I knowwww, I just want it to be March already 
My top four were Bulgaria, TĆ¼rkiye, North Macedonia, and Jordan! (I had Morocco as number four originally, but that requires 2 years of French or equivilant)
What about you?
Ooh cool! Yeah Iād originally put both Morocco and Senegal butā¦ I donāt know any French 
(Although Iāve started taking some in the event that I get rejected this year, then in the future maybe I could apply for Morocco/Senegal). My top four were India, Thailand, TĆ¼rkiye, and Jordan, so we have two in common!!!
ooh! yeah, Those are great choices! I love how for Thailand, we get to go to one of three camps if assigned (massage camp, meditation camp, or Thai boxing camp). India would be really neat tooā¦ WHEN you get in and if you get assigned to India, keep me in the loop! Although it is near the bottom of my list, I still would love to experience Holi in person (and see any photos you feel comfortable with sharing from when you experience Holi)!
Thank you! Yeah I love that so many of these programs give us extra opportunities like that. Yessss I would love to experience both Holi and Diwali, especially because I have a lot of friends here in America that celebrate both. Thatās part of the reason I put India as my number one preference, because Iāve gotten tastes of the culture through my friends but I would love to be actually immersed in it too. Also Indian food is just so, so good. Same with Thai food. Can I ask what interested you about your preferred countries? I love talking about this stuff with other applicants 
Yes Iāll definitely keep you in the loop if I go to India! Iād also love to hear about your adventures when you go to a FLEX/YES country or Germany (I saw you applied for CBYX! I actually started a CBYX application but abandoned it so I could focus on the NSLI-Y and FLEX and YES ones).
I completely understand ditching one of the applicationsā¦ I almost didnāt complete the FLEX, YES, and NSLI because I had so much school work and volunteering happening.
As odd as this may sound, I actually used a bracket ranking system to decide the order of preferences. I used requirements such as general interest, climate, food, and enrichment opportunities. Bulgaria came first with TĆ¼rkiye as a close second (Bulgaria won because they go through all 4 seasons and I live in a hot state).
I also love discussing this type of stuff with fellow applicants! Unfortunately, I do not know anyone who has gotten semi for CBYX :') I Will definitely keep you updated! I cannot wait for us to receive our (hopefully) good news in March together!
Yeah high school life gets so busy! If Iām honest it might have been easier for me if CBYX was included in the joint application with the other three. I wonder why they havenāt included CBYX in that app yet, or if they ever will. Iām glad you did get to finish the FLEX/YES/NSLI-Y one though! Good job for persevering!
Ohhhh that makes so much sense actually! I just picked the ones Iāve been interested in for a while, and did the rest of the ranking based on food lol.
Oh dang thatās crazy! Youād think thereād be a lot of semifinalists for CBYX. At least youāll get to meet a bunch at your interview though. Yes definitely! Keeping my fingers crossed for both of us (and everyone else applying!)
At first, I thought it was odd that CBYX was in a different application. But then I realized that NSLI, YES, and FLEX do not group based off of where you are in the US. However, CBYX does and each region is each assigned a different implementing organization. For example, mine for CBYX is CIEE, the biggest one (23 states + US VI). For our group, we have 3 interview locations and 105 scholarship slots.
I totally get ranking based off of foodā¦ in my interview when I was asked what could be difficult for me, I answered the food 
. Texture of food can bother me, which is ironic considering how much I love to cook and bake. Anyway, I told her that and shared how Iāve been stepping outside of my comfort zone with food to prepare myself.
I also am SUPER excited for the country information zoom that they will be doing sometime in early February!
Iām an nsliy semifinalist too and I havenāt gotten anything re: interviews, not even a scheduling email. FLEX and YES most likely are higher up on the rollout list and this unfortunately means NSLIY applicants will get their interviews and acceptance notifs last/later :{ what were your top choices?
thanks so much for sharing! Iām sure you did amazing and iāll be with you waiting for the whole 10 weeks. Iāve been trying to not think about studying abroad so much because iām afraid to get my hopes up haha. rooting for you all 
!
