Rivai
-
Posts
29 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Rivai
-
-
2 hours ago, redjacket said:
IMCEERES nominees, have you heard anything from EACEA yet?
Nothing. Hopefully this week will be the week.
-
-
It is possible if you haven't taken the school's money, and someone who actually wants to go to that school will actually receive funding when you decline so please decline ASAP. As long as you haven't taken money, you don't really owe anything to the school; hence, you don't even need to say you're leaving for another school. Just write something along the lines of, "although I am grateful for your generous offer, I will not be able to join you in the following academic year due to unforeseen circumstances." You'll make an alternate very happy, trust me.
- Bill_Joe and nguyen16041
-
2
-
Any American applicants/students who can shed light if our Erasmus Mundus stipends will be taxed by the US?
-
2 hours ago, Bill_Joe said:
@Rivai - That is great to know!
Although I must say I was a bit surprised when you mentioned individuals receiving the fellowship for the same language. I had always thought this would be the norm and not the exception since adding another language to mix might be seen as lacking focus.
1. Did you get a feeling they more encourage continuing study in the same language OR learning another totally separate critical language that can be used in a government career?
Also, I thought I remember reading that you also received a CLS in the same year as your Boren (and you received a Fulbright for Russia also).
2. The dates did not overlap for you regarding the June convocation? Or were you referring to the final convocation upon finishing your Boren?
2a. Additionally, were the languages you focused on all the same for these three programs above or did they differ significantly?
^ I ask because with many Intel jobs, knowledge in different languages can always be put to good use but I'm not sure of Boren's focus here.
Lastly, about IMCEERES, yes, I'd love to know more. Shall we head to that thread and discuss the program?
I pmed you!
-
Hi, tbh I don't know if they had completed their service requirement from the scholarship, but I don't really think it matters. You could just argue in your essay that you want more preparation in the field before tackling the SR seeing as most federal jobs sponsored by Boren require an MA or graduate study. During my convocation year, they actively encouraged us to apply for the fellowship as well.
On another note, I noticed your other threads about IMCEERES, and I got into the program with the scholarship (awaiting EACEA approval). While I can't tell you currently about how it's like quite yet, I'd be glad to share about the application process.
-
-
Does anyone have any tips or would like to share plans on how to sustain oneself when one or two of your mobility periods are in partner countries?
-
6 hours ago, redjacket said:
Hi! I also received this email. It's still not clear for me, whether it's 100% or not. I believe, we have to wait for official confirmation from EACEA. What are the chances that EACEA will refuse a scholarship after the nomination?
I believe it’s highly unlikely unless you broke the 12 month rule at one point in your life or unless there are over three participants from the same country. I asked if the Scholarship was deferrable and they were very cut throat (direct) in terms of asking me to commit. Plus they asked me for some documents. I’ll ask if you want, YOLO tbh.
edit: I asked and they said it was highly unlikely and that it is more of a formality rather than anything else.
-
For those waiting for IMCEERES, I recently got an email that said I was nominated for the scholarship. I'm a partner country though.
-
Recommended for Russia C':
-
I'd write to them asap. Who cares if you seem pushy, tbh, I think it's kinda shady when they don't even tell you when you'll find out about funding. The applicant needs time to make adjustments and plan for these sort of things.
-
Oops yeah I just checked my email, I did get it on the 17th, my friend who applied for a fellowship was asking me the other day when I got it and I thought I had said 14th. I apologize, I didn’t get a second budget email when I got it though. The mailed letter did get here another day though. Good luck!
-
Hi everyone, I am a member of the 2017-2018 Cohort, I did not get a second budget email and still received the scholarship on April 14.
- Sarahpennies, lposmanick, gmcelroy and 3 others
-
3
-
3
-
Hi everyone, I'm an ex-Boren Scholar and I'd like to share a few things that I wish I had known through the Boren process and after receiving my Boren.
1. On the Boren Scholarship, you have 31 days of travel maximum and you can only spend them two weeks at a time which means if you are staying for a year and you want to go home for Christmas, you can only be home for 14 days maximum. I stayed in my host country during my Boren, but many of my other cohort members who were Boren decided to return home and were left with 0 travel days when they returned for the second semester. You also cannot travel when you have class days unless you have a letter from a program director, you will also need to fill out travel requests which tell the Boren staff exactly where you will be staying at least two weeks before your trip. I do however know Borens that do not tell IIE about their travel, but I would never do this and so shouldn't you. You can travel without wasting your days before your program starts with your own money or after you program ends with your own money without telling IIE but during the program, you can't.
2. If anyone here is applying for a country with a travel warning, prepare yourself mentally if you get the Boren because you will not be going to that country at all. Not even to visit, this is specifically relevant if you are applying to study in Russia or Ukraine. We cannot even travel to those countries for tourism during our Boren. I met many Russian applicants in the orientation who really wanted to go to Russia or Ukraine but they were being sent to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, I felt so sorry for these kids, so please prepare yourself mentally to not cross the border, this can be especially depressing to those who are studying in border cities.
3. There are multiple complaints (including angry complaints) in the private Boren group about the service requirement. The impression overall is that Boren does not really help you vitally in getting employment with the federal government but it is a good milestone for other competitive scholarships such as Pickering or Rangel or Paynes. I am not in this stage yet but this is what I have seen written.
