As I’ve said before, the road to winning a Fulbright scholarship is a lonnngg one. A timeline detailing key moments of the process would have been really helpful, so I’ve tried to detail my journey below for anyone who’s interested in applying/learning about the process.
I’ve included the timelines for the extra funding I chased and my University applications too. Managing all these overlapping deadlines at once was wild, but seeing how the different response windows line up gives a realistic picture of the sheer volume of applications/waiting involved in the process.
The Application Process & The Fulbright Win
February 2025: Application Opened: The Fulbright UK postgraduate application officially opened. I spent the next three months tweaking essays, chasing references, and obsessing over word counts.
May 5, 2025: Pressed Submit: Got the application in right before the early-May deadline. And then... I waited because I didn’t hear anything for over a month.
July 24, 2025: The Shortlist Email: Out of nowhere, the notification landed: I’d been shortlisted for an interview. They sent over the format, asked me to prepare for a presentation, and gave me a firm deadline of July 29th to RSVP.
(The Caveat: My interview was locked in for August 22nd at 11:15 AM online. There’s no in-person option and there’s very little opportunity to be flexible or reschedule. You have to make their date work).
August 20, 2025: Prep Mode: Two days before the interview, the panel sent over the prep questions. (If you want to read about how I prepped and the exact questions they asked, check out my interview guide here).
August 22, 2025: Interview Day: Logged on at 11:10 AM, delivered the presentation, answered their questions, and logged off feeling slightly defeated, but at least it was over.
September 11, 2025: We got an email stating results were delayed. By September 22nd, I couldn’t wait any longer - I had another time-pressured opportunity on the line, so I sent a polite email to chase them up.
September 23, 2025: I GOT IT! The official offer arrived. The catch? A 48-hour window to accept, followed by 10 days of intense paperwork to officially commit.
(Caveat: You technically don’t have the award until the American side signs off on it. For me, this didn’t happen until February 2026, so for ‘status’ purposes you just provisionally have the scholarship at this point. Over a year ago the Fulbright Board quit…showing it’s not all always straightforward.
September 24–30, 2025: Securing my place at NYFA. The day after accepting Fulbright, I submitted my application to New York Film Academy (Los Angeles). Less than a week later, on September 30th, I got my acceptance letter.
The Pivot & Transcript Chaos
November 30, 2025: Changing Direction: After a lot of research, I realised I wanted to apply to the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York - but in order to do so I needed to convert my ‘official’ University transcripts so that American Universities would accept them. On the 30th of November I sent my transcripts to be processed by WES (World Education Service) to get them converted. WES is so bad, but that’s a story for another day.
December 5, 2025: London Event. I headed down to London for an in-person Fulbright event. You get to meet your cohort and ask any burning questions you have. Nervous as I was, I decided to just ask directly: Could I move my award funding from NYFA (Los Angeles) to SVA (New York)? To my massive relief, they said yes.
January 6, 2026: Submitting Without Transcripts: With SVA’s application deadline looming, my official WES converted transcripts still hadn’t arrived. I completely freaked out, but I applied to SVA anyway to meet the deadline on the 6th of January. Luckily, the admissions team were nice and gave me some leeway.
January 22, 2026: Transcripts Cleared: WES finally came through and my transcripts were forwarded to SVA, meaning they could finally start processing my application.
February 5, 2026: Accepted into SVA! Got the official acceptance email. Moving to NYC was actually happening.
March 30, 2026: Deposit Payment: I paid the $1,000 SVA enrolment deposit.
A quick heads-up for future applicants: While this deposit is deducted from your overall tuition later, you are expected to pay it out of pocket upfront. Keep a buffer saved for pre-departure administrative costs like this.
Layering the Extra Funding
As amazing as the Fulbright news was, the reality of funding film school in New York City quickly set in. Up until this point I’d been working full-time as Head of Marketing at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. I loved the job, but I was beginning to miss important funding deadlines and I felt applications/and my job were being compromised (something had to give). I decided to leave my full-time work and turn my attention to filling out funding applications (you can read more about this decision here).
March 12 & May 31, 2026: Applied for the BUNAC BEST Award and did the interview at the end of May.
April 30, 2026: Submitted my application for the Washington Scholarship.
May 31, 2026: Submitted my application for the Francis D. ‘Pete’ Lyon Scholarship, the Global Scholarship, and BAFTA Ben Jorgensen Scholarship. I never heard back from these so I assume I haven’t gotten them.
June 3, 2026: Found out I was awarded the BUNAC BEST Scholarship!
June 24, 2026: Found out I was awarded the Washington Scholarship!
June 26 – July 1, 2026: Kept the momentum going and submitted applications for the BAFTA Pigott Scholarship, the Dewar Award, and the Scottish Education Trust. Still awaiting the result of these applications.
Visas, Bureaucracy, and Packing Bags
July 15–17, 2026: Fulbright Orientation: I spent three days in London meeting the rest of my cohort. It finally started to feel real, although everyone was pretty stressed that they hadn’t got their Visas sorted out yet. A full briefing was given by the Fulbright commission.
July 21, 2026: The DS-2019 Arrives. My official DS-2019 form arrived from Fulbright (this is the document you need to kick-start the visa application). I ran straight down to the local library in Carndonagh, filled out the mountain of visa forms, and booked my US Embassy appointment.
July 28, 2026: Embassy Interview: Fulbright fast-tracks your VISA appointment so you get a visa interview pretty quick. As a warning, the interviews are normally really early in the morning (mine was at 7am in London). At the end of the interview process they take your DS-2019, and your passport, and then they hand you a letter saying your Visa has been ‘Rejected’. I almost had a heart attack. (Future applicants: Don’t panic! This is often standard administrative code while they physically process the passport and do the newly required social media background checks).
July 30 – August 6, 2026: Visa Wait Timeline
July 30: Visa status shifted to Approved.
August 3rd: Visa status shifted to Issued.
August 6th: The postman delivered my DS-2019 and my passport with the physical visa inside. (Future applicants: if you want the embassy to send your visa back to you, you must bring a pre-paid envelope to your Visa appointment).
August 17, 2026: Flight Booked
After months of paperwork, waiting, and the occasional moment of self-doubt, I finally booked my one-way ticket to New York.
What I Wish I Knew Before Starting
You can pivot: Don’t feel trapped by the choices you make during your Fulbright application. They understand that plans change. Once you have the award, there is wriggle room to be flexible with the course/university you’re applying to (if you’re on the self-placement track).
Deadlines are softer than they look (sometimes): If third-party services like WES lag behind, email your school admissions team. Most schools will hold your place if you keep them updated on when you think things will come through. KEEP PEOPLE UPDATED. On a separate note, not ALL deadlines are soft. I know someone who lost their BUNAC BEST funding because they missed an email. My point is, if you need flexibility - ask for it. Most of the time you will get it.
Budget for the pre-departure phase: Between transcript conversions (£120), deposit fees ($1,000), and travel to London for interviews/orientations, the application process itself costs money before grant funds hit your account. I really advise that you have at least £3,000 saved up to buffer any additional costs before your Fulbright money kicks in.
As always, if you are working on your application or thinking of applying and have a burning question, please reach out to me directly on Instagram at roise_nab.