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Fulbright Interview Experiences of Actual Students

With a mission to “Promoting mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and the people of United States through educational and cultural exchange,” the Fulbright scholarship program is at the top of many Pakistani student’s dreams of getting a free U.S. education.

However, with increasing awareness over the years, and only 150 or so spots to compete for, securing the scholarship is getting challenging year on year. That’s why I have compiled this post to help you do better on the Fulbright interview. I have gathered real interview experiences shared by actual Fulbright applicants to help you understand the interview process. 

How the Fulbright Interview Works

Without a doubt, landing an interview with USEFP for the Fulbright program is no easy task. Thus, if you have made it to the interview phase, it is an exceptional achievement already.

Fulbright interviews are conducted by a panel of 4 people – 2 Pakistani’s and 2 Americans. They tend to be very friendly but very rigorous. They can last anywhere between 10 to 45 minutes.

The panel is trying to gauge 3 things:

  1. How solid your motivations to pursue a graduate program are?
  2. Whether you have told the truth in your Fulbright application.
  3. Whether you will fit well with the program’s focus on cultural exchange and helping Pakistan.

The experiences below are drawn from a range of students who took the Fulbright interviews in recent years. Though there is no guarantee that you will be asked the same questions as these applicants did, preparing for these (and any related questions you can think of) should give you a great foundation for your interview.

Fulbright Interview Experience #1 (Accepted)

Profile:

  • Degree: B.E. Avionics Engineering
    Institution: NUST – CAE
  • CGPA: 3.91/4 (Roll of honor)
  • GRE: Q 164, V 146, A 4
  • Research Paper: 1
  • Experience: 1 year as Embedded Systems Engineer at a local software company
  • NUST Entrance Test Scholarship – waiver of tuition fee by NUST for 1 st semester. Amount: Rs. 60,000
  • Nishat Merit Scholarship – waiver of tuition fee by Nishat college for complete two years. Amount: 24 * Rs./2000 = Rs. 48,000
  • Rector’s Gold medal (Roll of Honour) in B. E. Avionics
  • 2nd position in National Engineering and Robotics Contest (NERC).
  • Commandant Distinction Badge (golden pointer) – 2nd semester & 6th semester
  • Commandant Honour Badge (silver pointer) – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th semester
  • 1st position in chief minister essay writing competition (Urdu), both at tehsil level & district level

Having said all that, now I want to narrate my interview experience.

I was called in for the interview at 12:00 noon. I remember I reached there 20 minutes before time. A number of other guys were also sitting there (mostly in suits). I wore only a decent pent and shirt. One by one we were sent into the waiting hall. First of all, all of us were asked to fill out a basic form and write an essay on a very stupid topic. My topic was: which internet sites would you recommend others to visit daily. There were around 50 of us (more than half were females) and we were divided into three lists. My personal speculation is that one list was for engineering students, the other two lists were for some other fields.

Having called at 12:00 noon, my turn came at 3:45 pm. I was also supposed to sit alone while my predecessor was taking the interview. As expected, there were two Pakistanis (one man and one woman) and two Americans (one man and one woman). The American man welcomed me and made the starting question. They started by asking me to explain more about my field of interest i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI). As I talked with them, it became very clear to me that they had no idea what so ever about the AI. During the whole interview, I wasn’t asked any specific technical questions. During the whole interview, they just asked one question from my research objective statement.

I was under some pressure when I entered the room but as I talked with them the pressure just evaporated. I personally found Americans to be more decent and easy to talk to. All of us even laughed once or twice during the interview. In short, I was mentally satisfied when I got out of the room.

Following are some of their questions that I remember

  • Please tell us about your field of interest
  • What do you like to do on weekends?
  • You took 1st position in an essay writing competition, can you share the topics of the essay?
  • Why do you want to go to the US?
  • How can Fulbright help you in achieving your goals?
  • How is your study going to help the industry?
  • Can you give us any specific example of the use of AI in real life?
  • Is there any question that you would like to ask?

Having said all that, I feel confident about my interview.

