@baxter no, I haven’t heard anything about the interview weight. My interviewer did say that she had no say in the decisions. All she did is record my answers.
Hey ya’ll from what I understand (I had my interview about two weeks ago) the interview is like a recommendation. As I see it, if you’re a semi-finalist, they saw something in your app that made you standout. Now you just have to show enthusiasm for the program and your maturity too, in order to show that you are prepared for study abroad. But that’s just me.
@baxter I’ve heard from a friend who’s also a semi that her interviewer said that the interview counts for about 20%. She had her interview the same week I had mine.
When I log into my account, I can no longer see my original application or the form where I accepted my semifinalist status. I can only see the medical evaluation form and the contact info update form. Is this the case for anyone else? I wonder if it means anything…
@collegestorm - for what it’s worth, DS’s form is also missing when he logs in
@collegestorm A friend called NSLI-Y to ask a question and she was told that the staff are in meetings. She thinks it means that they are starting to review applications and stuff.
@collegestorm
Same thing here, I’m sure it’s fine 
so long as you have evidence that you’ve submitted all of the forms you’re 700% good.
Agh so nervous, it’s semi-notifications all over again but abundantly worse. XD
Guys I don’t think I can wait anymore
I believe that NSLI-Y applications are back up online, so you can look at them if you’d like to. Apparently they were not supposed to be taken down in the first place.
I have a question.
I am a senior and applied to colleges this year. I also applied to NSLI-Y year (and YES Abroad). I’m planning on taking a gap year. Does anyone know any alum who has done the same thing? YES Abroad decisions come before college decisions and require a response before I hear anything from colleges. I’m worried about accepting YES and then having a college not allow me to defer/lose my scholarships. As for NSLI-Y, the year notifications come out just before I have to commit to a college, and I’m worried I won’t have enough time to ask the college to defer before I have to commit.
Does anyone know an alum in my position? Are there any alumni here who can help me out? Any advice? Is there some way to get YES to defer their commitment requirement?
Any help would be much appreciated.
@curlykat From what I’ve heard, the vast majority of academic year (Korea) current participants are taking a Gap Year. Perhaps you can find a participant’s or an alumni’s social media account and ask questions.
Anyone else applying for the Russian program?
Also, has anyone changed their program preference after being selected as a semi-finalist? I changed my first choice from Korean Summer to Russian Summer.
@college61728 I applied for Russian Year!
I applied for Arabic and Russian year (but Arabic is my first choice)
when do you think we’ll find out? I’ve heard of years when they decide by March 1st and years when they decide like April 20th…
I’m not sure when, like you said, sometime between March and mid-April. I think it’s rolling, so not everyone is notified at the same time.
I’ve heard finalists are notified by country/duration group. Do you think there would be big gaps in between those? Have there been in years past?
I’m new to this thread but I just wanted to wish everyone luck! I only applied to Russian summer and I’m dying waiting. I don’t personally know anyone who has been through NSLI-Y before so I really don’t know what to expect.
Does anyone know how many people applied this year?
@savlam Last year, all the summers came out first. I think Hindi came out first, but not sure. I’d say there’s around three to five days between each language group. However, years are notified much later.
Basically, all the summer come out first (generally in March), and then all the years came out a month-ish later (April).
Hopefully that helps!
Did anyone else change their program preference during the semi-finalist stage? I did…
Hi guys! I’m also applying for Russian Summer. I’m in a state of constant excitement because I heard Russian summer typically gets notified first, considering the extensive visa process we would need to go through if selected. Fingers crossed for all of us
I think Russian may come out before Hindi, but either way, the two are certainly among the first notified. The earliest date I’ve heard was last year for Russian summer, February 28th.