Constanze Knahl and Benjamin Stark have been on a common mission since the bachelor’s degree: they want to improve information management in the healthcare sector. For that, both of them got a coveted Fulbright scholarship for their masters in the USA. Here they explain how to master the application.
Sun, beach and super computer for 32,000 euros
Constanze Knahl (23) and Benjamin Stark (25) have been pursuing the same goal since becoming acquainted with the bachelor “Health Information Management” at the Universities of Ulm and Neu–Ulm: “We want to optimize the interaction between IT, medicine and business administration in order to to make better decisions with regard to patients “. Now she has led the way together to America.
The two friends are currently doing their masters in “Innovation & Technology” at Florida Polytechnic University. He specializes in big data and she focuses on medical informatics. In Lakeland, they not only benefit from the modern equipment with supercomputers & Co., but also in their spare time that the beach is less than an hour away. Without a scholarship from the Fulbright Commission, however, the master’s degree would not have been possible in the US; the cost of tuition fees alone will be around 32,000 euros. The online application for the Fulbright program was not that complicated at first, according to Benjamin.
Info documents for application to the Fulbright Commission
- “Study Objective” Writing: What are the goals of studying? What interests do you want to pursue? How does the program you want to choose fit into the past and future goals?
- “Personal Statement” writing: description of the family background, intellectual development, special skills, interests and goals, commitment and how to understand his role as Ambassador in the US
- Letter of recommendation from two professors
- curriculum vitae
- Constanze Knahl and Benjamin Stark
- Constanze & Benjamin | Photo: private
- The selection day in Berlin
The more difficult thing was to prepare for the interviews in Berlin. “One has no idea what is being asked and is preparing for standard questions about the US, for example, presidents or states,” explains Constanze. Since the questions were ultimately much more detailed, the tip of the two is: “Keep up to date with what’s going on around the world with the US, and formulate your own opinion on these issues.”
Although they perceived the competition as “very strong and super–intelligent,” and it was a real “head–to–head” race, their ability to work in the team was crucial to the commitment. “We worked very well together in our interview group and had good discussions,” the two reflect. Her volunteer work and a semester abroad including an internship in Nottingham – which the two of them have already completed together – will have contributed to the successful application.
Since it was clear to both of them from the outset that they would not be able to make the leap across the pond without others, they finally had to shiver: “Only when Benjamin got his letter with the pledge, I was already disappointed, because I I thought it would not work for me. ” Fortunately, Constanze had good mail three days later. And now they can study in America until August – and revolutionize healthcare.
InfoThe Fulbright Scholarship short & concise
The Germany–America program is the largest of all Fulbright programs.
In 2015, for example, 375 Germans were supported.
It enables qualified students, for example, a master in the US.
Services include: flights, visa, participation in living expenses and tuition fees, seminar offers.
Next application period: end of April to end of June 2019