<p>@Yunallen–
Don’t worry! I haven’t heard about interviews either. They said interviews run through January (maybe early Feb too? not sure) and that we should be contacted by January 15th, and if not email AFS at the address they sent us in the semi-finalist email.</p>
<p>I can honestly say my son’s application did not express enough “passion” for learning his target language. It’s all implied in his well balanced high school career that he is driven and enjoys learning. Gpa and awards are not just statistics; they reflect a person’s desire to better themselves and are the results of countless hours of study and practice. Learning a new language does take similar kind of dedication. Best wishes to all semifinalists. Prepare yourself the best way you can to the finish line.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, despite what I think NSLI-Y judges the applications on, I honestly have NO idea how they choose their semifinalists!
My grades aren’t that spectacular (3.3), I’m not involved in a lot of activites at school, I’ve definetly never won any awards and I’ve had NO previous education in my target language. But, because I knew I was going up against some tough competition, I tried my best to make my app stand out. I tried not to write a cookie cutter essay of high school life and tried to include personal details and stories that are unique to me.
I don’t like to think I got in because of race or income, I like to think that I was chosen due to the fact that my essays stood out from the rest and isn’t that always the goal when writing an application, whether it’s for college or for a scholarship? Either way, I wish every student luck in their future goals of learning a new language! ^^</p>
<p>yunallen:
I didn’t receive my email yet either but, don’t worry about interviewing after December. See it as less of a wait for acceptance emails! :P</p>
<p>Dizzyworld, I think you misunderstood my post. I was replying to the post by Julia in which she made the statement “What the State Department is looking for is people who will utilize their languge skills in their future CAREER. They’re less keen on picking someone who only wants to go on exchange because they see it as a free vacation and will never really speak the language again after that.” I felt that our situation showed that this is probably not the case. I only added the extra part about the gpa and extracurriculars to show that my D had other qualifications. And since you mentioned whether students are ready for the intense study, my daughter has already studied in two other countries to learn culture and language fluency, and spent all of last summer studying Chinese language in an immersion program at a college 1500 miles from home.</p>
<p>We are very happy for those that were chosen, still think this is a wonderful program, and my D will have several other opportunities in college to spend time in China at later times. I just thought students applying next year that might be reading Julia’s statement needed to know that they don’t always choose those with the strong career goals in international relations and foreign languages.</p>
<p>@Weski–Yep, I did misunderstand, thanks for the clarification! And I in NO WAY meant to questions your daughter’s credentials/merit/experience I just brought in the readiness element because it is something that NSLIY talks about looking for, and no one had mentioned it in this conversation. Like Julia said, we all have our ideas and beliefs on how NSLIY makes their decisions, but when it comes down to it, none of us have any way of knowing for certain.</p>
<p>Hi firefly12345
This is kinda late, but I was really wondering if you could tell me what happened exactly at the interview and if you have any tips??</p>
<p>@Tresyum</p>
<p>Of course!</p>
<p>First they asked us a few questions about our daily lives. How many siblings do you have? What chores do you do? Are you close to your family? What activities do you participate in with your families? I was told these were “placement questions.” They did not impact whether you got in or not, but would affect where you were placed if you did get in.</p>
<p>Next they asked us questions that did impact whether we were accepted or not. What would you do if your host family was strict? Tell a time when you failed at something and how you dealt with it. All of the interviewers were somehow involved in other study abroad programs, so they will probably be interested in what you have to say.</p>
<p>I would suggest dressing nicely. The email specified this. Most of the guys were wearing suits and ties and most of the girls wore skirts. I would also suggest arriving early and bringing a parent. They have alumni there to answer questions and converse with parents. I really wish my parents had stayed, so they could have talked to the alumni. It seemed expected of them. </p>
