Boren 2013-2014

[djevojka]

Hi folks,

 

Forgive me if this thread has already been started -- I couldn't find anything for current Boren applicants.

 

Given that we should expect those fabled budget emails to come out this week or next (based on past years), I figured it would be worth sharing information as to when they come out. If you receive one, please let us know! (as well as whether you applied for a fellowship of scholarship)

[steppeandsky]

Hi --

 

Thanks for starting this thread!

 

Some news: I did receive an email from Boren last week, though it wasn't related to the budget. They simply asked me to update a few personal items that I had overlooked on the application. 

 

It's mere speculation but it may mean that the regional reviews are over? Or just beginning? It's all a mystery to me...

 

Has anyone contacted Boren or their campus liaison regarding the budget emails? Shall we be expecting to hear from them? 

 

Good luck to all! 

 

Boren Fellowship applicant 2013-2014 

Edited March 19, 2013 by steppeandsky

[djevojka]

Thanks for the update steppeandsky! From what I've read on last year's forum (), a number of applicants received emails in mid-late March asking whether there were any changes to their budget. There appears to be a near perfect correlation that those who receive said email are later named awardees or alternates (and those who did not receive the email are declined). A few Boren alums I've spoken with have given me the same message.

 

I haven't called Boren but last year the emails evidently went out March 21 and 23 (I forget which day was for fellowships and which was for scholarships) So, I imagine it should be soon!

[bejis]

steppeandsky, I received an email last week as well. I had some incorrect info on my application. Here's to receiving a budget email soon. Fingers crossed!

[steppeandsky]

Hey bejis,

 

Despite the small gaffe on my application I think it was a good sign to hear from them. I don't know if they would go through the effort of contacting us if they weren't interested, right?

 

Nevertheless, a nice budget email will settle my nerves

Edited March 19, 2013 by steppeandsky

[cm125]

Had no idea about the budget email kiss of death, so thanks for posting this. Just curious, what type of info did they request you correct and how did they know it was incorrect?

[postidentity]

I applied for the Boren Fellowship, and received an email asking for further information about the domestic portion of my proposal. Not really sure what that means.

[paperhead]

I applied for a Boren Fellowhship as well and similarly got an email a few days ago asking for a further details on my budget proposal.

[bejis]

Ah well, that could put an end to my run. When exactly did you receive the emails? Last week? 

 

Edit- Actually, in looking at past years it seems there can be multiple emails. Did the emails ask for further clarification regarding your budget, or did it ask for confirmation that nothing has changed since you submitted your proposal?

Edited March 20, 2013 by bejis

[djevojka]

Hmm, it's all a bit mysterious. Pulling from last year's thread, this was the text of last year's email (for the scholarship but I would imagine the two are similiar) Paperhead and Postidentity, is that what you received? If so, sounds like good news -  congrats!

 

---

 

Thank you for submitting your National Security Education Program David L. Boren Scholarship application. Currently, your application is being considered, and final award decisions will be announced in early May, 2012. If your study abroad program has an earlier deposit deadline, you may want to let them know that you are awaiting a decision from the Boren Scholarship.

If you are awarded a Boren Scholarship, you will be required to attend the Orientation and Convocation Ceremony in Washington, DC on June 6^th and 7^th. We would also like you to be aware that, if you are awarded, certain materials will need to be submitted before your first award disbursement would be issued. Should you win the award, you would need to purchase your roundtrip airline tickets before receiving your first disbursement. Please plan accordingly.
For study of French or Spanish, awards will be contingent upon testing at the appropriate language level. If you are an applicant for one of these languages and are conditionally offered the award, you will need to take a test through a service called LTI as early as possible after receiving the award packet. The level at which you test on the LTI exam will determine whether or not you remain eligible for the Boren Scholarships. 

As your application is being considered, we request that you provide IIE with additional information about your study abroad program costs and financial aid status. The Boren Scholarship online system (https://nsep.iieweb....p/nseplogin.asp) allows you to submit the requested information electronically. Applicants should use their original user name and password to log onto the system. Please be sure to hit the “UPDATE” button in order to save the requested information online.

** PLEASE PROVIDE IIE WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION USING THE ONLINE SYSTEM BY MONDAY, APRIL 2^ND! **
A. Cost of attendance at home institution – Please state your total cost to attend your current U.S. institution for one academic year. Include tuition, room and board, books, etc. as appropriate. Do not subtract financial aid or scholarships/grants.

B. Updated Financial Aid Information – If you receive financial aid, identify the total amount of financial aid that you receive for an academic year. Include scholarships, grants, AND loans.

C. Study Abroad Dates and Cost –The table lists your study abroad dates and costs as stated in your application. You must contact your study abroad program to determine if anything has changed. If so, enter the new dates or amounts in the space provided. The program costs MUST be broken down into the following categories: 
· Cost of tuition and fees – if your home institution requires you to pay its tuition rather than the study abroad program costs, please include your home institution tuition costs in this field
· Cost of room and board – this is housing and food
· Cost of round-trip international airfare – please remember that you must travel on a U.S. Airline as far as possible
· Cost of books, insurance and local transportation
Please be as accurate as possible in estimating these costs, keeping in mind that Boren does not select recipients based on their budgets. If there is no change to the information listed, you will need to reenter the same dates/figures on the second column.

D. Study Abroad Financial Aid - If you receive financial aid, identify the amount of financial aid that can be applied to your proposed study abroad. Do not include loans.

