FLAS Fellowship 2016

[Vulpix]

Anyone else applying for a FLAS (Foreign Language Area Scholarship)?  What language/schools did you apply to?

I applied to Arabic at Penn and Columbia.  I don't have very high hopes as it's quite competitive, Arabic is very popular, and I couldn't get the best LORs at this time of year (didn't want to bother my same amazing original recommenders again who I used for my actual grad school applications, so had to go with my secondary pool of people who don't know me as well).  But still, $33K would be a nice stipend! (Although, insanely, only about half the Penn tuition)

[lindsaykm13]

I applied to Russian at Wisconsin. I've gotten the FLAS before as an undergrad, but I imagine it was much less competitive then so I'm anxious to see whether or not I get another one. Fortunately I have a backup plan as I've been offered full funding elsewhere, but unfortunately the stipend is significantly less. Just gotta wait and see...

[Vulpix]

The crazy thing is that even with the FLAS $33K, and a small merit scholarship from my program, I will still need to fund $26K out of pocket.  Outrageous.  (Yet here I am, shouting "take my money!" )

I'm hopeful because I've heard from a current FLAS recipient that the FLAS committee at Penn looks favorably at students in my program, as they awarded 3 FLAS to my program this past year.  Considering there are only 30 students in it, and half or more are international students who would be ineligible for FLAS, that's a very high percentage accepted.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Heather1011

[mrs12]

I'm applying for the Summer FLAS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for Turkish!

I've received it once before, though, so I'm not very sure how well they look on repeat offenders. 

I've always wondered about FLAS for graduate school. Are you all accepted at these schools already, or do you apply without truly knowing? 

[fencergirl]

Planned to apply to FLAS at USC (MA), Columbia (PhD), and UCLA (PhD)... but after getting into a couple PhD programs decided not to complete it for USC. Then I was rejected from Columbia for a PhD before finishing my FLAS application... So just UCLA left now. (And I'm expecting to hear soon if I was accepted otherwise am assuming rejection).

[Vulpix]

11 hours ago, mrs12 said:

I'm applying for the Summer FLAS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for Turkish!

I've received it once before, though, so I'm not very sure how well they look on repeat offenders. 

I've always wondered about FLAS for graduate school. Are you all accepted at these schools already, or do you apply without truly knowing? 

I applied to two schools' FLAS.  One I have already been accepted to, the other the jury is still out.  I assume it works the same as a merit scholarship based on your application anyway... if I'm rejected, no FLAS, if I'm accepted, maybe FLAS.  I'm not sure how the FLAS committee communicates with admissions, and if it happens that they wait for decisions before reviewing FLAS applicants....

[lindsaykm13]

@Heather1011 - that's insane!! But it sounds like you've got a good chance though & I'm sure you'll get it :-)

@mrs12 - that's where I did my summer program with the FLAS! Loved it. I know I've discussed multiple FLAS awards with one of my professors and he says he received it three times when he was in school, so it's definitely possible. Guess we'll just have to see. And re: grad school, I was already accepted by the time I did my FLAS application, but I still would have done it before I got an acceptance if that scenario would have presented itself. Better to do it & not need it than get accepted after the deadline & be too late, eh?

[mrs12]

@lindsaykm13 I was more wondering if it was even possible to apply before you're an official student because most of the applications seem to require that you attend that school. It's why I was so surprised and delighted to find out last year that I could apply for the FLAS for the summer at UWM without being a student there! I loved it there last summer as well. Which language did you do, Russian?

[Vulpix]

Anyone know when FLAS decisions are usually made?  I can't find information for my respective schools, but I imagine it's after decisions but before you have to commit (like last week of March/first week of April).  It's going to be a hectic and stressful decision-making time!

[lindsaykm13]

@mrs12 yep, Russian! Are you considering Wisconsin for grad school as well?

@Heather1011 Yeah, I'm hoping sometime mid-March... sooner rather than later would be wonderful!!

[mrs12]

@lindsaykm13 I am, actually! I really like their Geography program, but it is top ranked so very competitive to get into. I really enjoyed my time there last summer, and I met some amazing professors who agreed to watch out for me if I go there as a grad student. Wisconsin-Madison also has one of the US's only Turkic scholars, which is amazing!

[mkt123]

anyone get word on this yet?

[Vulpix]

I just learned from current students at Penn that they didn't find out that they received the FLAS until AUGUST/SEPTEMBER or early summer... which means I have to decide if I can attend the school without knowing about a major scholarship?  Seems so unfair.  I don't understand why they would have a March 1 deadline if they're not going to notify me in time to make my decision about where to go to grad school.  I know many FLAS applicants are already current students, but I'm applying to a 1 year program and the only chance to get a FLAS is going into my first year.  I am very upset that this is the case.  Not sure if it's true for all schools.

Anyone else familiar with this situation?

[Horb]

Hi All! I'm not sure where to post this question, but thought here might be a good place. If not, I will repost it as a question in the scholarship forum. I am looking to apply next year for either French or German, as I know some FLAS programs fund those languages. However, I'm having issues figuring out which schools allow for students from other universities to apply for the summer scholar scholarship. I know University of Wisconsin - Madison does, but they don't have German or French. Is there a list online that I'm somehow missing that states this? The FLAS website itself was not that useful. Apologies again if this isn't the place to ask this question.

