Rangel Fellowship 2018

[ayasofaya]

[Amanda Libby]

Hello!!  I have to admit, I'm a bit anxious now. The waiting game is on harder this week. How are all you guys doing? 

[ayasofaya]

What are the odds that the "Week of the 27th" is this week, and not the 27th +6 days? Historically, do they normally send them out on the date that they name-dropped in the email? Asking for a friend haha.

To be honest I'm mostly trying to prepare myself for the reality that it's statistically most likely at no this year. Can't get my hopes up like this so I'm trying to stay grounded.

[Karakoy]

Based off of past timelines, I am guessing that we'll be told either on the 25th or the 26th. They have the 26th listed as the notification date on both of their info videos. I'm sure they have everything sorted out already, but are just preparing for the mass email inquiries and other things. 

[mrs12]

They do seem pretty specific with the 26th being listed in several areas.

Ayasofaya, I'm in the same boat, trying to plan everything as if I get a rejection so that I'll know what to do from here. 

[ayasofaya]

Based on some context clues from previous posts about it, I think the Rangel Board is meeting on the 26th to finalize, and then notifying everyone over the course of the next 6 days. My email says "The week of the 27th" so I'll be glad for that one extra day (unless it's a no of course).

[ayasofaya]

We're splitting hairs like these dates aren't 24-72 hours away lol. This isn't even a long wait in the Foreign Service world.

Edited October 24, 2017 by ayasofaya

[mrs12]

I'm actually happily surprised, they've made a huge effort to streamline the dates this year for the Rangel. It's all very quick and neatly laid out.

[Karakoy]

Got my notification! I'm a Finalist!!!!! 

[ayasofaya]

Tomorrow is The Official We-Might-Find-Out-Today-But-It's-Unclear-So-Maybe-Tomorrow-Or-Sometime-Next-Week Day! Everyone ready to have heart attack every time you get an email notification? I know I am!

[Karakoy]

I am speechless. 

[ayasofaya]

@Karakoy Wait really!!! Congrats!!! Heart attacks coming in sooner than I thought!

[Karakoy]

Good luck everyone

[ayasofaya]

Now I'm checking my email obsessively lol. Great.

[johnwfoster12]

After consistenly refreshing my email, I received my notification! Selected as a finalist! 

Sending positive vibes and well wishes to all!! Keep those nerves calm!!

[mrs12]

I wonder if they're going alphabetically?

[ayasofaya]

I don't want to ask what the last names start with because eventually someone is going to be like "My last name is Xavier!" and I'll preemptively know I didn't get picked. We're not asking lol.

[mrs12]

@Karakoy Congratulations! Oh my gosh, that's so great to hear. I'm wishing you all the best with the rest of the process.

And, @johnwfoster12, welcome and congratulations to you too!!!

[mrs12]

@ayasofaya Haha, I know. My immediate thought was, oh no if you don't get an email tonight maybe it's a sign? But then again, having been in this process before and for other programs there's always some weird pattern for emails. Sometimes it's based on names or other things, often it's just a way of automating sending out massive amounts of emails. So no worries yet! <3 (Not that that's easy to maintain!) 

Good luck though! I hope you get the good news sometime soon! 

[ayasofaya]

@mrs12 None of us have gotten rejections yet, so at the very least, even if the plan actually is to send out all of the successes first, no news may be good news. If the plan is to send out rejections first, no news is good news. We're not automatically out either way. It's late for east coast so we may very well have to wait until tomorrow, so keep this in mind as you all try your best to sleep tonight. 

[ayasofaya]

Someone I was talking to on another thread just got picked as an alternate (you can make an account and join us whenever. I know you're reading this lol). I'm afraid that no news may be bad news now. 

[mrs12]

@ayasofaya, Hey, I just got the email. It's another no for me this year. But hopefully that means everyone will receive their email tonight at some point! 

[ayasofaya]

@mrs12 I just got my email and it's a no for me as well. It'll be hard to convince me that my unrelated undergrad degree isn't the most deterring factor of my application. They seem to stress the point that it's possible to make a strong statement of purpose that explains why you're perfect for this opportunity, and list hypothetical and/or anecdotal applicants who have done it, but we have no idea of what it looks like when someone does that successfully, and as far as the fellow profiles indicate, the rocket scientist from the info video wasn't selected for the fellowship anyway. I always feel like I'm wasting my time when I'm told to revise without any feedback to go off on, and that's the situation I'm in while going into Pickering applications, especially knowing they don't stress as much the parts of the application that fit my profile best: Demographics and Financial Need.

