In this episode we speak with Esra Nur Turan-Küçük, an English Psychology graduate of Istanbul Şehir University, pursuing an integrated doctorate at Boston University on a Fulbright scholarship and working in developmental cognition. The conversation presents a broad career map from living with dyslexia and ADHD through TÜBİTAK projects and a Harvard research internship to Fulbright applications, mentorship, and sharing on social media.
Esra graduated from Şehir University in 2019 with a full scholarship and a 4.0 GPA. She decided to apply for Fulbright in her third year; when she became a principal candidate in her fourth year she moved directly toward a doctoral program. She is in her third year of Boston University's integrated PhD in Psychology and Brain Sciences; she has completed the master's portion and works on concept development in developmental science. Integrated doctoral programs are especially attractive in the US because they offer fully funded admission without extra payment for the master's, research or teaching assistant salaries, and an early research-focused structure.
She became interested in psychology in sixth grade through her teacher's Emotional Intelligence book; in high school she won first prizes in TÜBİTAK sociology and psychology projects—the second surveyed and interviewed four hundred high school students on self-harm. Dyslexia and ADHD were identified in childhood; in high school she blamed herself for distraction and low grades. At university, studying psychology, she learned the concept of brain fog and succeeded with behavioral strategies—planning, calendars, color-coded notes. Growth mindset and studying for enjoyment rather than grades opened the path to graduating with a 4.0.
Fulbright applications require a professional CV, personal statement, study objectives, TOEFL, and three or four reference letters. The committee looks at why this field, why a doctorate, past research, future expertise, and ability to frame a thesis. Esra chose the individual application route and emailed professors directly. She applied to eight US schools and was accepted at Boston, Rochester, and NYU. She chose Boston for the city, program fit, and because her husband Eyüp could also find a position in the same region—the two-body problem is a real planning factor for couples. They married in the summer of her third year; Eyüp was a visiting scholar at Northeastern after a philosophy master's at Boğaziçi.
She went to Susan Carey's lab at Harvard through a research internship—not summer school, but an official internship working forty hours a week. She missed the application deadline in her second year; she learned a year later that international students face a late-January deadline while US applicants have until late March. She found the professor by reading articles; she designed a marble game experiment on how three- to four-year-olds develop probability concepts, presented a poster, and turned it into her undergraduate thesis. In the Harvard internship she measured how young children evaluate probability concepts and questioned Piaget's active participation theory from the field. Susan Carey addressing her by name and taking her ideas seriously despite being over seventy deeply moved her. Assistantships at Koç and Şehir also contributed to her admission.
For Fulbright she chose the individual path rather than an IIE institutional application and reached professors directly. With a TOEFL waiver she was exempt from language exams at some schools. Messages on Instagram such as "I emailed the professor and got in" reinforce her motivation to share. She warns psychology students especially against bad advisor approaches that demand giving up sleep and food; she argues that a student who leaves a program should count as a program failure.
For English she used clubs, films without subtitles, news reading, and conversation with international students. Abroad offers focus, academic productivity, and shared intellectual curiosity; the downsides include missing close social moments such as family and weddings. During COVID she began sharing application processes on Instagram; as a first-generation student she knows how hard it is to find resources. She supports high school students in project production through Girls in STEM and volunteer mentoring platforms.
She details the Fulbright timeline: scholarship application in April, notification in September, US school applications September through January, submit in January, start the following September. Doctoral applications require applying a year ahead; you submit in January and begin the next September. Because she applied in her fourth year, there was a gap year in between.
She found professors by Googling authors from articles and textbooks; she especially tells young people they can reach them through correspondence emails. She notes that spouses of couples on J-2 visas can obtain work authorization, but not on F-2.
She opened her Instagram account during COVID for information sharing; she dislikes science staying in an ivory tower and sees limited access to articles as a problem. A move to YouTube is on her mind but doctoral intensity slows progress; she will keep creating content as long as she enjoys it.
Her strongest advice: choose your advisor well—seek one who puts human values before work and does not reject eating and sleep. Consult graduated doctoral students to test fit; if students flee an advisor, treat that as a serious warning. Do not underestimate how a city's mood affects you; mental health is a precondition for productivity, and caring for yourself is not selfishness. In academia, intend to continue because you love it.
Highlights: graduating 4.0 with dyslexia and ADHD · TÜBİTAK first prizes · Fulbright individual application · integrated PhD funding · Harvard Susan Carey internship · eight schools, three acceptances · two-body problem · concept development research · Instagram mentorship · choosing a humane advisor
