Nine students win Fulbright Scholarships

For nine lucky Penn students, next year won't be spent worrying about midterms or that stressful job search. Instead, these undergraduates and graduate students will head overseas for a year of subsidized study through the Fulbright Scholarships. Named after Sen. William Fulbright, who sponsored legislation to fund the program in 1946, the Fulbright Scholarship gives graduating undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to spend 10 months in any one of more than 100 participating countries. The nine students who were granted the Fulbright this year were among 48 Penn students who applied, and seven are still waiting to hear whether or not they won. Eight hundred Fulbrights are granted nationwide each year. According to Clare Cowen, the associate director for international fellowships at the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the number of Penn students applying for -- and receiving -- the Fulbright has been steadily increasing. "The most we ever had [receive the award] was 16," Cowen said. "I would say that's probably a rising trend." Cowen went on to say that the low-pressure atmosphere that Fulbright recipients work in sets the award apart from other overseas grants such as the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. "You don't have to publish a book," she said. "All you have to do is write two reports." Students who won the scholarship said that they chose the country they wanted to study in for a variety of reasons. According to Ashley West, an art history doctoral student who will be studying in Munich, Germany, her choice was based on her research. West is currently studying the German artist Hans Burgkmair the Elder and her trip will allow her to examine Burgkmair's work up close. "It's directly related to my proposed dissertation topic," West said. "I'm going there because they've got the most complete collection of [Burgkmair's] woodcuts." However, Penn's undergraduate students seem to have picked their countries more out of sheer fascination. College senior Andrea Morton, who will also be studying in Germany, said she has always been interested in the country. "When I was little I was there, and ever since then I've been interested in Germany and the language," Morton said. Also among this year's recipients are undergraduates Jae Song, Ian Gelfand and Rebecca Schrage, as well as graduate students Mark Brosseau, Teresa Wojcik and Gregory Flaxman. Cowen expressed pride in this year's applicants, whether or not they emerged with the prestigious scholarships. "As every year, it's a wonderful group of Penn students, and I wish all of them had won something," Cowen said. Statistically, the Fulbright is significantly easier to receive than a scholarship such as the Rhodes. According to Cohen, a student's chances of receiving a Fulbright is about one in five as opposed to one in 40 for a Rhodes. However, Cohen did say that these statistics vary depending on which country the student chooses. For example, the chance of winning a Fulbright Scholarship to England is about one in 25.