Fulbright Interview Experience #2 (Accepted)

Profile:

  • Education: Bs Environmental Engineering from NUST
  • Work Experience: 1 year in a renewable energy firm
  • Final Year Project: Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (first pilot-scale plant ever constructed in Pakistan)
  • GRE Score: 308
  • Proposed field of study: Energy and Environmental Management

I was escorted to the interview room by the psychologist. As I entered I found two ladies from USEFP, one female U.S Alumnus who was a trainer and another Male Fulbright Alumnus with a specialization in computer engineering (No person from my field of study).

The moment I entered, I went and shook hands with the ladies. They got sort of surprised but responded back with a beaming smile and warm handshake.

Following were some of the questions:

  • The USEFP lady asked me to introduce myself. (I began with a brief introduction of my educational career at NUST and how I am working in a Scottish renewable energy firm which aligns with my degree.
  • The second question was asked about my final year project. I described it completely correlating it with the current need for it in Pakistan. Hence, advocating waste to energy concept.
  • Will you be okay if we do not place you at the University of Texas-El Paso (the university which has a real-time working solar pond). I said that I will be OK only if I get a good program related to energy and environmental management. Although SGSP is my passion it might narrow down my scope of study while on the other hand energy and environmental management would help me build an impact on a larger scale.
  • To this, they asked what do you plan on doing for Energy and Environmental Management. I got really excited about the question and told them I have decided everything through. They all began laughing. I also apologized for coming out as a little over-ambitious. They were all kind enough to just laugh out loud and nod their heads. I gave an overview of the current status of Pakistan and compared it with how there is no concept of relating energy with the environment. I gave a further overview of what the government is doing now and how if we compare it US (i provided some statistics), we are a century apart. They had to make me stop because I got all passionate but the American Lady said following: “No no. it is so good to see that you are actually this passionate about your work which is SO GREAT”. Then she gave a thumbs up.
  • Your academic profile is great but why such a low GRE Score (the male interviewer asked, smiling to that) I gave the reason of a hectic work schedule. He asked if I will be okay in retaking the exam. I said I will be if they ask me to.
  • Will you be okay with living away from home?
  • U.S lady said, “I can see your academically but tell me how will you make a cultural impact”. I said this is the MOST exciting part about Fulbright! I am in a class where there are a plethora of different races. Their issues will differ from mine which will increase my horizon of intellect. I also said that I am thinking of it as a long term goal that we conduct symposiums on and off in Pakistan and help find solutions mutually.
  • Any challenges you think you will face?

I assured them I am a friendly person and I know people will like me but I think I might have issue with accommodation. The male alumnus of Fulbright ensured me I won’t.

Advice:

Just be PASSIONATE. You should be clear on what exactly do you want to do. They want to see that spark in your eyes for whatever career path you are choosing and be VERY realistic about why Pakistan needs it.

Although I am not sure if I am selected or not. They did not ask me anything technical. It seemed like a normal and jovial chat. Good luck to everyone!

Fulbright Interview Experience #3 (Accepted)

Profile:

  • Undergraduate: Bachelors in Economics
  • University: Lahore School of Economics
  • Years of Experience: 1.5
  • GRE score: 164 Quant and 159 Verbal
  • TOEFL: 116/120
  • Applying for: Master in Development Economics
  • Research Publications: None
  • Domicile: Punjab
  • Preferred Universities: Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University & University of Pennsylvania

I gave my Fulbright interview and thought I should share my experience so that future students can benefit from it.

So basically I went in for the interview at 12:00 pm and there were 19 other students from various universities and disciplines already awaiting inside the waiting room. I walked in at around 3:00 pm and there was a panel of 4 interviewers awaiting me. 2 of them were Pakistani ex-Fulbright scholars in their late 20’s and another 2 were Americans – probably senior officials of the USEFP.

The panel was very cheerful especially the Americans, however, the two Pakistani dudes were pretty pissed off at everyone for some reason. The Americans even stood up for me to shake my hand when I entered the room but the Pakistani guys were stiffly seated in their seats.

