mrs12

I did have a dream about it. I just won a recent competition at a school event and I got a really good feeling from that, like I'm on a roll. Not that anything is certain, but I've been feeling good about my chances.

Monday~ Monday~ Monday~ I'm so excited for today!

Ooooh, wow! You're amazing, @kbui! I found this great blog about the test experience and some awesome advice on the oral, lemme link it to you just in case: http://ficklomat.com/2015/01/22/passing-the-fsoa-where-a-stranger-questions-my-allegiance-to-the-jewish-people/ I know when I get anxious about all of this I just start reading blogs, which doesn't help reduce my anxiety but you learn some fun things! I really like this blogger.

I know, another month feels like forever. I'm kind of upset at these fellowships. I've been on pins and needles wishing time to fly by, but this is my last really fun semester at school and I wish I could slow down and appreciate it more instead of just hoping it will pass until the announcements. I think that's a life lesson, though. And thank you, @ZebraFinch ! I can't wait to hear back.

I emailed Pickering about that, actually. Because they seem so nice and apt to respond. They told me it would be the very end of March before we hear about who has been selected for interviews. I believe that makes sense with the Rangel timeline too because they have to have interviewed and selected before the Pickering can finalize their selections. (The Payne probably announces sometime this week too, right?) @kbui , I'm so nervous for the CLS! I should hear this week. Worst case scenario will be on Monday. They promised it would be this month, but said it would be at the end of the month. We're sort of running out of days so any time now I think we'll hear. It's usually the end of the day, and we were told about the semi-finals on a Thursday so I'm putting my money on this Thursday or next Monday. I DO have a back-up plan, but it's not as great. Last summer I studied Turkish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and they have invited me back for this summer. The teacher there is AMAZING, but I'm not sure they will have enough students to put on an advanced level course and I really don't want to do Intermediate again. It's not a bad option, it's actually really great there, but I'm still hoping for the CLS.

I was just reading up on the Payne. They only pick 5 people, that's so tiny! I wonder why it's so few people. But their aid is huge! @kbui , I think it would be common for a lot of people to apply to all three. Which means by the time you get to the Pickering you've already lost 25 or so of the best applicants. And then Pickering chooses 20/10 for Graduate and Undergrad. And that's not to mention the 40/20 that are chosen just to come to the interview. I'd say we'd have whittled down the odds by then.

If you all were to get into the FS, which cone would you choose? Have you already decided? I really like CON. I know for sure that I wouldn't like ECON or POL. But I'm pretty set on CON and I wrote my essay based on that.

My local DIR has never worked out. The one before this current one told me I wasn't suited for the FS because I asked her if diplomats got training in public speaking at FSI. (I'm not sure what the subtext was, but I think it was that if I had anxiety about public speaking and didn't automatically love it there was no place in the Foreign Service for someone who wasn't type-a confident.) It took me a year to recover from that and get some second opinions, all of which told me that there are lots of introverts in the FS and that they do train you before shoving you in front of a microphone - to some extent. :3 But I really wish I could develop a better relationship with the DIR for my area, I feel like they are such an asset to so many of you. How did you all manage to contact these people and reach out to them initially? The current DIR and I had a very brief email exchange wherein he told me he didn't know much about what I should do if I was interested in the FS beyond an internship and good luck, or something like that. Now, this was mostly because he was new, but I still wasn't sure what to respond with to kind of... well get him to talk to me more about all the myriad of things I'd want to talk about. Also, what's the Payne that several of you have applied to? I've never heard of it.

@kbui I'm so sorry to hear that! Take time to be upset about it, if you can. You put a lot of heart and time into applying, sometimes you need to grieve when things don't go the way you want them to go. It's a huge hit, so don't let yourself feel guilty about being upset or losing your confidence. Any of us would! I know I certainly would! But you never know what will happen. And it truly looks like the Pickering essay considers totally different things than the Rangel, so I really don't believe you're out if you miss one. Keep your heart in place, we can only hope for the best and work to improve ourselves in the meantime. You're already doing the FS written test. I always tell myself that this is my dream, but that it's a really difficult one to achieve. We never know how life will go, but if you really want this I can't help but think that something along the way will work out for you. If only because of all the work and effort you are putting into reaching your dreams.

@awayfromhere, congratulations!!!! Yay! I think I remember that you've applied before, haven't you? Good luck on your interview, we are rooting for you.

