Thank you for your interest in assisting current Carleton students and recent alumni applying for national/international fellowships! This page outlines the types of help we most often seek/receive from Carleton’s generous alumni community.
Please complete our interest form if you would like to participate in preparing Carls for these life-changing opportunities!
Pre-application preparation
Students interested in fellowships related to specific careers (especially those with well-established paths, qualifications, etc.) can often benefit from speaking with an alum who has ‘climbed the ladder’ before them. If the alum has received a relevant fellowship, that is a bonus. This type of assistance can take place at any time that is convenient for you.
During the application process
We provide extensive, developmentally oriented guidance on writing the different pieces of the application (except in the rare case that guidance is prohibited/limited) but alumni readers – especially in the field that interests a given applicant – offer fresh but informed ‘outside eyes’ that may identify room for improvement that we’ve missed. This type of assistance is tied to the timing of the application cycle; many deadlines fall in September and October, but there are also a few between January and March.
Semi-finalist/Finalist interview preparation
When an applicant is fortunate enough to be selected for a high-stakes semi-finalist or finalist (different fellowships use different terminology) interview, we engage and leverage the expertise and experience of alumni (again, especially in relevant fields) to provide practice interviews and other assistance to prepare the applicant as well as possible for what can be an intimidating, if exciting, experience. This type of assistance is most often needed in October, November, or March.
Director of Student Fellowships Marynel Ryan Van Zee is available to answer any questions you might have before committing to work with our office.