Do not hesitate to call our office at 1-800-618-6737 or email boren@iie.org if you have any questions. We look forward to receiving your updated information by Monday, April 2^nd. 

Sincerely,
Susan Sharp
Assistant Director, Boren Scholarships and Fellowships
Institute of International Education
1400 K St., NW Suite 650
Washington, DC 20005

[djevojka]

This from the University of IL 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! 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. In recent years, letters were emailed and postmarked on April 30.

Edited March 20, 2013 by djevojka

[cm125]

So, initially it seemed like the emails were only for blanks or obvious errors in applications, but Paperhead and Postidentity's posts make it seem like they might have gotten the actual financial update form already. Can you guys elaborate? Thanks.

[paperhead]

Right, no official update email yet... My email was very specific and asked me if I could send them a break down of the cost of my overseas and domestic programs.

[Lauren2013]

Just to clarify again for those who have received emails, do you believe them to be the financial update email mentioned above? Just want to know if it's all been distributed, or if I should keep hoping!

[postidentity]

mine was NOT the big official letter -- just a quick email on Monday from Michael Saffle asking for a breakdown of the domestic portion of my budget. 

 

There is still hope for all!

[Taesan]

Hey everyone!

 

Thanks, Djevojka, for starting up this thread! I'm curious to find out whether or not I'll receive an email from Boren in the next few days... It would certainly make me a lot more relaxed. Anyways, for those of you interested, here are the links to the Boren spreadsheets from the past two years.

 

2011-2012: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkcX_P5cr8uIdDNxT3NhZ2RkUnBCZDQ4eS15Si1haUE&authkey=CPu-4N4N&hl=en&authkey=CPu-4N4N#gid=0

2012-2013: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Asi20Z5Kk3M8dDU0Y2R1Z191S2NKQ1JEV2kwQk5OS2c#gid=0

 

I'm also curious to know which country you guys are applying for and whether it is a scholarship or a fellowship. I'm applying for Seoul, South Korea, scholarship. 

 

Good luck to everyone!

[djevojka]

So the waiting game continues ...

 

Taesan, I applied for a fellowship to Bosnia Herzegovina 

[cm125]

Just got the Boren survey email. 

Fooled me, thought it was the budget update.

[steppeandsky]

Hi --

 

I just got a survey request -- any one else?

 

"Dear Applicant,

Now that you have submitted your application for a Boren Fellowship, we would appreciate your feedback about the application process. This survey, linked below, should take approximately 10 minutes to finish and the results will be used to improve the Boren Fellowship application process in the future.  We appreciate your time and effort."

 

edit: Last year these survey requests went out on March 16th, 5 days before March 21st -- when the budget update requests were sent. 

 

A sign of things to come, I hope...

Edited March 21, 2013 by steppeandsky

[mmm13042]

This is what the budget update email should look like for Boren Fellowships:

 

"Thank you for applying for the Boren Fellowship.

At this time we want to make sure that you don’t have any small changes with your budget or timeline. We want to make sure the we have a clear idea the exact costs of your program (as near as you can tell at this point) and the exact dates. If you have large changes – i.e. you want to go overseas for 6 months, instead of 3, please do not send us those changes at this time.

If you have changes, please email them back to me by Wednesday, March 28^th. If you are changing your budget please use the same categories as you originally used, which can be found at - http://www.borenawar...hip/budget.html (you should then specifically look at the overseas and domestic guidelines).

If you have any questions please feel free to call or send us an email. 

Thank you."

Edited March 21, 2013 by mmm13042

[Ingenue]

Hi --

 

I just got a survey request -- any one else?

 

"Dear Applicant,

Now that you have submitted your application for a Boren Fellowship, we would appreciate your feedback about the application process. This survey, linked below, should take approximately 10 minutes to finish and the results will be used to improve the Boren Fellowship application process in the future.  We appreciate your time and effort."

 

edit: Last year these survey requests went out on March 16th, 5 days before March 21st -- when the budget update requests were sent. 

 

A sign of things to come, I hope...

 

Yes, I also received the same survey request just now. I also received an email last week asking me to correct something in my application. I am not sure if these are both signs of our applications being forwarded, but for the time being it is not a bad thing that we are being contacted.

 

FYI - I applied for a Boren fellowship

[wonder1005]

I received the survey request today at 3:40pm CST. I haven't received any other communication from NSEP besides an email that was sent in error telling me that my application was incomplete (I contacted them and they told me it was in error).

 

I hope to hear about my budget soon!

[Vampgirl]

I got the survey email today as well. I got nervous that this was the rejection email.  It makes me feel better that no one has heard anything yet. Anyone heard anything today?  Anyone know what day the Boren scholarship emails went out last year? 

 

Good luck everyone!

Edited March 21, 2013 by Vampgirl

[wonder1005]

The survey comes to all applicants. The budget update comes to finalists.

 

I know somone on the regional selection committee for the undergrad scholarships that is meeting to review essays tomorrow (March 22). That is apparently later than any previous year. While that is scholarship and not fellowship, I was assume that the undergrads being later this year means the grads might be too.

[IndyJones]

I also received the survey email at 4:40 pm EST.  Based on the past year's forums, was waiting/concerned about the "late March" budget email.  Apparently it's moving a little slower this time around.  Fine by me; breathing easier. 

 

Applied for fellowship to multiple Southeast Europe (Balkan) countries.