Boren 2018-2019

[Cheshirecaitt]

Gyaaaaahhhhh it's so close and everything is stressful. These months are flying by, I can't believe how much I still have left to do but also my program is approaching so quickly.

[zhaile]

Question for the people who got the follow up confirmation email. When you replied to them, did they send you a response back? Like ya know anything like "thanks for the update" type thing?

[Miruka]

26 minutes ago, zhaile said:

Question for the people who got the follow up confirmation email. When you replied to them, did they send you a response back? Like ya know anything like "thanks for the update" type thing?

I received a response back about a few hours later. The response was basically a thank you and that if they have any other questions they would ask.

[mockingjay634]

Ah... I got an email a week ago about my health insurance for AFLI but there was no mention of possible budget changes. They didn't give me a response either.

They also didn't specify that the emails were being sent to all. Their wording was "if you are awarded, we want to make sure you will have insurance" etc...

[Heidi Olsen]

I haven't had time to go through this forum yet, but I applied for the South Asian Flag Ship program. Has anyone else applied for this? When I emailed them they said the 3rd week of April applicants would be notified and wait listed people the following week. The Flagship coordinator emailed me, "Hi Heidi,

Awardees will be notified the third week of April and wait-listed or alternative awardees should be notified by the end of the month/beginning of next month.

Good luck"

That means if you don't hear sometime next week you are probably wait listed or rejected.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Heidi Olsen
More info

[Heidi Olsen]

3 hours ago, mockingjay634 said:

Ah... I got an email a week ago about my health insurance for AFLI but there was no mention of possible budget changes. They didn't give me a response either.

They also didn't specify that the emails were being sent to all. Their wording was "if you are awarded, we want to make sure you will have insurance" etc...

Is this for the south Asian flagship program? Or a different one? I didn't get that email.

[CollegeSkiBum]

With regard to the AFLI emails, I also received the health insurance query (posted the email in full on page 5). The wording implied logically that not all applicants received the email. 

I also just received a budget email earlier this morning, which is interesting. I'm trying not to read into it too much, but it's tough not to get my hopes up. 

 

[zhaile]

5 minutes ago, CollegeSkiBum said:

With regard to the AFLI emails, I also received the health insurance query (posted the email in full on page 5). The wording implied logically that not all applicants received the email. 

I also just received a budget email earlier this morning, which is interesting. I'm trying not to read into it too much, but it's tough not to get my hopes up. 

 

What did your new email from today say?

[CollegeSkiBum]

52 minutes ago, Heidi Olsen said:

I haven't had time to go through this forum yet, but I applied for the South Asian Flag Ship program. Has anyone else applied for this? When I emailed them they said the 3rd week of April applicants would be notified and wait listed people the following week. The Flagship coordinator emailed me, "Hi Heidi,

Awardees will be notified the third week of April and wait-listed or alternative awardees should be notified by the end of the month/beginning of next month.

Good luck"

That means if you don't hear sometime next week you are probably wait listed or rejected.

I believe they send out all notifications in the 3rd week. That is what appears to be the case from perusing previous years' forums.

I would assume she meant alternates will be informed whether they will receive funding by the end of the month, but will be notified of their alternate status along with everyone else. 

[CollegeSkiBum]

10 minutes ago, zhaile said:

What did your new email from today say?

It asked me to confirm the budget I had submitted back in February. They wanted me to make sure my financial aid information was correct, to ensure I had taken into account school study abroad fees, and to confirm the start and end dates of my Spring program. 

They also told me they needed a response no later than 11 a.m. eastern tomorrow. 

It came with the standard "We are spot checking... not all applicants receiving this message will receive the award" asterisk.  One would think "spot checking" this late in the game would be pretty strange though. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by CollegeSkiBum

[Sarahpennies]

12 minutes ago, CollegeSkiBum said:

It asked me to confirm the budget I had submitted back in February. They wanted me to make sure my financial aid information was correct, to ensure I had taken into account school study abroad fees, and to confirm the start and end dates of my Spring program. 

They also told me they needed a response no later than 11 a.m. eastern tomorrow. 

It came with the standard "We are spot checking... not all applicants receiving this message will receive the award" asterisk.  One would think "spot checking" this late in the game would be pretty strange though. 

I think the odds are in your favor ( ;

[zhaile]

@CollegeSkiBum That's pretty much exactly what mine said. I'm taking it as a good sign bc they undoubtedly have made their decision already so anything they're checking at this point looks good that you're likely an awardee.

[CollegeSkiBum]

6 minutes ago, Sarahpennies said:

I think the odds are in your favor ( ;

 

6 minutes ago, zhaile said:

@CollegeSkiBum That's pretty much exactly what mine said. I'm taking it as a good sign bc they undoubtedly have made their decision already so anything they're checking at this point looks good that you're likely an awardee.