[mrs12]

@Horb, there's no official list that I know of. I think you just have to find summer programs and check to see if they have FLAS. You might have a hard time though, I know most FLAS programs don't fund French or German. 

A master list would be super useful though!

Edited March 14, 2016 by mrs12

[Horb]

17 minutes ago, mrs12 said:

@Horb, there's no official list that I know of. I think you just have to find summer programs and check to see if they have FLAS. You might have a hard time though, I know most FLAS programs don't fund French or German. 

A master list would be super useful though!

Thanks so much! Berkeley does, but it seems only for Berkeley students...I think...

[Grad Decision 2016]

Howdy guys,

I also have applied for 2 FLAS scholarships, one at UW-Madison for Kazakh and one at UM-Ann Arbor for Russian. The list of languages depends on the school. For example, Kazakh isn't offered at Ann Arbor. (At least at this time--I've heard occasionally students will participate in courses at Indiana-Bloomington via video conferencing.) @Horb I'm not sure you're going to find German or French on the list anywhere since FLAS tends to focus on critical languages, especially those in Eurasia/Central Asia/ME.

As far as the waiting game, I've been notified by both Madison and Ann Arbor that their committees are making their decisions this week! So I would think those who have applied to those schools will be hearing soon! Best of luck!

[Vulpix]

I did find out that Columbia will notify me by April, but Penn not until the summer.  This is extraordinarily upsetting as Penn is one of my top choices and this information could make or break my decision

[Septerra]

If I decide to go to Ohio State, I will probably be applying for Russian next year. After applying to 8 schools, I didn't have enough gas in the tank to also apply for FLAS this time around. Also, I was worried about how much I would be able to handle at a new institution and my first semester in the program. Next year!

[Horb]

2 hours ago, Grad Decision 2016 said:

Howdy guys,

I also have applied for 2 FLAS scholarships, one at UW-Madison for Kazakh and one at UM-Ann Arbor for Russian. The list of languages depends on the school. For example, Kazakh isn't offered at Ann Arbor. (At least at this time--I've heard occasionally students will participate in courses at Indiana-Bloomington via video conferencing.) @Horb I'm not sure you're going to find German or French on the list anywhere since FLAS tends to focus on critical languages, especially those in Eurasia/Central Asia/ME.

As far as the waiting game, I've been notified by both Madison and Ann Arbor that their committees are making their decisions this week! So I would think those who have applied to those schools will be hearing soon! Best of luck!

There are programs that offer German or French (or French Creole, which is what would actually be more relevant), but just not as many.

1 hour ago, mkt123 said:

That seems ridiculous. I'm waiting on Cornell SEAP - no word yet.

 

 

@Horb this list may be useful to you, taken from the Dept of Ed website, I think that your chances of winning a FLAS for French or German are pretty slim.

 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsflasf/awards.html

 

WESTERN EUROPE/EUROPE
P015A140008	P015B140008	University of California, Berkeley
	P015B140041	University of Florida
P015A140050	P015B140050	University of Illinois
P015A140119	P015B140119	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
P015A140139		University of Pittsburgh
P015A140153	P015B140153	University of Texas/Austin
P015A140167	P015B140167	University of Washington
P015A140126	P015B140126	University of Wisconsin
	P015B140179	Yale University

Thanks for this! I'll check out the list, though I'm pretty sure Berkeley doesn't allow outside applicants (though these don't specifically state so).

[Grad Decision 2016]

I was notified by UW-Madison that I've been awarded a FLAS Fellowship for Kazakh! Yay! The announcements are being made! Check your e-mails if you haven't also already been hitting the refresh button repeatedly!

[Vulpix]

Congrats!!!

I have heard "by April" or "in April"... I sincerely hope it's more than just two days before the 15th!

[Grad Decision 2016]

Another question about FLAS - as I understand, it's only good for 1 year per language, is that correct? Does anyone know what the success rate is for those who do grad school year 1 on a FLAS, getting other funding or fellowships for year 2 and on?

[mkt123]

@Grad Decision 2016 are you applying for 2 year MA programs? You can apply for the FLAS for your second year of the MA. as far as success rate for other funding or fellowships it would depend on the specific fellowship I'd imagine.

Edited March 18, 2016 by mkt123
zzzzz

[Kathleen517]

Hi, I applied for three FLAS fellowships for Russian.  I was selected for the fellowship at one program and I am an alternate at the other two.  I'm not altogether sold on the program that has given me funding and have a few questions about the process.  Is everyone who applied generally nominated as an alternate?  Do you all know of anyone who has received FLAS funding as an alternate?  If so, when did that happen (spring, summer, etc.)?  Finally, if I reject my offer of admission at the two schools that nominated me as an alternate, would they still contact me if funding became available (or do I have to accept the offer on April 15th with no knowledge of whether I will have funding)?

Any insight would be extremely helpful.