A Fellow’s FAQ
From Sui-Lee in response to some of our questions about the fellowship: How did you hear about the fellowship? A friend had sent me an email asking me to apply. Why did you apply? What were your objectives? I wanted to become more of a specialist in reporting on financial news and I thought the MBA [...]
Goals Post Fellowship
Succesful applicants were asked what their plans were upon completion of their fellowship. Serena Ng: I didn’t know what the fellowship would lead to, but I was well aware that there was no guarantee of a job at Dow Jones or the WSJ after the program. I also knew the bar to get into the [...]
The Wisdom of Hindsight
Applicants were asked what things they would have prepared more. Serena Ng: There are very few things I would have done differently–because it was the first year of the fellowship, I think it helped that I didn’t have unrealistic expectations about it could lead to, and simply followed my instincts throughout the experience. Nesil Staney: [...]
Preparations Post Acceptance
Assume you’re accepted; what preparations should you make? Serena Ng: Once I decided to go to New York, I spent a fair amount of time figuring out my finances and things like lodging and living arrangements. Friends put me in touch with their friends in New York, who gave me practical advice on how to [...]
How Long to Complete an Application?
It’s late–less than two weeks to go–but a poll of previous and present fellows suggest they took their time over it: Serena Ng: About 3-4 weeks, mainly because the essay needed some thought and rewrites. Saabira Chaudhuri: Several weeks, as I revised my personal statement 4 to 5 times. Jason Leow: One month. Nesil Staney: Three [...]
How to Leave a Job for a Fellowship
Leaving a job for a fellowship is a hard decision. How did previous fellows handle it? Saabira Chaudhuri: It wasn’t a problem since my boss knew I was applying for grad school. I did not set up any arrangements to return to the same publication. Jason Leow: My former employer, The Straits Times, will take me [...]
Why apply?
Some potential applicants have asked me what was the objectives of previous fellows in applying. Here are some of the responses of fellows themselves: Serena Ng: I very much wanted to go to the U.S. to study and get a degree, I didn’t have the opportunity to do so as an undergraduate beyond a one-semester [...]
The Hard Part of Applying: Fellows’ Advice
Two and a half weeks to go, and I hope those of you who are applying are hard at work on your applications. We polled previous fellows about what they considered hardest part of the application to be and what pitfalls should prospective applicants look out for. Here are some answers: Serena Ng: The interview questions [...]
Finding a Job
Serena Ng, one of the fellows who completed the course, was asked about finding a job after taking the course. She said: “I did a summer internship at the WSJ in 2005 during the BER program. After the 10-week internship, my editors indicated they wanted to hire me and would try to find me a [...]
Getting Settled in New York
Successful applicants were asked if they found it easy to settle in New York and what advice they would offer applicants. Serena Ng: I benefitted a lot by meeting people early on who were aware that I was on a tight monthly budget and who showed me how to navigate the city and find cheap [...]