Category: UK

Summer notes for fall 2016 British and Mitchell scholarship applicants–read carefully!

Lisa Gates / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, UK

For those applying for a British Scholarship (Churchill, Gates-Cambridge, Marshall, Mitchell, Rhodes) in the fall, read on for notes to help you structure your work on applications.
I am here during summer, but will be traveling too—so my ability to respond to you may be faster or slower depending on when you contact me. Available appointment hours are online at go/fellowships. Contact me at fellowships@middlebury.edu or x3183 with questions.

Please note: The schedule below is organized around the competitions requiring nomination by Middlebury. Nomination interviews took place in late spring for the Fall 2016 application cycle. Instructions are the same for those are being nominated and for those whose materials require a review before a decision about nomination is reached. For all candidates, you nomination is dependent on your continued work on these applications and your responsiveness to deadlines and requests from the fellowships office.

For direct apply fellowships–the Gates Cambridge and others–you do not need to be nominated to apply, but I am glad to talk with you about the process and discuss essays with you.  See list of other UK ideas here. [add link]

Application Process and Recommended Timetable (note the deadlines!):

Spring/summer: 1. Identify your potential recommenders for the various competitions and discuss your interest and proposed plans with them. Recommenders will need to submit letters (if you are nominated!) in the online application system by Friday, Sept. 23. Make sure they are aware of this deadline. For those who are awaiting decisions about nomination, we will endeavor to have final decisions to you prior to Labor Day (Sept. 5) so that you can notify your recommenders. I recommend that you share with them a copy of your application, your resume and transcript, the selection criteria for the scholarships you are applying for. Please also talk with them about you would like them to focus on. You should also confirm with me who you will be asking for letters of recommendation for each application.
By July 1:  Confirm the program(s)/universities you propose to apply to and which faculty or program contacts are important for you to connect with. You will want to have conversations (typically done through email, sometimes phone) to discuss your research interests, how they align with faculty in the program, and be certain this is a program that will help you reach your educational objectives (and that you’re a good candidate for it). If you’re planning on pursuing research with a faculty member, you will need to talk with them about your interest and affirm their interest in having you join their lab/project. You will need to note this in your essays.
By July 15: Complete a functional draft research proposal and/or application essays. Share with me and relevant faculty/advisors for feedback. Don’t underestimate how much writing/revision is needed for these. They are short, but challenging. Note the Rhodes and Mitchell policy about feedback on the essay; you cannot solicit feedback on your drafts. I am happy to advise you about the policy.
August 15 deadline: Turn in a solid, working application draft in PDF form for the fellowships you are seeking nomination for, as outlined in emails I sent to you following the nomination interview. Committee members will review this draft, provide feedback and make final determinations about nomination status where that is still needed.
Early September: You will be notified of final nomination decisions. Let your recommenders know and remind them that we need letters submitted by Friday, September 23.
September: Work on revising and polishing application and essays. For Marshall, I would like your work on applications fully completed by September 28. For Mitchell and Rhodes, you will manage the application process yourself. You will need to make sure everything is in and finished in advance of the deadline so that you can submit. I do not manage this for Rhodes or Mitchell.  Please note that there is heavy submission volume close to the deadline, so I strongly recommend submitting your applicaiton a day in advance of the deadline.
The schedule above is intended to help you organize the different parts of the application. If you are confused about any details, please ask!

Marshall Scholarship Updates

Lisa Gates / / Fellowships, UK

For those working on Marshall applications for the Fall 2016 cycle, below are some points to review carefully. Yes, it’s detailed and dense, but that’s all part of working through the application process! 

