Boren 2011-2012

[elementwil]

Email sent!

Just wanted to repost the link to the spreadsheet for all our information:

https://spreadsheets...=CPu-4N4N#gid=0

So, if you want information added to the spreadsheet, please email boren2011.2012@gmail.com.

I would give everyone editing privileges, but random people come along and delete everything, so it is best to only have a few people with editing privileges.

[riverguide]

I applied and spoke to Middlebury this afternoon and I am wait listed for the Jordan program. Because I'm a Middlebury vet I didn't have to obtain the LORs or write the essays. They waitlisted me immediately and said that they are way overbooked. They have still not made a decision about Egypt in the fall so that may be something those going to Egypt may want to consider.

I urge all of you who may be going to a country undergoing political turmoil at the moment to develop a back up plan -and quickly.

I really appreciated the insight posted by elementwil about the national nominating tier. It means that we've all passed the screenings that are based on merit and we are now left to the winds of demographics, diversity and destination. I hope we all make it. Everyone on this board is obviously bright, hardworking, committed and tenacious and I am proud to be among you. Good luck to all. I hope we get a chance to meet in DC on the 19th.

Edited April 18, 2011 by riverguide

[Runner]

Great idea. Thanks everyone for sharing this information.

Feel free to add this to the spreadsheet:

Name: Runner, Country: Kazakhstan, Type: Fellowship, Language: Kazakh, Research Area: Law

Anyone have additional information on the process after the regional selection process?

Good Luck to all!

[StephanieM]

Hello everyone! I applied for a Boren Scholarship. I'm very nervous as the school I come from isn't a "big name" school and there was a massive strike that delayed everything at my uni so I sent unofficial transcripts (although I emailed them and they said it was okay). I've only received one email from them, the one to update budget and financial aid info.

So, here goes:

Name: Stephanie M. Country: Russia. Type: Scholarship. Language: Russian, Major/area of study while abroad: Russian, Russian economics, Russian politics.

[jkohls83]

Thank you for setting this up. I am a undergraduate in Chicago and I applied to go abroad to Durban, South Africa, studying development in sub-Saharan Africa and south African culture.

on a side note, does anyone know if there is validity to the previous comment that stated an email was sent out in March about updating info and if you got that it meant you had proceeded to national reviews? i did not receive that email and am trying to figure out if i will be going to south Africa since this scholarship is my last hope for funding. There was a posting on the FB page of Boren that said they just send that out in some cases.

Does anyone know about this?

Thanks!

Justin

[StephanieM]

Does anyone know if not having an on campus Boren representative affect your chances?

[Runner]

If we think the emails we get from Boren are relevant to the selection process, I suggest we include them on the spreadsheet. We could have one column for the general budget update email and one for additional contacts/emails. Just to clarify, I am not saying they are relevant, however having that information on the spreadsheet would at least help future applicant pools to deduce their value from our results.

Again, best of luck to all!

[riverguide]

Thanks for setting up the spreadsheet. Please post my stats and thanks in advance:

Riverguide, Country: Syria, Type: Scholarship, Email update request: yes, Languages; MSA Arabic, Levantine Arabic, Major: International Relations/French, Arabic L&L, Islamic Studies,

Might I suggest another category for the spread sheet? "Years studying the language?" If so, mine would be: 3 1/2 Arabic. Another suggestion: Prior study abroad in same language? Mine would be: yes

Just a thought for future applicants.

Edited April 19, 2011 by riverguide

[elementwil]

To be straight forward, it MOST LIKELY means your application did not make it through regionals (unfortunately). The Boren response on FB validates the claim - and they say "sometimes" to not offend anyone/dash anyone's hopes. National scholarship competitions are generally pretty secretive in their selection process, so they keep things vague and will never tell you you're not in the running until you receive a rejection letter. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but it would not make sense to NOT ask for additional financial information from a finalist.

Thank you for setting this up. I am a undergraduate in Chicago and I applied to go abroad to Durban, South Africa, studying development in sub-Saharan Africa and south African culture.

on a side note, does anyone know if there is validity to the previous comment that stated an email was sent out in March about updating info and if you got that it meant you had proceeded to national reviews? i did not receive that email and am trying to figure out if i will be going to south Africa since this scholarship is my last hope for funding. There was a posting on the FB page of Boren that said they just send that out in some cases.

Does anyone know about this?

Thanks!