I just need to know if I'm wasting my time and money before I send off all these grad applications, and being told that "all majors are welcome" when the statistics indicate otherwise generally isn't helpful to any kind of applicant pool.

[mrs12]

@ayasofaya It's incredibly hard to say. It is frustrating to never get feedback, and I understand what you're feeling right now. But it's also not a reason to lose hope entirely. Most applicants don't get through the first attempt. Often it takes time in the work-force or other activities, it seems, anecdotally. But also, remember that the Pickering tends to move on wholly different applicants than the Rangel for some reason. Many finalists for the Pickering were never selected to interview for the Rangel. (Similar with the Payne.) 

I know how crushing this news can be, how hard it is to figure out what to do next, but I also want you to know that there's a community out there and that whatever you chose to do it's amazing that you got this far. It's not easy putting yourself out there like what is required for these applications. And at this stage, getting a rejection isn't necessarily a comment about you or your situation, only the incredible level of quality of the many many applicants. This ratio of related degrees is in keeping with the general applicant pool, too. It is, after all, most likely students in those fields who know about the FS and find out about this Fellowship. Remember the chances of moving to the finals are so very slim, that you could very well be a shoe-in for one of these other Fellowships or perhaps next year, etc. 

Which is not to say that this doesn't suck and that you don't need to take some time to consider your options and plans for life. Just that I hope you can hold equal to the disappointment a level of pride and satisfaction that you are far enough along to apply to something like this, know what you want, and have your support/community believe in you. That's something pretty fantastic!

I'm not sure if that's in any way helpful, but I honestly don't think it's a shame, so to speak, to not be selected to these things. We're all freaking amazing. And whether you end up continuing with the Fellowships or getting into the FS through some other avenue or even applying yourself elsewhere that doesn't take away from your hard work and commitment to public service. So, if you can, even just a little, try to pat yourself on the back and remember that you're pretty freaking great no matter today's results. <3

[ayasofaya]

11 hours ago, mrs12 said:

I know how crushing this news can be, how hard it is to figure out what to do next, but I also want you to know that there's a community out there

This is incredibly key during this whole process and similar application seasons. I'm the kind of person that needs to collect all possible data so I can use it to shape my applications (hence my current frustrations), and forums like these help you learn from real life examples instead of relying on the strategically scripted official statements on the program website. My frustration is less about the rejection itself, but the stress of figuring out what is the most strategic path to take from here, because it's not as clear cut as I thought it was when I first started drafting my application.
 

On the Rangel Info session, they made a note that those who are selected for Fulbright and Rangel can defer starting the Rangel program for a year. Do you know if Pickering has a similar provision? My university has a strong Fulbright presence (Really strong.), and our Fulbright Advisor gets paid a salary to do nothing but polish Fulbright applications, so when she works with me on my proposal and tells me "I don't see why we shouldn't be able to make this happen," my anxiety isn't going to be quite as gripping as it it was with Rangel. 
 

The reason I ask is I'm toying with the idea of putting off Pickering for at least a year. Rangel is a free application so there's no risk in applying every year just for the experience, especially because we know they like repeats, but we already pointed out that the Pickering timeline forces you to apply for your grad programs without knowing if you'll get that guaranteed FSO placement (Or funding, if that's your priority, but funding can come from anywhere even if you don't get the fellowship). So that's $400-500 in application fees and $200 for the GRE (retake in my case), and even if I get into all of my top programs, I would decline every single one of the offers if I didn't get the Pickering, so that I could remain eligible for next year's Fellowship applications. IF (if) I get the Fulbright Fellowship, that would significantly bolster my applications for next year (and my German language skills), both for the Fellowships and for grad school, and that $700 investment is much more likely to yield a return. Especially because that gives me an entire year to work my GRE score from a 316 to a 330+. 

It's actually making more and more sense now that I'm typing out my thought process.

Edited October 26, 2017 by ayasofaya