The Fulbright Scholarship

The Fulbright Scholarship gives a student the financial resources to complete a proposed research or study
abroad project for one year. Applicants submit written research or study plans in the form of a personal
statement and statement of grant purpose, and their work may include a year of graduate study, original
dissertation research, a creative or performing arts project, or a teaching assistantship.
It is clear from the reference letter form, where you are asked not only to assess academic ability, but also to
judge adaptability and personality, that the Fulbright committee is very interested in the students maturity and
character, especially given that awarded students will spend a year abroad studying at another school.
Students supply letters from just three references, and it is important that each letter illuminates both the
students academic excellence and the potential and maturity to carry out a project while abroad.
Writing the Fulbright Scholarship Recommendation
The criteria you should address in a Fulbright Scholarship recommendation letter include:

strong level of knowledge and potential for future growth in the chosen field;

ability to carry out research and think and write analytically;

emotional stability, maturity, motivation, and seriousness of purpose;

appropriate linguistic preparation and ability to adapt to a different cultural environment;

a proposed project that is feasible and has merit;

likelihood of making a favorable impression as a United States citizen abroad.

The best Fulbright recommendation letters detail the students background in connection with the proposed
project, and are written in a tone that is energetic and genuine. Among the recommendation letters from
previous years, one successful letter complimented a students ability as a designated discussion leader to
keep up with current events in the Middle East and to motivate the other students in an 8:00 a.m. class.
Another letter offered the relevant aside that the Federal Aviation Administration had shown interest in a
students research, while another letter took a moment to comment on the kind of vision that a students
specific study plan had in relation to the agriculture and economy of the host country. Finally, one letter ended
with the simple and genuine declaration: She should become a diplomat. Such personal, considered,
emphatic testimonies reflect familiarity with and abundant confidence in the student.
Weak Fulbright recommendation letters tend to be so generic that they could apply to almost any students
background. Weak letters from previous years made no attempt to match a students abilities and character
with the proposed study plan or type of program. Some letter writers were careful to detail the students
academic excellence, but made no comments beyond what could easily be gleaned from a review of the
students transcript. It is vital that a letter of support offers some detail that fits only that individual being
recommended, and that the recommender comments specifically on the students statement of grant purpose.
In this regard, note how the first sample Fulbright letter in the pdf link below comments on the appropriateness
of Senegal for the students research, while the second sample letter comments on how the student would
specifically benefit from a year in France. The first letter emphasizes how the recommended student has
already grown through several study abroad tours, while the second stresses the students versatility through
participation in campus activities. Note also that both letters are only one page long, yet filled with useful detail
about the students scholarship, leadership, and maturity.
Commenting Only on Your Area of Experience

Despite the applications request that you comment in such areas as a students linguistic ability and the
resources available abroad, you should not feel compelled to reach beyond your experience in any of your
comments. For instance, you may know nothing about the students linguistic ability or the availability of
resources in the host country. In this case, trust that the students application as a whole will serve the
committees needs, and that a stumbling, unsure effort by you in an area outside your bailiwick might only do
harm. If you appear to be reaching for detail, it will likely show.

http://michaelcarman.weebly.com/letter-of-recommendation.html

February 12, 2012

Dr. OMahony
Oakland University
2200 N. Squirrel Road
Rochester, MI 48309-4401
Dear Dr. OMahony:
It is with pleasure that I write a letter in support of Mike Carmans application
for the Oakland University New Zealand/Australia Fulbright-Hays Travel Abroad.
I have known Mike Carman for four years, and I employed Mike as an
undergraduate student researcher on three separate research projects. Our
research focused on improving the academic literacy of middle-school
students, and we developed instructional and assessment protocols that might
be used by teachers to achieve this purpose.

