FAQ
Application Process
Q: Can non-Americans apply?
A: Yes! We encourage students from all nations to apply.
Q: When can I apply? Are there deadlines?
A: The application season opens August 1 and closes November 1 (11:59 pm EST). This is the time frame in which the Online Application is made available to applicants.
Q: I just learned about the Harvey Fellowship but it is after the deadline. May I still apply?
A: No. Applications are only received during the three-month application season outlined above.
Q: What if I experience a delay? Do you grant extensions?
A: No extensions are granted. No exceptions.
Q: How does the application process work?
A: Our application process has two stages. First, you must complete and submit your application through our Online Application system. Your online application does not need to be completed all at once. You will need an email address, user name, and password in order to access your application. Secondly, you must submit specific required materials via mail (e.g. official transcripts, letters of recommendation, test scores). The required hard copy materials must be collected by you, bundled and sent directly to the Foundation. Both stages are required. All mailed items must be received before the deadline, otherwise your application will be considered incomplete.
Q: What documents need to be mailed?
A: The following materials should be collected by you, then bundled and mailed or sent via delivery services such as DHL, FedEx, UPS to the Mustard Seed Foundation:
1. Letters of Recommendations – each recommender should mail you a hard copy of his or her letter on letterhead and in a sealed envelope. Recommenders are also required to submit his/her letter through the Online Application system.
2. Test Scores – if required, mail one copy of your official test score report (e.g. GMAT, LSAT, GRE, MCAT, MILLERS). They may be sent directly to the Foundation through the testing agency. You must also input or upload test scores to the Online Application system.
3. Official Transcripts – please provide undergraduate and graduate transcript(s) through your most recent semester. You may exclude schools at which you did not pursue a degree. We recommend you request two copies of your official transcripts – one transcript to be opened, scanned and uploaded to the Online Application, and one sealed transcript to be sent hard copy in the bundle.
4. Work Samples – if your discipline requires you to submit a DVD or CD, please include one disc in your bundle. Label the disc with your full name and application ID (as assigned by the Online Application system). If your work sample is a pdf and can be uploaded to the Online Application system, it does not need to be mailed.
The online application system provides verification of the Foundation’s receipt of all required documents. This verification should be complete within one week of the application deadline. We will not verify any hard copy materials until your online application is submitted.
Q: Where should documents be sent?
A: All required materials should be sent to:
Harvey Fellows Program
Mustard Seed Foundation
7115 Leesburg Pike, Suite 304
Falls Church, VA 22043
USA
Q: How do I verify that my bundle has been received?
A: We strongly recommend you send your bundle through a third party delivery service such as DHL, FedEx, UPS or USPS with delivery confirmation to ensure your bundle is received on time and verified by the third party. Within one week after the deadline, we will send you an email confirming your application has been submitted and your bundle has been received.
Q: How do my recommenders submit their recommendations?
A: The Online Application system provides you with space to supply the email addresses of your recommenders. All recommenders will receive a system-generated email that will include a request for their recommendation along with full instructions and deadlines for them to electronically submit their recommendations. Hard copies of those recommendations must also be sent to the applicant and then forwarded to the Foundation with other required materials by the November 1 deadline. All recommendations must be submitted online and sent hard copy.
Q: Can you give me more guidance on whom to select for my recommenders?
A: In general, you should look to someone who knows you well, yet can speak with objectivity. In some cases your choices are limited (e.g. academic advisor). In other cases you have some latitude with whom you choose. We suggest you select your recommenders with care. For example, do NOT ask a family member to serve as a recommender. Following is guidance for specific recommendation letters:
1. Current Local Church – A letter from a person in leadership at the local church you currently attend is required. Though it need not be from the pastor, the letter must come from someone recognized by the congregation as a leader in the church (e.g. elder, member of the vestry, session, etc.). We do not consider a letter from the leader of a campus ministry or parachurch organization (such as IVCF, Navigators, or Campus Crusade) a letter from a local church. Students who are in their first semester of graduate studies and have relocated to a new city may substitute a letter from their previous local church. We are looking for the recommender’s assessment of your spiritual maturity, commitment to the local church, ability to lead others, and his/her awareness of your attempts to study and work from a Christ-centered worldview.
2. Academic Advisor – For current students, a letter from your main (current) advisor is required, with his/her assessment of your achievement and employment potential in your chosen field. Non-students should submit a letter from a past professor, preferably in your intended field.
3. Academic or Professional Field – Another required letter regarding your academic or vocational potential should be from a professor, employer, or mentor. Recommendations from those engaged in your intended vocation are to your advantage.
4. Other Spiritual – A recommendation from someone who can speak to topics addressed in the first recommendation letter (1). Letters from parachurch organizations are appropriate for this other spiritual recommendation but may not be substituted for the church recommendation.
Q: How do I track the progress of my recommendations?
A: On the Online Application system, your recommendation letter has four stages. “Invitation not sent” means that you must complete the contact information of your recommender, and submit the invitation. “Invitation sent” means an email has been sent to your recommender with instructions, but he/she has not taken any action yet. “In progress” means your recommender has accepted your invitation. Once a recommendation is “In progress” you can not change the recommender. “Received” means the letter has been received by the Online Application. You are responsible for checking your account to ensure your recommenders have submitted recommendations on your behalf in a timely manner. Applications missing online recommendation letters after the November 1 deadline will be considered incomplete. Original hard copies of your recommendation letters must be collected by you, bundled together, and sent to the Foundation in one envelope together with other required materials no later than November 1 to be deemed complete.
Q: How do I ensure that my original (hard copies) letters of recommendation have been received?