They started off by asking me to introduce myself and followed it up with some very basic questions about my application. Initially, I had a feeling that maybe they were not much aware of my field because the questions were very rudimentary. But later on one of the Pakistani interviewers started asking me tough technical questions about my field of expertise. This showed that the guy was probably someone from my discipline as he knew a lot of up-to-date stuff happening in my area.

It was very difficult for me to gauge how my interview was going since the Americans kept smiling throughout the interview and appreciated what I answered. The Pakistani guys were very serious and sometimes even a little rude. Time passed by very quickly and it was a 40 minutes interview in total.

I was visibly nervous right from the start and I am sure they would have noticed that. I stuttered several times during the interview and sometimes I felt that my answers were not coherent. However, the interviewers were very professional and they did not react to my nervousness. I answered all questions in a lot of detail and sometimes my responses exceeded 4-5 minutes and mostly it was a discussion.

Since the panel did not show any mood changes I could not till the end of the interview feel how did I perform. I had a couple of few genuine achievements in my field of expertise but I felt I lacked a little in proving that I am the same person as I am in the application.

So I am pretty confused as to how I did. I feel good about what I said generally except for a few hiccups but I think it went well in the end.

My Advice:

Don’t lie about anything. Prepare your personal statement well as they ask 90% questions from your personal statement.
Be confident and speak loud and clear. Don’t keep staring at just 1 interviewer but make eye contact with all of them while speaking.

Questions Asked:

  • Please tell us about yourself?
  • Why did you chose US for higher education?
  • What are you going to do when you come back to Pakistan and how will you achieve it?
  • Why are you applying to these 4 universities specifically? What is so special about these schools?
  • What is your most significant achievement till now?
Fulbright Interview Experience #4 (Accepted)

Thank you for your interest. My interview is over and most shocking thing was that “I WAS THE FIRST ONE” who was invited in for an interview. So maybe I was the best candidate on paper.

There were 2 American average age of 38 and one Pakistani guy named Ahmad between 30 and 35. There was another lady who was 40+ and looked like an Indian.

I was not asked anything about my past. Nor did they ask me any other generally expected questions. They just started my study aim and reason to opt for this course.

Initially, I was a bit nervous. They kept asking me questions one at a time. In fact, each interviewer asked me at least one question. They gave me a bit tough time in my area of interest and my job relevance and alignment with my future aim.

Technically I never let them dominate but I did make slight mistakes that sometimes I was too technical in response when they were quite (at least 3 of them) naive about my subject. They discussed my personal statement like taking the dead out of the grave.

Then they came to general questions like; how you will adjust in the US? What you want to see in the US and what challenges you may face there?

In addition, they asked me if I am offered chance in some low ranked university in the US, would I be comfortable going there?

The overall interview was detailed, elaborate and pretty technical. In summary, it was a hard nut to crack. They definitely defeated me in some areas but in others, I was pretty strong.

In a nutshell, they discussed every inch of my study objective, personal statement, and resume. I often threw some jokes on which they laughed a lot.

Besides, they were very generous, kind, polite and good listeners. The guy who was Pakistani was very very nice and polite. Inf act he was like leading the panel but a very gentleman.

When I came out laughing a girl who was sitting for her turn said “OHHHH ALLAHHHHHHHH MIAAAAAN KIYAAAAAAAA HO GAAAAAAAAAAAA” (oh God what will happen!)

I hope it will help other interviewees in their interviews.

Fulbright Interview Experience #5 (Rejected)

Profile:

  • Undergraduate: Bachelors in Electrical Engineering
  • Years of Experience: 1
  • GRE score: 312
  • Applying for: MSc Engineering

Hey Guys, Asalam-O-Alaikum!

I also had the opportunity of giving the Fulbright interview. Well, the panel I faced had 2 Americans and 2 Pakistani Fulbright alumni. I am Gold Medalist of my undergraduate course and have a CGPA of 3.89. I have over 1 year of work experience plus a bunch of extra and co-curricular activities.