@ZebraFinch, ooh, ohh, I have questions about this too! Was the written exam really subject specific? Should I be reading about world event's all over in case I get hit with some random country-specific question? Or was it something you could muddle through with general foreign policy acumen and some regional expertise? @kbui, are you home yet? Have you checked? I'm seriously so excited to hear your results!!!

Hey @pdh12, of course, I can! So there are two very similar fellowships, the Pickering and the Rangel. They provide funding for grad school in return for a commitment to work for at least 5 years in the Foreign Service. Anyone with an interest can apply, but you have to apply before you're going to grad school, or in the Pickering's case they allow a very small amount of undergrads to apply during their 3rd year. If you're accepted, there's not a program requirement, you just have to be able to argue how that graduate degree would enhance foreign diplomacy and be of help to the FS. It ranges from the obvious IR, to area studies, economics, education, I even heard of someone doing linguistics, etc. The big thing is you can't already be in grad school. However, you can get a Masters and then apply to the Pickering for a second Masters. There's some minor differences between the Rangel and the Pickering, but it seems like most people apply to both if they're eligible to do so. These fellowships are looking to diversify the FS, so they are aimed at low-income and less commonly represented identities within the FS.

Yes, despite the two programs looking so similar I've heard a lot of stories about very different applicants getting to the interview for one or the other. I actually think I prefer the Pickering to the Rangel, even though I'm ineligible to apply to the Rangel this year. But it seems like they really do go after different groups in their own way.

I really want it to be today, because I feel like Thursdays are the days they announce and I do not want to wait until next Thursday!

@ZebraFinch, good luck! I'm also waiting to hear from the Pickering! About the Rangel, what do you mean by financial need, if you don't mind me asking? I read a lot of comments on the internet that they're looking for people with generally 0 EFC or something similar on the FAFSA. Do you think that's true?

Ahh, I saw your post here and assumed you'd know by now. I cannot wait until 4 PM!!!

They convened today, right? So tomorrow you'll have to hear something if it wasn't today! So exciting!!!

Wow, that's so many people! Ahh, I can't help but be kind of upset at that. I mean, it's good that so many people want to join the FS but it also means we're in for a harder time. I hope less people applied to the undergraduate program... Thank you so much, @Damis! I sincerely hope so. If I don't get into the Pickering this year I will definitely try again, meeting all of these other potential applicants has reinforced my desire to be in the Foreign Service. You are all amazing.

This week I'm hoping to hear back from the CLS as well so it's been a really antsy week so far. I can't believe the Pickering decisions are so far awayyyy.

Oooh, @pdh12, can we talk about that? I also did the internship with the State Department, in Ankara Turkey, and it's made me want to join the FS. What were your feelings when you finished it? Do you want to head that route? Did it give you ideas for other routes? And if you are thinking about the Foreign Service, how are you going about getting there? (Also I want to hear all about PD, I was in ECON which was not a fit for my skills, but still fascinating!)

Hey @maybemuscat, thanks for coming in to give us some reassurance. I know someone who also applied for the Boren to go to Oman next year! It looks like a great program, so good luck with that application process! I have a general question. I heard that the CLS is a great chance to network in some ways. Because you're learning a critical language and it's put on by the government, it might be a chance to find potential outlets for a job in the government with language expertise. Do you think that is a true assessment? Or maybe just a rumor?

@lindsaykm13 I am, actually! I really like their Geography program, but it is top ranked so very competitive to get into. I really enjoyed my time there last summer, and I met some amazing professors who agreed to watch out for me if I go there as a grad student. Wisconsin-Madison also has one of the US's only Turkic scholars, which is amazing!

I am sending you all my positive thoughts this upcoming week, @kbui and @jrdnmadrid , you too!

@lindsaykm13 I was more wondering if it was even possible to apply before you're an official student because most of the applications seem to require that you attend that school. It's why I was so surprised and delighted to find out last year that I could apply for the FLAS for the summer at UWM without being a student there! I loved it there last summer as well. Which language did you do, Russian?

I'm applying for the Summer FLAS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for Turkish! I've received it once before, though, so I'm not very sure how well they look on repeat offenders. I've always wondered about FLAS for graduate school. Are you all accepted at these schools already, or do you apply without truly knowing?