natrem

I can't believe it, finalist for Indonesian!! Congratulations to everyone no matter what the outcome! Thank you so much for being here on this thread, helped me get through the stress and the anxiety just to have people understand what I was going through. Because I feel like we're all friends, I really hope all you alternates get to go!! Please keep us updated if a spot opens up for you!

I looked through past threads, and @yayj is right, 5-6 weeks seems to be the norm (although in 2013 it was 7 weeks!). Six weeks would put us at March 10.... let's just hope it's not seven weeks this year ;0) Also, several years noted delays in the second round, so ours is not necessarily related to the initial deadline extension and snowstorm like I originally thought.

I have a theory that the lack of notification is not about having selected finalists, but selecting program sites for some of the countries with dicier political climates. Asking all applicants for their passports is a way to start processing visas for those selected without sending out official notifications. I can't imagine what else would take so much extra time.

I have a feeling that I'll find out that notifications were sent via this forum rather than actual email. I'm checking this way more often, since seeing others feel my pain is more comforting than opening an empty mailbox ^.^

@mrs12 thanks for the detective work, I was getting a little nervous that I hadn't gotten an email until I remembered Indonesian visas are pretty easy for Americans to get. It makes sense that the other places you listed got emails too. I went to India on a study abroad a few years ago and it took months to get our visas. I had to ship away my passport and not see it for months, that was pretty nervewracking! But when I visited Indonesia I got a visa at the airport. Which got me thinking, does anyone know if participants get special visas (ie student instead of tourist) since they are technically studying at the universities in country?

@pdh12 are you also an applicant for Chinese? I didn't get a visa email either and I'm wondering if it's site-specific depending on how long it takes to get a visa in each country.

@JTWU I love your positivity! I'm trying not to get my hopes up though haha

Did everyone see this announcement? Posted to the CLS Facebook page: "We've been receiving many inquiries as to whether or not second round of notification has occurred. At this time we do not have information regarding the results from the second round and we do not have a specific timeline for when we will do so. However, when we do send out notification regarding decisions we will also post an announcement here. All participants will be notified of their status via the email they provided in their applications regardless of whether or not they've been selected as finalists."

I would advise against this. For one thing, many people are in the same situation, so even if they wanted to make an exception for you it wouldn't be fair to everyone else. Second, if they say they are "leaning" any which way on you, it would be absolutely misleading because it's not a guaranteed position either way--imagine how you would feel if you made your decision based on a "leaning" and then it turned out the other way? I think you'll just feel frustrated if you try to get that kind of answer from them. It sounds like your best bet would be to explain the situation to your SF program and hope they'll give you more time. Good luck!

I've had a few dreams that I got accepted, but something always went wrong/stressful, like one time I forgot to pack and they were calling me saying it was time to leave...I woke up so stressed out! I think it reflects my simultaneous feeling of having a decent chance at acceptance and feeling like I have no chance at all... anyone else go back and forth like this? I really hope the agony ends today (and if I get accepted, I'll pack way in advance ^.~ )

I was really hoping for today, but it looks like it will indeed be this dang leap year! Fingers crossed for Monday!

@pdh12 I'm still here with the same anxiety. If I am going to be rejected I wish it would have been at the first stage. I'm really impressed that you were able to apply again despite the rejection last time. Did the fact that you passed the first round give you hope that you could do better this time? Did you figure out where you might have gone wrong? I'm so curious about this process. I wish we could read the essays of the accepted applicants.

So true... Another month of agony, but I am so grateful to have made it to semifinals that it's worth it either way. Anyone else hear back for Indonesian? How about you @clshopeful?

If I get in I would love to do one! I found only one for CLS in my country of interest (Indonesia) and it really motivated me and showed me what daily life in the program was like. It was also really cool to see how the person's perception of the country, culture, and language progressed, especially their confidence in speaking Indonesian. I loved it so much I even read CLS blogs for other countries

Thanks for investigating! I'm hoping news comes by Friday, but I have a feeling it will be after the long weekend.