Over the past few months, Fellowships and Scholars Programs director and English professor Christie Harner has kept busy helping students and alumni navigate the postgraduate fellowships process — which came to a close for many with the Fulbright Program deadline on Oct. 8. This year, a record high number of Dartmouth students submitted applications to “the big three” postgraduate awards — the Fulbright Program, Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship, according to Harner. The Dartmouth spoke with Harner about her role as fellowships director and her reflections on this year’s application process.
What does your day-to-day look like as the Fellowships and Scholars Programs director? What are your main responsibilities?
CH: My primary responsibilities are managing the process for national fellowships on campus, and that means multiple things. It means making sure that students and alumni are aware of the opportunities. There are a lot of folks who have never heard of national fellowships before and don’t know that they are eligible or that they would be a really good candidate for them. We also work directly with applicants, which include current students as well as alumni who are applying. We strategize with them, think about what applications would be a good fit and provide direct support on their drafts.
We also run the review process for fellowships that require the College’s endorsement or contribution. I oversee a committee that reviews all of the Marshall and Rhodes applications and makes decisions about endorsements. I then write all the endorsement letters on behalf of the applicants. For the Fulbright program, we interview every applicant and complete an evaluation on their behalf.
My responsibilities also involve liaising with national fellowship bodies and making sure that we are up to date on what their requirements are and how they’re thinking about things.
We also participate in and lead larger forms of scholarship around national fellowships. We think a lot about the demographics of people who are applying and make sure that we are reaching as many folks as possible. That involves liaising with the First-Generation Office and other groups on campus to get the word out and make sure that we are meeting those students’ needs.
How long have you been involved with fellowship advising? How did you get started?
CH: I’ve been working with fellowship advising since December 2020. I’m also a faculty member in the English department, and I’ve been at Dartmouth since 2015. How I got involved with fellowship advising was twofold. One, most of my work in the English department is on narrative theory and how stories are told. At the end of the day, I tell people all the time that fellowship applications are like creative nonfiction. It’s drawing on facts from your life, but how you tell it depends on the audience. That’s very much what a fellowship application is — thinking about who you are, what you have done and how to create a persuasive, compelling story out of that.
I have also applied for fellowships myself and done fellowship work in the past. I lived and worked in the United Kingdom for four years, which is really helpful when thinking about fellowships in the United Kingdom.
How would you describe your role? Would you say you are more of an advisor, an editor or a mix of the two?
CH: It’s a little bit of both. In many ways, working with fellowships is very similar to working with students in a classroom setting. Part of it is meeting folks where they are and making sure that they have the information that they need, but another big part of it is also helping guide their thinking. I wouldn’t exactly call that advising — I think it’s more like being part of a dialogue with applicants. But there is certainly also a lot of feedback on drafts.
What were the most popular postgraduate fellowships this fall?
CH: These are ballpark numbers because things are still kind of fluid, but we had 105 people submit Fulbright applications. There were probably about 130 folks who started the process or met with us at some point to have a conversation about it, but 105 submitted on the deadline. We had applicants in the mid-20s for both Marshall and Rhodes. All of those numbers are the highest that Dartmouth has seen. Our application numbers have been increasing substantially over the past few years.
Why do you think the number of applicants is increasing?
CH: Our team has been growing, which means we can do more outreach and work more one-on-one with folks. But it’s almost like a domino effect — the more people who win fellowships, the more other people know someone who has won, and then they themselves think about winning or start to think that it’s possible. Last year, we had 21 people who were offered Fulbright awards, and I’ve heard so many applicants say, “Oh, my friend applied and received a Fulbright,” or, “My friend told me to apply for this.” Word of mouth definitely helps. Having two Rhodes winners last year also helped folks understand that winning was possible and something they could think about doing.
How does Dartmouth typically perform in the postgraduate fellowship process?
CH: Dartmouth has been officially recognized by Fulbright as a top-producing Fulbright institution for the past two years. In that sense, we’re doing really well. Last year, we had 37 fellowships received by current undergraduates across all programs, including the undergraduate Goldwater Scholarship and Truman Scholarship. The total number of fellowships received would be a little bit higher because we also had some alumni winners. Compared to our comparables — the other schools in the Ivy League and other elite liberal arts schools — we’re doing really well, especially for the size of Dartmouth.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
CH: I really love watching folks make a breakthrough with their personal narrative. Everyone — and I mean that really genuinely — has a story to tell, but people don’t always know what their story is or recognize that their story is valuable. Brainstorming with people and watching it come together is incredible. We hope that every single person who goes through the process of working on an application comes out the other side feeling more confident in the story that they have to tell.
What is the most challenging part?
CH: The disappointment. It’s hard to tell people how badly I want everyone to win, and it does absolutely hurt when people don’t. Awards like Fulbright, Marshall and Rhodes are incredibly competitive, so while we hope everyone wins, we know that will never be the case. It’s always hard watching people be disappointed.
What is the most surprising thing you have learned about postgraduate fellowships?
CH: I wish I had known when I was in college just how varied fellowships are. Most people don’t realize how many opportunities there are out there and that not all of them are that competitive. Marshall and Rhodes, for example, are very competitive. Some Fulbrights are very competitive, but the Fulbright Program is incredibly varied. There are Fulbright scholarships where it’s a 50-50 shot or a one-in-three shot. That’s not guaranteed, but it’s also not incredibly competitive. I was surprised to learn how possible it was to win these and how there is one out there for everyone.
I heard that seniors celebrated submitting their postgraduate fellowship applications with cupcakes this week. What was it like to celebrate with the students?
CH: It was so much fun. It was so nice to see them, and they came in groups and pairs, said “thanks” and “hi” and took selfies with the cupcakes. Everyone should celebrate submitting their applications because regardless of what happens, they’ve put in a huge amount of work, and everyone deserves to celebrate that.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
