Rangel & Pickering Fellowship

[mrs12]

@awayfromhere, congratulations!!!! Yay! I think I remember that you've applied before, haven't you? Good luck on your interview, we are rooting for you.

[awayfromhere]

Just now, mrs12 said:

@awayfromhere, congratulations!!!! Yay! I think I remember that you've applied before, haven't you? Good luck on your interview, we are rooting for you.

Yes you're right, I applied last year for their undergraduate program and didn't get it. Thank you!!! 

[kbui]

I haven't received anything yet? But I'll keep you posted.

[ZebraFinch]

Just now, awayfromhere said:

Yes you're right, I applied last year for their undergraduate program and didn't get it. Thank you!!! 

They have an undergrad program? Is it like the Pickering undergrad program?

[ZebraFinch]

1 minute ago, kbui said:

I haven't received anything yet? But I'll keep you posted.

No news is good news.

[kbui]

Just now, ZebraFinch said:

No news is good news.

I have to stop thinking about it. Lol. This increased heart rate makes me want to go work out!

[ZebraFinch]

Just now, kbui said:

I have to stop thinking about it. Lol. This increased heart rate makes me want to go work out!

I think if you'd been rejected, you'd already would've gotten an email.

[awayfromhere]

4 minutes ago, ZebraFinch said:

They have an undergrad program? Is it like the Pickering undergrad program?

Oh no it's not like the Pickering one at all. It's just a summer prep type program. 

[kbui]

Just now, ZebraFinch said:

I think if you'd been rejected, you'd already would've gotten an email.

I truly hope that this is the case. Thank you for your optimism Zebra! I love theGradCafe and meeting people who are so supportive like you and mrs12.

[ZebraFinch]

Always

[kbui]

Sadly it's a no-go for me. :/

[kbui]

This really eroded my confidence for the Payne and Pickering fellowships, along with my graduate school applications. I used very similar narratives in all of them.

I'm really disappointed with myself at the moment. I'm just thinking about what I might've done wrong. And I remember in the webinar Patricia said we "shouldn't write a sob story" for the financial part at the end of the application, but that's what I should've done. I wrote a numbers based paragraph, but it didn't pull any heart strings.

I guess @ZebraFinch and I are in the same boat at the moment.

I trust in God and God's plan for me, so I'm just happy that I am alive, healthy, I have a job, I have great friends, and I have a home to sleep in.

Edited February 19, 2016 by kbui

[awayfromhere]

1 hour ago, kbui said:

This really eroded my confidence for the Payne and Pickering fellowships, along with my graduate school applications. I used very similar narratives in all of them.

I'm really disappointed with myself at the moment. I'm just thinking about what I might've done wrong. And I remember in the webinar Patricia said we "shouldn't write a sob story" for the financial part at the end of the application, but that's what I should've done. I wrote a numbers based paragraph, but it didn't pull any heart strings.

I guess @ZebraFinch and I are in the same boat at the moment.

I trust in God and God's plan for me, so I'm just happy that I am alive, healthy, I have a job, I have great friends, and I have a home to sleep in.

I'm really sorry to hear that @kbui I wouldn't give up on Payne and Pickering, though! They may all be similar programs, but they have different reviewers who are each looking for different things. Keep your faith! I wish you all the best. 

[mrs12]

@kbui I'm so sorry to hear that! Take time to be upset about it, if you can. You put a lot of heart and time into applying, sometimes you need to grieve when things don't go the way you want them to go. It's a huge hit, so don't let yourself feel guilty about being upset or losing your confidence. Any of us would! I know I certainly would! 

But you never know what will happen. And it truly looks like the Pickering essay considers totally different things than the Rangel, so I really don't believe you're out if you miss one. Keep your heart in place, we can only hope for the best and work to improve ourselves in the meantime. You're already doing the FS written test. I always tell myself that this is my dream, but that it's a really difficult one to achieve. We never know how life will go, but if you really want this I can't help but think that something along the way will work out for you. If only because of all the work and effort you are putting into reaching your dreams. 

[kbui]

@mrs12 I greatly appreciate your kind words. It's still a bit shocking to me that I couldn't get into the finalists' stage. I worked so many months researching, writing, and editing it with previous fellows.

You're absolutely correct in that we can only improve ourselves in the meantime. I am still going to read on foreign affairs and prepare for a prospective interview with Payne or Pickering. Payne is supposed to notify us by the end of the month for an interview in late March. However, they re interviewing for only 5 spots. I would be incredibly lucky and blessed to get an interview, but it's definitely tougher competition.

[jrdnmadrid]

Alas, it was not to be, I too was rejected from Rangel:) 

@awayfromhere Congratulations! Do you have a LinkedIn? I want to subconsciously compare myself against you. Just kidding:) I am really happy you got the Rangel finalist email with such tough competition! Best of luck, you now have a 50% chance of making it, those are pretty damn good odds. 

