D. I was burnt out. I wanted to do something different, something I would care about.

I studied Korean for four years in undergrad, and I studied abroad in South Korea in the summer of 2022. This would be a great way to continue advancing my language skills, especially speaking, which is my weak point. I also minored in teaching English, got a certificate in it, and volunteered in ESL classes. I like teaching. My goal is to someday become a professor, so applying to be an ETA in South Korea felt like the perfect opportunity to do a lot of things I’m passionate about.

WRITING THE ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL

According to the Fulbright Program’s website: Concisely detail why you wish to be a Fulbright grantee and undertake an English Teaching Assistant opportunity and why you have chosen to apply to the specific country. (1750-character limit)

This is probably the hardest thing to write, or at least it was for me. It asks a lot of you in very few words, and you have to be careful to avoid being too repetitive, as these are also things you will detail in your other writings. I connected my wish to be a Fulbright grantee as an English Teaching Assistant with my education and my future career goals. I want to be a professor, so I talked quite a bit about how although the context is different, the opportunity to teach is essential to being a good instructor in the future. I also talked about my own love for learning, and how I want to encourage students to find joy in all types of learning.

As for why I chose to apply to South Korea, I related that to how learning Korean was the thing that snowballed into my desire to get a Ph.D. in the future and become a professor.

You don’t need to do exactly what I did, and honestly you shouldn’t. I suppose my point here is that you need to be able to relate the abstract to yourself. What motivates you? Why are you the best possible choice to become a Fulbright grantee? This is the time to sell yourself, your experience, and your drive.

If you would like to look at my abstract to have an idea of what worked for me and for the country I applied to, feel free to reach out or comment below.

WRITING THE HOST COUNTRY ENGAGEMENT MINI ESSAY

Prompt: At its core, the Fulbright program aims to promote mutual understanding and seeks individuals who can be cultural ambassadors while living abroad. This section should offer a description of the ways in which you will engage with the host country outside of your grant activities to fulfill this mission. How do you plan to share your culture and values in your host community? Specific ideas should be included. (1750-character limit)

This was actually pretty fun to write, if not a bit challenging when it came to thinking up specific ideas for engagement. One thing I did to start was write a very general first draft. This was more of an overview. I specifically focused on sharing food and meals as a way to promote cultural engagement. Another thing I tried to focus on was using some of the keywords from the prompt. I’ll list some of the keywords I identified!

Keywords:

• cultural ambassadors
• culture
• understanding
• engagement
• community

I think integrating these into your mini essay is essential to proving that you are invested in cultural engagement and exchange, which is what the Fulbright Program is all about.

To narrow in on more specific ideas, I found brainstorming with others really essential. Even if they are not directly knowledgeable about the Fulbright Program or the country you are applying to, it can be helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

I also found making lists with specific ideas really helpful. For example, I started off with a general idea of food an meals. To make this more specific, I wrote about cooking together and sharing specific recipes from my own specific Midwest US home and my cultural heritage. I ended up mentioning hotdish (gotta love the Midwest US) and kouign-amann (my mother is from Europe) as specific examples. I also briefly mentioned language exchange.

Of course, this is an essay that can take a lot of personalization. The more specific and personal your ideas are, the better! Go wild!

WRITING THE PLANS UPON RETURN TO THE U.S. MINI ESSAY

Prompt: A brief description of your future career and/or educational plans following completion of the Fulbright grant. (850-character limit)

This doesn’t need to be as specific as the previous mini essay, largely because plans can change, but it is still important that you articulate how the Fulbright Program is essential to your future goals.

I plan to go back to University for a Ph.D. after completing the Fulbright Program. I want to eventually become a professor at a University, so I discussed how experience in the host country (South Korea) would benefit my continued study of South Korean film by giving me more time to improve my language skills and have more direct in-country experience. In addition, I mentioned how teaching experience as an ETA would help me prepare to be a better teaching when I eventually become a professor.

The hardest part about this mini essay is the length. You have very few words to make this work, so try and cut down on as many unnecessary words as possible. Don’t worry about telling a story or articulating your ideas super gracefully. In this case, being as to-the-point as possible is the best option.

