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Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships 2009/2010 for New Americans: Apply for Fall!

Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their fellowship program for New Americans in December 1997 with a charitable trust of fifty million dollars. Their reasons for doing so were several. They wished to “give back” to the country that had afforded them and their children such great opportunities and felt a fellowship program was an appropriate vehicle. They also felt that assisting young New Americans at a critical point in their education was an unmet need. Finally, they wished to signal to all Americans that the contributions of New Americans to the quality of life in this country have been manifold.

Are you a new American who plans on being enrolled in a graduate or professional program in Fall 2010?

The Paul and Daisy Fellowship is highly competitive and awards 30 two-year fellowships of up to $36,000 per year to accomplished new Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields.

A New American is an individual who is a holder of a Green Card, or has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. Applicants must be exceptional students who have demonstrated creativity, originality and initiative, who have engaged in an activity that requires drive and sustained effort and who show a commitment to the values expressed in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Fellowship Application Process:
we encourage candidates to submit and get their collateral material to us before that date. Life being as it is in universities, however, there is a crush of material to us. Letters of recommendation are often late, making a full consideration more difficult. Once the application and other materials are in hand, teams of at least three readers consider the candidacy and determine who will be invited for interviews. Like every strong fellowship program, the Soros Fellowships have many more able people applying than can ever be invited for interviews. Painful though the decision process is, 84 are eventually invited. The interviews are held in January in New York and Los Angeles, with a February announcement.

What generalizations can be made on the basis of 10583 applications, 1025 interviews, and 354 appointed Fellows?

• Fields that seem especially to predominate in results (e.g., law and medicine) are those fields that have the largest number of applications.
• Relative to their numbers of applications, many other fields have greater success rates.
• Private institutions generally do a better job in informing candidates about the Soros opportunity and seem to take greater care in presenting their candidates.
• Two good essays and letters of recommendation can offset a poor interview.
• Candidates who only demonstrate excellence in their academic field, without evidence of other creative and sustained activity, do less well.
• Padded resumes are easily detected by readers and selection panelists.
• Candidates in master’s programs are less likely to apply. (56% Doctoral and 44% master’s)
• No geographical area of immigration origin does disproportionately well. Talent is well distributed around the world. Differences in numbers reflect difference in numbers of applicants, which in turn reflects differences in recent immigration rates.

Application Deadline: It is not too early to prepare for a November 1, 2009 deadline!

Further information and the application are available at the Soros website: www.pdsoros.org.