Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ability of the kid to be VERY independent is a big criterion. Selection committee is looking for mature students who are unlikely to get homesick and can handle themselves on public transport without being fluent. Not for everyone. Snowflakes should not apply. There is very little handholding. Unfortunately, multiple contractors operate in the most popular countries (Korea, Taiwan). You have no control over what contractor you get. My kid had an absolutely amazing experience and people with that contractor in Korea also loved it. But other contractors not nearly as good. Some didn’t have home placements and were in dorms. It is luck of the draw.

Can you clarify what getting assigned to a contractor means? How does this differ from the typical home placement?

This means that the program is funded by the State department on the US side, but inside host countries it is managed by study abroad organizations that have offices there. My kid did YES Abroad (another state department program) And it has the same structure. State department offered the funding and provided the stateside orientation, then in her case AFS office handled homestays etc. If you look at the website for these programs, you’ll be able to see which organization is responsible for the kids in each country

Anonymous wrote:This is all super helpful information.

I hear families saying it was a great experience - yay! I’m also sort of hearing that it wasn’t maybe *fun* for the kids? Lots and lots of work and commuting and not enough time to explore? The no handholding is fine for my son, but I would hope the experience would be fun!?

I can only speak for my kid's experience. There were some fun moments, but wouldn't describe the overall experience as fun. Language education is the primary objective and kids have tons of work. The days are long and it's intense. My kid is very independent, had prior language experience and usually petty easy-going. I think they would have had more 'fun' and would have enjoyed the host family experience more if they had less homework and had more free time to explore and learn organically. But this is not that type of program.

Do we have any data on how many kids took Korean vs Chinese etc? I suspect, the total number would vary depending on the availability of host families.

Anonymous wrote:What's the difference between NSLI and CLS?

CLS is for college students, NSLI-Y is high school.

What's the difference between NSLI and CLS?

Anonymous wrote:This is all super helpful information.

I hear families saying it was a great experience - yay! I’m also sort of hearing that it wasn’t maybe *fun* for the kids? Lots and lots of work and commuting and not enough time to explore? The no handholding is fine for my son, but I would hope the experience would be fun!?

My son had fun, explored his city, went to local soccer games, etc. The program took them all over the country to experience different areas and cultural sites. The classroom portion was 4 hours every morning, five days a week, and it was intense. Plus homework. But he came back speaking in Russian!

Remember, this program is designed to teach languages that are critical to our national security. Everything is paid for, even a small amount of spending money (you do have to pay for your passport and fees to get a physical, etc). In return, the State Department expects these kids to learn the language and, hopefully, continue with the language when they return from the program. It’s not a vacation but, for a kid who is serious about language immersion, it’s a wonderful and life-changing opportunity.

This is all super helpful information.

I hear families saying it was a great experience - yay! I’m also sort of hearing that it wasn’t maybe *fun* for the kids? Lots and lots of work and commuting and not enough time to explore? The no handholding is fine for my son, but I would hope the experience would be fun!?

Np- my kid was in taiwan, I think there were 5 different groups split between 3 cities/universities - and 3 contractors - basically outsourced managing companies. The contractors find the host families and provide on site management. I think most kids in taiwan have host families but I know 1 location had dorms where kids stayed together. My kid had host family and traveled each day to school on their own using public transport. No hand holding. Some host families better than others. Kids need to be independent and resilient. Great learning opportunity. Only caveat is they get home mid august and start school very quickly so not much downtime/break before diving back into school academics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like they select girls far more than boys and if boys are selected, certain personalities are paramount in the decision process.

Could you elaborate?

Inference is a lost skill.

Anonymous wrote:Ability of the kid to be VERY independent is a big criterion. Selection committee is looking for mature students who are unlikely to get homesick and can handle themselves on public transport without being fluent. Not for everyone. Snowflakes should not apply. There is very little handholding. Unfortunately, multiple contractors operate in the most popular countries (Korea, Taiwan). You have no control over what contractor you get. My kid had an absolutely amazing experience and people with that contractor in Korea also loved it. But other contractors not nearly as good. Some didn’t have home placements and were in dorms. It is luck of the draw.

Can you clarify what getting assigned to a contractor means? How does this differ from the typical home placement?

Our kid did Russian summer and had an AMAZING experience. He had another NSLI-Y student staying in his host family, which was great for him. I highly recommend the program.

Anyone sent a kid to Indonesia? That’s where my kid applied.

Ability of the kid to be VERY independent is a big criterion. Selection committee is looking for mature students who are unlikely to get homesick and can handle themselves on public transport without being fluent. Not for everyone. Snowflakes should not apply. There is very little handholding. Unfortunately, multiple contractors operate in the most popular countries (Korea, Taiwan). You have no control over what contractor you get. My kid had an absolutely amazing experience and people with that contractor in Korea also loved it. But other contractors not nearly as good. Some didn’t have home placements and were in dorms. It is luck of the draw.

My son participated for Arabic, in Jordan, several years ago. He took Arabic in HS for 3 years prior to going.

It was an amazing experience for him. Highly recommend!!

He did Project Go in college- but it was COVID, so on Zoom

He continued to take Arabic in college.

Good luck!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Edit: 1.5 hours. Not 15!

Do multiple kids stay with the same host family? I'm wondering whether the kids are completely on their own for such a long commute or whether they have a commute buddy.

(Before anyone pounces on me with helicopter parent accusations: my older kid did a summer study program in Amsterdam during high school, and while they stayed in a hostel, they were supposed to commute to/from classes with a buddy. And the younger kid I'm thinking might be a candidate for NSLI-Y regularly takes city buses around our non-DMV-area suburb (with terrible public transportation options).)

Regarding homestay/commute: Only 1 kid per host family. Host parents accompanied them for first day to show how to use public transport, then my kid traveled each day on their own. My kid didn't complain about the commute itself, but they did complain about being tired, and about not having as much free time as they would have hoped. Commute was longer than expected but all the kids in the group had similar commute time.

What country/city?