A: Applicants must receive their own sealed recommendation letters bundle them together with other application materials and post them to the Foundation. We strongly recommend that bundles be sent via DHL, FedEx, UPS or USPS with delivery confirmation. The Mustard Seed Foundation may check the validity of recommendation letters, and reserves the right to contact any recommender. We are unable to respond to requests for verification of receipt of original hard copies until one week after the deadline.
Q: What if my recommender decides not to recommend me or becomes ill?
A: We allow you to change two recommenders, for any reason. On the Online Application, a recommender may be changed prior to the “In Progress” stage. Once your recommender accepts the invitation, and the status changes to “In Progress” you may not change that recommender.
Q: Do I have to send hard copies of test scores?
A: If you are not yet enrolled in your program, yes, you must send hard copies of your test scores. Copies of official score reports are acceptable if official score reports are unavailable. Official GRE reports may be sent directly to the Harvey Fellows Program by using code 5288. Official GMAT scores may be sent directly to the Harvey Fellows Program using code 9FQ-WL-78. If test scores are required, you must upload it to the Online Application.
Q: Why do you require test scores only for those not yet admitted into their program?
A: We require test scores (GRE, LSAT, GMAT, etc.) from candidates who have not yet been admitted to their intended degree program because scores provide additional confirmation of the candidate’s overall fitness for graduate study.
Q: Do I need to send official test scores, or are copies acceptable?
A: Copies of official score reports are acceptable only if official score reports are unavailable. Official GRE reports may be sent directly to the Harvey Fellows Program by using code 5288. Official GMAT scores may be sent directly to the Harvey Fellows Program using code 9FQ-WL-78.
Q: May I waive or opt-out of submitting test scores?
A: For those applicants who have already been admitted to their chosen course of study, test scores are optional. If scores are not required for entrance to the intended degree program, applications may be submitted without scores.
Q: What transcripts are needed?
A: Official copies of undergraduate and graduate transcript(s) through your most recent semester are required. Please do not mail us unofficial transcripts. Only official transcripts will be accepted. You may exclude schools at which you did not pursue a degree. We suggest that you order two sets of official transcripts. Open one transcript, scan them into one PDF, and upload them to your online application. Send the unopened official transcript to the Foundation with the bundle of required materials.
Q: What kind of work sample do I need to submit?
A: Work samples vary by discipline. Please only submit one work sample, either pdf or disc.
Applicants in the BUSINESS, HUMANITIES, SCIENCES, PROFESSIONAL DEGREES, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: Your work sample should represent a significant piece of academic work from your intended field (research paper or excerpt, conference presentation, published work, scientific research proposal, etc.). Upload a multiple page pdf file with the best representative sample of your written work. The document must not exceed 25 pages and 10MB in size. When submitting a group project or paper, you must clarify your contribution. Your sample should be uploaded to the Online Application. You do not need to send a hard copy of your work sample.
Applicants in the ARTS: Your work sample must include examples of your artistic ability in your intended field (art, design, performing arts, music, film, etc). Visual artists should submit at least 20 images of work either uploaded to the Online Application or on a CD or DVD. Actors and filmmakers/producers should submit at least three works (finished or works in process) on DVD of their acting/plays/films, limited to a total of one hour of run time and excerpted if necessary. Writers should include a full screenplay (even if it exceeds 25 pages); poets/creative writers should submit at least ten pages of finished work. Please note that work samples should be relevant to the vocation you are pursuing. Arts work samples are limited to one pdf or one disc. Please ensure that DVDs play properly in a standard DVD player, and in both PC and Mac computer systems.
Q: What if my best academic work exceeds 25 pages?
A: With the exception of screenplays (see above), we require applicants to limit their writing samples to 25 pages. If your work sample exceeds 25 pages, submit an excerpt of no more than 25 pages or revise the sample to abide by the 25-page limit.
Enrollment
Q: I have applied for admission into a program. Do I need to be enrolled before applying for a Harvey Fellowship?
A: No. However, while we do not require that applicants be enrolled in their degree program before they apply, we have found that those who have begun their programs are generally more competitive. It is easier to evaluate applicants who have completed some coursework and whose advisor knows them well. If selected, the award will be contingent on acceptance to a specific school and degree program listed on your application and approval by the selection committee.
Premier Institutions
Q: How do I demonstrate that my academic program is ranked among the “top five” in my field? Does the Harvey Fellows Program use any specific ranking system?
A: It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence that their program is ranked in the top five in their field (Essay #5). Applicants are invited to include documentation regarding their intended program of study (from professional societies or journals, experts in the field, etc.). We use various sources to estimate a “top five” ranking including reports from the National Research Council (available at a library or http://www.nas.edu), and U.S. News and World Report. While we favor degree programs ranked in the “top five” we do factor renowned scholars and researchers who have chosen to teach at schools ranked in the top ten and with whom the applicant plans to work.
Selection Process
Q: Who reads my application?
A: Our readers are located around the globe, and their disciplines and expertise are as diverse as our applicants. Most, if not all of our readers are drawn from the pool of over 300 Harvey Fellows. The Selection Committee consists of the Harvey Fellows Advisory Board plus several Mustard Seed Foundation Board and staff. Applications are not circulated beyond those associated with the application review and selection process. Only applications from individuals who receive the Harvey Fellowship are retained by the Foundation.
Q: How are applications selected?
A: All applications completed by the deadline are reviewed, evaluated and ranked by at least one round of readers comprised of current and senior Fellows. Those applications that advance through two rounds of reading groups form the finalist pool.
Q: When will I be notified if I am selected?
A: All applicants are notified of award decisions by March 1.
If you have additional questions, please contact us.