2019-2020 Boren Applicants

[woshimeiguoren]

Hey has anyone here thought about applying for the 2019-2020 Boren application?

[MettaSutta]

1 hour ago, woshimeiguoren said:

Hey has anyone here thought about applying for the 2019-2020 Boren application?

Checking in!

[jakem1023]

I'll be applying! Have my sights set on Tanzania to study Swahili and the intersection of climate change and the refugee crisis. 

Any thoughts on the African Flagship Language Initiative? Would love to speak to anyone who has done that program.

[Rp3669]

I am applying as well! Does anyone know how to go about choosing a host institution? Do they have specific ones they endorse or is it a free for all? For reference I am applying to Jordan for Arabic. 

[parisetsenegal]

Checking in! I'm applying for the Boren Scholarship for the AFLI French program in Senegal. Super excited as the on-campus deadline approaches! How's everyone feeling about their essays?

[GoCParis]

Hello! I'm a  2018 AFLI Senegal alumni. 
I stumbled across this thread and thought that you all might benefit from this spreadsheet past applicants had put together.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dPxQ-JuMRxFKIp_kmm4x4hFUMn02uRH_EjEd5tgtlMc/edit?usp=sharing

Someone shared it in the thread last year and I didn't want the info to go to waste. It had been deleted but I managed to save it to my drive...feel free to edit and update information as you please!

Best of luck on your applications and if anyone has any questions about AFLI or Senegal specifically, I would be happy to answer the best I can!

[SportPhD]

Applied for a Fellowship in Tanzania for Swahili, honestly glad to have everything submitted, but not excited to have wait for awhile for the results.

[moussdutoxx]

Hi everyone! I applied for a scholarship to study Wolof in Senegal. Hoping that more applicants will soon join this forum so that we can all share the anxiety of this two month waiting period! ?

[Bribritx]

Applied for a Fellowship to study Arabic in Oman. Good luck everybody!

[itsthemecca]

Hi Guys! I'm also applying for a scholarship to study French with AFLI in Senegal. Hope we all get it!

[TristinS]

Hey guys, I applied for a Boren to study Korean. I feel confident about my essays, but not especially confident about my extra-curriculars. I am a freshman and havent had alot of opportunites to bolster my resume yet. How are you guys feeling at this point?  

[sab333]

Hey! I applied to study Arabic in Jordan. I'm also waiting to hear back from the Critical Language Scholarship soon, so I'm hoping I manage to get at least one of the two somehow. If I don't get the first one, I won't find out about Boren until probably around two weeks before I'm supposed to graduate which will definitely be stressful. Did any other seniors apply for a Boren Scholarship this year?

@TristinS I think if your essays are good & if you showed a lot of promise and interest in the program and government service, they'll take that into account and they won't hold extracurriculars against you too much because they know you're young! And if you don't happen to get it this year, and you apply again another year, I think they would definitely take your early interest in it as a sign of a strong application. 

[moussdutoxx]

Did everyone get the survey email? How about the first budget email yet?

[itsthemecca]

I got a survey email. Today, I also got an email asking me to sign up for a language proficiency test. Hoping that's good news since the Boren Website says they only do that to "highly rated" French AFLI applicants!

[sab333]

3 hours ago, moussdutoxx said:

Did everyone get the survey email? How about the first budget email yet?

I got the survey email as well. I was expecting the first budget email sometime next week based on past dates. 

 

3 hours ago, itsthemecca said:

I got a survey email. Today, I also got an email asking me to sign up for a language proficiency test. Hoping that's good news since the Boren Website says they only do that to "highly rated" French AFLI applicants!

That sounds promising!! Do you know if they do that for other languages?

[itsthemecca]

17 minutes ago, sab333 said:

I got the survey email as well. I was expecting the first budget email sometime next week based on past dates. 

 

That sounds promising!! Do you know if they do that for other languages?

 

I believe only applicants for French and Spanish are tested before they receive the award. To study those languages under Boren you have to be at a certain level of proficiency to remain eligible. For French, you can only apply through AFLI, and you must be at an intermediate high level or above.

[LDOC]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has heard back about the budget email? I'm an AFLI applicant for Mozambique so I was wondering if Boren or AFLI would send a budget email? Also I was wondering if AFLI applicants generally have to wait longer than regular applicants? The whole process seems confusing  

[co0311]

Fellowship applicants receive their budget emails before Scholarship applicants, with typically a week between both. Average number of days from the application deadline to the first budget email is 37, which means those emails should hopefully go out this week. Also, everyone receives a budget email (minus some special programs), so they don't really mean anything except that the process is moving forward. 

[co0311]

Received a budget email for the Fellowship this morning. It seems unusual that your budget would change in just over a month since you submitted an application. Maybe it's common, or maybe it's a way to filter people out who aren't interested anymore. Anyone have thoughts on this?

[Hannahbanana212]

Hey Everyone - I was wondering if anyone was balancing boren and grad school commitment deadlines like me? I applied to the fellowship as a graduating senior from undergrad, and need to be affiliated with a grad school. thanks!

[Rp3669]

If I haven't received the budget email for the Fellowship yet, should I be worried?

[co0311]

3 minutes ago, Rp3669 said:

If I haven't received the budget email for the Fellowship yet, should I be worried?

No idea how they distribute them, but supposedly everyone will receive one. 

[moussdutoxx]

1 hour ago, co0311 said:

Received a budget email for the Fellowship this morning. It seems unusual that your budget would change in just over a month since you submitted an application. Maybe it's common, or maybe it's a way to filter people out who aren't interested anymore. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Hi, I received an email today for the Scholarship. They send this email because it's possible you've received some scholarships or other fellowships over the past month, and if these are for studying abroad or could affect the amount you need in any way, you are required to declare them to the Boren Awards so that they can adjust your award amount.                                                                                                         

[co0311]

2 minutes ago, moussdutoxx said:

Hi, I received an email today for the Scholarship. They send this email because it's possible you've received some scholarships or other fellowships over the past month, and if these are for studying abroad or could affect the amount you need in any way, you are required to declare them to the Boren Awards so that they can adjust your award amount.                                                                                                         

Thanks so much for clarifying. 

[itsthemecca]

I received a budget review email for the AFLI scholarship. I suspect I only received one because I am planning to extend my stay in Senegal for about a month after the AFLI program is over.