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Recommender FAQs

Please note:  letters of recommendation and language evaluations are due BEFORE the national deadline!  Please upload your letter or evaluation by the WU campus deadline of Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

What if I don't know the student well but am asked to write on their behalf?
If you feel that with a bit of coaching you can write a strong recommendation, ask the applicant for whatever information you feel you lack:  transcript, list of academic and extracurricular activities, abstract or draft of the proposal, etc. A conversation that allows you to get impressions of the maturity and motivation of the student may also be helpful. If you don’t feel that you can write a reasonably detailed recommendation, it may be necessary to decline the request.

What if I am a member of the WU Fulbright Committee?  Can I still write in support of an applicant?
Members of the WU Fulbright Committee may write recommendations for current applicants. Things will be organized so you will not interview or directly evaluate a student for whom you have written.

What if I am asked to write by more than one student?
If you feel that you can write strong letters for each, you may write recommendations for as many students as you wish. Do not make direct comparisons between the students or “rank” them in your letter. Once applications leave WU, if students are applying to different countries or different kinds of grants, they will go into different National Screening Committees.

What if I wish to update or revise a letter I have already submitted through the Fulbright on-line application (via Embark)?
You will need to notify the Embark application support team of your desire to withdraw the recommendation. You will then be able to upload an updated one.

  • Once the Reference Writer has submitted the online reference or FLE and the National Deadline has not passed, the reference writer or evaluator can request that the reference or FLE be ‘unsubmitted’ so that they can edit it.

The reference writer can make  a revision request to the Technical Support staff at Embark:

  • The reference writer will login to the Embark Reference System (where they completed the form or uploaded their FLE). Click on Support Center at the bottom of the page.
  • At the top of this next page, click "Submit A Request" to make a request that your reference be unsubmitted.
  • Once the reference has been unsubmitted, the writer will be able to enter the online reference form and edit it as necessary. Allow 24-48 hours for the ‘unsubmit request’ to be processed.
  • Once finished editing the reference, please be sure to resubmit it by the WUSTL campus deadline, or else it will not be considered.
  • Note: Only Reference writers or Evaluators can make revision requests. If you are a reference writer, please submit this request from the email address with which your recommendation was registered.

May I write a recommendation and also provide a language evaluation for the same applicant?
It isn’t optimal that one person provide both a recommendation and language evaluation for the same student for two distinct reasons. The first is that the Embark application system will only allow one submission from an email address for an applicant. If you wish to (or must) do both, you will need to provide the applicant with two separate email addresses to trick the system.  Also, since the language evaluation has a small space for comments, a separate voice can help the committee gain a broader view of the applicant, which may be to his or her advantage.