<p>I just re read this whole thread and I feel like I am update to date with about everyone! </p>
<p>NSLI-Y just posted on facebook : “Attention NSLI-Y Applicants: There will be no news about semifinalist status until December when all applicants will be notified of their status. Read more about the application timeline here: <a href=“How to Apply - National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)”>www.nsliforyouth.org/how-to-apply</a>. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and thanks for your patience!”</p>
<p>@girlintheworld Honestly, If i was part of the team organizing the applicants, I would make sure to have it done no later than today that way they can spend Thanksgiving with their family and celebrate the holiday. I guess it is possible that they would work on Friday and do some finishing touches but I doubt it. And I am not sure that they would work on the weekend. But that is just my hypothesis.
However, my best guess is that we will start to receive news on Monday, the 1st. I don’t think that everyone will hear at once though. I think there will be rolling notifications like there were years prior. </p>
<p>When you do get a notification, if you do decide to share that you receive a notification, please also include what countries preferences you had, your state/region, and also you’re grade. That way, it gives everyone a better picture of how things are organized. </p>
<p>I would love to exchange essays because you are older than me ( FRESHIE~ ) and maybe you could give me some critiques on mine for an advantage for next year in case I don’t make the cut this year. I will also read your if you’d like. I may not help with wording too much but I can look for passion!! </p>
<p>I would love to exchange essays with anyone else! pm me!</p>
<p>@girlintheworld @lovinglife01 I kind of suspect that they’re not done. They probably have 3300ish applications to review, so I would guess that they’ll probably be reviewing them in early December and sending out notifications while they’re still reviewing some apps. Only a few days though guys!!</p>
<p>Hello Everyone!I’m new here (I hope I’m not too late) but I have been viewing your discussion for a while now along with the other NSLIY posts and I wanted to join in so I don’t feel so alone. I’m applying for my first choice as Korea Year, second choice is China Year and third choice is Korea Summer. I’m really really nervous but excited for December!! Best of Luck to all of us!</p>
<p>Thanks, I’m in the 11 grade (yes I’m old ) and unfortunately I don’t speak Korean but I’m trying to learn. I just hope that doesn’t bring down my chances :-S but I really do want to go to Korea and I think my essays were strong enough plus I sent the application on my birthday (10/22) for an extra stroke of luck :)</p>
<p>@YinYang21 I indicated on my application that I do not have any experience in the language I would like to learn either (Chinese). At first I thought it would hurt me. However, I do not think that will negatively impact you because there are many people who were complete and I mean complete beginners in their target language. I talked to some people who went on the China summer program and there has been groups of people who were 100% beginners so do not worry! Although I cannot specifically say for Korean, I am pretty sure there are people who have little-to-no knowledge of the language! </p>
<p>And I’m trying to learn Chinese so I understand.
A good app (and also you can go on the computer as well) is Memrise! It is super helpful especially with my Chinese learning! You learn the language and practice what you are learning and there are helpful and funny ways to help you learn the characters better! This really applies to any language! And what you learn in the beginning is extremely helpful because it is like building blocs! I am using it for Chinese and it is helping a lot!</p>
<p>Also, if any of you decide to use Memrise to learn, I also recommend listening to music in your target language and watching shows and movies in your target language as well! Try to have subtitles in English as well as in the language you are learning so you can try to spot the characters that you have already learned and it goes into your memory better! Once you start to see the characters in many different settings, you are practicing the language and integrating into your memory!
I try to find Chinese anywhere and everywhere and although I cannot recognize the full story in articles or have a clue of what it is about, sometimes I can recognize a character or two! And if I recognize a charatcer but I do not know how to pronounce it or know what it means, I make sure to practice it again!
There have been cases where I read a full sentence and I understood! (it was only 3 characters but that is okay )
And sometimes I can recognize 4/6 characters and so on and so forth! </p>
<p>So whatever method you are using to learn, such as an app or computer website like Memrise, or a textbook and cd, practice what you are learning in the real world by trying to read articles in your target language or reading the subtitles from songs or shows/movies in your target language. And don’t worry about your language level! This is coming from a girl who knows only 25-30 characters! The point is to practice what you already know. </p>
<p>Good luck everyone with their language learning! I absolutely love languages so if you need advice or helpful websites let me know! </p>
<p>I was researching Nsli-y and through an alum facebook page I found this document with a general overview of Nsli-y and their goals. There was a section about scholarships and how many applicants they accept and from the people in the comments, they were saying these were pretty accurate comparing last year groups. This year may change a bit but this what the document stated …</p>
<p>B. Distribution of Scholarships by Language, Duration, and Location
Applicants should propose to select and place approximately 630 participants on overseas
programs of two durations: summer (6-8 weeks) and academic year (8-10 months). An adequate
number of alternates should be identified to replace finalists who may drop out prior to the start
of the program.
The approximate target distribution of scholarships by language, duration, and location is
detailed below. This distribution may be adjusted with the concurrence of ECA. ECA reserves
the right to alter languages, locations, and programs based on participant demand, safety and
welfare, and other factors. The award recipient should propose a minimum of five participants
for each academic year program and a minimum of 12 participants for each summer program.2</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Arabic language: 100 for summer; 20 for academic year. Programs may be proposed for
Jordan, Morocco, and Oman. Jordan is limited to a summer program unless otherwise
advised by ECA. If security considerations permit and ECA concurs, programs in Tunisia
and Egypt may be added at a later time.</p></li>
<li><p>Chinese (Mandarin) language: 200 for summer; 30 for academic year. Programs may be
proposed for China and Taiwan.</p></li>
<li><p>Hindi language: 30 for summer; 5 for academic year. Programs may be proposed for India.</p></li>
<li><p>Korean language: 65 for summer; 15 for academic year. Programs may be proposed for
the Republic of Korea (South Korea).</p></li>
<li><p>Persian (Tajiki or Farsi) language: 15 for summer. One program may be proposed for
Tajikistan.</p></li>
<li><p>Russian language: 90 for summer; 20 for academic year. Programs may be proposed for
Russia.</p></li>
<li><p>Turkish language: 35 for summer, 5 for academic year. Programs may be proposed for
Turkey.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This also helps show that the most popular languages are China, Arabic, Russia, and Korea in that order.
I hope this is helpful to some people! I thought that some of you guys may wanted to know the numbers~ </p>
<p>@YinYang21
I’m also applying for the korean year as my first choice! And don’t worry you’re not that old (I’m already a senior). Haha but we have similar choices because I also applied for the korean summer and chinese summer as my 2nd and 3rd choices. It would be great if we both got picked!
@EmmaPotts
That was actually very helpful! I always wondered how many get picked. It’s unfortunate that only a limited amount of people get to go though :-SS </p>
<p>@lovinglife01 - I LOVE MEMRISE. When I first started studying Spanish, I used Memrise and I STILL remember what those first words I learned were…Ahh I’m looking at Turkish courses now and I AM STARTING. Memrise is so fun and I’m gonna prioritize Turkish > Portuguese now that I know I’m not going to Brazil next year. </p>
<p>@EmmaPotts I’ve seen that doc! I think that, at least this year, the smaller programs have a few more spots…For example there are either 7 or 8 2014-2015 Turkish year participants, even though the document says there are five, which makes me feel a lot better thinking I’m competing for 8ish spots instead of five. </p>
<p>@evan241 YAY ANOTHER MEMRISE USER! IT IS SO FANTASTIC OH MY GOSH
And for Spanish, I took/am still taking Spanish in school however over the summer, I wanted to practice some more so I did Spanish Duolingo. Duolingo is super super great and fun! It is growing quickly! Before when I joined a year ago, it had only: Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Italian! Now it also has: Dutch, Irish, Danish, and Swedish! </p>
<p>And for Portuguese, I have so much to say but I don’t want to clog the thread so I’ll PM you! </p>
<p>@EmmaPotts it is great that you posted that on CC! I think it would be super helpful </p>
<p>@lovinglife01 Thanks for that it made me feel better and yes I do use Memrise! It’s fantastic but lately I haven’t been on as much but you definitely spurred me to get back onto the program especially since I need to brush up on a few languages I’ve been learning on it (although Korean is top priority now). I’ve also been pretty busy with school and get tired out pretty easily so I haven’t been watching too many Asian dramas as much as I liked to (I like Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese dramas!) so if anyone has any drama or movie suggestions I would be very grateful since I watch the majority of dramas and movies on Netflix. </p>
<p>@EmmaPotts Those numbers make me a bit nervous but we have all come to for to give up hope now so hang in there everyone! I really wish there were more spots though. So many people deserve to get this scholarship…</p>
<p>@salitainfinity25 I hope we all get picked too, I think everyone on this forum deserves (and maybe needs) this scholarship but I really hope that you get it since this is your last chance to receive it, right?</p>
<p>(Also sorry if my post seems all over the place, I’m not used to making posts like this or talking to people since I’m really shy around people) </p>
<p>@skieurope In language preferences I wrote: “My interest in global affairs was fostered at an early age, but Russia and Ukraine have always had a special place in my heart. With the recent annexation of the Crimean peninsula and seemingly constant demonization of Russia, my curiosity for Eastern European countries has grown and instilled a desire within me to learn more about their culture and language. As an aspiring Foreign Service Officer, I feel it would behoove me to study abroad through NSLI-Y and act as a citizen dipomat as well.” So, umm… yah. There is my positive spin on the situation.</p>
<p>@EmmaPotts
@evan241
I would be honored to have you read my essays and give me feedback. I could give y’all some much needed re-assurance as well.I totally fudged on the “Host Family Letter” though, so was curious if I could see what a proper one looked like. :)</p>
<p>Does anybody watch Hetalia: Axis Powers? It’s my favorite anime; all the characters are personifications of countries and re-enact history in a comedic way.</p>
<p>@Yinyang21 Yay Memrise! I sure hope everyone here gets it because…just by the fact that we are posting here, I can see that we’re dedicated, and hopefully that dedication shines through in essays/interviews. </p>
<p>@Schnuff3 - Yeah, what you wrote is awesome. Good job tying your interest in the language/culture to current events!</p>
<p>So guys, what are our guesses on when notifications will start? I say December 1st at 4PM. </p>
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