4. My biggest shock during my Boren was meeting Borens (this is not all Borens; it was just an experience I had) who had absolutely 0 passion for their areas of respective study who just thought it would be a practical language to learn. As can easily be seen, the majority of Borens are PoliSci or IA or Global Studies majors, there was also a slight lack of diversity. Boren wants to see you have a clear path for your language and how you will use it in your government job, you should connect the dots in your essay. This is not like CLS where creativity and passion are heavily valued, Boren merely requires a clear track of you studying the language because of its specific mission. This is why some Borens do not get awarded a CLS.
5. The IIE staff can be a little difficult to deal with at times but they are nice.
6. Do not be disappoint if you do not get the Boren or are named alternate, it does not make you any more or less of a person. I personally met an alternate who did not have a clear career track in their resume and a Boren who did for the same language. Ironically, the alternate had much more passion for the area and showed more curiosity for the people living in the area and understanding them than the Boren awardee who just thought it was a good language to have. Having a Boren does not define you as a scholar, and you should not let it define you.
7. Despite its flaws, Boren is a great program that allowed me to study abroad when I just did not have the financial means to do so. It is a great opportunity which distinguished me when I met my congresswoman. Inflate your costs in the budget email! Remember to keep in mind the possible change in currency now that the dollar is so weak! Do not sell yourself short, I also know Borens who did not inflate their costs and tried to be frugal only for them to deeply regret it.
Feel free to ask me any questions, in the year I applied, all Fellows got a budget email and a week later all scholars got a budget email.
-
9 hours ago, ItsAllTheyHad said:
Which site? I was selected as an alternate.
We will be told our sites next week, we don’t know.
-
accepted
-
In support of everyone here annoyed, I'd like to say your annoyance is completely valid.
In other less hopeful news, I recently read that someone called today and CLS said they wold send notifications early March period and they would not come out past a week from now. I read this on the Facebook, I know some people here have put some stuff on the line in hope of acceptance and your frustrations are entirely valid. Keep in mind, this is a US State Department sponsored program so this is completely normal, tbh it really reminds me of Boren. I think it's better just to move your expectations to next week rather than this week, if the emails come this week then we'll be impressed and happier.
-
2 hours ago, dragon_seed said:
@emopeacock I worked in non-profit administration for three years and it was HELL. I can only conjecture that this job is even harder. Think of all the applications they have to go through, the logistics and coordination and planning for the sites, all the communications they have to manage, and even more responsibilities. That's why I feel terrible any time I have to e-mail them with a question.
It seems like we’re just closer to the tradition in getting the notifications during the march week rather than late February. The notifications are coming later and later each year, quite similar to the Boren program, the vagueness even reminds me of it. I think I read that last year they also replied that notifications would be out one week and sent them the next which pissed off some people because of the lack of transparency. By this pattern, I suggest everyone keeps their expectations flexible to when we will know.
- dragon_seed and BigBoi
-
1
-
1
-
4 minutes ago, woshimeiguoren said:
Maybe this year will be another year where they'll send out the decisions possibly March 7
Seeing as we're past the 26 and 27, it seems very likely, I hope we're wrong but we should start considering the possibility of not knowing until next week.
-
6 minutes ago, serapi said:
Just created an account to join the discussion. I’m a first time applicant to CLS and a semi finalist for Korean. So so anxious to hear back! Anyone think today will be the day?
I doubt it, but hope like everyone else, seeing as they have responded very vaguely to when they would send notifications and last year they sent them March 7 I think.
-
Lol is it weird I’m expecting the notifications next week instead, I have 0 faith. I’m so nervous.
-
30 minutes ago, RJB36 said:
Called the CLS office today to ask about the 'early March' post, and they said that semi-finalists will be emailed of their recipient status "this week or next week, but most likely before the end of February." My guess is next week, but still praying for this week. Rivai, did you know if that section of the FAQ page about "preference may be given to students who have never studied abroad before" was recently posted or if has been there for some time? Really hope that this 'preference' is not given too much weight.
To be honest, I don't know but I don't remember it and people in the facebook applicant group don't either. I don't think we should worry too much about it because of the wording, "preference MAY be given" rather than "preference WILL be given." Plus, there are people who have won CLS twice for different languages in the past years including the last, and two months is not a limited studied abroad experience. I'm a first time applicant but it seems to me that this would affect the Intermediate level applicants the most, it would be extremely unlikely (realistically speaking) for you to have an advanced level of a language unless you're rich and can afford private tutoring. Seems like a lot of us here who got to the second round have studied abroad judging from this thread. If I'm honest, I would see having studied a language before abroad as a sign of commitment to a language, I know people who have taken student loans to study abroad because they just did not have the resources to continue to progress in a language. This should be seen as a sign of commitment rather than being played against applicants. You just can't compare a person who has studied arabic/russian/mandarin in the states for two years, has excellent resources including tutors and advisers who help tailor his/her application for a prestigious scholarship with a person who is willing to get themselves into debt in order to study a language due to lack of resources. I'm going to choose to have a little faith.
-
10 hours ago, orangelrc said:
@Rivai where do you see these changes on the CLS page?
Look in the frequently asked questions in the Cls website, “how are applicants selected?”
Erasmus Mundus Applications 2019
in Waiting it Out
Posted
Anyone else still waiting for approval?