Critical Language Scholarship 2023 Applicants

[Definol]

Anyone planning on applying this cycle? Apparently the letter of recommendation requirement is entirely removed this time around.

[SpearmintFeldmore]

Yep! For Arabic. So excited I don't need to ask my poor, generous former prof for yet another rec haha

[Dramarama]

I recieved the scholarship in 2015, so I'm thinking of applying again this year.

[betamaz]

On 10/15/2022 at 1:02 PM, Dramarama said:

I recieved the scholarship in 2015, so I'm thinking of applying again this year.

I'm also a second-time applicant with a long gap in between, I did mine in 2018 and now I'm a graduate student thinking of applying again. Best of luck!

[Dramarama]

6 hours ago, betamaz said:

I'm also a second-time applicant with a long gap in between, I did mine in 2018 and now I'm a graduate student thinking of applying again. Best of luck!

Oh wow yes I'm a grad student as well. Did you ever apply for the refresh award? What language are you going for. I'm applying for  Chinese 

[betamaz]

14 hours ago, Dramarama said:

Oh wow yes I'm a grad student as well. Did you ever apply for the refresh award? What language are you going for. I'm applying for  Chinese 

I did Korean! I did apply for Refresh a few years ago but I wasn't selected. I taught English in Korea for a bit before starting grad school too. I feel like that might hurt my chances a bit though since ik they try to give preference to people with not as much previous study abroad experience.

[Dramarama]

On 10/21/2022 at 11:45 AM, betamaz said:

I did Korean! I did apply for Refresh a few years ago but I wasn't selected. I taught English in Korea for a bit before starting grad school too. I feel like that might hurt my chances a bit though since ik they try to give preference to people with not as much previous study abroad experience.

So I did get the refresh recently and wasn't sure if I was ineligible bc of it. But I will just apply and find out!

[shakuton]

I'm applying! I did CLS Bangla virtually during COVID, then did Refresh last year. I'm a graduate student now (vs. when I did CLS before I was an undergrad), but since I don't have access to South Asian studies courses, have never been to South Asia, nor did I actually get to do CLS in person, I'm hoping my chances are pretty solid this year. 

Found the application a lot easier now that they merged the two essays and cut the recommendation, to be honest. 

[SpearmintFeldmore]

Anyone else subtly freaking out that we may find out if we're semifinalists within 2 WEEKS?!

[Dreams]

Good luck to everyone who will move on to the next round.  There was a lot of demand this year, and it's exciting to see so many people looking to do the program. 

[sapphron]

hi! applicant for arabic here, super excited that we (hopefully PLEASE) are close to hearing about the results. i've done NSLI-Y before, but i know some of my peers who applied before and didn't get it. so- definitely somewhere between super excited for the chance, and super nervous that i don't make it. just pushing forward till we find out!

anyone else applying for arabic? anything in particular that you're looking forward to studying?

-s

[SpearmintFeldmore]

20 hours ago, sapphron said:

hi! applicant for arabic here, super excited that we (hopefully PLEASE) are close to hearing about the results. i've done NSLI-Y before, but i know some of my peers who applied before and didn't get it. so- definitely somewhere between super excited for the chance, and super nervous that i don't make it. just pushing forward till we find out!

anyone else applying for arabic? anything in particular that you're looking forward to studying?

-s

Hey there! I'm also applying for Arabic. It's my first time around, so I'm trying to manage my expectations!

I'm work with refugees, so I really hope to improve my listening/speaking skills. Since most of the Arabic-speaking refugees I work with come from Syria, I'd love the chance to study in Amman, but I would honestly be thrilled to accept any site placement!

[sapphron]

sick! I had a friend who did something similar to you, and she got placed in amman and loved it! best of luck to you

[SpearmintFeldmore]

12 minutes ago, sapphron said:

sick! I had a friend who did something similar to you, and she got placed in amman and loved it! best of luck to you

Oh boy, please don't get my hopes up like that haha!

Do you have a preferred site placement?

[sapphron]

yeah! i'd love to be placed in either of the morocco sites (meknes/tanja). I've been studying darija and focusing my personal research/extracurriculars on moroccan language and culture. fingers crossed for both of us

[SpearmintFeldmore]

Mumtaz! Bil tawfiq! I've spent a good amount of time in Morocco and absolutely loved it there (as I think most people who've visited do hahaha).

[languagelover]

What are the odds we get semifinalist results today? 

 

[SpearmintFeldmore]

21 hours ago, languagelover said:

What are the odds we get semifinalist results today? 

 

I don't think it's likely, since the CLS account posted this on Instagram:

 

[Definol]

Does anyone know where I could find the data on applicants from last year?

[socrytes]

Just got my email. Semifinalist for Persian!

[SpearmintFeldmore]

Welp, just got my rejection  I'm pretty crushed; I thought I had a really strong app.

BIG CONGRATS to those who made it through to the next round!

Edited January 24, 2023 by SpearmintFeldmore

[IndoScholar]

Made it as a semi-finalist for Indonesian!

Pleasantly surprised because my academic record is rather poor (3.2 GPA at the time of application from a middling public university) and I’ve already lived in Indonesia for a year studying the language with a scholarship from the Indonesian government, which I thought would be a pretty big negative. I think I wrote some really good essays about how I can use my previous experience to serve as a mentor and cultural guide for the rest of my prospective cohort since I’ve already lived there; guess my unique approach to the questions is what got me over the bar. Maybe Indonesian just isn’t nearly as competitive as most of the other programs? 
 

So what are the stats and odds now? What percentage of applicants make it through the first phase, and what percentile do we more or less have to be in to pass the second round?

Cheers!

Edited January 24, 2023 by IndoScholar

[socrytes]

@IndoScholar, what I have seen is that approximately 50% of semifinalists get selected as finalisits, with another 25% being selected as alternates. Usually at this stage, it is less about percentile (deciding better vs. worse candidates) and more about creating a diverse and strong cohort. Honestly, having gone through this waiting game each of  the past two years, I would try not to worry about it too much for the next 6 weeks or so. Getting to this stage means you have gone through the hardest filter. You and everyone else at this stage is qualified enough to be selected. Now it just comes down to flipping a coin haha

[betamaz]

I got the email today that I'm a semifinalist for Korean! I'm pretty relieved because I wasn't sure how it would shake out since it's been 5 years since I first did CLS ?. Good luck to everyone!

[sapphron]

Got my rejection today -- bummed about it, but all's there is to do is move on. Blessing in disguise, cause maybe I'll have more time for my personal research. Congrats to all moving forward!