The Gilman Scholarship

One of the reasons that it is even possible for me to be going to Beijing this fall is the Gilman Scholarship. When I had tried to participate in a study abroad to China during 2010, I was intensively searching for scholarships to fund my travel. That year, I applied for the Boren Scholarship, a Federal Government award of up to $10,000 a semester in exchange for 2 years of public sector service (i.e. working for the State Department). At the time I was confident I might get it, but when I didn't, I went searching for others. So it was that last year I found the Gilman Scholarship, but regretfully I discovered after the application deadline.

Once I had decided that I would again try to study abroad in 2011, I had a better base of funding options available. I applied for the Boren Scholarship again, but since the award statistic is about 16% (1 in every 6 applicants gets the scholarship) I didn't get my hopes up. I did, however, apply for the Gilman Scholarship by the deadline. The maximum reward is $5,000 a semester, with a chance for a $3,000 increase if you are studying a critical language (as determined by the State Department). They also calculate in financial need and instead of service time afterwards, the agreement is that recipients become the marketing strategy of the program. Student outline a "follow-on" project that they will complete upon returning to the States, something that promotes studying abroad, their specific program, and funding through the Gilman Scholarship.

When applying for the Gilman, I had considerably greater hopes because the recipient ratio is almost 1:2. Thankfully, I was one of the recipients with a reward of $2,500, which in truth is making this opportunity possible for me.

What you'll be able to see on this blog in the future is part of my "follow-on" project. I agreed with Gilman that I will make little documentary vignettes of different encounters as an American student in Beijing. Some of these videos will cater specifically to attending to CNU, like "Where do I sign up for classes" and others will be more generic, like understanding the bus systems around the city. I'll be posting the videos as often as possible on my Explorer Michael's YouTube Channel.

The Gilman Scholarship is not just for studying in China, but applies to students everywhere that are going... everywhere! Please check it out at http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program.