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SwissMister

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Everything posted by SwissMister

  1. Just got some good news back on one of the applications. If it pans out completely, then I may be forced to pass on Boren for security reasons. But, I'm not going to count my chickens just yet.
  2. I applied for the Fellowship in Yogyakarta studying Indonesian and researching counterterrorism cooperation. I am in the application process for Boren in addition to a few federal jobs, so I'm hoping at least one of them works out.
  3. It sounds like you're a strong applicant, considering your dedication to studying Russian. I really don't think that a lack of national security courses is going to be a significant factor in whether you get the Scholarship, as long as you made a strong case in your essays indicating how your study plan ties to national security. On another note: During my political-military internship, I researched and analyzed Russian hybrid warfare. Considering current, unfolding events concerning Russia and a rise in gray zone conflict, I think that you chose a great language and region ... quite possibly the most critical language actually. Defense Secretary Mattis was just quoted as saying, "Russia is the number one threat to U.S. national security." Good luck with your studies, and hopefully you receive the Scholarship.
  4. @kbui Yes, she definitely painted a clear picture of what she wanted to do, how she planned to do it, and why it was important to her goals and national security. Looking at my first essay, I think I could have delved more into my study plan. I made a case for how my country, region, and language tie into national security, but I didn't really dive into the meat of my study plan until essay 2. In her first essay, she explicated -- pretty liberally I might add -- the components of her study plan and precisely how it ties into greater U.S. security interests. I tried to give a brief explanation of this, but didn't want to get lost in the weeds or sound redundant with the my study plan breakdown in my second essay. Hopefully they don't stop reading after our first essay, lol.
  5. Great find, @kbui! Thanks for sharing. Funny, as I was reading through essays 1 and 2, I noticed that they seemed a little long. I checked their word counts, and it looks like both are almost 1200 words. Whew! After reading essay 1, I was worried that mine was severely lacking in detail.
  6. Yes, I think Russian is an interesting and beautiful language that reflects so much of Russia's culture, both contemporary and historical. I think it will continue to be a strategic language for national security for a long time.
  7. When I first found Boren, I was surprised that there weren't more recipients studying in Indonesia. However, there were three Indonesia recipients last year. I would be curious to know how many there are this award cycle. On another note, it looks like Boren doesn't anticipate awarding any scholarships or fellowships for Russia this cycle. With so many of last year's applicants studying Russia – and recent events involving Russia – it makes me wonder what this year's applicant pool will look for those wanting to study Russian in countries other than Russia, e.g., former Soviet bloc states and the Caucasus. I have an affinity for all things Russian, and I started playing around with beginning Russian on DuoLingo. It would have been my second choice for language and country.
  8. Awesome, @kbui. This is what I was looking for. Thanks for digging and posting. So, it looks more like end of February. Too bad the budget update email isn't a reliable indicator any longer, haha. The acceptance rate for Fellowship applicants was higher than I thought.
  9. So, when do you think for the budget updates, March?
  10. I have done this same thing. No errors, but some areas where I could have expanded a little more.
  11. @UnawareInGeneral Thanks. Yes, it is Bahasa that I have studied and hope to study through Boren. It was difficult locating an in-class programs that taught Bahasa. I found a distance program at the University of Hawaii, so I took beginning Indonesian last semester. They do offer Indonesian classes for free, however, at the US-Indo Society in D.C.. @kbui I think a personal statement is a nice way to humanize the essays a little more; however, I didn't really delve into that. If I could rewrite the first essay, I would integrate a short personal statement – I think you did a smart thing. Yes, I am in my second year of grad school, so I won't have enough runway to apply again. However, I may have enough left to try for the CLS next summer. How does the CLS application process compare to the Boren? I have only looked it over briefly, and would like to hear someone's personal experience with it.