I can say from reading past forums, YES and FLEX are almost always released before any NSLI acceptances. Itās primarily because NSLI is SO much bigger. When you think about it, YES and FLEX applicants are respectively put into one big pool (regardless of country preferences). However, NSLI has 11 different programs within itself (all the summer languages + AY languages). To help pass time, I recommend focusing on the language you applied for or focus on school. I personally focused really hard on school when waiting for the applications to come out (I had been waiting since February, so 6-7 months).
Remember to reach out to the email they give you if you still do not receive a scheduling email. You got this!
Ohhhh that actually makes so much sense. Yeah I think I wouldāve been part of the AFS region. It appears that NSLI-Y/FLEX/YES do have slightly different implementing organizations (American Councils or AFS) which actually might explain some of the differences in who gets interview emails first, but youāre probably right about that being the reason behind CBYXās separate application.
Lol yeah food could be an issue! Iām generally pretty open to eating whateverā¦ sometimes itās better that I donāt know exactly what Iām eating though. Especially when it comes to meat (I was vegetarian for a while so this might be why some types of meat make me squirmy though). Yeah preparing yourself is a good idea. Iāve been doing the same thing with food and music and other small aspects of culture too, hopefully itāll reduce the culture shock if I get in.
Yes me too! Iām so excited to learn about all the countriesā¦ I wonder, if I get in, and become an alumni, that would be a fun thing to do. Talk about my host country to a bunch of applicants.
Youāre welcome! Yeah ten weeks feels like forever sadly. Like DyPascals said, the only thing we can do is try to pass the time. I myself am entering into multiple writing contests so I have other deadlines to look forward to, and Iām also committed to focusing on school/ECs while I wait!
yeah, I figured. but it makes sense! thanks for the info. Itās a good idea to focus on other things ā iām learning my language through my school so i guess i can hit two birds with one stone lol. best of luck and iāll def be back and lurking on this forum come march :>
I totally agree, talking about our host countries to future applicants would be so fun! If I get accepted to any program, I will definitely help in future application years with interviews and info sessions!
Yeah, culture shock is definitely going to be interesting. The thing is, is that I know no matter how much we prepare, weāre definitely going to have at least one culture shockā¦ because itāll be something we would think is so normal and we wonāt prepare for it
Haha, I think we will all be lurking on this forum the second it turns March 1st, waiting for someone to say acceptances came out
I know that for YES, FLEX, and CBYX, all acceptances will be coming out in March. CBYX comes out by March 15th, and YES + FLEX usually comes out in the beginning of March as well. NSLI thoughā¦ itās all between March and April. If I recall correctly, youāre applying for Korean summer. Iām guessing that will come out end of March because Korean comes out later than other languages, but Summer acceptances almost always come out before AY.
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yeah, iāve for sure heard that since k-summer is so popular, it comes out last and is the hardest to get into. iām also prepped to wait until April if I must :<. Iām thinking of making alternate summer plans in case I donāt make it-- itās kind of annoying how short notice it is!!
I totally agree with the whole last minute comment. Thereās things I could sign up for that I want to sign up for (ex: church camp), but I cannot because I do not know if I am leaving. Participants in YES abroad leave between end of June and mid September depending upon the country, so itās very unknown. I canāt imagine how it is for summer thoughā¦ yāall only know 2 months in advance.
If itās any comfort, although thereās MANY applicants for K summer, remember that they dedicate more scholarships to K summer than other languages and durations. NSLI tries to make it as evenly competitive for scholarships across all languages and durations. You got this!!!
Ikr I would love to be like a mentor to other applicants if I get in. I signed up to have a NSLI-Y mentor in October and talking to her was immensely helpful and also just a lot of fun. Iād love to share my experiences like that. Iād also write a blog bc I stalked those so hard during the application process so I know how nice it is to have a good, informative blog to read XD And Iād also do webinars and info sessions. And literally anything else.
Right? Unfortunately thereās no real way to fully prepare for culture shock other than to acknowledge that itās going to happen and mentally prepare yourself lol.
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yeah a blog sounds so fun to make, especially in real time while youāre away! iām thinking of maybe making a Tumblr page, because on there thereās a qna page that would have really helped me as a resource when I was in the middle of my application.