Amazon.com Review
Written by students for students, this is more than a mere directory of potential funds. Getting that grant or fellowship can mean the difference between attending graduate school or not. It can make your career, or set you in the rut you hoped to avoid. And getting that grant or fellowship is not just a matter of being qualified: it's knowing what's out there to apply for (and to apply for more than one), planning ahead, gathering appropriate recommendations, writing a worthy personal statement, and preparing for the interview you need to ace. Toward that end, the
Yale Daily News Guide offers personal accounts and advice from students who've successfully negotiated those difficult waters.
Fellowships and grants are listed by a number of topic headings, including "prestige" and "study abroad," those specifically for women or minorities, and by subject, from the arts and humanities to engineering, politics, business, and the sciences. For each, the guide tells the purpose of the fellowship or grant, the criteria used to award it, the financial-award amount, and whether there's a deadline. Some pursuits are as easy to accomplish by the seat of your pants as with diligent preparation, and others need serious time and planning. Applying for grants and fellowships needs serious time and planning. As successful students relate, the judges know the difference between the applicant who thinks it would be cool to hang out in a foreign place for a few months with cash in the bank and the one who has a valid quest and has done the preliminary research. In this venture, the better you prepare, the better your chances will be. --Stephanie Gold
