Critical Language Scholarship 2015

[Maghreb]

Congrats, Savannah! I'm still crossing my fingers for Arabic this summer. Have any Arabic alternates been promoted yet? 

[FeelTheBern]

Thanks Maghreb! I am crossing my fingers for you! I have been checking this page and the CLS Facebook page quite frequently and I haven't seen any other alternates say that they have been promoted, so I am not sure. The Study Abroad Advisor at my university told me that she spoke to some people from CLS at a conference this past week, and they said that first round promotions for people on the waitlist were to be notified the week of March 23, or very soon thereafter. I hope you make it off the waitlist, best of luck!!

[jetting]

Hi, sorry, I'm a little late. Is anyone else going to Japan this summer?

[FeelTheBern]

As the summer gets closer I'm wondering if any past participant can give me an idea of how much I can expect to get from the stipend. Also is it a single payment before the program or multiple payments during the program? Thanks!

[laowhy]

I think I received a single payment check of ~$1350 before the program began. It came directly to my home as a federal check.

[DTY]

I just got an email today about confirming the address for the stipend payment.

[FeelTheBern]

Received my flight itinerary yesterday!! I can't believe there are only a few weeks until I leave for Bangladesh!

 

This is my first time studying abroad, so I am a little nervous about the logistics of how much cash I should bring, how much I should exchange, etc. I know that there are plenty of people on this thread with study abroad experience so I was hoping one or two of you could give me some much needed advice. Ideally, I would like to bring all of the cash I will need for the trip with me, and exchange it as often as I need to, however, I know that many people advise against this since cash can get lost or stolen and will never be returned.

 

What would you recommend? Just pulling money from an ATM as needed or exchanging currency in person once I arrive in country? I really would rather not be charged fees for using my Bank of America card abroad as I have heard that the fees can accumulate if you are withdrawing money often, which is why cash just seems a whole lot easier. Any advice is welcome!!