If the student is not originally from the US they're also not allowed to return to their home country. It is also suggested that they not return to places where they have already been. Every college on the list has a Watson liaison, and the application process at Union starts in the fall, with informational meetings in the preceding spring. A personal statement and project proposal, along with an interview, are submitted to a panel of professors and a previous Watson winner from Union. Applicants at the school are judged, four are selected and, working with Nichols, they revise and lengthen their proposals to send to Watson judges.
Students then go through a similar process of essays and an interview.
I asked about her trip and project. Stephens and Prokhorova were notified during exam week of Winter Term. This was a relief for Stephens, who had been putting off giving her possible employer a solid answer until she heard whether or not she was going to spend the next year abroad. Stephens will spend the year, probably starting around July 30, in Peru, Argentina, Greece, Portugal, and Sweden, photographing the world around her. Stephens is looking into drastic, intense light, and will therefore spend our winter in the Southern Hemisphere while they have their summer, and our summer back in the north.