Relly

I'm doing an independent thing at MGIMO right now! I'm interested in getting my master's there and thought doing a Russian language program there would help me get a feel for the university while also help me improve my Russian. It was sort of a graduation present to myself after saving up over the years. Where are you currently?

Alternate for Russian again. Unlike last year, however, I'm not upset. I'm currently studying abroad in Moscow and CLS would have conflicted with my current program (thus having me make the really tough decision to leave my current program). I won't mind being moved up, but I am at peace with being an alternate again. Congrats to all the finalists and good luck to all the other alternates! And chin-up to those who didn't make it this year. I implore you to keep trying while you can and don't let one rejection keep you from following your dreams (this coming from a small town, lower-class gal who is out of the country for the first time in her life -- and in Moscow of all places).

I do not think there has been an official statement as of yet. That said, Peace Corps China was pulled and apparently NSLIY AY students were also pulled recently. However, you are placed by language and not a country. There is a very good chance that they will find another Mandarin-speaking country or region that is safe for travel for the Chinese program. CLS Chinese is one of the two largest cohorts CLS has, so it would be a disaster to outright cancel the program.

I want to say that that each program site has a healthy mix of each language level. I believe I have read that somewhere, but correct me if I am wrong.

I posted the following in the Facebook group (as well as something similar in last year's CLS thread). I did forget that we have a leap year this year, so there is always the chance they will send out notifications on the 29th and not the 28th. 2019: Thursday, Feb. 28 (44 days) 2018: Thursday, Mar. 1 (44 days) 2017: Tuesday, Mar. 7 (48 days) 2016: Tuesday, Mar. 8 (39 days -- note that the semi-finalist announcement was delayed this year due to weather) 2015: Thursday, Feb. 26 (44 days) 2014: Sunday, Feb. 23 (38 days) 2010: Monday, Feb. 15 (36 days) IMPORTANT: The current trend appears to be that finalist notifications are sent out between 40 and 50 days after the semi-finalist notifications. 40 days after this years semi-finalist date (Jan. 13) is Friday, Feb. 22 50 days after this year’s semi-finalist date (Jan. 13) is Monday, Mar. 4 Also, looking at the language used in the semi-finalist email, we should be receiving notifications before the beginning of March (“You will receive notification via email... *by* the beginning of March.”) I propose that we will be updated on the 26th, 27th or 28th of February. (44, 45 and 46 days after the semi-finalist notification).

It's been a year since I looked up the numbers, but essentially 20-25% of applicants get semi-finalist status and only 10% of applicants get finalist status. That means, you have about a 50/50 chance of being a finalist after reaching semi-finalist. I do not think alternates are included in those numbers and I have no idea how many people get alternate status (and last year I was selected as an alternate for Russian; did not get bumped to finalist).

For those of you who didn't hear back on the 13th, if you still haven't I would really contact CLS! There may have been a mistake with your email address and I am sure they would be happy to fix the issue

Notifications are rolling out everyone! I am a semi-finalist for Russian again

Thanks for posting that all here! In retrospect, I should have reposted my findings from last year in my initial post, but by the time I realized that, I could no longer edit the post (...and then forgot about CLS almost entirely because of a very busy October oops). That said, just submitted my application for Advanced Russian (a little less last minute than last year, haha). Hope everyone is feeling good about their applications! (So far it seems that you are!) I'm hoping to get finalist this year, but I won't be as devastated this year if I miss the mark again. As you guys stress while waiting, I really recommend joining the official Facebook group for applicants! That way you do not have to stress alone

I was fortunate (unfortunate? haha) enough to make it to alternate last year for Russian. I think they have a video on the website going over what each essay is looking for and I used some of that information to help craft my essays (the biggest mistake a lot of people make in essay writing is they don't actually answer the prompt's questions!). I'd also reach out to your school's CLS advisor (if they have one) for help and get a few good writers to help you proofread.

Hey everyone! Today the new application cycle begins, and I thought it would be nice to start a new thread for CLS hopefuls of this upcoming summer.

I haven’t heard anything about the Russian sites (asides from seeing where all four sites are on the CLS website). I think that with locations that have higher security clearances, they can’t tell alternates where they are going as an alternate might not be able to fill for those locations for whatever reason. That’s my guess, at least.

Alternate for advanced Russian. Not the best choice, but I'll take it considering this was my first year applying and hope for the best. Guess I have to finish my Gilman scholarship application now, haha.

At this point in time I want to work in international law, especially where it pertains to Russia and Eastern Europe. I have my eyes on working in one of of two departments of the Office of the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Being as close to fluent as possible in Russian with at least a cursory understanding of Russian culture and society would aid in this. I have a couple other ideas of what I would want to do with Russian, but that's the main motivator right now.

So out of an effort to calm my nerves, I went through some past GradCafe threads to find the dates of the finalist and alternate announcements and calculated how many days went by between semi-finalist announcements and finalist announcements. Here is what I found: 2018: Mar. 1 (44 days) 2017: Mar. 7 (48 days) 2016: Mar. 8 (39 days -- recall that the semi-finalist announcement was delayed this year due to weather) 2015: Feb. 26 (44 days) 2014: Feb. 23 (38 days) 2010: Feb. 15 (36 days)