<p>@JuliaG1234:
Thank you so much! Your answer helps me a lot! I think I kinda explain very well anout why I want to study Korean! But I saw some ppl said that choosing 1 language will decrease my chance so I was kinda worry :)) hehe. And did you apply for this year?</p>
<p>kimcheeeater99:
Yup I did and glad I could be of some help. ^^</p>
<p>Hi everyone, Im a freshman and I’ll apply for Nsli-y next year. Can anyone give me advice about the language preference essay (like what should I put there, what they looking for,…?) I’m not a good writer so I’m very worry about that. Thank you so much</p>
<p>Those of you who are semi-finalists or past attendees, I have a question about the TB test that we have to do. It says that we have to have one that is at most 6 months ago, but I had one about 8 months ago for work. Do you think that is okay? Or will they require me to do a new one? I’m planning on calling them to find out, but figured I’d ask if anyone is in the same position as me.
I just don’t think two months is that much of a difference considering that I did it for work where I’m still working at the same place, so if the test shows up different then I shouldn’t be allowed to work.</p>
<p>Another question, in regards to attire for the interview, what did previous girls wear? I know guys are suit and tie, but for girls, I’ve always found formal dress code to be different for every “suit and tie” occasion. Thanks!</p>
<p>@makearight–I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure they’ll stick to the 6 months on the TB test. I think you need that for Visas, and Visa people won’t accept one outside of the time frame they ask for. Check though! Also, I haven’t been to my interview yet (and I’m having a phone one) but what I’ve heard from other people is modest, nice clothing, like slacks/ more formal skirt and a blouse, or a nice dress, but no need to go fancy-fancy. Some guys go in just nice pants and nice shirt too. Also, minimal make-up/jewelry.</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware that you need a TB test for a visa…I’m pretty sure you only need it so that NSLI-Y knows that you’re not going to get sick/are already sick when they pay for you to travel abroad. Basically, it’s so that their investment is worth it. That’s how I see the medical evaluation stuff.</p>
<p>Has anyone who has previously gone on NSLI-Y used a previous physical, or have you all gotten a new one for the med eval?</p>
<p>I know that some countries don’t let people in who have histories of/currently have certain illnesses…but I don’t know specific country rules for specific illnesses. Every country is different.</p>
<p>To those people who’ve already had their interview, may I ask whether you were asked to comment on your language preference(s)? I wrote a very strong essay on why I chose my first choice and my interest in the geographical region, but I hope I didn’t leave an impression that I only wanted that language. Truth is, I’d be interested in studying many of the languages on the list.</p>
<p>Hi I’m new to this forum, but I just had my interview literally 5 minutes ago and I thought I’d tell you guys a little about it. It’ll be a long post, sorry.
It was really, really mellow. Stop worrying. My interviewer said I was one of the first to be interviewed so I guess most people are still waiting.
I had an in home interview. I’m not sure about how the interview events or phone interview work, but I suspect that at least the phone ones will be similar.
The guy was an AFS volunteer. Anyway we sat down at my kitchen table and he told me that this was a very informal interview and that it was mainly for host family placement, and not really for selection purposes.
The questions were:
“What’s your home life like?”
“What kind of classes do you take and what’s your favorite?” (Even though he didn’t explicitly ask I told him a lot about my extracurriculars.)
“Do you have any food allergies?”
“Tell me a little bit about what drew you to the program?”
“Have you ever gone on any family trips abroad.”
Then it was pretty much done. He asked me if I had and questions about the program. He told me a little bit about his experience volunteering with NSLI-Y, and he told me that since I’m a semifinalist I’ve made the biggest cut. He said there were probably 3,500 applicants and that they cut it down to around 1,100 semifinalists. He said last year they gave about 780 scholarships out; he didn’t know if it would go up or down this year.
He said he thought I was perfect for the program and he left. It all took about 25 minutes. Anyway yeah don’t worry, hopefully this helped anyone who’s nervous about it!</p>
<p>@MusicMusic - I wasn’t asked that specifically but there was plenty of opportunity to comment on it, it was more of a conversation so I’m sure you can bring it up if you want to.</p>
<p>Wow now I feel odd. My interview was yesterday and it lasted for over an hour and a half 0.o I had my interview yesterday so, I’ll share too 
I went to my interviewers home along with a bunch of other kids. There were also two NSLi-Y alumni there in the waiting area (living room) to answer any questions we had and they were awesome ^^
My mom came with me to be interviewed and out of all the kids I saw (around 10) I only saw one other parent 
We talked for a long time about all the things lavender knight was asked and she also have me some situational questions. My interviewer was from AFS and also happened to be a former exchange student (she went to japan)! We really communicated well and joked around quite a bit. She’s also very active in public education so we talked about the schooling system and current events happening in our city.
I think my interview went really well and it lasted longer than some of the other applicants because my parent was there and because the interviewer and I would go off topic sometimes ^^"
If you have any questions about the questions I was asked or any other tips you may need feel free to ask! I’d also love to here about other people’s experiences ^^</p>
<p>Oh! And I just remembered! I overheard the AFS interviewers talking about the acceptance rate and last year about 25% of applicants were accepted out of the semifinalists and this year they’re accepting around 17% because the numbers are higher.
