Amy Perez, anthropology major, remarks how students can benefit from the Gilman scholarship, “I think this is really helpful because there is a lot of people who need the experience from the work study and sometimes it can get really expensive and very competitive.”
Eugenio Rivera, double major in criminal justice and business administration with a concentration on finance at California State University Fullerton, gave a presentation on tips and useful information on how to apply for the the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship on Friday, Jan. 29 in the Liberal Arts building room 103 at 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Rivera has gone on a Gilman scholar-trip before where he studied in Brazil. He found out about this particular scholarship through the advisers at California State University Fullerton.
He also hopes students apply to this scholarship and advises them to check their essays before submitting them.
“I would tell students to apply and to not let other schools intimidate them, and to try to be as informative as possible in their papers, but also proofread their papers as well,” Rivera said.
Rivera plans to study abroad in South Africa next year although he is unsure, but he is planning to study abroad again.
He remarks how his experience was when he studied he Brazil, “At first it was weird. Since basically I am able to communicate with people in Spanish or English but in Brazil you did not hear any of those languages. It was a whole new culture to me.”
The Gilman Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), diversifies the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go to by awarding over 2,000 scholarships of up to $5,000 USD.
The program strongly encourages applications from:
- Students attending community colleges
- Students from diverse ethnic backgrounds
- Students going to non-traditional countries
- Students participating in credit-bearing internships
- Students with disabilities
- First-generation college students
- Students participating in fields of study underrepresented in education abroad
Students studying a critical need language are automatically considered for the Gilman Critical Need Language Award (CNLA) for a total possible award of $8,000. CNLAs are awarded to students studying a Critical Need Language in a country in which that language is predominantly spoken. A limited number are available each year.
Critical Need Languages include:
- Arabic
- Japanese
- Korean
- Russian
- Swahili
- Chinese languages
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Indic languages
- Persian languages
- Turkic languages
Timothy Juntilla, director of the Scholar Honors’ Program and advisor for the Gilman Scholarship and Boren Scholarship, explained to the 30+ attendees that the CNLA is similar to the lottery.
“Since there are very few awards, don’t just say that you are going to study a language because you want another $8,000, do it regardless of that. You are happy to study even without that money,” he said.
To apply:
- The student must complete the application at www.iie.org/gilman
- Contact the Financial Aid and Study Abroad advisors at the home
institution to notify them about applying for the Gilman Scholarship, - Provide transcripts from the current institution and any previous institution indicated on the application.
The application deadlines are as follows:
For programs and internships during the Summer, Fall and Academic Year the application must be complete by March.
And for programs and internships during the Spring and Summer the application must be complete by October.
Visit the Gilman website for exact deadlines at www.iie.org/gilman
To find a study abroad program students should visit www.iiepassport.org
And to search for the various scholarships to study abroad, students should visit http://studyabroadfunding.org/
