Is anyone applying for NSLI-Y Academic Year & a separate (in-country) summer program? I’m applying to TASP, & (hypothetically), if I get in, I think it may interfere with NSLI-Y. TASP takes place June 24 – August 4, 2018 & Academic Year finalists have to start preparing for their year during that time. (If any alumni are familiar with what this preparation entails, I’d love to know.) I highly doubt I’ll get into both programs, & if I miraculously do, if any conflicts arise I’ll choose NSLI-Y in less than a heartbeat. But I’m just curious as to if they can be done in such close proximity to each other, or if any late summer programs can be attended without interfering with prep for Academic Year. Also, if anyone knows approximately when the Academic Year starts, or when it started when you did it, I’d also like to know that. I’m assuming it starts in September or late August?
Not knowing the exact dates of these programs makes planning for other opportunities very challenging. However, it is a small price to pay for the NSLI-Y experience. It is HIGHLY unlikely, since these are both such extremely selective programs that you would be admitted to both, so you probably don’t have a problem. If you are admitted to both…August 4th is very early in August, so there is a good chance you could make it work.
Can anyone tell me the dates that Summer Russia began and ended last summer? If so, that would be very helpful.
Hello!
Russian Summer 2017-18 Alum here, I am currently a senior and have applied to the year program this time around.
At this point, it’s a little late for application advice, but I can answer some general NSLIY questions as well as Russian program-specific ones if you have any!
@itsjustmyfuture
Pre-Departure Orientation started June 21st, and we all arrived back to New York August 7th.
@Ruzzen Where in Russia did you go? Did you have prior experience with speaking/writing Russian? Was there a time you ever felt unsafe during your time there? How many other students were in your Russian class or were you taught in a tutorial style?
@oak2maple I already doubt that I’ll be accepted into any of the programs, let alone both, but I just wanted to clarify in the case of a weird twist of fate, you know? I’m also applying for several other summer programs that are less selective, so if I get into NSLI-Y I’m probably going to have to end up juggling something, even if it’s not TASP. Thanks for your help!
@Ruzzen Thank you so much for supplying us w/ those dates. I would like to ask what your experience was like living with your host family. Did you live with them the entire time you were there? If not, what other type of living arrangement did you experience? Did you have any free time to explore/sightsee while you were there?
@oak2maple
I lived in Kirov, Russia. I didn’t make a video while I was there, but I know some students who went the year before me uploaded some stuff on youtube if you’re interested in visualizing the experience. I had very little experience with Russian besides the pre-departure homework, which sets a foundation for all of the basics that you’ll learn once in Russia. I never felt unsafe. In my program, there were around 22 of us total and we were split in half so the classes were more manageable.
@itsjustmyfuture
No Problem! For the Kirov program, you live in a hostel with the other students for 3 weeks, then in the host families for the final 3 weeks. I loved the host family experience, it’s certainly unique to the program. And yes, you have scheduled time for excursions throughout the Kirov region as a group.
Really hoping my son makes it through this year! He applied last year and was disappointed not to get in. He did get to go participate in what ended up being the very last year of the Federal Service Language Academy at UNG in their Arabic program, and really enjoyed it.
Excited for the results to come back!
If past years are any indication, all semifinal decisions should be released to candidates on December 1st. However, given that this date falls on a Friday, I would not be surprised for the results to come out on Monday, December 4th. Good luck to all those waiting.
Hey guys. Last year i applied for the NSLI-Y scholarship and made it to semis, but i got rejected in the finalist round :(. So, I don’t know if I’m the best for advice, but I hope you all can learn from my mistakes. For those looking to apply next year, make sure to personalize your application. I applied for China Summer 2015-2016, and I didn’t make it as a semi-finalist. I suspect it’s because my application was EXTREMELY dry and I tried to awkwardly fit in my newly acquired, pompous vocabulary wherever I could. It obviously didn’t work. Also, in my 2015-2016 application, to explain why I chose China Summer, I only used about 30 of my 175 words, and my reasoning was because I thought the only way I could master Chinese was through immersion, which 1 isn’t true and 2 is a pretty negative outlook. I applied again the next year (2016-2017) with a bit more wisdom and used personal anecdotes rather than pretentious verbiage in my application, and I think that alone helped me become a semi-finalist. However, I hadn’t learned from all of my mistakes: In my Activities and ECs section, I filled up all ten spaces with clubs and organizations that I barely showed up to. I prized quantity over quality and that weakened my application (in my opinion). Also, my interview was very short (around 20 minutes) and my answers were shallow. I’m not gonna reveal the interview questions and my responses to them (because I don’t want to accidentally disclose information), but just know that my responses to the deeper, more personal questions were around 1 sentence and frankly, not good enough. SO, with all of this said, probably in much too many words, I applied for a final time this year. Im a senior, and I’ve already come down with a bit of senioritis, so I applied for NSLI-Y the day before the deadline. I initially wasn’t going to apply because NSLI-Y application happen to fall in the thick of college apps, but I thought, why not. Years prior, I genuinely wanted to study a language abroad and participate in NSLI-Y, but I also had this pressure that I needed to participate in order to have something impressive on my resume for the summer. I felt that I needed to study in China in order to take AP Chinese this year. Also, I felt a sense of entitlement to get the scholarship because of my GPA and academic achievement (which is possibly the dumbest assumption I could make). But, I was rejected, I was kinda devastated after coming so close, but after it all I’m fine now. I applied this year solely because I wanted to, because I thought it would be an amazing experience, and because, again, why not. So I’m hopeful again, but if I get rejected this year (which may likely happen to many of us and me) as early as December, I’ll be fine.
also this is wayy too long but I had to get it out
@zancarelipy
Thank you for sharing. That was really heartfelt and your experience will hopefully help others applying next year. I’ll be personally routing for you this year! My daughter is applying for AY China, she is a summer '16 alumni. Her summer experience was life altering. In the end all things happen for a reason. I’m sure you have a fantastic chance this year as your heart is clearly where it needs to be.
omg…decisions out in two weeks :((
@itsjustmyfuture Ugh, I’ve been counting down the days. The anxiety only grows. I just want to KNOW already.
They suprisingly go through the application really fast. I don’t know if I’m relieved or scared by that. Anyways, fingers crossed 
We have about a week left, everyone!
Do you guys think that semi notifs will be pushed back since the app deadline was? Or will it most likely still come out on December 1st?
Someone from before said they wouldn’t be surprised if the results are released around December 4th since the deadline was extended.