Application
By the initial Bowdoin deadline:
1) Complete the Fulbright S/R application through their online application system. The application includes the following:
- Biographical data
- Statement of Grant Purpose (2 pages)
- Personal Statement (1 page)
- Affiliation letter(s) in English or translated into English, on letterhead, and signed. (Note: some projects may require multiple letters of affiliations. Please contact Cindy Stocks with questions.)
- Foreign language evaluation (if applicable)
- Foreign language self-evaluation (if applicable)
- Three references (letters, in English, on letterhead, signed and electronically submitted)
- Unofficial academic history from Polaris
2) Electronically submit a signed and witnessed "Permission Form and Waiver" to Gina Pappas (gpappas@bowdoin.edu).
3) Sign up for a campus interview. (The SFR Office will contact you to schedule this interview around the time of the initial Bowdoin deadline.)
Note: When you submit your online application through the Fulbright portal for the initial Bowdoin deadline, your application WILL NOT go to Fulbright; it will ONLY be seen by SFR. The SFR office will make a PDF of your online application, share it with the campus Fulbright committee, and then electronically return your application to you, usually several days after the initial Bowdoin deadline. You may continue to polish your application up until the final Bowdoin deadline, when you will resubmit it electronically.
For guidance about Fulbright’s online application, formatting requirements, recommendation process, and more, see Fulbright’s Tips for S/R applications.
Interview
Fulbright requires Bowdoin to interview every applicant. Around the same time as the initial Bowdoin deadline, students will sign up for individual interview slots. These 15-minute interviews are conducted by members of Bowdoin's internal campus committee who have read the initial applications and are knowledgeable about the Fulbright program. Following each interview, members of the committee will complete a Fulbright Campus Committee Evaluation (CCE) form for each applicant, addressing the candidate’s qualifications and suitability to his or her chosen country. This CCE form will be attached to your final application but like a recommendation, you will not have access to it.
Immediately following the 15-minute interview, students will receive 5 minutes of feedback from the committee. Students will then have the opportunity to revise their applications using this feedback. Please know that Bowdoin does not narrow down the applicant pool through the interview process.
Revision process
Applicants can revise their applications up until the final Bowdoin deadline, incorporating interview feedback, any new experiences, and ensuring any typos or errors are corrected on the application itself.
Note that the final Bowdoin deadline is several days in advance of the official Fulbright deadline found on the Fulbright website. This gives SFR time to upload the CCE forms and double-check all components of the application. Bowdoin students must meet the final Bowdoin deadline.