  • The FAQ’s can be found http://www.marshallscholarship.org/applications/faqs
  • The Commission emphasizes that in appointing Scholars the selectors will look for candidates who have the potential to excel as scholars, leaders and as contributors to improved UK-US understanding. Assessment will be based on academic merit, leadership potential and ambassadorial potential.
  • Academic Proposal:  the question has changed to: Candidates should describe below their proposed academic programme, giving reasons for their choice of course and preferred university. Those hoping to read for a research degree should give an outline proposal of the research they wish to undertake and with whom they would like to work.  Candidates should also include a brief outline of why they have chosen their second choice courses and institutions. This means that candidates should include something about their second choice institutions and courses.
  • Review the Commission’s criteria on leadership potential: http://www.marshallscholarship.org/applications/leadershippotential and think carefully about how you embody these criteria.
  • Recommendations: after you have confirmed with me (first step) who your recommenders will be and have confirmed with your recommenders that they will provide letters for you (second step), please enter their information  in the following order: Primary recommender first and then identify them as such.  Two and three as normal and four should be the recommender who is going to talk about their leadership.  It is still optional for applicants to have a leadership recommender, so if you don’t have one, the fourth recommender can be anyone, but the application pulls the letters of recommendation in the order the names were entered into the system so it will make it easier for Marshall readers if you do this.   
  • Please make sure you check the list of courses that the Marshall does not fund. The MSc International Health and Tropical Medicine (University of Oxford) and MSc Law and Finance (University of Oxford) have been added to the list this year.
  • One year Marshall applicants:  The rules state for the one year Scholarship that “One year candidates must be registered for degrees that are 12 months in duration. Courses that run for 10 months or less, ie where the course ends before August will not be funded on the one year Scholarship.”
  • Degrees that are less than 10 months include the Part III in Mathematics at Cambridge, some of the MPhil’s at Cambridge and most of the MSt’s at Oxford.  Please ensure you have checked the length of the courses they wish to undertake.  These degrees are possible as part of a combination of degrees in the two year Scholarship.
  • A reminder that the Marshall website includes videos of Marshall Scholars’ experiences and an updated Scholar experiences page.  You can find these at http://www.marshallscholarship.org/scholars/my_marshall and http://www.marshallscholarship.org/scholars/scholars_experiences. 

Lunch with Mitchell Scholarship Director on Monday, March 14

Lisa Gates / / Education, Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, UK

There are still spots open for students interested in learning more about the Mitchell Scholarship with director Serena Wilson. Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars are chosen annually for one academic year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Candidates must be US citizens. Applicants are judged on three criteria:

  • scholarship,
  • leadership, and
  • a sustained commitment to community and public service.

To sign up for lunch on Monday (12:15-1:15) in the CTLR, see go/appt

 

British Fellowships and UK Graduate Study in Sciences: Talk with Ed Johnson, PhD

Colleen Norden / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, UK

Join Fellowships Dean Lisa Gates for a conversation with Ed Johnson, a Middlebury parent, scientist and Rhodes scholar on Thursday, March 3 at 7pm in MBH 104.

This may be especially relevant for science students, but all interested in graduate study in the UK or British scholarships (Rhodes, Marshall, Gates-Cambridge etc. which generally need a GPA of 3.7 and up) are welcome!

A Scientist Looks at the Big Name Fellowships and Graduate Study in the UK

Dr. Ed Johnson, a scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist based in Boston will talk about science careers, big name fellowships, and how it works to go abroad for a few years after college. Many of the post-graduate fellowships, especially the famous ones, seem to be aimed at students in the humanities and social sciences. Can a natural science student win one of these? If they do, how will it impact their research career?

More about Dr. Johnson: A physicist by training, Dr. Johnson is a Rhodes Scholar, who earned his doctorate at Oxford and went on to success in government, corporate, and academic settings. Dr. Johnson started a technology company and led it through an initial public offering. He now consults with university-based groups and start-up companies on strategies for product development and company spin-out. His main current project is at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, helping to imagine the physics, engineering, and economic challenges of a fusion energy future.

With roughly two hundred published papers and eighteen US patents, Dr. Johnson has served on a number of state and national boards, including the Massachusetts business development council, the US Department of Energy council on sensors for next generation vehicles, and the Washington and Lee University science board. He remains active in the Rhodes Scholar alumni organization and every year, he coaches applicants for Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright fellowships.

see go/british for more information about British Scholarships