NSLI-Y???? Anyone know anything about this program?

jennhuynh94
Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:42:35 +0000

I went on the NSLI-Y program in China during the Summer of 2010. When the Dept. of State had a representative visit us at Gateway Orientation, she said that the most popular/competitive programs are China-Summer and Arabic-Summer. That shouldn’t scare people away from applying for these programs, but that also makes those two programs the ones with the most scholarships. Since we were going to China, they told us there were about 250 scholarships available for programs in China. There’s a total of 600 scholarships for seven different countries (Egypt is currently debatable, but it is still an option as of right now on the website!), which is absolutely wonderful!

I found when applying it was key to show that you were mature (as someone mentioned before), able to adapt easily, be flexible, and have a strong will and dedication to learning a new language as well as immersing into a new culture. They really want people to devote themselves afterwards as well. As a returnee from NSLI-Y I’m still involved in advocating the program to everyone I know, as well as volunteering with the program that sponsored me to study abroad (AFS)

I strongly advise people to apply for this program, it was a life changing experience that changed a lot of my views on different issues and on how I live my life. Good luck to those applying!