Uncertain Fulbright vs Post-bac Fellowship

[sa876]

Hi all,



I’ve ended up in a somewhat confusing situation. I just graduated in May, and I’m planning on two gap years (with one being application year). I’ve been lucky enough to be awarded a Fulbright ETA award which will theoretically start in January 2021 (COVID depending). However, I was also recently accepted into a post-bac research fellowship for AY 2020-2021 at a well-respected university. I’m sitting at a bit under 2,000 hours of research and was intending to do a year of research after Fulbright during applications, but with everything being somewhat less certain, I’m not sure which path to go down.


I’m curious if anyone else is in this situation or has been in a somewhat related situation and has any feedback on how to decide what to pursue? I’m also curious if it would seem totally out of line to try to explain this to the post-bac program and see if they would be flexible?


Thanks!

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[hrqtalwq]

I would personally go with a choice that gives you more flexibility and more research hours overall given COVID. Do either positions allow for remote work, provide mentorship, and get you involved in research that can lead to publications? I've seen the case for both kinds of positions in MD-PhD interviews; the Fullbright is prestigious but if the research fellowship gives you more research time and productivity (papers, conferences, etc.), that may be more interesting and compelling for the research essay/interviews and for your career trajectory overall.