How an Ecuadorian Scholar Won the Fully Funded Fulbright Scholarship to Pursue Her M.S. in Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington

Hi! My name is Maria Paula Cortes-Lemos, and I usually go by Paula. I was born and spent most of my life in Quito, Ecuador. About two years ago, I moved to Seattle to pursue an M.S. in Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington.

I’ve always loved language--isn’t it crazy how complex it is? Syntactic dependencies, semantic nuance, and pragmatic choices all come together into something a six-year-old can do effortlessly. I fell in love with deconstructing what feels so familiar until I could see the pieces underneath and how they fit together.

But linguistics isn't my only scientific love: I’ve always been just as drawn to math and logic. I used to participate in math competitions and was fascinated by how abstract and creative it could be. I loved its relentless logic, the way it builds hidden structures that defy common sense. And all this feels very close to what I like about programming as well: learning how to understand and solve problems in creative ways.

For a long time, these two passions felt like entirely separate worlds. But both, to me, are about tinkering and taking things apart to uncover the patterns underneath. Then, when I was 17, I discovered that Computational Linguistics was an actual field, and I immediately started telling everyone that’s what I wanted to do with my life.

And now, nearly ten years later, I hold a Computational Linguistics M.S. and work on algorithms that try to replicate what a six-year-old human brain does on an average Tuesday. I feel incredibly lucky.

Fulbright Scholarship Details

I received the Fulbright Scholarship for Graduate School through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. The total amount was around $60,000 for about one and a half years.

Were You Offered any Other Scholarships?

I also received the Computational Linguistics Program Scholarship at the University of Washington. The total amount was around $13,000.

Educational Background

I graduated with a B.A. in Linguistics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, with a 4.0 GPA. I was lucky to have great professors who gave me solid foundations in Linguistics. Still, Computational Linguistics also demands programming skills, which I mostly picked up through self-study.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to the University of Washington?

How Did You Find Information About Fulbright Scholarships and the University of Washington?

Most of the info about institutions came from doing research online and compiling all the details that were relevant to me in tables and lists. I read about the research being done at the institutions and used LinkedIn to see what the alumni were doing (research, working in industry, which companies or universities?). This helped me get an idea of which places I wanted to apply to and how they connected to my long-term goals. Surprisingly, Reddit was also a pretty good source for alumni reviews of the different programs I was applying to.

Finding information about scholarships is definitely trickier. There are many scholarships that get very few applicants because they are not highly publicized. The best way is just to search for information from different sources: scholarship databases online, asking people around you who are in grad school or planning to go, asking your department at university, or the international students’ office.

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

I took the TOEFL and the GRE.

For the TOEFL, I took a single practice test that I was able to find online. I am fortunate in that both my high school and college had about half of the curriculum in English, which helped me do well without extra preparation.

For the GRE, I did have to study more. I prepared in a crunch (not recommended), so I had to optimize for which concepts I needed more preparation for. Practicing the problems in advance helps build an intuition for the kinds of patterns they follow. I didn’t take a class, but I do think having someone walk you through the typical structure of the questions and solving them together can be extremely helpful.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Fulbright Scholarship?

Short term: I made a list of everything required and classified it by how much it needed to be prioritized time-wise. Requesting paperwork and registering for standardized tests came first, as these are dependent on external deadlines and wait times. Particularly, standardized testing as an international student requires the most advance preparation, as testing dates are relatively sparse in smaller countries. For the GRE, there is always the option of proctored online testing, which is more accessible if time is limited. However, I found the online testing harder, as I had to control for a lot of variables in my environment to make sure I could focus on the test and that nothing was flagged in the proctoring.

The personal statement (and other written components) was what I finished last. I had several somewhat revised drafts, and I relied on a last-minute hunch to choose the one that felt the most genuine and representative of me.

Long term: I did know for a long time that I wanted to study in grad school in the US, and given the costs, this would only be possible through scholarships/financial aid. In undergrad, I did several things that improved my chances of getting into a competitive program and securing funding: taking extra classes, learning about the field on my own, attending conferences, and doing research at my university. This was driven by my love for Computational Linguistics and research/learning in general, with the added benefit that it helped me achieve my long-term educational goals as well.

How Is (Was) Your Experience at the University of Washington?

My experience at the University of Washington has been great. I have grown so much academically and as a person here. As is usual in grad school, though, most opportunities have to be sought out rather than being explicitly part of the curriculum. I found an amazing lab with people who were enthusiastic about teaching me more about Machine Learning (which is what my research is on now), and I have connected with people from different departments from whom I have learned a lot. And Seattle has been a beautiful city to build a community in!

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

One of the best pieces of advice I have heard is to show rather than tell. I believe my application and background showed that I have a very genuine interest in learning more and going beyond what is expected by default in college. While in undergrad, I also received an NSF grant to attend the North American Summer School in Logic, Language, and Information (NASSLLI), a research/exchange scholarship to take Linguistics courses in Ruhr-Universität Bochum, and took several online (free!) courses to learn as much as I could about Programming and Computational Linguistics (CL). Although my environment was limited in what it offered to learn CL, I chased all the opportunities I had to get more involved in the field. I also volunteered for a long time at Oralidad Modernidad, a language revitalization program for indigenous languages in Ecuador. This gave me a better perspective on how to apply what I learned in my program to current issues that I care about on a personal level.

I believe all this shows my spark to learn was there, and that I would make the most of being offered the opportunity to study with Fulbright.

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

Some steps of my application were a little more stressful than they could have been if I had started earlier (mainly collecting paperwork and registering for standardized tests). I would recommend doing this with PLENTY of extra time--enough to fix anything if it goes wrong.

Practicing for the interviews can also help with last-minute nerves. Definitely not memorizing answers (being authentic is a huge part of the Fulbright scholarship), but having a rough idea of how to approach common interview questions would have helped me feel more comfortable on the interviews.

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

You’re always a person first, not a CV or resume!

Academic achievement is important, but the personality you show in your essays is at least equally meaningful. Your path should show genuine interest in what the scholarship entails (for instance, with the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, returning to your home country to apply what you learn). Show your enthusiasm for the experience of studying in the US and sharing your culture, of learning more and connecting with others, and of helping those around you with the opportunities you’ll get. Avoid making the writing components bare rewritings of the information already in your CV--rather, show how your personality and goals tie your whole story together.

I also think it’s incredibly important to remember that not getting the scholarship--or any scholarship, for that matter--is not the end of your academic journey. It’s absolutely worth putting in as much effort as you can, sure, but knowing that there are many different paths to get where you want to go can take a lot of the pressure off during the process.