Fellowship applications continue in the midst of the government shutdown and financial uncertainty.
This past February, funding freezes to international education and exchange programs like the Fulbright Program caused reduced or delayed payments to students studying abroad, according to previous reporting by the Ring-tum Phi. Then, the majority of the Fulbright scholarship board resigned in July, according to the Associated Press.
Today, funding for international education and exchange programs is still continuing because the money is separate from the government shutdown, said Dallas Tatman, assistant director of fellowships at Washington and Lee. However, Tatman said there might be some difficulties on the administrative side with fewer State Department employees.
Tatman works alongside fellowship director Matthew Loar. They help students craft competitive applications each year. Washington and Lee students claimed 11 Fulbright scholarships and a record-high 20 Gilman scholarships last year, according to the Columns. The fellowship application cycle is “really snappy,” says Tatman, as there’s always something new opening up.
But the unpredictability caused by the funding freezes makes this cycle a little different from last year’s. Tatman said that students had more confidence in previous cycles. Now, they have a lot of questions.
“Questions aren’t necessarily a bad thing because we learn by asking,” Tatman said.
Paradoxically, the cloud of uncertainty has led to more transparency, Tatman said. In the past, many students put fellowships as their Plan A and assumed the money was guaranteed. What happened in February to Fulbrighters across the globe has illuminated for students that no opportunity is entirely risk-free. Tatman said other aspects of the application have also changed.
“It’s mostly the format,” he said. “While the substance of the questions hasn’t changed, how they ask them has.”
There are similar thematic elements, but the way students have to answer them is different. It’s a completely new thought process, Tatman said.
For example, Tatman said he noticed that the previous two long-essay questions in the Fulbright application have been replaced with one long-essay question and a couple of short-answer questions. This shift pushes applicants to be more targeted and narrow in their responses, he said.
Another change is the spontaneity in application opening times. Tatman said all the behind-the-scenes changes mean administrators can’t always be transparent about when fellowship applications are going to open. For instance, the Gilman scholarship opened several weeks late in August.
Shorter application time frames have led to a drop-off in application numbers at Washington and Lee, Tatman said. But he said some things haven’t changed.
“While things may look a little different, feel a little different, and the timing might not always be the most convenient, fellowships are still going on,” Tatman said.
Loar and Tatman are here to cut through the noise for students, Tatman said. Since the application changes took place, they’ve closely read the prompts and have updated Canvas pages that explain to students step-by-step how to apply to fellowships like the Boren, Critical Language Scholarship, Fulbright, Gilman and Projects for Peace.
Tatman said he encourages students to “make an appointment on Handshake and come see us.” He and Loar can walk students through the process and clear up uncertainties.
Tatman said that ultimately, a fellowship application isn’t just about getting the award. The process itself is an education. The work going into applying sets students up for success on graduate school applications, job interviews, cover letters and more.
