The Gilman Scholarship is a special opportunity that every student thinking about going abroad should apply for. I find it special because it's one that gives grants to both students studying abroad and/or doing an internship abroad. I personally found that scholarships, particularly for internships, were not as abundant as for study abroad. Gilman, however, helps out for both situations.
At first, I was skeptical about applying because I had already received another scholarship from one of the departments from my school. Although it was rare for a student to receive both the department and Gilman scholarship for this particular experience, my advisor suggested that I still try because it has been done before. Because the scholarship I already received was not enough to help me out fully, I applied for the Gilman and hoped for the best.
After several months of waiting, I received an email saying that I got the scholarship. It just shows that it never hurts to just try.
The application process is simple. You input some personal information like school transcripts and financial aid. Then there is Statement of Purpose which is essentially an essay about what your plan is, why you are applying, what your internship or study abroad entails, etc. Then you have to come up with a follow-up service project where you explain in detail how you will spread the knowledge and experiences you had abroad and information about the Gilman scholarship. Once you come back from your abroad experience, you have to complete your service project to complete the scholarship requirements.