My area of interest is Aerial Autonomous Robots and the first question that the Americans threw at me was “Drones? You want to work on drones?”

This made me and the whole panel laugh out loud. This question removed all of my anxiety and I felt at peace and very comfortable. I gave a prompt and confident reply and the American nodded in acknowledgment.

I felt really proud of myself for getting such a positive response from the panel and the rest of the interview went smoothly. My GRE scores were not that high like I mentioned in my profile above so the Pakistani guys asked me if I am flexible in studying at any university.

Overall it was one of the most learning experiences I ever had in my life. Don’t lose hope guys and don’t be demotivated.

Treat them like they treat you. Don’t think they are here to select you. Think of it as you are there to check whether these guys are suitable for you or not! Good Luck!

Fulbright Interview Experience #6 (Rejected)

I was shortlisted for Fulbright and gave my interview. I have given my best and rest is up to Allah but I wanted to thank you for you had been a part of this partial success.

For your info, my credentials are:

  • GRE: 319 (Q:162 V:157)
  • Discipline: Mechatronics Engineering
  • NUST
  • CGPA: 3.62

Out of the 40 who were interviewed today in a total of 2 batches only 2 were from engineering and just 2 of MBA. There were a lot of public policy students on the day of my interview. Also, on that day, most of the students were from LUMS  with excellent credentials and communication skills.

And in reply to a comment of yours, we were given a handout today congratulating us and mentioning the total number of applicants and shortlisted. It also stated that the final number to be selected depends upon the funding available.

My Advice:

Stay calm during your interview as they will try to confuse you. No need to wear a suit. Simple pants and shirts would serve the purpose.

Questions Asked:

  • Why did you choose Mechatronics engineering as your field?
  • What would you do if you were offered a job in the U.S. after graduation?
  • Do you think Pakistan has any future in Robotics?
  • What is currently being done in Pakistan to promote Mechatronics?
  • Why did you have a low Quant score in your GRE exam considering that you are an engineer?
Fulbright Interview Experience #7 (Rejected)

Profile:

  • Undergraduate: Bachelors in Economics
  • University: LUMS
  • Years of Experience: 6
  • GRE score: 170 Quant and 158 Verbal
  • GMAT score: 740/800
  • TOEFL: 119/120
  • Applying for: MBA
  • Domicile: Punjab
  • Preferred Universities: HBS, Wharton, Stanford, UC Berkeley

My Interview went really bad. As usual, there were 4 people in the interview panel – 2 Pakistani’s and 2 American’s. One of the Pakistani’s was a Fulbright alumnus who started my interview. He had done his MBA on Fulbright scholarship as well.

Now as I mentioned in my profile above, I have a GMAT score of 740. So basically this Pakistani interviewer started off by saying “WOW 740 in GMAT. I am totally intimidated by your GMAT score.” He said this in a very negative and sarcastic tone and went on to declare that I am just a book worm who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life and career. In around 8 minutes I was out of the interview room.

I think my chances are almost gone – I probably had the shortest interview EVER in Fulbright history.

Actually I think when the Fulbright panel doesn’t get anything against you, saying that you are not sure of what you want to do in your life works pretty well for them.

This guy’s attitude set the pace so bad that I wasn’t even able to properly express myself. Plus this guy was younger than me. I believe it was thoroughly unprofessional on Fulbright’s part to have such a young person on the panel since they are not trained to gauge prospective applicants true potential and his/her dreams and aspirations. I don’t know why on earth are they part of this panel.

The 2 American guys were so quiet all the time as if they think they don’t care and believe they shouldn’t meddle in and let Pakistani decide for Pakistani’s. I think interview panelists should be much experienced.

Anyhow when I look at it in retrospection I firmly believe that my aims and ambitions are quite difficult to express for myself. I may need some more time to bake it and make it easier for others to understand so partly I am at fault as well for not elucidating my aspirations.

I understand if Allah wills it would go through no matter what. But I am quite satisfied. If HE doesn’t will it would be alright. Will keep you updated on results once i get.

Thanks for the listening ear.