  12. @UnawareInGeneral, I appreciate your talking about your process for drafting your essays – I approached mine in a very similar manner. I recall in the essays webinar about avoiding the "birds eye view" in the first essay. When they ask you to explain why your region/country has significance to national security, I honestly didn't know how to avoid some type of bird's eye view explanation in the beginning. I took a top-down approach, where I briefly explained the significance of the region/country in broad terms, as far as which U.S. interests are being affected, then I went into specific detail about how one of those specific factors (terrorism) was tied to future U.S. interests in the region and to my study plan (language study and thesis research). I tied my study plan into my desired career goals working for the federal government (in a national security role) without listing a specific organization, but still listing a career title, functional area (counterterrorism), and region of expertise (Southeast Asia) in which I would like to work. So, in effect, I started at a bird's eye, then walked the reader down through my logic, until I ended with a prospective career. I was as concise as possible, trying to avoid redundancy and vagueness. I went from 850 words in my first draft, to 600 words in my final draft. It felt strange not using the available word-count limit, but I answered the questions, made my points, and didn't have anything else to say. Yes, I can imagine that Boren would want winning essays floating around. Honestly, they wouldn't do me any good at this point anyway – it's just my curiosity itching to know what a selected applicant's essay looks like. Good luck on your applications, both CLS and Boren.
  13. @kbui I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get accepted into the other program you applied to. I have been rejected from a few programs and scholarships that I thought I was perfect for, too. Yes, I think Southeast Asia is becoming more important to U.S. interests. You know, I went back over my essays after my post yesterday, and I think I could have made a stronger argument for why my research ties into national security, but it's too late at this point. I would really like to read past Boren awardees essays to see how they make their arguments. Have you ran across any?
  14. @kbui Thank you for taking the time to address my questions. My experience with the Fellowship application was good, overall. However, I think it could have been better if my campus representative would have had a couple years of Boren experience under their belt – it was this person's first year. I spent a lot of time researching and thinking about my first draft of the essays before submitting them to my campus representative for review. Because I'm focusing on Indonesia's counterterrorism cooperation for my master's thesis, I thought that I could leverage the opportunity to conduct research. I wanted to give a fairly clear outline of of my research plan, but it turned out to be more difficult than I had anticipated, and sucked a lot of time going back and forth with my research advisor. This and few other factors caused me to miss on-campus deadlines, so I ended up leaning on my campus representative's advice and info gleaned through the webinars and this forum. Indonesian is a fairly easy language to learn; however, it's difficult to find formal training in the US. I ended up having to study it through an extension program, and I only got one semester in before submitting the application. I felt like taking an Indonesian course and submitting the language evaluation were key to showing my commitment to studying the language. Additionally, I locked down some letters of affiliation for the study-abroad program and the host university, so hopefully that goes even further in showing my commitment... we'll see. Overall, I feel like I submitted a strong application. With all the research and work I put into it, I honestly don't know what else I could have done to make it stronger. That being said, if I don't receive it, I won't be heartbroken. I won't likely be able to apply again, given that I don't have a lot of coursework left in my degree program. If I don't receive it, I may try to apply for the CLS for next summer, though. I will be at the tail-end of my thesis, but should still be matriculated. How do you feel about your submission? Thailand would be a fantastic place to study, and I wish you the best of luck.
  15. Hey everyone, I've been following the Boren Fellowship threads for a couple years now. Just submitted my application for the Fellowship. I have been studying Indonesian, and am writing my master's thesis on counterterrorism cooperation in Indonesia and SE Asia, so I positioned my application for language study and research there. I will say that I'm glad that the system went down and they gave us another 18 hours to get the application in – my last recommender didn't submit until 5:05pm EST on deadline day! @kbui I have seen your comments on this forum for quite a while now. I had a few questions that you might be able to help me with: What weight does the Boren committee put on on-campus evaluation? I worked with my on-campus rep to revise my essays and get my study plan together, but some unforeseen circumstances prevented me from getting my application into my university's Boren committee for evaluation by the on-campus deadline. I do believe that all the work with my campus rep and research advisor helped me to put together a strong application, however. Does adding a language proficiency evaluation recommendation give an added benefit to the Fellowship application? Do you know if minority status gives Boren applicants any kind of z-score or added benefit? Thanks, kbui. I totally understand if you don't have definitive answers to these questions. Good luck on your Fellowship application!
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