Fulbright Scholar Amar Latif Qazi from Pakistan Shares Their Journey of Securing a Fully Funded Master's at the Vanderbilt University, United States

Hello! My name is Amar Latif Qazi. I completed my Bachelors in Social Sciences from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in 2017, and then worked in the non-profit sector for five years, focusing on disability inclusion, data analysis, and monitoring & evaluation.

Over time, I felt the growing realization that our work in NGO sector was tackling structural problems with band-aid solutions. I wanted to understand how communities we could empower communities to build power and resolve inequities, rather than just coping with them through non-profits. That led me to apply for scholarships to pursue higher education, and I was placed by Fulbright to study Master of Education in Community Development and Action at Vanderbilt University. The program was a perfect blend of development theory, community organizing, and action research, which is exactly what I needed.

At Vanderbilt, I threw myself into everything. I was a Graduate Assistant at the Next Steps higher education program for neurodiverse scholars, a Cal Turner Fellow for Moral Leadership, a mentor for incoming international students through IMap. I facilitated narrative circles, served as treasurer of our student association, and got involved in Nashville's community development scene wherever I could. This included BDS encampment and local activism through Protect Kids Not Guns TN, conducting research on gun laws and helping organize protests. All of this led to receiving the Outstanding Community Development and Action Student Award.

After returning to Pakistan in 2024, I worked and taught at Habib University. Between that time, I have worked on multiple projects, including community organizing, funded research, and collaborations with other institutions. I just moved to the Netherlands in 2026 and I am excited for this new chapter in my life.

Fulbright Scholarship Details

I received the Fulbright Scholarship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered in Pakistan by USEFP. The scholarship covered full tuition, one round-trip flight, health insurance, and a monthly living stipend that varies by state. Our stipend in Nashville was a bare minimum of $1510 per month at that time, and you had to budget very carefully. Fulbright has since then conducted a major revision of stipends, so new students will have a much better experience.

Were You Offered Any Other Scholarships?

No, but I had applied to multiple other scholarship before applying to Fulbright. This included Chevening, Erasmus (twice), and DAAD. I believe this journey and each application had a significant role to play in being able to secure Fulbright. I was able to build upon my previous drafts, analysing where I went wrong and what I could improve.

Educational Background

My bachelor's in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts from IBA Karachi gave me a good foundation in research and reading dense papers, which was very useful in my master’s.

I had often heard that you need to have a great GPA to secure a scholarship. I had 2.95 GPA in my undergrad and there was a point in time where I was worried this would be a dealbreaker. Luckily it was not. Of course, having a lower GPA makes it harder, but not impossible

You can make up for low GPA with work experience, research, references, your narrative and social impact. The last one matters a lot for Fulbright specifically. Do not let your past background stop you from carving a new one. Build a strong profile and make sure your application tells a cohesive story.

How Did You Find Information About Fulbright Scholarship and Vanderbilt University?

Fulbright is well-known in Pakistan. The USEFP website was my main source for the application process. For finding the right program, I made a spreadsheet of universities and compared faculty research, course offerings, and program philosophy.

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

I took both GRE and TOEFL. For the GRE, ETS gives you two free mock tests when you register. I took the first one immediately to see where I stood, then self-studied using free online resources, focusing on my weak areas rather than trying to cover everything. I took the second mock test after a few weeks and scored 327. No expensive prep course needed, just strategic use of time.

For TOEFL, Fulbright provided a voucher after I got selected. If you are already comfortable with English, the content is not the challenge. The format is. Do a couple of practice tests so you know how to pace yourself.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

My work experience in the disability sector and the impact I had, along with references.

I had provided job placements to hundreds of persons with disabilities, trained corporations on disability inclusion, launched an Enterprise Development Center, and was at the time of application working on monitoring and evaluation. Beside my professional impact, I was also involved in local activism.

The key to making your application stand out is to tie it all together in a cohesive whole. Why did I do what I did, and why did I want to do study further, and what will I do after completing my master’s. You may think of your life as progression through chance (we all do), but there is an overarching story and we have to create parts of that narrative in retrospect.

How Does Vanderbilt University Support International Students?

Vanderbilt, and especially Peabody, has done a lot to support international students – initiatives that I have been part of myself. There are of course student clubs and groups that you can join to meet other international students, and then at Peabody we also started the International Mentorship at Peabody program, in which incoming international students were provided a senior mentor to help them get acclimated to the university and provide them support. The students I mentored all became very good friends of mine!

Lastly, there was also the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion department that provided us support in organizing events and working on inclusion. We organized an iftar dinner, an awareness session about floods in Pakistan, and many other things with the help of EDI department.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

I would have researched more programs, applied to more universities, and mapped out post-graduation career options more clearly. When you are from a developing country and you secure a fully funded scholarship, there is this tendency to just feel grateful. But you can and absolutely should aim higher and be more intentional about what comes after.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

Be specific in your personal statement. If you say you want to "make a difference," show what that difference is. What is the exact problem you want to work on, and how will you work on that. What specifically interests you in the program or the scholarship. Specificity goes a long way.

Do not rush into submission. Let your draft sit and look at it after a break so that your eyes have had time to refresh and spot mistakes you might have missed earlier. Get essays reviewed by multiple people, including someone outside your field. If they cannot understand what you have written, you have not explained it well enough.

And finally, apply. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Apply not once, but multiple times. Each time you apply, your application and essays become stronger with revisions and hopefully you have become a stronger candidate by working on your professional development during that time.