Boren 2016-2017

[maybemuscat]

@johndoe1234 @aohl0628 Very exciting! Are your years starting in September?

[mikjy]

Anyone else just receive an email?

[maybemuscat]

@mikjy I didn't! What was it about?

[mikjy]

It said the program administration has decided not to fund certain programs due to security concerns and if I was chosen I would need an alternate.  They said they were still reviewing all applications.  A little upsetting since I just turned in the budget update email, but now if chosen would have no idea the budget of an alternate country.

[readysetgo]

@mikjy To which country did you apply?

 

[aohl0628]

@maybemuscat Yes I start mine in September! @mikjy sorry to hear about that, that is really unfortunate and hopefully you are able to find something else if you need too. That would be really frustrating because you don't want to base your entire study abroad experience on this scholarship when you may not even get it. Best of luck figuring everything out!

[johndoe1234]

@maybemuscatYes! My year starts in September as well! 

Do any of you know, or have heard of people going early if selected for the scholarship? If I were to receive it, I really would like to travel around a bit/have free time before I actually dive into the semester. My thought so far is: they're paying for the flight regardless, so what difference is a few weeks... but I feel like they have some sort of clause somewhere saying no

[MoroccanMadam]

Hi all!

I applied for a Boren Scholarship for the 2016-2017 year to study Arabic in Morocco. I'm from the middle of the U.S. in Nebraska and haven't studied Arabic before so this is a brand new thing for me. I also got everything everyone else has received as well (survey email, updated budget email). My advisor who helped me through my application process is a reader for the regional applications so he kind of knows a lot about what is going on. I know it seems like everyone got an email but he said they only send them to people who have made it to the application reading in DC. He could just be wrong, but that's coming from him!

 

I keep trying to forget about my application and just wait until April, but then I find myself searching these websites constantly.

I'm only a sophomore, so I didn't honestly expect to have enough experience to get the scholarship but I fear I've gotten my hopes up...

[maybemuscat]

@MoroccanMadam You've chosen an incredible country!! I've spent a combined 3.5 months there and would love to talk to you about it, especially if you end up getting the scholarship (or even if you don't)! If you do I would toooootally love to chat with you about dialect/where to go/etc., I have a huge passion for Morocco. Where are you planning on studying, I'm guessing Rabat? Marrakech? Wow, how exciting, I'm so jealous; I love Morocco!

Good to know that your advisor is on the inside! Could it be possible that the email only says that everyone got it? I wonder, it seems like we are 100/100% on budget emails on this forum, so I'm unsure. Either it's not true for this year or we have a really fantastic group of applicants!

And I know; I would say that I access the Google docs and this forum probably daily. I'm so antsy; I'm thinking about it every single day. I'm sure that you've got an amazing shot, especially with your advisor's help!

[maybemuscat]

@johndoe1234 I don't think there's such a clause? As long as you have the money/housing for it, I don't think they can really penalize you for scheduling a flight that way? I'm not sure, though it could be a thing where it wouldn't be good to use Boren funds to fund auxiliary travel?

[mikjy]

My original plan was to go to Tunisia.  It is frustrating that a majority of the Arab speaking world is unattainable due to security challenges. Having been to 8 different Arab countries I believe that they all provide something unique and benificial that can only be experienced from living and experiencing the culture and lifestyle in each country.

@johndoe1234My friend received the Boren and took a week off the go on a 'vacation' halfway around the world in the middle of his program, although I'm sure the rules always change.

Edited March 19, 2016 by mikjy

[johndoe1234]

I found some PDFs that Boren has posted and it gave me a better idea about some of the finer details of both the Scholarship and Fellowship. Here are the links! 

Boren Scholarship Handbook (2014): http://www.borenawards.org/document/download/current_year_scholarship_handbook_183.pdf

Boren Fellowship Handbook (2015): https://www.borenawards.org/document/download/current_year_fellowship_handbook_182.pdf

[aohl0628]

@MoroccanMadam Well for all of us here, I hope you are right about your adviser! I'm sure he could be wrong, but it would be really exciting if he's right and basically all of us here were selected for the final review to be either recipients or alternatives! Best of luck to you!

[MoroccanMadam]

@maybemuscat I'm going to Al Akhawayn University which is in Ifrane (close to Fes)! It's an English University, but like I said I'm going to really start my Arabic learning journey! I just attended my university's Study Abroad Orientation yesterday and I'm beginning to become more and more anxious (both nervous and excited)! I'm going to be in Morocco, regardless of the Boren. However, the Boren will allow me to study for the full year versus just for the semester if I was to go without it. I would love to talk to you, as someone who has been there previously!!!

[maybemuscat]

@MoroccanMadam Oh wonderful! I've visited Al Akhawayn and enjoyed being in Ifrane. I spent my immersion in Meknès, local to Fès (where I had some killer coucous djaj, I'll tell you where that [tiny!] restaurant is!) and immensely historic -- definitely off the map as far as tourists but it's a gem! I could definitely still wind my way through the souqs in Meknès to get to my school in my sleep, ahhhh I want to go back so badly! But yes, send me a message, I've trekked all over and would love to talk to you about it!

