Suggestions for all Fellowship Applicants
If you are interested in following up on one or more fellowship opportunities, we strongly urge you to examine the applications and begin planning now how you will prepare them. Some of the prestigious awards (such as Goldwater, Marshall, Truman, Rhodes, Fulbright) require explicit institutional nomination / endorsement; there are formal campus application procedures for these programs, with much earlier deadlines than the official national application due dates.
In the beginning…
Find fellowships and scholarships that apply to you. Many award programs are only open to certain categories of studentsfor example, science or humanities majors; specific class years (sophomores, etc.); those planning certain graduate degrees and careers; residents of certain states; etc. For information and guidance, attend a Fellowships Information Session, check out the Fellowships pages on the Academic Support website, see the Fellowships Coordinator in Academic Support. Here are some useful websites to help you start your search:
- /College/CCAS/fellowships.html
- Information on campus application procedures and links to websites of nationally competitive award programs for undergraduate and graduate studies.
- http://www.rochester.edu/College/OMSA/Ships
- Office of Minority Student Affairs site that includes a variety of fellowships, research opportunities, and internship program listings.
- http://www.cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/
- Extremely comprehensive searchable database of fellowships from mostly non-Cornell sources.
- http://national-academies.org/opportunities/
- Information on a variety of graduate fellowships, such as Ford Minority Fellowships and Howard Hughes fellowships for biological sciences.
- http://www.srnexpress.com/index.cfm
- Scholarship Resource Network: contains more than 7,000 listings of scholarships, fellowships, and grants for undergraduate and graduate education.
- http://yahoo.com/Education/Financial_Aid/Grants
- Links to many searchable databases.
- http://www.finaid.org/scholarships
- Links to the largest searchable databases; includes option of searching by major.
Review available informationeither in paper form or electronicallyfor fellowships and scholarships that interest you. Information and oftentimes application materials for the more prestigious competitive awards (e.g., Fulbright, Marshall, Rhodes, Truman, Goldwater, etc.) are available in the Center for Academic Support. Reference materials are also available in the Career Center resource library and Rush Rhees Library. The Center for Study Abroad in Lattimore 206 also has information about award programs for undergraduate foreign study. In addition, some academic departments receive information on competitive fellowships. Most award programs have websites, and these are usually quite comprehensive.
Be sure that you meet all eligibility requirements.
Note exactly what each application requires. How many essays (what kind and of what length) are required? How many letters of recommendation will you need? Do all letters have to come from faculty? Do you need to compile lists of your extra-/co-curricular activities, honors, and awards, or prepare a resume? Do you need to send a photo of yourself with the application?
Know the application deadlines, especially for those programs with a campus pre-nomination process.
Talk with faculty members about your interests and plans, including those with whom you have not yet taken courses. Go to professors' office hours and introduce yourself. Talk about your goals, even if they are only the goals of the momentyou are always free to change your mindand your academic interests. Allow professors to get to know you; tell them of your desire to apply for a scholarship in order to achieve your academic goals. Ask them about their academic career: how they selected a graduate school, if they received any scholarships or fellowships, etc. Remember, you will need faculty to write recommendation letters for you, and those who know you well will be able to write stronger, more personalized letters.
Create a list of possible recommenders and start asking who would be willing and have the time to write a thoughtful, detailed letter for you by the appropriate deadline.
In the middle…
Write your essay(s) and arrange to meet with a consultant in the College Writing Center (Rush Rhees G-121, 3-3584) to review it for structure, grammar, and style. Then show your essay(s) to faculty in your field and to a fellowships advisor for critical feedback. You must be willing to revise your essay(s) several times. Also see the General Essay Writing Suggestions sheet for helpful tips. Be sure that each essay addresses all of the specific points asked for in the application.
Practice filling out the application (use a copy of the real thing). Be sure that you can fit the requested information in the space provided. Look up or find out any information you don’t know.
Order transcripts from all colleges attended and have them sent directly to College Center for Academic Support, c/o Fellowships Coordinator. While UR transcripts can be obtained fairly quickly (generally within a week), you should allow several weeks to receive transcripts from other schools.
Contact recommenders to request letters of recommendation. Most applications require at least three letters of recommendation. To help them write thoughtful, detailed letters on your behalf, provide each person with a packet of information about yourself, including your academic and other interests, the fellowship or scholarship in question, and your specific goals. If relevant, also provide the official recommendation form. Remind recommenders of the timeline involved for submitting your completed application. At least one faculty recommendation will be required as part of the pre-nomination application process for fellowships requiring formal institutional endorsement.
If applying for an award requiring institutional nomination / endorsement, or if you simply want critical feedback from the Fellowships Coordinator, turn in your completed draft application to Academic Support by the specified deadline.
In the end...
Carefully prepare the final application, taking into consideration feedback from faculty reviewers and the Fellowships Coordinator. For award competitions coordinated by our office, when your complete revised application is perfectsubmit it to Amy Preziosi in Academic Support by the specified deadline. We will compile and mail your application packet. If you decide not to complete the application, please inform us as soon as possible.
Check with your recommenders to be sure that they have sent their letters directly to the appropriate placeeither Academic Support or the award program's officeby the specified deadline. If recommenders are mailing letters directly to the fellowship program, please ask each person to send a copy of his/her letter to the Fellowships Coordinator in Academic Support by the specified deadline. This is especially important when we have to provide an institutional endorsement letter.
If you are sending your own application, be sure to mail it in time to reach its destination by the due date. You are strongly advised to use an express mail delivery service.
All the time...
Look for experiences that will enhance your candidacye.g., internships, independent study, research, campus involvement, community service, career-related jobs.
Contact the Fellowships Coordinator or Amy Preziosi in Academic Support if you have any questions. Our office is open year-round. We are available ...
- by e-mail:
- Belinda S. Redden redn@mail.rochester.edu (Fellowships Coordinator)
Amy Preziosi amyp@mail.rochester.edu (Administrative Assistant) - by phone:
- (585) 275-2354
- by FAX:
- (585) 275-2190 (be sure to indicate clearly that the fax is about fellowships)
- by U.S. mail:
- College Center for Academic Support
Lattimore 312
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14627-0402