Justin

[elementwil]

Not having a Boren representative in itself is not a detriment - you just don't get the value of having someone to edit your essays to the liking of the IIE. I'm not sure if you had interviews, but that means your application would not have character/maturity judgement that they can use for evaluation, so hopefully you discussed it/provided examples in your essays.

The bright side is that since you don't have a Boren rep you probably come from a smaller school - and Boren likes diversity in their awards, so they may be more apt to award you one.

Does anyone know if not having an on campus Boren representative affect your chances?

[riverguide]

Justin:

I assume you are a fellowship applicant.

Nothing's certain until the fat lady (or fat man) sings. Elementwil is correct about the anecdotal stories of emails indicating that you've passed the regionals but your application may have been more comprehensive than others and it may not have been necessary; although, some fellowship applicants received multiple emails and as I understand it some did not. The scholarship applicants only received one email in late March.So keep your fingers crossed. You're obviously a player or you wouldn't be on here.

It sounds like you have a great proposal so I hope you get it! We have to have thick skins in the application process because everyone on here is bright, competitive, and hardworking. I feel lucky and honored to be among you.

Josh

[StephanieM]

I had my essays revised by my Honors Program director and from the director of my department (who I've done extensive research with), and they made sure I discussed how I learned the language (entirely self taught and am near fluency) and provided other examples to prove that I'm "mature" and driven enough to make great use of my time abroad for my grad school/career goals.... so if that's the only issue I think I'm okay (or, I hope I'm okay, I really, really need this award for my grad school prospects). Thanks for answering, very helpful :-)

[elementwil]

Then it sounds like you're good to go Steph! Best of luck.

I had my essays revised by my Honors Program director and from the director of my department (who I've done extensive research with), and they made sure I discussed how I learned the language (entirely self taught and am near fluency) and provided other examples to prove that I'm "mature" and driven enough to make great use of my time abroad for my grad school/career goals.... so if that's the only issue I think I'm okay (or, I hope I'm okay, I really, really need this award for my grad school prospects). Thanks for answering, very helpful :-)

[riverguide]

I concur with ELEMENTWIL, Steph.

If you'll review the stats from last year it appears that your school and location has not been represented before and you've obviously gone above and beyond without the benefit of an advisor so I agree that you're looking good!

[mariojuarez]

I have to agree with elementwil, which sucks because I haven't received any emails. But the vague response on facebook seems to indicate that the emails are important. If the emails didn't matter they would explicitly state that it wasn't an indicator. Oh well, I hope in the rejection letter they provide feedback on why my proposal wasn't funded, but I doubt it.

To be straight forward, it MOST LIKELY means your application did not make it through regionals (unfortunately). The Boren response on FB validates the claim - and they say "sometimes" to not offend anyone/dash anyone's hopes. National scholarship competitions are generally pretty secretive in their selection process, so they keep things vague and will never tell you you're not in the running until you receive a rejection letter. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but it would not make sense to NOT ask for additional financial information from a finalist.

[jg33]

If we think the emails we get from Boren are relevant to the selection process, I suggest we include them on the spreadsheet. We could have one column for the general budget update email and one for additional contacts/emails. Just to clarify, I am not saying they are relevant, however having that information on the spreadsheet would at least help future applicant pools to deduce their value from our results.

Again, best of luck to all!

Good idea. I'm adding this now.

Everyone, please let me know the relevant information if you are on the spreadsheet.

[jg33]

To be straight forward, it MOST LIKELY means your application did not make it through regionals (unfortunately). The Boren response on FB validates the claim - and they say "sometimes" to not offend anyone/dash anyone's hopes. National scholarship competitions are generally pretty secretive in their selection process, so they keep things vague and will never tell you you're not in the running until you receive a rejection letter. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but it would not make sense to NOT ask for additional financial information from a finalist.

Personally, I don't think this is the case. I also applied for Fulbright, and am currently in the finalist round for one of the most competitive countries (around 5% of the applicants make it to the final round). Fulbright never asked us to provide updated information. With that said, I think there are probably three ways to look at this follow-up email.

1) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you seemed like a great candidate, hence the need for updated information

2) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you didn't seem like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

2) Enough details were originally provided and you seemed like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

Again, I'm not an authority on this issue, this is just my viewpoint.

[jg33]

Personally, I don't think this is the case. I also applied for Fulbright, and am currently in the finalist round for one of the most competitive countries (around 5% of the applicants make it to the final round). Fulbright never asked us to provide updated information. With that said, I think there are probably three ways to look at this follow-up email.

1) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you seemed like a great candidate, hence the need for updated information

2) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you didn't seem like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

2) Enough details were originally provided and you seemed like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

Again, I'm not an authority on this issue, this is just my viewpoint.

Also, it seems like it would not be in the best interest of the committee (with the number of applications there are) to notify each and every applicant that was forwarded on to the final round for additional information. Doing so amounts to having to do a lot of extra work. Either way, good luck to all!

[erica11]

What is this facebook page everyone keeps referencing? I haven't been able to find it.

[Runner]

https://www.facebook.../#!/BorenAwards

What is this facebook page everyone keeps referencing? I haven't been able to find it.

Also, jg33 thanks for your work with spreadsheet. It looks great. With regards to my information - I received the March 18 general budget update email and one subsequent inquiry specific to my budget.

[Rebekah]

Thanks for your work jg33! As an update to the spreadsheet, I also received the budget inquiry email in March and one follow-up email.

[mariojuarez]

To elementwil,

Are you saying that your advisor served on the selection comittee? Where is all this knowledge of the selection process coming from? I've emailed boren and they don't give much information beyond when the estimated award notifications will be sent. Could you please expand?

From what I understand, the regional selection process determines which applications are meritorious based on the essays/proposed programs, and the national nominating committees select recipients that reflect maximum diversity (ethnicities, programs, countries, universities, etc.). This is mostly speculation, but the language shifts from my advisor when I asked her about the difference (who has served on both) indicate something of the sort.

[elementwil]

Once again, I'd like to reiterate to everyone that these are merely my thoughts - they are far from facts. Although I do agree that there are different angles to the follow-up email, they may not be applicable. The email (at least for Scholarship apps) simply asks for changes to your budget. Sure, it could possible that they were sent to only applicants in a certain region, but it doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't they ask everyone if there are changes? Compiled with that "common sense" and through talks with my advisor, it is my understanding that only applicants who make it to the national nominating committee get the email. I did some research into it and found this from the University of Illinois website:

"The Institute of International Education processes your application and distributes it to regional screening panels for review. The geographic area panels will be evaluating applications and recommending candidates to be reviewed by the national nominating panel. If your application is forwarded to the national committee, you will be contacted by IIE in late March/early April and asked to provide updated financial information for the final, national review panel. Please let us know if you are contacted--this is good news! Last year, our finalists were contacted on March 23. If you are selected to be forwarded to the national panel, from there you may be designated an award winner or an alternate, or you may not receive an award. All students will be notified of their status in late April or early May."

Take it for what you will, but I'd say it's a reasonable conclusion.

Personally, I don't think this is the case. I also applied for Fulbright, and am currently in the finalist round for one of the most competitive countries (around 5% of the applicants make it to the final round). Fulbright never asked us to provide updated information. With that said, I think there are probably three ways to look at this follow-up email.

1) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you seemed like a great candidate, hence the need for updated information

2) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you didn't seem like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

2) Enough details were originally provided and you seemed like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

Again, I'm not an authority on this issue, this is just my viewpoint.

[elementwil]

Yes, my advisor has served on both committees. My school has also placed top 3 in amount of Boren Awards for like the past 5 years, so she definitely knows something about the process. Her, like IIE, never gives a real straight-forward answer - but I did pick up on numerous language shifts regarding the difference between the two. I'm sure not ALL of the regionals is about your program essays and not ALL of the national level is about diversity, but I did pick those up as being the main focus of each.

Hell, for all I know our pictures could be on a wall and they're throwing darts.

To elementwil,

Are you saying that your advisor served on the selection comittee? Where is all this knowledge of the selection process coming from? I've emailed boren and they don't give much information beyond when the estimated award notifications will be sent. Could you please expand?

[StephanieM]

Personally, I don't think this is the case. I also applied for Fulbright, and am currently in the finalist round for one of the most competitive countries (around 5% of the applicants make it to the final round). Fulbright never asked us to provide updated information. With that said, I think there are probably three ways to look at this follow-up email.

1) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you seemed like a great candidate, hence the need for updated information

2) Not enough details were originally provided in your budget and/or timeline and you didn't seem like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

2) Enough details were originally provided and you seemed like a great candidate, so no need for updated information

Again, I'm not an authority on this issue, this is just my viewpoint.

I mostly agree with you, but you're in a field that less people study (at least from what I know of it), so in general you're a more competitive candidate, so maybe that's why they didn't contact you. And congrats on being a finalist for Fulbright, hope you win it it!

Elementwil, that info you found on the University of Illinois' website I think is very telling.

Either way I hope we all get it :-)