WRITING THE STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE

As the longer writing portions of the application, this and the personal statement have a lot more rules. The information below is directly from the Fulbright Program website, which I have linked to above.

• What specific qualifications, training, or experience will you bring to the classroom and your role as an English Teaching Assistant?
• What specific ideas do you have for engaging with students in the host country and helping them learn English?
• What attributes do you possess that will assist you in the challenge of living and working in a new cultural environment? How have you demonstrated these qualities in your academic and professional life? Use specific examples.
• Do not make your Statement of Grant Purpose location-specific within the host country, unless specifically requested to do so in the country summary. ETAs will be assigned placements in the host country by the Fulbright Commission, or the U.S. embassy based on their needs, so nothing addressed in the Statement of Grant Purpose should be location-specific since you will not know where you will be based and what resources may be available.

For me, this was the most challenging to write. I probably went through ten versions. I am a very narrative writer, so keeping to the single page limit was a challenge. I really recommend reaching out to a writing center (if you’re currently a student) or a friend who would be willing to proofread and help with structure. In addition, I think taking a day or two away from it before coming back will only help you approach the statement of grant purpose with clear eyes.

I had previous experience working with ESL and ELL students. TESL was a minor and certificate program I had already completed before beginning my Fulbright application. While many Fulbright ETA Programs do not require previous experience, I highly recommend doing some research into teaching and lesson planning as you write this statement (if you are applying as an ETA). It will help you to articulate ways that you plan to teach, aspects of your teaching philosophy, and just be more specific in general, which is a great benefit to your statement of grant purpose.

This is also where you sell yourself. Don’t make things up or exaggerate, but be proud of your experiences. Even if you don’t necessarily have the exact same skill set as a teacher, how can you apply other skills? Are you organized? How would that help you in an ETA role? Do you consider yourself a people person? How can you use extroversion to create engaging lessons and integrate yourself into your host community? What experience do you have that will allow you to adapt to a new situation, like being an ETA in a different country?

Use highly specific examples here. I discussed my experience as a teaching assistant and studying abroad to demonstrate how I fared in new situations and how I was prepared for the flexibility that teaching student requires. On a more personal level, I discussed how I want to be a role model for my younger siblings. They are my motivation for a lot of things. I want to be the best version of myself so that they know that they can also be the best version of themselves.

This is also where I mentioned my five years of Korean language study. Though language was not required for the Fulbright ETA Program in South Korea, I wanted to mention it as another attribute I possess that will assist me in adjusting to the host country and making work and social connections.

Here’s a link to my Statement of Grant Purpose!

WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

Here are some of the recommendations for the personal statement.

• The statement should be a one-page narrative that provides a picture of yourself as an individual․ It should detail your personal history, family background, influences on your intellectual development, the educational, professional, and cultural opportunities that you have (or have not) accessed, and the ways in which these experiences have affected you and your personal growth.
• Include your special interests and abilities, career plans, and life goals, etc.․ It should not be a list of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your Statement of Grant Purpose․ Rather, it should be specifically related to you and your aspirations  as they relate to the specific Fulbright Program award to which you have applied.

This is probably where you can be most creative. Once again, it’s fairly short for what they ask, but you can have fun. Create a narrative of your life, and how it has led you to applying for the Fulbright Program. I talked about my own complicated feels regarding language. My mom is from Europe, and her first language is not English. However, her father is American and when she was four, her mother stopped speaking to her in her first language and only spoke to her in English. My mother can’t speaking anything else now, and I grew up hearing my grandmother speak multiple languages, but also only speaking English.

One of my mother’s greatest regrets is that she cannot speak her first language. I am certainly not the only person to have family that lost language, and I do not have it as bad as many others do. That said, it has always made me really sad. I have many relatives in Europe still. I should be able to speak, but when my mother lost her language, it kind of predetermined that I wouldn’t speak it either.