Mike Carman proved to be an engaged, smart, thoughtful student who was

always well prepared for our research project meetings. He made a significant
contribution to conceptualizing the design of the coding systems that we used
on the projects for collecting and scoring the expository reading and writing
data. He was keen to contribute to discussions, avidly asked excellent
questions, and was well respected by the other members of the research team.
He was able to express his ideas in a forthright fashion, and he was able to
support his ideas with well-grounded reasons and evidence. Furthermore, when
he encountered differences in the views of the other members of the team, he

was willing to develop his thinking and the development of the project by
resolving these differences in a productive and collaborative manner. He
listened carefully to the ideas of other people, spoke thoughtfully, and
demonstrated his concern for incorporating the diverse perspectives in a
manner that would advance our collective work. In all respects, I found his
leadership and communication skills to be excellent!

I can assert that Mikes contributions to the project were substantial and the
equal measure of any of the doctoral students whom we employed. Regularly, I
turned to Mike Carman as a central person who could contribute to the teams
work to design, evaluate, and implement the scoring rubrics and benchmarks
for evaluating adolescents academic work. I valued his insight, his dedication
to his work, his lively curiosity, his tenacity when faced with scoring

challenges, his insights, and his considerateness for his colleagues. He was
quick to grasp theoretical concepts and apply them to address the educational
problems that we faced in addressing the needs of underperforming students in
middle school. He surpassed my expectations for an undergraduate because
he possessed an intellectual maturity and depth of knowledge that equaled
that of the more senior graduate students.

His resume confirms his achievements. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the MSUs
Historian, a writing tutor, and he maintained a GPA of 3.932. Furthermore, Mike
Carman showed a dedication to improve his knowledge as he sought out the
additional experiences that would prepare him to become an extraordinary
teacher. As a writing tutor, for example, Mike Carman worked with a fourth
grade student over the course of nine months to improve the students writing
performance by teaching writing genres in a creative context. Likewise, he put
his knowledge of history and English to work in designing online history lessons
for one of our projects that middle-school teachers might implement in their
classrooms. The lessons were engaging and designed to involve and motivate
our most reluctant middle-school learners. The teachers confirmed that the
lessons showed an understanding of the content, the students, and the
teaching-learning process that suited their curriculum, grade level, and the
students perfectly.

Mike Carman has demonstrated a long-standing interest in global education. I

know that Mike Carman completed a study abroad in South Africa, where he
worked with children orphaned by AIDS, toured a variety of schools including a
deaf school, an agricultural school, and a general education secondary school.
His interest in global and international issues was also apparent in his
leadership in campus organizations. He was the Treasurer of the MSU Students

for Fair Trade, which seeks to promote Fair Trade practices in the local and
global sectors of the economy. Furthermore, I know that he is deeply
committed to diverse and global education in his teaching experience. He has
sought teaching experiences in diverse school settings in Lansing and Detroit,
Michigan. Likewise, as a secondary teacher, he takes a broader view of world
history and social justice in meeting the NCSS content standards.

I have been very impressed by Mikes dedication, his work ethic, his passion for
a career in education, and his desire to improve and learn. I would gladly hire
Mike Carman again on any future research project, and I know that he will work
as hard as or harder than any other doctoral student or young researcher that I
might employ. He has a genuine commitment to accepting new learning
challenges.

I am confident that Mike Carman will be a very responsible recipient of the

Oakland University New Zealand/Australia Fulbright-Hays Travel Abroad
fellowship. He is capable, organized, compassionate, and intelligent. He
demonstrates the leadership, maturity, and communication skills that will make
him a stand-out among the recipients of this award. You have my unqualified
support for Mike Carman.

If you have any questions, I can be reached through several means, including
the following contact information: carolsue@msu.edu, or 517-355-1835.

Sincerely yours,

Carol Sue Englert, Ph.D.

Professor

More good samples:

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/drupal6/files/wrlo/Fulbright.pdf

http://bookreviewfor.blogspot.com.co/2015/01/writing-letters-ofrecommendation-for.html
http://www.ludwigotto.com/evangelists.html