That's what the butterflies are telling me, but my mind is telling me to cool the horses. Regardless, to play with my emotions like this is awfully cruel on the part of Boren, hehe. 

[Sarahpennies]

Does anyone know what they're gonna say to their letter writers if they don't get the Boren? Or just not say anything? I feel awkward telling them I didn't get it, but it also feels weird just to ignore it, especially if I plan to use them again for grad school apps. 

[CollegeSkiBum]

8 minutes ago, Sarahpennies said:

Does anyone know what they're gonna say to their letter writers if they don't get the Boren? Or just not say anything? I feel awkward telling them I didn't get it, but it also feels weird just to ignore it, especially if I plan to use them again for grad school apps. 

I would tell them about it, and maybe just mention that it likely wasn't because they wrote lackluster recommendations. The essays are by far the most important component of the application, at least from everything I have seen. If you don't craft strong enough arguments in the essays, there isn't much the letters can do for you. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by CollegeSkiBum

[Cheshirecaitt]

6 minutes ago, Sarahpennies said:

Does anyone know what they're gonna say to their letter writers if they don't get the Boren? Or just not say anything? I feel awkward telling them I didn't get it, but it also feels weird just to ignore it, especially if I plan to use them again for grad school apps. 

I'm 99% at this point I'm not getting it so I've prepared a "Thank you so much for helping me, but it seems it was a really tough competition this year and I, unfortunately, didn't receive the award. I greatly appreciate you taking your time to write a recommendation for me, and although I didn't get the award I am sure to make the most out of my study abroad experience." Something along those lines

For my other letter writer I'm good friends with that teacher so I'll just tell them "it sucks but I didn't get it. Oh well, Japan will be fun--see you in the summer there." Since he lives outside Tokyo in the summer with his wife. 

[sleepyficteer]

On April 9, 2018 at 9:46 PM, Sarahpennies said:

Here is a Google Doc for this year (feel free to edit whatever, I just modified the 16-17 one) 

2018-2019 Tracker

Catching up on this thread now, and I'm sure someone has already said this, but THANK YOU. Gotta love a good spreadsheet. 

[LutherF]

Nervously waiting here too...I applied for a fellowship, two other classmates who applied for fellowships were asked for clarifications on their budgets, but I never got anything. So, don’t know if that’s a bad sign... Hopefully we all will know on Monday! Going to be hard to wait much longer...

[Borenthrowaway]

6 minutes ago, LutherF said:

Nervously waiting here too...I applied for a fellowship, two other classmates who applied for fellowships were asked for clarifications on their budgets, but I never got anything. So, don’t know if that’s a bad sign... Hopefully we all will know on Monday! Going to be hard to wait much longer...

Did you make any changes for your first budget clarification?

[Guest cel]

9 hours ago, zhaile said:

Question for the people who got the follow up confirmation email. When you replied to them, did they send you a response back? Like ya know anything like "thanks for the update" type thing?

In the initial clarification email they told me that they could not accommodate the costs for attending two conferences because they were considered personal expenses. They also said "can you please provide further explanation for the co-working space? We may not be able to count it in your budget either." I responded and they replied with "Thank you for the clarification. Please see my comments below: We will deduct the highlighted expenses [conferences]. We will leave the co-working space in your budget".

[LutherF]

1 hour ago, SecretP said:

Did you make any changes for your first budget clarification?

No, I didn’t. You think they were only contacting those who made changes?

[Borenthrowaway]

6 minutes ago, LutherF said:

No, I didn’t. You think they were only contacting those who made changes?

Thats not what I think but I am hoping so. Because I didnt have any changes.

[InGrad]

16 hours ago, Heidi Olsen said:

I haven't had time to go through this forum yet, but I applied for the South Asian Flag Ship program. Has anyone else applied for this? When I emailed them they said the 3rd week of April applicants would be notified and wait listed people the following week. The Flagship coordinator emailed me, "Hi Heidi,

Awardees will be notified the third week of April and wait-listed or alternative awardees should be notified by the end of the month/beginning of next month.

Good luck"

That means if you don't hear sometime next week you are probably wait listed or rejected.

I applied for Urdu under the SAFLI fellowship! I also received several budget email's from the SAFLI people, even when my first response was to not change anything about my original budget. They kept on reaching out and basically negotiating the budget with me lol Are you Fellowship or Scholarship?

[Cheshirecaitt]

It seems like those who applied for fellowships are getting more involvement with budget emails. We learn next week (yikes),  best of luck to you all!!!

[InGrad]

6 minutes ago, Cheshirecaitt said:

It seems like those who applied for fellowships are getting more involvement with budget emails. We learn next week (yikes),  best of luck to you all!!!

Yeah i understand why everyone thinks that having this attention towards your application is a great thing. But with the length and detail of correspondence i had with the SAFLI person i'm scared they're evaluating me as an alternative. But you're right, nothing to do now but WAIT