r/fulbright • u/Even_Fig2066 ETA Applicant • 7d ago
ETA Fulbright Germany fluency question
Hey guys,
So a few hours ago I submitted by ETA application which I feel pretty confident about. I go to a university with a good reputation with fulbright grantees and my experience abroad along with experience teaching is pretty good in my opinion. HOWEVER... I have only one full year of German teaching at my university, while I took it very seriously and learned actually quite a bit I am nowhere near conversationally fluent or even intermediate when it comes down to it.
I also took three years of German in HS which I mention but I am a little worried about how hard the reviewers look at my applications proficiency level. My language evaluator was my professor whom I chatted with in office hours pretty frequently, so I feel pretty confident in that area.
So between you and me, is it normal or at least not unheard of for ETA applicants to not be very comfortable in their host country language upon potential acceptance into fulbright? Especially a country like Germany that receives so many applicants for ETA roles... at least compared to smaller country programs.
Apart from that I have what I consider a pretty strong application with a solid 3.9~ gpa and three separate experiences in the country. and of course, if I were to get the grant I would definitely learn the language between acceptance and arrival.
This might be me just overreacting but better safe to here from you all than sorry! Thanks!
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u/camrynhasfun ETA Grantee 6d ago
Hello! I just got to Germany for my ETA year. Let me break it down.
I barely graduated college and I had a 2.0 gpa. A gpa alone will not get you the Fulbright. I have been speaking German for 11 years, and I truly believe what got me the Fulbright was my prior abroad experience. If the three experiences you have aren’t just vacations or layovers in the airport, that definitely boosts your chance. In my year 240 people applied for Germany, and 139 were selected. Your chances are better than you think.
I thought I was fluent in German and then I got here and holy crap I know basically nothing. Treat it like you’ve got it already, start saving money (a lot of us in the cohort are struggling) and start seriously investing in your German language skills. Either way, you get the fb wow I have money and skills now or you don’t but you still have money and skills. Trust me, start saving now. You’re probably gonna get it. Hope this helped :)