estrella72

Did you son apply through AYUSA? I talked to them because I was going to apply to ayusa as a backup for CBYX, and she mentioned that to me. Your son has made it past the first round, so he is a semi-finalist. However, they are only going to select some of the people they are flying out (I don't know what portion). Good luck to your son, hopefully I will see him in D.C. in August!!

stoth

No, actually I think he applied through CBYX. I guess we'll just cross our fingers and wait and see what happens. Thanks for the reply.

estrella72

I'm sorry, I meant to ask if he applied to CBYX through AYUSA, because you apply to cbyx through one of five organizations. It sounds like ayusa is handling his application, because it's in New Mexico. I hope things turn out nicely.

2sonmama

We had been told that 70 kids would be invited to New Mexico and of those 50 would be selected to go to Germany. They may also pick a few alternates, in case one of the selected 50 backs out.

Good luck!

stoth

Okay--my son just told me that he DID apply through AYUSA--shows you how much I know. Anyway, he will be a senior next year which you mentioned is an advantage plus was he a congressional page last semester in D.C. so is really bored to be back here in our tiny Kansas town so for his sake, I hope he gets it. Any advice you can give for his interviews would be appreciated. He had two or three other congressional page friends who applied from the east coast but their interview processes were different and I think they already know if they have made it--which I think they all did. He is a lot less concerned about this than I am. Anyway--it has all been very interesting, if nothing else.

seole

To anyone considering a high school exchange, I would strongly suggest the Rotary program. I'm currently in Argentina with Rotary and I'm having a blast. Participants must pay airfare and insurance. There are other expenses for things like obtaining visas and personal spending money, but in comparison with the prices of programs like AFS (check out their website) or what you would pay for regular room/board/whatever at home, it's really a great deal for a year abroad. Rotary also gives students monthly spending money, which is especially helpful for kids who go to expensive countries. If money is really an issue, though, I would suggest picking countries where the dollar is strong--I'm so glad I'm in a country with a 3 to 1 ratio instead of Europe where I wouldn't be able to afford to travel.

I also have to recommend that students NOT do exchanges their senior year UNLESS they are extremely organized about doing all of their application chores ahead of time--and I mean all of them. Otherwise, the student will have college applications hanging over his or her head for a large portion of the year (I speak from experience), and this isn't fun for students or host parents. Postage is expensive but frankly time is even more so. I would also like to warn anyone considering this that nearly all colleges will want first semester grades and a midyear report, which can be somewhat difficult to obtain for admissions deadlines. Still, all of these issues are manageable; it's just a question of being extremely organized.

Students who travel as underclassmen should definitely make sure to get some documentation of their work in the host country, even if they know that their high schools will not give any credit for their work. Colleges will want to see some sort of evaluation, whether in the form of actual grades or just a written evaluation of some kind.

As for communication, Skype is great for long-distance communication (free!). While students going to less developed countries should consider the fact that they might not have a computer in their host home or access to the internet outside of a certain schedule, even paying for an hour at an internet cafe (50 US cents per hour for me) is much cheaper than a calling card.

Feel free to PM me with questions.

stoth

Yes, we thought about Rotary--just never got around to applying. If my son does get this CBYX scholarship it pretty much pays for all the same things Rotary pays for.

I agree with you on the not going your senior year except that our options here are so limited. We are in a town of 5000. The high school is awful--no AP classes, just a few honor's classes and he has pretty much taken everything that they have to offer. We do have a community college where he could take classes for dual credit and 95% of the students who graduate from here and go on to college go there because they get free tuition. From what I hear, it is even easier than our high school.

Regardless, he's not looking at applying at Ivy League schools--probably just somewhere here in Kansas--and I have no doubt he'll have no trouble getting into any of them. We're not talking about loads of competition like you have in other states. So I'm not worried about that part. What does have me a little concerned is that there probably are a fair number of scholarships that require tests and interviews for which he will not be eligible to compete since he will not be here.

