Boren 2013-2014

[IndyJones]

Fyi - just received an email asking if my dates for the fellowship were approximately correct. If not, changes due by the end of the week.

Email stated all fellowship applicants were being emailed the same dates question!?!?!?

[djevojka]

I got it too, wonder1005 -- given the wording and the fact there's no mention of budget, I don't think this means much ... However, the fact that we have till the end of the week to respond about program start dates says to me we shouldn't expect budget emails to go out before next week at the earliest.

[IndyJones]

Thought I was posting quick. Funny I was the third one. We're on it!

[nm2233]

I just received the same email.

I would think that "all applicants" would only mean those who are still in contention. At this stage in the game, that can't still be the general applicant pool, right?

Regardless, I'll take any sign of movement! 

[JustChill]

Yep, I got it too, and had the same thought as djevojka. 

[desmonster1018]

I got the email as well. I agree with nm2233 - I can't imagine writing specific names/dates to the general applicant pool (that would be ridiculously cumbersome for staff), so I think this might be a step in the right direction! Fingers still crossed for all of us! 

[cm125]

Well, maybe there is a delay as they send them out. But I haven't received an email.

So perhaps this is a cut-off email... 

Edited April 2, 2013 by cm125

[Lauren2013]

I recieved the email as well. I'm not sure what it is supposed to mean, but I am glad to hear something! It does seem strange that they would send something to all applicants this late in the game, but maybe they are just being thorough!

[cm125]

So, does Boren promptly send out rejections to the people that they did not send a request to? Or do they wait until May/June when they send out acceptances and alternates?

 

Also, would it really kill these awards to be upfront? These coy ways of rejecting and accepting people are getting old.

[djevojka]

cm125, it's my understanding that official notifications - rejections and awardees alike - go out together in early May. That said, I wouldn't read too much into this latest email. Given that they include our actual proposed dates, they require human input so they very likely could go in waves. Unlike the budget email, we have zero precedent to go on. Besides, why would the staff double the work for themselves by sending date and budget emails separately if the recipients were the same?!

[desmonster1018]

Do we know for sure if the selection committee met last week, as was stated earlier in the forum? This might add some insight... 

[qaiswalayla]

I did not receive the budget email, but I received this email:

 

Dear Ms.Smith,

We are emailing all applicants to make sure the dates you submitted are approximately correct. If they are, no need to reply to this email. If they are not accurate please send me your updated dates (see below) by the end of this week.

 

Boren Program Start Date: 9/1/2013

Boren Program End Date: 6/23/2014

Overseas Boren Start Date: 9/1/2013

Overseas Boren End Date: 6/23/2014

 

 

Can anyone tell me if this email has any significance? Would really appreciate if anyone knows.

 

Thanks!

[nosleeptildoctorate]

Hi all,

 

Just chiming in.  I received the same email today as the other fellowship applicants:

 

"We are emailing all applicants to make sure the dates you submitted are approximately correct. If they are, no need to reply to this email. If they are not accurate please send me your updated dates (see below) by the end of this week."

 

Your guess is as good as mine if this is as positive a sign as the famous budget emails or if it's meaningless.  

 

Fingers crossed for everyone!

[aquam]

I also received the email asking about dates..

[MissRachel]

I didn't get a budget e-mail, but did receive the dates e-mail.  Fingers crossed!  When do they let finalists know?

[cm125]

Based on the evasive and brusque response I got from Boren, it seems clear that this was a cut-off: everyone will be contacted in May, all applications still being considered, if you didn't receive an email it's because we don't have any questions for you.

 

Still don't understand the reason for deceptive language, as if using the phrase "all applicants" would fool you guys that this wasn't some cut-off. At least SSRC is forthright and informs people that they didn't make it past the first round, instead of stringing them along for another two months.

Edited April 3, 2013 by cm125

[alexpen]

I also did not receive an e-mail asking about date verification. Damn my academic advisors for telling me there was no way that I wouldn't get it. Well, now I know.

[cm125]

Djevojka, thanks for your thoughts. I suppose the fact that they didn't combine them into one email is odd. I was just assuming that the software they used had an automated feature to send emails inquiring about dates.

 

The only possible thing I can imagine is that they were contacting people with closer departure dates. Above, Qaiswalayla says she is leaving Sept. 1st. My departure date is 4 months later. For those who got the email, is your departure date closer, say in the June-September range?

[shakazulu]

my start date is in late august and i got a date confirmation email

[nm2233]

I received a date confirmation email, and my start date is in late August, as well. 

Any possibility that their review process changed slightly this year and that somehow this date inquiry email replaces/serves the same function as the budget email did last year? 

Honestly, it's anybody's guess! 
 

Edited April 3, 2013 by nm2233

[wonder1005]

I recvd a date confirmation and my domestic portion is set for 08/01 and my intl portion 09/01. I was also wondering if this is to replace the budget emails.

[portraitartist]

I also got the e-mail and my departure date is June 1. Anyone with a later departure date get the e-mail?

[mcelone]

Hey Guys,

 

Sorry I am late to the discussion; I just discovered this website. So I received an email several weeks ago from the Boren staff and I was wondering if it is the budget email that everyone is talking about.  This is what it said:

 

 

Hello from the Boren Awards.

 

We need to see a budget breakdown for your non-AFLI related expenses. We don’t need the AFLI program costs itself, just your home institution fees (What you might be paying your U.S. university) and any spring program expenses you might have (Assuming you have an extra spring or summer semester outside of AFLI).  

 

Please attach a spreadsheet to this email and send it back to me by Friday. Please use the same format you used in the application when you make your budget. If you need a copy of your budget please let me know.

 

Regards

 

I am applying for a fellowship to Tanzania btw.  Any thoughts?

[nm2233]

Mcelone, 

 

Welcome to the group obsession...probably better that it took you a little while to find this! 

 

The general consensus, I think, is that the emails like the one you received - clarifying application details/mistakes/budget items - a few weeks ago were not "the" budget emails that seem to carry so much weight. Though, it would suggest that, as of that point, you were still in the running, so probably a good sign? 

 

Hope that helps! Now you're up to speed and as in the dark as the rest of us... : ) 

[djevojka]

I recvd a date confirmation and my domestic portion is set for 08/01 and my intl portion 09/01. I was also wondering if this is to replace the budget emails.

 

But the scholarship applicants received the budget emails (honestly guys, I think we all envy you at this point!). And it would make total sense that they want to have the latest #s before allocating money -- dates don't seem to offer the same info.

 

I also have a departure date in Sept and got the dates email. I may be in the minority on this one, but I genuinely think there's nothing more to these latest dates emails. The ratio of those who received them to those who did should be indication enough -- I would expect the budget emails to pare the numbers down by half or so and that does not seem to have happened here. Of course, we're all just speculating but I think we all still have reason to keep our fingers crossed

 

Upside: only 1 month till May!