@kbui Everyone's right, you are competing against some fantastically amazing people. Also, both evaluation committees are different so you still have a chance.  The other issue is, we don't know how we rank and will never find out. So both you and I could have been #41 and #42 on the Rangel list, right at the cusp, and we wouldn't have known it:) I kind of wish they gave us a percentile range, like "you made it to the top 10% of people, so try again next year!" I could see how that could be bad though;)

Additionally, unless you are aiming for the tippy top, graduate school is easier to get in than getting Pickering/Rangel. Even Harvard, one of the most sought after colleges, has a higher acceptance rate than Pickering (This year Pickering is 4.5% vs. Harvard's 5.9% for undergrad respectively). I think you'll be fine for graduate school. 

If I don't get the Pickering/Payne this year, which is highly likely given the odds, I'll probably defer grad school and you'll see me on this thread next year! In the mean time, going to see about getting a job working at Disney....

Now, the waiting begins...

[ZebraFinch]

Please don't feel defeated by not getting the Rangel. I too used virtually the same narrative for both awards, and made finalist for Pickering. Getting rejected for one doesn't mean an automatic rejection from the other. And if not, we can always re-apply.

[kbui]

I've just emailed Payne to ask if they had a date set for notifying applicants. It would be great to know the exact date so that we don't have to be so nervous checking our emails all the time.

[awayfromhere]

18 hours ago, jrdnmadrid said:

Alas, it was not to be, I too was rejected from Rangel:) 

@awayfromhere Congratulations! Do you have a LinkedIn? I want to subconsciously compare myself against you. Just kidding:) I am really happy you got the Rangel finalist email with such tough competition! Best of luck, you now have a 50% chance of making it, those are pretty damn good odds. 

@kbui Everyone's right, you are competing against some fantastically amazing people. Also, both evaluation committees are different so you still have a chance.  The other issue is, we don't know how we rank and will never find out. So both you and I could have been #41 and #42 on the Rangel list, right at the cusp, and we wouldn't have known it:) I kind of wish they gave us a percentile range, like "you made it to the top 10% of people, so try again next year!" I could see how that could be bad though;)

Additionally, unless you are aiming for the tippy top, graduate school is easier to get in than getting Pickering/Rangel. Even Harvard, one of the most sought after colleges, has a higher acceptance rate than Pickering (This year Pickering is 4.5% vs. Harvard's 5.9% for undergrad respectively). I think you'll be fine for graduate school. 

If I don't get the Pickering/Payne this year, which is highly likely given the odds, I'll probably defer grad school and you'll see me on this thread next year! In the mean time, going to see about getting a job working at Disney....

Now, the waiting begins...

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the Rangel. At least the Rangel Fellows will be removed from the Pickering pool which I'm sure improves odds some!  Haha, I totally understand about wanting to compare (it's only human). I don't have a LinkedIn but you can message me any questions you have! 

Do you happen to know if Payne has an exact date, or is it just sometime at the end of February?

Good luck!

[manutdftw]

Congrats to those who got in! I'm still waiting as I haven't received any emails from Rangel yet. I did receive an email confirming the submission of my application way back in February but nothing so far which I'm finding a little bizarre. Fingers-crossed!

[jrdnmadrid]

1 hour ago, awayfromhere said:

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the Rangel. At least the Rangel Fellows will be removed from the Pickering pool which I'm sure improves odds some!  Haha, I totally understand about wanting to compare (it's only human). I don't have a LinkedIn but you can message me any questions you have! 

Do you happen to know if Payne has an exact date, or is it just sometime at the end of February?

Good luck!

I think @kbui is checking on that, I don't believe they had a concrete date set. 

 

[kbui]

So did we all apply for Payne, Rangel, and Pickering? I still have hope that if this is the case, that we can take out ~30-60 of the applicants to Payne and Pickering, so that our odds are slightly better at getting an interview.

[jrdnmadrid]

@kbui I know I did:) Might as well, right? Good luck!

[kbui]

Hey @jrdnmadrid, could you tell us more about your background? What did you study in school, what schools are you applying to, why do you want to become an FSO, what languages do you know and at which levels, and what are your plans if things don't work out this year with the RPP fellowships.

[kbui]

The night before I received the Rangel rejection, I was emailing my Diplomat in Residence in Chicago and asked him about meeting up for an informational interview and he was so incredibly helpful. He was telling me about opportunities that might open up because of my proficiency in Mandarin, but I'm not sure how competitive I would be. He told me that he's willing to talk to me more about the Foreign Service (either I can drive to Chicago or we can do it over the phone).

I'm keeping as positive as I can for the moment, so I'm trying to think of opportunities I can take this year that will make my application more competitive if I have to apply again next year.