How a Mexican Aerospace Engineer Earned the Fully Funded Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship to Pursue a Master’s Degree at Georgia Tech in the United States

My name is Braulio Vera, and I’m originally from Mexico City, Mexico. I studied Aerospace Engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico. After finishing my undergrad, I worked for more than 3 years at Ford Motor Company as a Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer, but while working there, I noticed some gaps in my knowledge. Specifically, I noted that I wasn’t sure how the software I used for the simulations worked in the background. So that pushed me to look for further education.

Fulbright Scholarship Details

I had the Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholarship to fund my studies in the US. They help you with the application process and pay for the TOEFL iBT and GRE exams as well as the visa. Aside from that, they also gave me $25,000 USD a year up to 2 years to fund my MS. At the end, when I applied to the universities, Georgia Tech offered me a Graduate Research assistantship that would cover my tuition and give me an extra $500 each month for my living expenses.

Educational Background

I graduated with a GPA of 9.25/10 in Aeronautical Engineering. I also had 1 conference and 1 publication by the time I applied to the Master's. Since my major was very related to the Aerospace engineering degree at Georgia Tech, that gave me an advantage. Also I the lab on which I did research did aerodynamics of rotorcraft, and the topic of my publications in undergrad where on that topic.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to Institutions?

I prepared for the exams using GregMat. It was very helpful for both the GRE and TOEFL iBT, in which I managed to obtain 324 points on the GRE and 104 points on the TOEFL iBT.

I also looked for universities that had professors in the same line of my undergraduate research.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Fulbright Scholarship?

To apply for the scholarship, I prepared by watching YouTube videos of previous recipients on their feedback and also contacted a previous recipient in order to ask him questions over a Zoom call.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I related the need of my country to the research and topic of my Master's degree.

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

Apply to fewer schools; sometimes, too many options are overwhelming. I applied to 10 schools and got into 6, and 4 out of those with financial packages from the universities. At the end, it was hard to narrow down my decision.

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

Read on to see what the Scholarship focuses on and try to adapt your essays to that topic.