ayasofaya

I don't want to ask what the last names start with because eventually someone is going to be like "My last name is Xavier!" and I'll preemptively know I didn't get picked. We're not asking lol.

Now I'm checking my email obsessively lol. Great.

@Karakoy Wait really!!! Congrats!!! Heart attacks coming in sooner than I thought!

Tomorrow is The Official We-Might-Find-Out-Today-But-It's-Unclear-So-Maybe-Tomorrow-Or-Sometime-Next-Week Day! Everyone ready to have heart attack every time you get an email notification? I know I am!

The advantage with a Mac is definitely Apple Care and/or the Genius bar. You're paying for the convenience of the Apple Store, and knowing that whatever happens to your computer wherever you are in the world, chances are you have a designated place to get it repaired by a team that knows your specific machine inside and out. I've had my pro since 2011 and it works like new because if and when I have the slightest issue, I bring it to the apple store and say "Fix it," and they fix it. It only costs money if they have to order a physical part, and Apple Care Covers that cost for the first 2 years (the plans are much more inclusive for a computer than a phone). Even if you don't have Apple Care, at the very least you can trust that while getting your repair, you're not getting scammed or paying for upgrades/repairs you don't need. As far as required software, it really just depends on your program, like earlier stated. A lot of engineering and 3D modeling software is only supported on Windows. I went to design undergrad so we had to have the best of both worlds. We were required Macbook Pro and ran Bootcamp so we could switch to Windows when we needed Solidworks or Rhino. If you have strong preferences, there are always options. @Bleep_Bloop I got my battery replaced for 80 Swiss Francs (I happened to be in Switzerland when it died. Made no difference to my ability to get it fixed. Convenience!), and the website says $130 to $200 depending on how advanced your model is. There is absolutely 0 reason you should buy a whole new computer. Just get the battery fixed. You have YEARS on that thing. If you're doing anything involving Adobe you don't want an Air. The battery life is longer on average because no one is trying to do anything too ambitious with it.

We're splitting hairs like these dates aren't 24-72 hours away lol. This isn't even a long wait in the Foreign Service world.

Based on some context clues from previous posts about it, I think the Rangel Board is meeting on the 26th to finalize, and then notifying everyone over the course of the next 6 days. My email says "The week of the 27th" so I'll be glad for that one extra day (unless it's a no of course).

What are the odds that the "Week of the 27th" is this week, and not the 27th +6 days? Historically, do they normally send them out on the date that they name-dropped in the email? Asking for a friend haha. To be honest I'm mostly trying to prepare myself for the reality that it's statistically most likely at no this year. Can't get my hopes up like this so I'm trying to stay grounded.

Anecdotal data is often more helpful than "official" data. If you ask a school what their minimums or averages fare for GRE, GPA, what have you, they will very often lowball you on metrics and tell you they have a holistic review process. This is to keep their application numbers high (resulting in an artificially elite-looking low acceptance rate), and for fear of scaring off the unicorn with low stats who would still get into the program because of their other, unicorn-like qualities. A forum like this not only puts your competition in front of you so you know what you're up against, but you can look at a (very imperfect but still useful) sampling of candidates who actually did get into your program, so you can see what you aim for and set realistic goals and plans to reach them.

"The week of the 27th" gets further and further with every passing day.

Much to the annoyance to folks on the register, because if there are 90 spots on a rare A-100 and 60 Fellows..... And it's an interesting situation for State to find itself in, because the seemingly obvious solution would be to reduce the number of fellows invited to A-100 at a proportionate rate to the reduction of general invitees, but there isn't a way to do so that makes sense given the long-term fellowship timeline. Reducing the Fellows hired into the FS in the present is in bad faith since they were promised employment two years ago, and reducing the fellowship awards granted now only affects hiring in two years (or three, really) and does nothing about the hiring situation right now. So those currently waiting to be pulled off the register (especially in cones that are popular with Fellows, PD, Pol, and some Econ,) are getting hit twofold, because not only is State expecting fewer A-100s per year, but the ratio of Fellows to Non-Fellows gets skewed since the Non-Fellow count is the only one that's reduced.