Days are counting down! We're roughly twenty days away from the "hear back" period, get excited! As part of our grade for my Arabic course, we have to lecture the class for one full course time during the semester -- I lectured yesterday on (WHAT ELSE) Oman and one of my classmates asked me, "You know so much about Oman, did you study there?" No, but HOPEFULLY!!  I'm taking it as a sign. I'm taking pretty much anything as a sign. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by maybemuscat

[triscuit]

Any fellowship applicants for Korea/Korean? 

[10Daphne]

I was a Boren Scholar and HIGHLY ADVISE you to think very carefully before accepting a Boren- I was under the impression it would be easy to fulfill the service requirement, but a few years out after graduation I have sent countless government applications with no reply, and am faced with either having to put a lot of life plans on hold or paying back $20,000. It's more like a loan than a scholarship, and has a lot of strings attached. The Schedule A status is oftentimes meaningless, and this has been one of the most frustrating experiences I can think of! 

[Mabelkitty2012]

@10Daphne I'm so sorry to hear that!  thanks for telling us about your experience though. Would you mind sharing your major and more about your particular background? I guess I'm wondering whether this frustration is widespread or contingent on individual factors like major, work experience, language, et cetera.

Also, have you had any luck finding a job as an educator or language instructor?  It sounds like they are willing to accommodate those who do not find an appropriate position with the government: "While NSEP is deeply committed to helping Boren Scholars and Fellows secure Federal employment, the Federal Government is not obligated to hire any individual who has received funding through this program. Therefore, if a Scholar or Fellow from the 2008-present award cohort demonstrates to NSEP that no appropriate position is available in the Federal Government, the Scholar or Fellow may petition NSEP to fulfill the requirement in an education position directly related to the language(s) or area(s) he/she studied during the Boren Scholarship or Fellowship or to another language or area where he/she has demonstrated competency. The education option is available only after exhausting all opportunities to fulfill the requirement in the Federal Government in accordance with conditions established by NSEP."

 

[10Daphne]

9 minutes ago, Mabelkitty2012 said:

@10Daphne I'm so sorry to hear that!  thanks for telling us about your experience though. Would you mind sharing your major and more about your particular background? I guess I'm wondering whether this frustration is widespread or contingent on individual factors like major, work experience, language, et cetera.

Also, have you had any luck finding a job as an educator or language instructor?  It sounds like they are willing to accommodate those who do not find an appropriate position with the government: "While NSEP is deeply committed to helping Boren Scholars and Fellows secure Federal employment, the Federal Government is not obligated to hire any individual who has received funding through this program. Therefore, if a Scholar or Fellow from the 2008-present award cohort demonstrates to NSEP that no appropriate position is available in the Federal Government, the Scholar or Fellow may petition NSEP to fulfill the requirement in an education position directly related to the language(s) or area(s) he/she studied during the Boren Scholarship or Fellowship or to another language or area where he/she has demonstrated competency. The education option is available only after exhausting all opportunities to fulfill the requirement in the Federal Government in accordance with conditions established by NSEP."

 

I went to a top 10 university and studied International Relations- I was really excited about the Boren at first and was under the impression it was like getting a guaranteed job after college. But upon graduation I realized I didn't want to work in government - especially not the Asylum Officer or DoD jobs that I kept seeing advertised, while meaningful jobs in the State Dept are few and far in between. I have career ambitions and want to go on to work in the private sector, so going back to the country I did the Boren in to teach English would be a hurdle and a waste of a year career-wise. When they say "exhausting all opportunities," it means spending months and months on end applying for government jobs, being told to just take another job in the meantime and to drop it when a gov job finally comes through - which isn't how you build a career. You're also told that if you can't find a gov job you can do an unpaid internship for a year, which would probably cost more than paying back the 20,000. 

[kbui]

About government jobs, I feel you. It's difficult to get because there's such a high number of applicants out there and competition is brutal. I'm coming up my third year after my Boren and (fortunately) I got a fellowship that will allow me to work with USAID right after graduation so that's how I'll be fulfilling the requirement. Without the fellowship, I honestly wouldn't know what to do or where to start.

[readysetgo]

I'm not sure why I keep checking this page since most people received a budget letter, but still, I can't help myself! Hurry, news!

[kbui]

Maybe this will be the week!

[Letsgoooooo]

Maybe, @kbui! Would make things a lot easier in terms of next year plan! Seems like you have some fantastic things going for you next year. Congrats and best of luck! And best of luck to us all Boren hopefuls 

[kbui]

@Letsgoooooo Thank you for the congratulations! I have been very blessed, for sure. I've learned that with a lot of plain old hard work and some luck, we can achieve things that are beyond our own expectations of ourselves.

Which country are you applying for with Boren? Also, if you're in Taiwan for an ETA (a big retro congratulations to the Fulbright family!) I assume you've already graduated--does this mean that you're applying for a fellowship? If so, which schools are you looking to matriculate in next year?

Edited April 4, 2016 by kbui

[maybemuscat]

Going absolutely bats. Looking at the dates on our doc...it very well could be this week or next!