Gennady Korniev, Fulbright Program Scholar:
– I managed to receive a scholarship to study law only on my third attempt. I had to fight hard for it. But the result exceeded all my expectations, and the 1.5 years in the USA can be called the most interesting period of my life.
So, first of all, preparation for the competition should start with writing two essays: a personal statement (Personal Statement) and a study plan (Study Objectives). In the first essay, you should tell the committee members your personal story of professional development, prove that you have a concrete action plan for your studies in the USA, and also write about how you plan to apply the acquired knowledge after returning to Ukraine. As for the second essay, you need to emphasize what specific knowledge you would like to gain during your studies and why it is necessary to go to the USA for that.
I won a scholarship to study at George Washington University. I received an additional $1,450 monthly for living expenses, books, and food. Out of that, I paid $750 for housing. Studying was not easy at first. The method of teaching lawyers is very different from the Ukrainian one. For example, take the textbook itself. You won't find "dry" theory laid out neatly. It consists of a set of court cases with small theoretical comments. Only after reading a large number of these cases does the student get a general picture. Also, in the USA, I managed to work as an assistant to a respected patent attorney. This way, I gained practical experience in my field. All the knowledge I acquired came in handy after returning to Ukraine. Now I consult on projects in the field of intellectual property law and new technologies.
Yulia Rashchupkina, E. Muskie Program Scholar:
– How you write your essay determines the lion's share of your success. For my program, I had to write two essays: the first about my educational goals (Statement of Purpose), and the second about the study program (Program of Study). In the first essay, you need to answer three questions: "Why did you choose the USA as your study destination?", "How does the scholar envision their studies there?", and "How does it align with their professional goals for the next 5-10 years?" (specific answers to these questions will help you write the second essay well).
I advise answering all these questions, backing them up with examples from your life as much as possible. For example, I wrote in my essay that starting from my fourth year of university, I began working in a regional public organization that analyzes the activities of local self-government bodies and, in particular, provides free legal consultations to local activists so they can defend their rights in various aspects of their lives. And in America, there are many similar organizations (think tanks), so there is much to learn there.
After the document screening, I had to undergo an interview, during which the committee members asked clarifying questions about my essays and inquired about my future plans. They simply wanted to make sure once again that I was knowledgeable in my field and had a clear development plan. And to do well on the TOEFL and GRE, I attended English courses, watched movies, listened to BBC audio recordings, occasionally met with an American woman to improve my spoken English, and practiced test versions from special textbooks. All of this helped me get used to the test format and eliminate stress during the actual exam.
In the end, I managed to pass all the selection rounds and win a scholarship to study at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Additionally, I received $1,260 per month. Interestingly, in the US, students have the right to choose their subjects. Moreover, while in Ukraine students take 7-8 courses per semester, in America they take 3-4. But studying is not easier because of that—the workload is very heavy. Each topic is examined very deeply, from all angles. There are many assignments with strict deadlines. Therefore, the level of stress in American universities, in my opinion, is much higher than in Ukrainian ones.
I also liked the approach to learning. There are no classic lectures in the USA. Students come to them already prepared and ask questions to the professors. By the way, during exams, many professors allow using notes. Why? Because they do not ask about theory. The assignments are mostly practical in nature (for example, analyzing Barack Obama's healthcare policy from an economic perspective).
Scholars must find housing on their own. It is best to start looking for it even before leaving, because in August (the time of arrival for studies) finding housing will be almost impossible, as all students will be arriving in the city. So I contacted the international office of my American university, where they offered me either to live in a dormitory (for $550 per month) or in a house with two other girls (for $450). Later, by the way, I managed to find housing for $290. It was a small room with a bathroom and a shared kitchen.
Yulia Serdyuchenko, E. Muskie Program Scholar:
– By education, I am an international economist, and I really wanted to deepen my knowledge in this field by studying in the USA. In my first essay (Statement of Purpose), I built a logical chain of events that showed the committee members that I really needed an American "diploma." As for the second essay (Program of Study), I was helped to orient myself in the topic by graduates of the E. Muskie program in economics. I contacted many of them (I advise everyone to do so) asking them to tell me which courses are best to take in America on my topic.
Thanks to their answers, I was able to more clearly argue my choice of courses for study and describe it in my essay. I also looked into the structure of the educational programs they took, and listened to recordings of lectures in my specialty on the websites of top American universities, such as those in the Ivy League, to understand what and how economists are taught in the US. And most importantly – what I could gain from all this for myself. By the way, this 'crash course' helped me be on the same wavelength with the Americans when I had the final interview.
In the interview, you have to prove to the jury members that you really understand your topic and keep up with changes in it. Everyone needs to be prepared to be asked current (!) questions about their topic. That's why you need to prepare thoroughly for the interview. To stay updated on the latest events in the global economy, I followed global media such as CNN and The New York Times.
In addition, I compiled a list of possible questions I might be asked in the interview (there were about 70). To do this, I sat down and read all my documents from cover to cover, putting checkmarks next to points that seemed inaccurate and could raise additional questions. Then I went through all the questions on the list with an English tutor. In general, my efforts were not in vain. All this allowed me to feel very comfortable during the interview and calmly answer all the committee's questions.
That's how I managed to win a scholarship to study at Western Illinois University. The scholarship is enough to cover all necessary living expenses. When it comes to studying in the US, my first impulse after starting my studies was to buy a ticket and fly back to Ukraine. It was very difficult to adapt to a new society and a completely new (after Ukrainian realities) education system. For example, I wasn't used to devoting 12 hours a day to studying. Yes, you have to read 100-150 pages of academic text (or even more) per week – there really is a lot of homework, and the knowledge I gained in Ukraine is insufficient. You have to catch up.
Many subjects, such as econometrics, have to be learned from scratch. However, the academic training is indeed at a high level. I only adapted in the second semester. Plagiarism is taken very seriously in American universities. If, God forbid, a student does not cite a source of information in their written work, it could even lead to expulsion. Moreover, for master's students there is the so-called 'rule of two C's' (like the Ukrainian 'three'). You cannot get two C's on final exams in any subject – you can also be expelled for that. So you can't just study haphazardly here.
Lyudmila KOLB.
Based on materials from the newspaper 'Segodnya'.