Right. Well they actually un-cancelled two A-100s so the fellows all squeezed in this year. A handful of non-fellows from the register accepted the Consular Fellows position and it really just means they have a higher ratio of English Language Officers. The general understanding is that we're not holding our breath for A-100s for next year but State/Tillerson keeps asserting that the Fellows will get their entry as promised. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

If you don't read the FSO Hopeful Subreddit daily, you should. I live in there primarily. It's typically very active but it was absolutely LIT circa Jan-July of this year with the way events in Washington were unfolding and how that affected the FS in particular. It's like a soap opera and every day I logged in to read the next chapter. Just use the search bar before you make a post asking a question. Claws have (rightfully) been out lately about question repeaters. https://www.reddit.com/r/foreignservice/

@mrs12 Oh for sure. I've been going to regular route and only added the fellowships into the mix this year since I'm ready for grad school now. That said, I do more likely see myself getting the fellowship than the regular application process, from a numbers standpoint, but also when they throw words around like "historically underrepresented minorities are encouraged to apply." Also most FSOs who come off the register already have master's degrees and are not trying to get another one, so the competition is a contrasting pool of applicants. And it's key: three candidacies per year is better than one haha. Aren't we lucky this is a good fit for our current life situations, huh.

@mrs12 No this is helpful. If I don't get Rangel and I retake the test, it would be more for the actual grad applications than for Pickering, as they have similar deadlines anyway. My end goal from the Fellowship process is to be an FSO, not necessarily to get a Master's Degree, so even if I get into all of my top programs, I'm not going to attend unless/until I get the fellowship (especially since funding is involved). I would only get the degree on my own if i was very very confident that I would never get the fellowship. I don't know too many other applicants but I imagine their aims are similar. Applications are a lot of work and money and I just wish Pickering was on the Rangel timeline so I can know final decisions in time to plan my months in a way that's efficient.

I'm trying to come up with short-term plans for if I get rejected. I'm mainly struggling with whether or not to retake the GRE for Pickering/Grad apps in due in January. Ideally I would love to retake to aim for 320+ but I don't know if it's worth it for a 4 point increase, considering that if I don't get either fellowship I'm passing off grad school altogether to retry next year. I've already taken the test once so should I get denied from both fellowships that's $400+ wasted . More actually, as I will likely splurge this time on a paid study plan to increase the chances of reaching my target scores. Even after paying all that, it's still not guaranteed. On the small chance that I do get Rangel, retaking is definitely worth it, since at that point I would know that I'm going to school and I would want to get into the best programs. The Pickering timeline would have me paying for the test (not to mention all those application fees) without knowing if I'm going to school or not. Actually @mrs12 you applied multiple years. Did you run into these challenges? I'm curious to know how you handled this. Application fees are $$$ when you have a list.

@mrs12 @Amanda Libby Right. As a first-gen American (which is why I asked for clarification to which kind of first-gen we're talking about here) I can relate to a lot of this. While my parents have degrees they got here, they really didn't go any kind of traditional route with it, nor are they super familiar with American college culture. It was me and google, it's still me and google, and they basically just trust that I know what I'm doing. It's a curse that turned into a blessing though, as since high school I've really mastered the art and science of opportunity research, and it's lead to a lot of interesting experience that I wouldn't have found otherwise if I didn't have to start from scratch and actively dig around what's out there.

What do you mean by the first-gen curse?

@mrs12 It was petty. I put "2020" for projected graduation date and they wanted me to verify the month and the year. I'm over here drawing diagrams and counting on my fingers trying to figure out how I could have calculated that wrong. I didn't. I just didn't put a month. I'm still doing the math over and over in my head to make sure, even though she confirmed my reply lol. We would graduate in 2020 right? Right?

So anyways, back to

WELP They're looking at them! I got an email asking to clarify a date. She said my application is processing. I'm making this wait so much worse by micro-updating.

This seems anticlimactic. Should I have gotten a confirmation email at least? EDIT: I went on the site to see if they would have a "Your application was submitted" message on the bottom or something and all traces of the application portal/login are gone! Welp!

OKAY After a series of horrifying tech issues and a few phone calls to the program for status updates, I am now all greens, and my recommendations are complete. (I actually was notified. They CCed me on every automatic email.) And now comes this part: