@Xenia_s congratulations!
Thank you! She is sooo excited! 
Sounds like Russian and Arabic full year notifications came out today! That leaves Korean and Mandarin, I think! Fingers crossed they come out early next week! The waiting is excruciating!!! #-o
My guess is the the announcements will go out by early Monday. this would be April 9. Two weeks is April 23. Those accepted who reject could wait until some time on Sunday or early Monday, giving staff the chance to send out all word to all finalists by the stated April 23rd deadline.
We were working on the assumption of a one in six chance. I wonder just how competitive it is for the most intense programs. Any idea?
We are already bracing ourselves for Plan B and Plan C. But gosh, my kid is such a kid good. It would break my heart for her not to get it.
My daughter was chosen as an alternate for the Russian summer. By now do I assume if she had a chance to get in, she would have heard? She is still holding out hope but we are in limbo as far as making alternate plans. This is so difficult as she is a senior so this is it.
Does anyone know anyone who received an offer for a YES AY and an NSLI AY?
3irish: Since they state April 23rd as the deadline, she probably has a shot until then unless she hears otherwise. Last shot for my daughter, too.
@3irishgirls Clearing the hurdle to get a visa can prove challenging, plus one must get full medical clearance. Also, family emergencies pop up as well as other opportunities. I think it is a real possibility alternates could be asked to step in. I’m curious, are they having your daughter apply for a visa just in case?
She filled out the form saying she wanted to be an alternate and we’ve heard nothing more about it. Perhaps I’ll have her call tomorrow to see if we’ve missed something…
Yes. My dtr got into yes indonesia and nsliy Arabic. She will choose nsliy.
My daughter was chosen for All year for Yes in Bosnia and all year for CBYX, Germany. We are waiting to hear about the China decisions.
What makes me really nervous is the idea that she could still be denied for a program when they go through the medical info., or if the visa would be declined. I thought acceptance as a finalist was the final word, but I guess a lot can still go wrong. She had to give an answer and turned down the CBYX program for the YES program, but will have a hard choice to make if she gets chosen for NSLI-Y. It would be heartbreaking to have given up two scholarships, only to find out that you cannot take the one you chose because you were turned down for medical or visa issues. My daughter is healthy, but does have allergies and asthma, which are well controlled with daily meds, so I hope this would not be enough reason to turn her away? Also, how often does it happen that one cannot get a visa? What would be a reason for not getting one?
@Pkljgj34 Thanks for responding. Your DD is the first I have heard of being chosen for two years long programs. Congratulations! So exciting.
My DD applied to YES and NSLI and is in at YES-Morocco. She is excited by that as it was her top choice with YES. Her YES and NSLI interview was one and the same so we are still curious about NSLI. She has not received any word there. We assume that means she is not offered a NSLI option but that seems odd since her interview was the same.
@Wanderlustwander I thought the medical review happened as part of the original application process? Our DD had to have her physician do an exam and fill out a few pages of information. I would not worry about the Visa. I’m sure the process allows for enough time to get those in place.
Congratulations to your DD for two scholarship opportunities already! She must be pretty outstanding. What is CBYX? I had never heard of that until the last few pages of this thread. Is it also a government funded scholarship?
@Wanderlust. My daughter did not have a good CBYX experience. Deeply agonizing and difficult experience. The buzz in Germany was that the NSLI-Y was the one to get.
Hey. The applications though having the same interview is reviewed by two programs. My dd has heard of two that have gotten into two others who have gotten into both programs beside her in her chat. She connected with them on the nsliy alumni fb group. She is in Morocco nsliy and the announcements are coming out at different times for different programs. Arabic full year came out Friday. She gave up her yes Indonesia spot. Maybe out dd’s will someday meet in Morroco.
@dowzerw CBYX is a state-sponsored exchange program that sends high schoolers to Germany for an academic year. Also, like @pkljgj34 said, I’m pretty sure that different organization evaluate the applications for YES and NSLIY, so there must be different people reviewing, and probably different qualities they seek and different metrics that they’re using. And even tho the interview form was the same, I think they still look at the whole app from beginning to end when picking finalists.
@inlandNW I would hate for students in CBYX to feel like their missed out because they didn’t get NSLI-Y. My understanding would be that they’re totally different and mostly incomparable. I did an abroad program that wasn’t state sponsored and it seems totally different from what NSLI-Y offers. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I of course know nothing of what experience you went thru, but I hit some rough patches in my program too. And I’ve met or heard stories of others who’ve had awful experiences, so we’re out here if you’ve been looking for people to connect with. :-/
@Pkljgj34 DD hoped for YES Morocco AY and for NSLI Rabat/Arabic AY. We have twins!
@dowzerw :Here’s the link to CBYX. http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org
It is for a full a year long experience in Germany Through our Congress and the German government. Most of the expenses are also covered. My daughter chose to pass it up because she grew up in a German bilingual homeschool household and her dad is a German immigrant and I am a certified German teacher, and she attended a German high school for 2 months 2 years ago. She would have loved to have the experience to connect with her roots outside our family in a new region, but she figured that the opportunity to learn a totally new language and its culture would be a more beneficial and rare chance. (She has dual citizenship so she could always live in Germany in the future with relatives there.) Cbyx also offers scholarship programs for college students, technical school students and young professionals and graduates, so if Germany is something your kids are interested in, they do still offer future opportunities.
@InlandNW: I’m sorry your daughter had a negative experience. I’m curious what happened there, you don’t mind sharing?
Someone posted earlier that alternates might get bumped up, as getting a visa was a hurdle, as was clearing the medical review, but after talking to several on Facebook, it doesn’t seem like that should be a cause for major concern. Thank goodness.
I am just hoping that maybe tomorrow we will finally hear about China, all year.??? I had hoped to hear today, but no luck.
Has any one heard pros or cons when comparing the yes and the nsli y program?
@dowzerw: oh, and yes, everyone did submit medical information initially but I guess it is not reviewed until you are actually chosen as a finalist. I chatted at length with several alumni today, some who had minor medical conditions and some had major issues, and all of them were able to get accommodations And were not disqualified from the program. I guess a doctor actually reviews all of the information that the kids have submitted once they are chosen as finalists, and prior to that medical information is not a consideration in the selection process. Some of the alumni said that they did have to get further screenings and blood tests because of more concerning conditions, but things like asthma and allergies only required them to sign a sheet saying that they would carry their necessary medications with them at all times. Some of the kids with asthma were placed in cities with less smog. Nobody I spoke with had any difficulty getting a visa, so that was reassuring. There was one student who said that her program was not able to get enough visas for all of the students so they were sent to an alternate country, but were still able to participate. I think she said that Morocco would only give them 10 visas instead of 12, so 2 students had to be placed In another country.
I think, and I could be wrong about this, that yes is more cultural and you def learn the language. Nsliy requires language. Yes would have had my dd in the home stay and attending regular school in the country. Nsliy info said it is home stay and 3.5 hours of language school a day with the cohort. There are tests you have to pass throughout the year. I have known kids that did both.