Does the Gilman Scholarship Program support students of diverse ethnic backgrounds?
A. Yes, the Gilman Scholarship Program strongly encourages students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to apply for the Gilman Scholarship Program. These students are traditionally under-represented in U.S. study abroad numbers, and this program aims to increase the diversity of Gilman Scholarship recipients by first increasing the diversity of Gilman Scholarship applicants. During the Spring 2005 cycle 10.7% of Gilman Scholarship applicants and 16.4% of Gilman Scholarship recipients listed their ethnicity as African-American. Nationally, as reported in Open Doors 2004, only 3.4% of students studying abroad are African-American. However, students and advisors should be sure to note that the ethnicity question in the Gilman Scholarship application is optional and only used for statistical purposes. The selection panels are not provided with a student’s response to this question. Thus, the only way a selection panelist would know the ethnicity of a student is if the student chooses to self-de
