Is it possible to apply during a Fulbright year?

[mariposas905]

Asking for a friend! She wants to do a Fulbright next year, but is also applying next cycle for 2019 matriculation. Not sure if this is important but she is an average med school candidate who is aiming for mid-low tier schools.

I don't know much about the Fulbright, but to me it seems like it would be difficult to come back from IIs while doing an ETA in places like Indonesia, Netherlands or Poland (those are the countries she's considering). Am I wrong in thinking this?

How accommodating is the Fulbright program for allowing students to come back to USA for med school IIs? And how flexible are the medical schools for Fulbrighters in scheduling their IIs?

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[mariposas905]

Applying to medical school should be considered a nearly fulltime job from about May thru September of the application year, assuming has been completed prior. In addition to primary application, there will ve 10-25 secondary applications of similar length, all requiring to well written and highly polished in order to be competitive. So before even considering the possibility of II, applicants need to complete the application. Therefore, I strongly advise against long overseas trips (more that a few weeks) for any applicant during this timeframe. applicants should apply after fellowships and other travel is completed

I think the Fulbright doesn't begin until October of next year anyway, so she would be done with all the apps by then. Considering this, would you still say not to do the Fulbright during the app year? Would it be very difficult to schedule IIs while on a Fulbright?

 

[mariposas905]

If fullbright is a year long, most medical schools start in August or earlier. Nor would a school look favorably on a candidate who would certainly need to defer, not too mention a large a fraction of schools wont give deferrments for educational pursuits.

all in all seems not a viable path to apply to medical while possibly being on a fulbright

Okay, that makes sense. But the bolded is interesting...I thought medical schools were happy to give deferments for things like fellowships or prestigious educational opportunities. What do the majority give deferrals for then?

 

[unicornshadow888]

Health and financial (loan approval). Most medical schools dislike giving deferrments as their goal is to fill up their class. And there is no requirement that they give any.

I have no knowledge of this topic, so forgive me if I'm wrong. However, are med schools not as generous with deferring if the applicant is participating in a prestigious program, as is the case with this applicant? Idk. I knew someone who was successful with deferring, as they were a Marshal Scholar (you want to talk about tough admissions, med school admissions is a cakewalk compared to that). I can see how deferring wouldn't work for everyday purposes like not being able to quit a job within a certain amount of time. But, considering the circumstances of doing Fulbright or Marshall/Rhodes Scholarships, I would hope that they would make exceptions for those. I wouldn't exactly call those your typical educational pursuits.