I broke up my tips into the following general categories:
Application:
Step 1: See their website for important deadlines and recommendations. Create your own account so you can start the application process for the study abroad period which applies to you.
Step 2: Think ahead. You are going to need an official transcript, which can cost extra to get immediately, so you will want to put in a request for this as soon as possible. Afterward, you can make two copies of it because you need three documents total to send in to the Gilman Institute with your application.
Step 3: Begin your online application. Everything except the official transcripts is filled out and submitted online. It is a simple process and just follow the directions provided on the Gilman website.
Follow-On Project:
As you might have guessed, this blog is one of mine. The goal for this section of your essay is to prove that you are creative, and that you can be reflective of your study abroad experiences and share this reflection with others. On the Gilman website there is an entire page dedicated to tips for the follow-on project. Read this thoroughly and take them into account while writing your essay. Just remember that you are accountable to fulfill the projects that you describe in this essay if your are chosen to receive a scholarship. Be creative!
Receiving Your Scholarship:
First, I recommend that you sign into your Gilman account somewhat frequently and check the estimated time frame for when scolarship recipients will be announced. This is useful information because if you receive a Gilman scholarship, you will only have a few days to get together the necessary documents and fill out the online certification and award documentation to accept your award. In my case, not counting memorial day which was the fist week-day since I was notified of my scholarship, I had 4 days until everything needed to be submitted online or post-marked and on its way toward the Gilman Institute. I was so glad that I had decided to check the postings online because I found out a day and a half ahead of time that I had received a scholarship, meaning I had more time to prepare the necessary documents.
Submitting the Award Documentation:
Here is the basic sequence of events I followed and I recommend for you:
1) Read the directions provided to you by the Gilman Institute (online).
2) Reread the directions as you begin executing them. Follow them thoroughly.
3) Start and finish the online requirements. These are fairly straightforward and with the exception of some listserv joinings you don't even have to leave the Gilman website. This took me maybe 2 hours, and only that long because I was extra careful and read everything about three times before actually hitting the submit button. After you hit the submit button you will have to verify that you actually want to submit. Make sure you hit yes so that the Gilman Institue receives your documentation.
4) Sign in to your Gilman account and go to the ckecklist page in order to begin collecting your award documentation documents. Follow this checklist closely as it is your key to success. TIP: If you are at all confused about what you should be doing or what you need in order to complete either part of your award documentation, I encourage you to consult the informational webinars put on by the Gilman Institute where you can watch real-time what is expected of you and use a chat box to ask interactive questions. However, in order not to miss any information I recommend allowing about ten minutes before the start of the webinar to make sure that the software can run on your computer and that everything loads and is ready to go.
Gilman Picture from: http://www.studyabroaddomain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/blog-gilman-international-scholarship.jpg
