I've gotten some Facebook messages recently about applying to CLS as a freshman, and seeing as I have several posts giving advice about NSLI-Y, I thought I might as well do one for CLS.
HOW DO I STAND OUT AS A FRESHMAN?
So, generally speaking, like NSLI-Y, I'd say the readers are looking for students who show a passion for language learning, as well as those who can apply language learning to furthering diplomacy between the United States and the host country. I think it's important to relate your reason for studying the language to your major/minor and/or your future career goals.
Since I'm a film major, who, at the time, was currently not taking any language classes, I thought there was no way I was going to get the scholarship, especially not as a freshman. That being said, I think the opposite was true--at least my reasoning for thinking I wouldn't be selected.
A lot of students who apply are studying international relations, business, or linguistics, which means they get a lot of applications stating the same general goals. I'm not saying that if you fall into one of these majors that receiving the scholarship is harder--quite the opposite since there's an easy way to correlate your major to study abroad. But, for me, I think the thing that made my application unique was seeing how I planned to relate film to study abroad.
This might just be me being vein, but here's a fun fact: one of the cultural excursions for Xi'an was new this year. We got to go to a famous film studio in Ningxia and film a movie there. I'm not saying they changed the cultural excursion for me, but I think it's a little too coincidental that they changed the trip to include a film studio tour for just Xi'an when I'm the only film major in the program. (For Chinese at least.)
Long story short: what interesting perspective or taste can you bring to the program?
WHO WROTE YOUR REC LETTERS?
I asked one of my college professors to write one letter and then asked my high school Chinese teacher to write the other.
One of the things I was worried about was finding a teacher in college who knew me well enough to be comfortable writing a rec letter for me after only knowing me for about two months. I'm lucky enough to go to a small school (about 300 students total), so getting to know my professors wasn't too hard.
But, that being said, it's best to scope out a teacher that you like, and start talking to them after class. While it's not required that you have a rec letter from a college professor, it is highly recommended that at least one of your letters is written by them, even as a freshman.
DID YOU USE ANY ON CAMPUS RESOURCES?
Nope, I did everything by myself. Again, I go to an art school, so my resources are extremely limited. I had my mom and English teacher read over my essays for basic spelling and grammar, but other than that, I was completely solo.
I think what helped me was my previous study abroad experience, so if you have that, it doesn't hurt to play that up in your application. And, more than likely, your college or university will have some on campus resources, and if not, the "CLS Applicants" Facebook page is a great resource to ask alumni any questions you might have about the application process or program in general. You can also you use the CLS website to look up your college or university, and it'll give you a list of all the students who have completed the program, plus your campus advisor for study abroad.
WHERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT BEING THE YOUNGEST ON THE TRIP?
I was so worried that I wasn't going to have any friends on this trip, because the first person I met, who was also going to Xi'an, was 27 years old, and I was 19. I didn't know how I was supposed to socialize with people who were much older than me, but honestly it wasn't a problem in the slightest.
Age doesn't really matter as you get older, and really, it's not something any of us really payed attention to unless we decided to draw attention to it. Yes, I knew that everyone was older than me, but it never felt like there was any major age gap between us. We all just respected each other and socialized with each other how we normally would. Not one talked up or down to anyone else. My two best friends on the program were 20 and 25.
Also, there were plenty of people around my age. There were a few people who were a little older than me, but most of the people on my program were 20-22.
HOW DOES CLS DIFFER FROM NSLI-Y?
The work load is much more intense, and you are held to a language policy which says you will not speak any language but the target language for the duration of the program. You will learn about the equivalent of a semester to a year's worth of a university level language course in 8-10 weeks.
But, there's a lot more freedom seeing as everyone there is an adult. We were able to do independent travel outside the host city without a supervisor. It wasn't really a question of getting the trip approved, more or less getting your itinerary approved. We had to book our tickets and accommodations before submitting our travel form, so our RD knew how we were getting to where we were going and where we planned to stay incase something went wrong.
Those were the major difference for me, otherwise, the two programs are very similar.
WHAT DID A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
8:50-9:50 - Drill 1 (reading comprehension)
9:50-10:00 - break
10:00-10:50 - Drill 1 (grammar)
10:50-11:10 - break
11:10-12:00 - Drill 2 (speaking)
12:00-1:30 - Lunch
1:30-2:20 - Elective class (newspaper or business, but it varies from site to site)
Depending on the day, this would be the last activity, and we had free time for the rest of the day
2:30-3:30 - one-on-one (This takes place every other day for 30 minutes. So I had my one-on-one every Tuesday and Thursday)
If it is a Thursday...
