Slide appears, which Elizabeth Rotolo is heard reading the following text: What advice do you have for other Brandeisians who are applying for scholarships and fellowships?
Transition into Rachel Landis speaking, a banner with her name and Class of 2023 appears.
“So my first piece of advice is to actually go to the Fellowships office, because they are going to give you so much more information on any Fellowship and what you need to do than you can ever get on your own from online research. Even from just talking with people who just applied, they’re really the experts in this, and they--the whole point of their office is to help you with these kinds of things. It’ll really help you to put your best foot forward. Then piece of advice number two is don’t stress yourself too much about it. Because, obviously, you should be working hard, you should be trying for these things but these people who run these fellowships know what it is they’re looking for and they know, probably, unfortunately, better than you do whether or not you’re gonna be a good fit. And so much of what you’re going to gain is actually from doing the application and writing your essays, and honing your interview skills and all of those parts. And again, the Fellowships Office is there to help you with all of those things. You should stop by!”
Transition into Angela Sun speaking, a banner with her name and Class of 2023 appears.
“I think one advice I have is just to start early because there is often
times a lot of materials that you have to prepare. Also, you’ll probably, throughout your three, two-three-four years at being at Brandeis develop close relationships with professors. So just keep maintaining those relationships because they’ll serve as your letters of recommendation, which are really important for your application process. And also, just to take advantage of every
opportunity because--oh my god, it’s so cheesy to say, like, you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take but it is so true.”
Transition into Cooper Gottfried speaking, a banner with his name and Class of 2025 appears.
“Talk to the Fellowships office. They are extremely helpful and although I like to think I did a good job writing my own application, they certainly helped a lot and pointed me in the right direction by having me talk to the right people, some people in the Hiatt career Center, and just talking to them too. They really gave me great ideas as to directions to take my writing.”
Transition into Daphne Ballesteros speaking, a banner with her name and Class of 2024 appears.
“Don’t be afraid to apply because with Gilman it’s a national scholarship where, like, thousands of people apply and there’s a lot of money that is involved, so it seems really scary , especially with the amount of questions you have to answer. Like, I might not even get it and that’s how I felt--it was actual shock when they said the announcement was out and I’d gotten the full amount and I’m happy that I did it because it offset so many costs for me and had I thought it was too scary of an award, I probably would have to pay a lot more out of pocket than I ended up having to pay. For IRT, like also don’t, it’s not written in blood what you’re gonna be putting on these applications. It’s kinda just like this little guide to help you see what your future plans are and ultimately the scholarships and programs, their whole goal is to, like, help you figure out what are your next steps.”
Transition into Elinor Eggers speaking, a banner with her name and Class of 2023 appears.
“I would say to be kind to yourself during the process. It can be, um, really emotional and also very time intensive, and to take the amount of time that you need to really edit and think through all of your work so you hand in applications that you are most proud of.”
Transition into MJ Ibrahim speaking, a banner with his name and Class of 2023 appears.
“So, honestly, just book an appointment with the Fellowships department. Whether you know exactly which fellowship you want to apply for, or you don’t even know what a fellowship is, they’ll help you and meet you where you’re at. So, honestly the best way to get that whole, round support is by going to the professionals. So, Meredith and Elizabeth, you got to book an appointment with them.”
Cut to slide reading: Academic Fellowships Office, fellowships@brandeis.edu, @brandeisfellowships, Kutz Hall 122 with the Brandeis Academic Fellowships logo underneath. Fade to black.