I don’t know how accurate this is and I don’t want to say that anyone else is wrong, this is just what I heard.
And sorry for double posting! ^^</p>
<p>Hmm… still no interview notification… nuuuuu T__T
Should I just call them tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?
Thought there’d be a lot of alumni in CA but I guess not in the LA area… :P</p>
<p>Hi yunallen, I saw a facebook post today that advises any semifinalist who has not heard from AFS Intercultural Programs, should contact them directly by phone or email to schedule an interview. Good Luck! My daughter has an interview in Cincinnati this Saturday!</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore and I’m looking into applying for the Arabic summer program next year. I’m completely new to NSLI-Y and so far I’ve only read the stuff on the website about it, so is there anything else I should know before applying, and is there any way to increase my chances of getting in? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi guys!
I felt like joining in the conversation. Here’s a small background of myself:</p>
<p>I was accepted as a semi-finalist for NSLI-Y back in December and I had my interview earlier this month. My preference is China/Summer and I have only a year and a half of previous experience (completed a Chinese I course, currently enrolled in Chinese II). My perspective career is to be an international freelance artist/photographer.</p>
<p>So here’s how my interview went:
I live in Florida and all the major interview events were all in southern Florida (I live in the northwest area, under Alabama). So my interview was over Skype. Though there was some minor connection problems and lag, the interview went really well. My interview was an AFS volunteer and she had experience with studying abroad in Asia. She ask me questions about my household, school, and why I wanted to go to China. Then, she asked questions about how I overcame certain situations (ex. In a new area or community, how did I assimilate; how did I overcome an academic struggle). The she asked me questions that would influence my host family placement (ex. What would you expect from your host family; what will you love to do with your host family). Finally, she asked for a parent so I brought my mom to my laptop to wrap up the interview. She asked my mother her perspective of the household and what she expects from her children. She also asks for the parents opinion on studying abroad. Then she asked if any of us had any questions about studying abroad, NSLI-Y, or even about AFS (there would be a chance that Chinese applicants would be traveling with AFS instead of NSLI-Y).</p>
<p>I dressed up with a nice blouse and dress pants although she could only see the top half of my body. Ironically, she had on a usually t-shirt and was on her bed during the interview while I was sitting in my living room (had spent a good hour cleaning it up making sure everything looked good in the background lol). And overall I felt really good about my interview. Throughout the interview, she shared some of her experiences in China and Japan (I told her my interest in South Eastern Asian languages) and also asked for my insight on the Chinese language.</p>
<p>The interview has made me very excited about this opportunity! But I plan not to get fully excited until it’s sure that this opportunity is official (I’ve been holding back from reading blogs and videos about the NSLI-Y program). But I’m hoping for the best for everyone!</p>
<p>Hey AKACobee,</p>
<p>Seems like your interview went really well! Best of luck.
My interview was supposed to be yesterday, but with the weather as bad as it was, it was cancelled and now it’s been rescheduled to be an in-home interview. I’m a little disappointed but I’m a little glad too. More time to ponder beforehand.</p>
<p>Is this your first year applying to NSLI-Y? Regardless, I wanted to post a link to my blog here in case anyone is interested in Korean culture and whatever else I may happen to write about: <a href=“http://yoobumsoo.blogspot.com/”>http://yoobumsoo.blogspot.com/</a>
I’m really excited for this program (especially after reading so many blogs and videos…bad idea btw) so I’ve been trying to make this blog a way to practice my Korean (even though it started out as an English assignment).</p>
<p>Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hakyun and AKACobee:
I understand, I’ve watched WAY too many vlogs on people studying in Korea x) I’m trying not to get myself too excited for the program (my family has already started saying ‘when you go to Korea’, imagine if I don’t make it -.-) because it’s still a really big IF. But, it’s so hard not to get excited! ^^ You hear rumors that the first cut’s the hardest and your chances are higher but then you also hear that even MORE people applied so, less people are going to be chosen. 
And for my interview I really dressed up (new dress, I even wore pantyhose :P) and my mom dressed really nice as well (dress pants and heels). And when I got there I saw some people walk in wearing jeans xD But my interviewers were also dressed very nice so, I didn’t feel totally awkward ^^
I suppose it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed :P</p>
<p>Oh, and AKACobee, just for future reference, NSLI-Y is a scholarship given by the government to study abroad. If you get it, they pay for you to study abroad through a private organization (AFS, YFU, etc) they aren’t a separate program themselves ^^ They’re partnered with private foreign exchange programs so, that’s why most of us were interviewed by AFS volunteers :)</p>
<p>JuliaG1234:
I’ve been doing a bit of calculating to make me feel more competitive and it seems that approximately 15% of all applicants become Finalists. We all have better chances of getting into this program than we have getting into MIT! Haha. Not too sure how that’s supposed to cheer anyone up. But this might: About 43% of semifinalists become finalists (600~/1400~).</p>
<p>OK…back to my Running Man episode.</p>