2:30-3:30 - Review for test on Friday
3:30-4:30 - One-on-one (If you were unfortunate like me. Otherwise you have this hour free.)
4:30-TBD - Weekly RD meetings (Your RD checks in with the group and gives you information for the upcoming week)
~5:30 - Free time (Reviews also took place generally around 6:30 in the classrooms, but they were optional)
If a Friday...
9:00-12:00 - Test (If you finished early, you could leave and have some down time)
~2:00-4:00 - Cultural activity
The Xi'an site did wushu and mahjong.
We did not have a cultural activity every week either because of a cultural excursion or because we had something else planned instead.
The cultural activity might not even take place on Friday in the future. our RD tried to make it where we wouldn't have anything but the test on Friday, but that didn't happen for us.
After the cultural activity, the weekend is yours to spend how you please.
HOW DOES INDEPENDENT TRAVEL WORK?
Somehow, I got put in charge of organizing a Chengdu trip for 10+ other adults, and I've never been more stressed. (It actually wasn't that hard.)
Basically, you can google (or yahoo if you don't have a VPN) "high speed train tickets xi'an to chengdu) and you'll find plenty of sites selling tickets. We used c-trip to buy our tickets. Traveling roundtrip from Xi'an to Chengdu was about $90 US, and takes around 4 hours depending on how many stops your train makes.
There's a place near the school where you can pick up your tickets if you passport has been linked to the system? If you've traveled independently in China using the train system, you might be able to use this service, otherwise, you will have to go to the train station and pick up your tickets there. (Side note: you will not be able to use the kiosks there because you do not have a Chinese citizen card.)
If you're in Xi'an, the easiest way to get to the train station is to take the metro all the way to the end of the line (北客站). You won't need to switch metro lines; just ride until you're kicked off. For there, just follow the signs through the station and up the stairs.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT AND TICKET CONFIRMATION NUMBER.
Also, I highly recommend picking up your tickets in advanced and not waiting until the day of because the lines can be long. It took us two hours when we went the first time.
As for hotels, again, you can google search for those. I would look up hostels because they're cheaper. If you're planning on doing a Chengdu trip (which you should), then the hostel we stayed at is called "Hello Chengdu Youth International Hostel." It's really good and has AC, wifi, breakfast, and will give you a ride and tickets to the panda research base.
Once you have all your accommodations taken care of, you submit an independent travel form to your RD 48 hours in advance, and you're good to go. Super easy, especially if you have someone taking care of it for you. (@Chengdu Crew).
HOW WAS THE WORK LOAD?
Kind of insane, and I was in the lower level class. My class (300), had to learn about 20 new vocabulary words every night, and the next morning, we were tested on them. We learned a new textbook lesson every day, so by the end of the week, we had covered 2 new chapters (4 lessons in total). Some of the upper level classes (401) ranged from learning 40-80 new vocab words a night.
My homework typically consisted of reading the textbook dialogue, studying the vocab, doing a worksheet, preparing for drill 2 (speaking), and reading the newspaper article for my elective class. Sometimes I'd also have to prepare a presentation.
I'd say I spent about 5 hours on homework a night during the first week as I adjusted to workload, but as the program moved on, I managed to be able to complete my homework in about an hour and a half to two hours. It's going to be a lot at first, and you're probably going to feel like you're drowning, but you'll learn how to manage your time.
DORMS VS HOST FAMILIES?
I've done both dorm and host family living, and I personally like living in the dorms better. Don't get me wrong, I love my host family, and they we're the best, but I just prefer dorm living. For me, I felt like I had more freedom because I didn't have to worry about texting a host family my plans. If I wanted to go out, I would just go out. It was easy to socialize with my friends since they were right across the hall from me. And since we lived on campus, I didn't have to worry about waking up early for transportation.
It's not that one is better than the other; it's just that they provide different experiences. Host families provide you with home cooked meals and expose you to the family aspect of the culture. You get to interact with a host sibling who might be a completely different age than you. (You will have a roommate if you live in dorms, but they will be a college student. I host family could have a four-year-old kid.)
There are pros and cons to both; it really depends on your living habits/personality.
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Those were the high points. Feel free to contact me if you have any more specific questions. If you're looking for some NSLI-Y advice, then you can check out these posts: I'M GOING TO CHINA, Future Applicant Advice, Things I Wish I Knew