<p>"Smith College ranked second among bachelor's institutions for producing the most Fulbright scholars for 2009-10. The college's 14 scholars was topped only by Pomona College's 15."
from the Smith Facebook page</p>
<p>Ha ha, I was just going to post this. So proud of my Fulbright friends, go Smith!</p>
<p>And over the past five years, it isn’t even close. (This also doesn’t count the “French Fulbrights” - they are Fulbrights, except they are paid for by the French government rather than the U.S.</p>
<p>WOW!! Thanks overwhelmedma for posting this wonderful piece of news. Just another reason to be proud to have a Smithie in the family.</p>
<p>This is fabulous news. Mini, what information do you have about the number of Smith Fulbrights for the last five years?</p>
<p>I just answered my own question, mini, so you don’t have to; you piqued my interest. Here is the link for the Fulbright website for The Chronicle of Higher Education listing for the last five years plus the current year. I looked at each year’s Bachelor’s Programs. Each year Smith is either FIRST or SECOND in the number of accepted applicants for six years in a row! Astounding! I see what you mean, mini, when you say no one else comes close.</p>
<p>[US.FULBRIGHTONLINE.ORG</a> || News and Events](<a href=“http://us.fulbrightonline.org/news_story.php?id=334]US.FULBRIGHTONLINE.ORG”>http://us.fulbrightonline.org/news_story.php?id=334)</p>
<p>So, mini, I have another question: what’s the story with French Fulbrights?</p>
<p>They are French Government Teaching Assistantships - process is the same as the Fulbrights (might even go through the same office), but are paid for by the French Government, rather than the U.S.</p>
<p>At one point, I also kept track of how many of the Smith Fulbrights were for research, rather than teaching - relative to women at other institutions, and again, an astounding number.</p>
<p>The French teaching fellowships are cool because you can go to any part of France or the French territories. I knew someone who did one on a French island territory in the Indian Ocean. Getting paid to teach French in the tropics sounds kind of ideal to me. </p>
<p>They’re also nice because they’re easier to get than an actual Fulbright to France (European Fulbrights are extremely competitive), so they give a lot more students the opportunity to work in French speaking areas than would otherwise be possible. Of course, you have to be fluent in French in order to qualify.</p>
<p>Over the last 5 years I think Pomona and Smith are very close or tied but both are far ahead of anything else</p>
<p>Any idea why Smith is so successful re fulblrights?</p>
<p>Extraordinarily good advising, coupled with superb language instruction, and students who have learned to write well.</p>
<p>Basically, Smith has a great Fulbright advising program. It identifies students really early (end of first semester of first-year) based on GPA as potential fellowship candidates, and then it continuously hounds them via email, campus forums, etc to apply for a fellowship. The fellowship website is excellent, and there’s an even better one that’s password protected for students once they are accepted into the Smith applicant program. So students are encouraged to learn about the programs early, and start working on their applications in advance, which is important with Fulbright as applications can take a long time to mature. </p>
<p>The man who runs the program is not the easiest of people to work with, to put it mildly. He’s pretty harsh on students, but he’s very fair and very honest, and he really knows what kinds of things will work for Fulbright committees and what kinds of things won’t work. He does not let any application go out the door that is not absolutely perfect, from the essay to the recommendations. He gives extremely detailed instructions on what “perfect” means for Fulbright and he expects candidates to follow them to the letter. Being a product of his system myself, I can tell you that it’s a pretty painful process, but it does achieve results. </p>
<p>And of course, there is great source material. Really dedicated, smart students who are exposed to fellowships early and understand what they are and what they can do for you.</p>
<p>S&P, (unfortunately) he sounds like the perfect coach: recognizes potential, doesn’t mince words, plays fair, sets high standards and expects the best! 
Glad to hear you survived! (By the way, where did you go and what did you do?)</p>
<p>Unfortunately I wasn’t selected for the Fulbright in the end (well, actually it was fortunate, because I accepted a great job offer that came later on and I would have had to turn down the Fulbright had I received it). But I made it all the way to the finalist stage (usually when the commission is choosing between you and one other candidate), which was an achievement considering I didn’t start until the fall of my senior year (VERY late in fellowship years). </p>
<p>Yes, he sounds like the perfect coach in retrospect. When you’re crying because he just shredded your project and your self esteem, you don’t really feel that way. I would say he’s more like the drill seargent from academic hell. You kind of hate him, but he makes durn fine marines…er…fellowship winners.</p>
<p>All’s well that ends well! It does sound like it was all for the better with your wonderful job offer, but that’s fantastic you got to the finalist stage, especially starting so late. I can imagine the process can be very discouraging when you put so much blood and sweat into the application, only to have it ripped apart (there’s the tears part!). Clearly you were determined and dedicated enough to keep pushing forward with the process, despite the setbacks. It’s a very competitive process, and to bring the discussion back to the earlier posts, it’s truly wonderful that Smith has done so phenomenally well for the last six years.</p>
<p>One other point I want to make: It is also amazing is that Smith has one of the highest percentages of fellowship awards relative to the number of applicants. Generally about 50% of the Smith applicants successfully receive the awards. That percentage is so much higher than the other top schools, with Pomona hovering around 25-30% for the last two years. Awesome!</p>