<p>I don’t know when you have an interview, but good luck!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all semi-finalists - and good luck on your interviews! I am following this thread because my son plans to apply for NSLI-Y next year. I am wondering what all the parents have to do. From what I understand the parents write a letter of reference and also attend the interview. Does anyone know what they ask of the parents for the letter or throughout the process? I would appreciate any input/advice. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for everyone - I hope that you all get accepted and to the country of your choice.</p>
<p>@mominaz
Since I translated my parent’s ‘recommendation’ I have a pretty good idea what they asked. Don’t expect any questions like ‘Why should your child be accepted to this program?’ or anything of that nature. The questions they expect you to answer are the ones that really goes in depth about your child’s personality and their habits. Example questions would be ‘How does your child handle disappointment?’ or ‘Describe your child’s role in the household.’. I can’t really go explain in detail but this is basically the gist of the type of questions they’re going to ask you. Some advice when you write your ‘recommendation’ is to not make your child sound like the perfect student 
xD. You should also put in a little bit of weak points about your child but think about how you’re going to phrase it. There are ways to make weaknesses sound like good things you know ^.^. A great example would be writing something like ‘Since my son has a tendency to make everything perfect and exact, he usually spends more time on something than another person would prefer.’. Anything works really. Oh and BE HONEST. Honesty pays off :P</p>
<p>Hope I helped~!</p>
<p>Those who have had their interviews</p>
<p>What did the male interviewees wear?</p>
<p>Suit & Tie or Dress Shirt + Khaki
Mine is coming up in 3 weeks and I have no idea whether to go suit formal or dress shirt and khaiki formal</p>
<p>@sodiumwithwater</p>
<p>Suit and tie</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful insight yunallen! I will keep all of this in mind for next year.</p>
<p>Also were the interviewers like teenagers or alumni or…?</p>
<p>firefly12345;</p>
<p>Also when they asked you questions about your daily life, did a parent have to be there with you. Or did they just join the interview around the end?
thanks</p>
<p>@mominaz
Haha no problem~!
Oh and I also suggest not making the statement too long. Don’t aim to cap it off at the 500 mark. Try to make it short but to the point. I don’t think the people reading the application are going to like really long statements. Just a suggestion~ You don’t have to, it’s your choice! ^.^</p>
<p>@Tresyum</p>
<p>We were interviewed by college students and other adults. The parents joined the interview at the end. The main reason the parents were invited in was to reassure them that the program was safe. I do not think they will have any influence on whether or not you get in.</p>
<p>I just got my interview email yesterday! 
My interview’s on January 11th, it’s so close! And my interview is taking place at my interviewer’s home o.O Don’t know if this is common or not, or if other applicants will be there with me but, I hope I leave a good impression. 
And Happy New Year everyone! ^^</p>
<p>Good Luck Julia! I’m sure you’ll do awesome :)</p>
<p>Hello guys, Im new to this group. I have some quick questions:
-If I don’t do volunteer or sports, What should I put in my letter to host family for that part?
-Will my chance decrease if I only choose 1 Language for my preference? (1st- Korean year, 2nd-Korean)
-What is a good explanation if I choose Any language-Any duration?
Im planning to apply for 2015-2016.
I appreciate all answers! Thanks</p>
<p>Welcome! ^^</p>
<p>-If you don’t volunteer or do sports that fine, just talk about what you enjoy doing! Playing music, watching movies, the letter is just to give you some personality in your app and also to introduce you to your host family. It’s not really about flaunting all your accomplishments, just a brief summary on you :)</p>
<p>-Haha, I have the exact same language preference as you (unless that was just an example…)! I think choosing one language primarily can have it’s advantages as much as being open to any country. If you explain why you want to just study Korean, I’m sure that they’ll see you as having a long-term goal that you’re working hard to accomplish (which is a BIG plus).</p>
<p>-The key to a good explanation would mostly be your true feelings on studying abroad x) Maybe you’ve wanted to travel the world or you want the chance to see how other people live, no matter the location. Everyone has different reasons for choosing a language/country, it all depends on you.</p>
<p>Also, a small tip, try not to overthink the essays. When writing, it can show if you’re trying too hard to come up with a reason for everything. Just write a list of why you want to study abroad (in general and for a specific country) and just go from there. Try to make them short, sweet, and to the point so, you grab their attention without boring them. I know I have the habit of trying to write useless sentences to try to get better “flow” when all it does is make my papers lengthy and dull.</p>
<p>Hope that I sort of answered your questions and good luck applying next year! ^^</p>