<p>Anyone have any information on these fellowships? At a maximum of 30K in fellowship money plus help in getting federal employment post-graduation I would think that these would be pretty well-known among IR students interested in natl security issues...</p>
<p>I was under the mistaken assumption one had to be a current grad student to apply whereas now I see you can apply for the fellowships as someone applying for graduate programs. Does anyone know how selective these are or how many doors they would open post-graduation in terms of federal employment?</p>
<p>I was abroad last year with a Boren fellow. They had completed one year of grad school already and were taking a year off to solidify their language skills. She is studying at one of the top 5 IR programs, so obviously she made for a strong applicant.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how well known the fellowship is, and as I hope to apply for it, I wouldn't mind keeping it that way. It does kinda restrict your options for employment after graduating, in that you have to do 2 years of public sector work, but since most IR grads want to do that anyway it's not really a bad thing. As for opening doors, I can't speak from personal experience, but I would have to think that it's a bit easier to get in some places with that on your resume. I'm pretty sure the Foreign Service application for the State Department asks if you're a Boren recipient. </p>
<p>I also know people that got the Boren scholarship, and they were definitely stream-lined into the State Department following graduation.</p>