In the big picture though--for his situation--should he be lucky enough to be awarded the opportunity--it will probably be the best thing for him--give him some perspective outside of this bubble in which we live.

estrella72

stoth-It sounds like the interview process will be a lot different, especially since it sounds like your son will be going up against all the semi-finalists, while mine was just a regional interview with 7 people in each session. However, it seems probable that there would be a group session so just tell your son to make sure he gives his opinion (we had a discussion question and a task we had to complete) and plays an active role, but not to try to dominate the conversation. One girl at my group interview would cut me off when I spoke and I don't think it showed her in a good light (and she wasn't selected either). They're looking for someone outgoing who will reach out to others on the year abroad--if your son's naturally outgoing, this should be easy, but if not, tell him to make a conscious effort to do so.

If he has an individual interview as well, they will just be questions mostly about your interest in Germany and hypothetical situations that might arise while overseas. Make sure you son has answers for why he wants to go to Germany, what he would do if he wasn't making any friends, what if someone attacked his country's stance on an internat'l issue, etc. They also asked me questions like, "How would you define homesickness?" etc. They also asked me questions specific to my own situation: How would I feel about attending an extra year of high school when all my friends are going off to college, how I would manage being a vegetarian in a non-vegetarian family, and so on.

If you have any other questions, please let me know, I love talking about cbyx and exchange programs, haha

stoth

Thanks, Estrella--This really helps. I think he'll do fine. He is REAL easy going and is just genuinly a nice person--very well liked by students and teachers. He pretty much just needs to be himself. Like I mentioned before--he has no concerns over this at all. I think his attitude is if he gets it--great. If he doesn't, well that's great too because then he can play football next year. (yea, we have VERY different priorities). But I will print this off so it will give him something at least to think about. Thanks again-- he leaves on the 21st of this month so I will keep yoou posted.

calmom

This is a little bit off-topic, but its a fantastic opportunity for students interested in study abroad, so I thought I'd post it.

2sonmama

Stoth - Thinking good thoughts for your son this weekend!!!!

Please do report next week how the weekend went. My son didn't make it this far in the competition this year, but hopes to apply again next year. It would be nice to know what to expect if he makes it to the final round next year.

Where in Kansas do you live? We're from Shawnee.

stoth

Hey 2sonmama--

My son will hear tomorrow (Wed.) if he made the cut. He said it was the most intense weekend he had ever spent. He was REALLY beat--but we also live three hours from the airport (we live in Colby) and he had to drive himself and navigate the Denver airport and all so was a little stressed about that as well.

Anyway--he said that they really didn't interview as such--mainly had lots of group activities where they observed how well the students interacted, who took leadership roles, who just sat back and watched. They had some alums. who told him that the point was to see how they reacted out of their comfort zone. They also spent a lot of time just listening to rules and regulations about the program itself and presented a lot of worst case scenarios just so the students will know that going over for a year will be a lot of work, not to mention a big adjustment. In other words, if any of the students had any doubts at all, they needed get out now.

He did mention that many of the students were graduating seniors and one of the leaders told him that they tend to accept the older students, I suppose due to maturity, but they also have a tendency to back out once they find that they were accepted to that certain school or was awarded that certain scholarship. So--with that in mind, he felt like he had a pretty good shot at it. I hope so. I think he said that there were three other Kansas students--two from Hays and one fromTopeka. I think they ranged all the way from Texas to California.

Anyway--I will let you know tomorrow. And thank you so much for your warm wishes and interest.

estrella72

Good luck to your son!!

Also, I was just wondering--did you have to pay for your flight to attend this weekend? That seems like a shame!

stoth

No, he didn't have to pay. He wouldn't have gone if he had. They asked for the nearest airport and sent him a ticket. I think he stayed at a Kiwanis campsite. He said it was pretty nice. I'll let you know what tomorrow brings.

2sonmama

Any news yet, Stoth? I'm hoping no news is good news!