I chose to study Korean in university because in a lot of ways, I didn’t want to study my mom’s first language, be terrible, and have to face all the complicated emotions that came with that. In a lot of ways, Korean had no stakes. But it also made me fall in love with learning languages, and reignited a passion that I had lost long ago.

I talked a lot about this, although simplified and more oriented to the Fulbright Program. Specifically, I connected creating a love of language learning to what I wanted to promote, while also promoting interests that can be connected through two languages. I brought up my experience, and also mentioned that while mine was obviously different from what a student with a Fulbright ETA teacher might experience, I thought there were lessons I could bring with me.

Here’s a link to my Personal Statement!

RECOMMENDATION LETTERS

Make sure to email or reach out to your letter-writers ahead of time. I personally also made sure that I had a relatively completed statement of grant purpose and personal statement that I could share with my recommendation writers. This isn’t necessarily a requirement, but it is a good way for the people you ask to know what your goals are for the program.

Another good idea can be meet with your recommendation writers and discuss what your goals are for the program in person. In my experience, this is a good way to receive direct feedback, which can be extremely beneficial as you do all of the writing required for an application. You can even ask if your recommenders would be willing to give direct feedback on the essays and statements.

I will be completely honest: I didn’t ask my recommendation writers to review my essays or provide feedback. I wrote them, received feedback on the 27th of September with help from the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards at my university (see two sections down), and then revised them based on that feedback.

Would I have benefited from more feedback earlier in the process? Certainly. But it all worked out.

If you don’t feel like you need extra feedback, don’t be too stressed about trying to get it. Feedback never hurts, but I don’t feel like it is a requirement if you are willing to put in a lot of work on your own into your writing.

Note: This does not necessarily apply to people applying for research or study programs. In that case, I think reaching out to professors or others can be essential in forming a specific and relevant research/study question you plan to look at if you receive a Fulbright Grant.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FORMS & EVALUATION

This section will be especially in relation to applying as an ETA in South Korea. I don’t know all of the information for other countries and programs, which can have various requirements for language proficiency.

Overall, it is quite simple for you to submit a language evaluation. You will have to fill out some short answers to a few questions. You’ll discuss your own perception of your proficiency in the language being evaluated, how you have studied the language in the past, and how you plan to continue studying the language in the future.

Other than that, all you need to do is provide the contact information for the person who has agreed to evaluate your proficiency. They will fill out an evaluation which you will not be able to see.

If possible, I recommend asking a language instructor that you have a good relationship with to evaluate your language proficiency.

SOUTH KOREA ETA SPECIFIC LANGUAGE ADVICE

For South Korea ETAs, there is no language requirement to apply, but if you have studied Korean and are able to ask someone to evaluate your language level, it can be an advantage to your application.

South Korea ETAs take intensive language classes during orientation when they arrive in South Korea. If you have no previous knowledge of Korean, I (and the Fulbright Program) would highly suggest at least learning Hangul, the Korean writing system. Here is a good free resource for that.

This is another good resource, but it is not free. If you have the means, I really do think that Talk To Me In Korean is worth the price. There are numerous other great online resources, but I’ll leave it at this. There are a lot of people much more qualified than me to give those recommendations.

REACH OUT TO YOUR SCHOOL IF YOU’RE A STUDENT

My school (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) also offered to provide feedback on my Fulbright application if I applied by the campus deadline. My campus deadline was August 30th 2023, at 5pm central time.

If you’re currently a student, I recommend reaching out to your school and seeing if they do something similar, whether you’re a graduate student or an undergraduate student.

I had a meeting with two faculty members at my University who are familiar with the Fulbright Program about a month later, on September 27th. We discussed why I was applying to the Fulbright Program, my goals for it, before, during, and after, and my various short essays and the personal statement. They offered feedback on these essays and the personal statement, and I had the opportunity to use that feedback to revise before officially submitting on the Fulbright 2023 deadline of October 10th at 5pm eastern time.

THANKS FOR READING

I hope this was useful advice for you! I’m sure it’s all very rambly and casual, but I’m very much tired of academic and formal writing recently. I promise in the future to be more organized.

Good luck on your Fulbright application!