Everyone knows it is prestigious to receive a Fulbright award, but most people don't really know what it is.

Twenty-one Penn State students have received grants from the 2000-2001 Fulbright program, which has an application deadline of Sept. 30 this year.

"Nobody knows what it is, but everyone thinks it's great," said Mary Gage, director of the Undergraduate Fellowships Office.

Gage said she didn't even know what a Fulbright award was when she started working for the office.

The Fulbright award gives students a chance to spend one year doing research, conducting studies or teaching in a foreign country.

"You can do what you want to do in the country of your choice," Gage said.

This is a refreshing change after four years of jumping through hoops for instructors and classes, she added.

The grants are awarded to seniors and graduate seniors and about 850 students are awarded nationwide. The 21 Fulbright students this year are studying in a variety of fields, including molecular research in Australia, using business logistics to help abandoned children in Romania, historical restoration in Morocco, teaching English as a second language in Korea and research into Beethoven's settings of Scottish folk songs in Germany.

The more creative the projects are, the better, said Thomas Hale, holder of the liberal arts professorship in African, French and comparative literature.

The application process begins with writing an autobiographical essay and a project proposal. Students must find a contact in their chosen country and must obtain a letter stating the person is willing to provide guidance.

Finding a contact in the desired country sometimes seems difficult, even to Gage, but students always pull through with the help of e-mail and Penn State professors.

"The tentacles of professors stretch all over the world," Gage said.

Faculty committees conduct a campus evaluation of the applicants. They rate the students through interviews and add their evaluation to the applications that get sent to New York at the Institute for International Education, which runs the Fulbright project.

Hale, who has been on the committee for about 15 years, says the faculty tries to offer tips of improvement to the students' essays after the interviews. He also asks the students what they know about their chosen country for work.

Hale said he enjoys working with Fulbright applicants. "It is very satisfying work to do. The reason I'm on the committee is because I enjoy doing it," he said. "I'm amazed by some of the projects. They cut across all fields of knowledge."

A Fulbright award can help students get into graduate school, Gage said. "It makes a favorable position for graduate school and work," she added.

"This is the springboard for graduate school," Hale said. "That person looks five times better."

Beth Seigley, is currently a teaching assistant in Korea, and is grateful to Gage for encouraging her to apply for the award. "I am very lucky that the government was able to tap further into the "Fulbright account" this year so that more Americans could have this priceless experience," she said.

Hopeful Fulbright students need to start working on their application the second semester of their junior year, months before the September due date.

"They have to have a good project and the qualifications to carry that project out. Sometimes qualifications require language knowledge," Hale said.

Students' personalities are also looked at for the Fulbright grant. "They should be personable and lively, and good Americans," Gage said.