<p>quick question, did your host family speak any English? That is what kind of worries me that I won't be able to communicate with them if i'm accepted.</p>
<p>I just went for NSLI-Y in the summer and it was aweeeesome and free and the best summer of my life. I didn't know a word of the language I went for, but now I'm... at beginner's haha. My host family spoke English quite well.</p>
<p>The South Korea Scholarship Program through CIEE is amazing!! I did it in 2010 and it was a fabulous experience and it only costs $150. Lodging, classes, food and homestay is all included. We learned a lot about Korean culture, toured the country and got to visit the DMZ.</p>
<p>Hey I've done two NSLI-Y summers in Russia so if you have any questions about the program, the application process, or Russia feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>If you are currently a college student, I'd check out American University in DC. They have various programs for a couple weeks, a month, a summer or a semester, and they provide on-campus housing near a Metro stop.</p>
<p>Also, the "Washington Center" organizes internships for students from other colleges who stay in DC for a semester or another period of time. It is affiliated with many colleges. They also connect you with housing. I would imagine some of their programs would stress international relations.</p>
<p>@charlieshn thanks for the suggestion but I'm a sophomore in high school, and I live right outside of dc :) thanks so much though.</p>
<p>As to how hard NSLI-Y is to get into, here's a post from a couple of years ago with some stats: </p>
<p>Cultures</a> Shocked forum - View Single Post - NSLI for youth? </p>
<p>600 finalists / 1977 apps = 30% acceptance rate. Keep in mind the number of apps has been increasing year over year for the same number (or fewer) spots.</p>
<p>That said, don't let those numbers scare you. Apply!</p>
<p>My three of the four members of most host family spoke great English. This doesn't hold true for all of the host fams, though.</p>
<p>I would also endorse the CIEE South Korea Scholarship, which I did this past summer. I saw the entire country and had some unforgettable experiences (going to the DMZ and being stared down by a North Korean solider, for one.)</p>
<p>The NSLI-Y program is becoming more and more selective as it gains prominence. There is no set formula for getting in, I've heard stories of 4.0/33 ACT kids getting rejected but then a kid in my group said he has 2.9 GPA so NSLI-Y does accept candidates from all walks of life (academically, socio-economically, etc.)</p>
<p>Just curious, is there a program like NSLI-Y in Canada/for Canadians? It's seems really amazing and I'd love to do it!</p>
<p>I'm not aware of one, but I can't say I've ever looked into that topic. I would do some sleuthing around the internet...that's how I found NSLI-Y in the first place.</p>
<p>Are there any similar programs that anyone is aware of? With convincing my parents there's no way I'd be able to meet the November deadline unfortunately.</p>
<p>The app for the CIEE South Korea scholarship isn't out until April. So there's plenty of time there. That program is two weeks with a weekend long home stay. The rest of the time you'll live in dorms with other participants. They pick 100 finalists.</p>
<p>Viramay, if you want to reinforce your french, the Canadian Govt offers this, with expenses covered for five weeks. Not exactly exotic though very useful!</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.myexplore.ca/en/%5DExplore%5B/url">http://www.myexplore.ca/en/]Explore[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on the South Korea thing! My parents really want me to learn French fluently before I tackle another language, but that is such a great opportunity maybe they'll budge. </p>
<p>And it's too bad I'm not Canadian ): I'm not eligible to apply to that program unfortunately.</p>
<p>The South Korea thing isn't really language oriented, btw. It's more about exposure to the culture. So your French wouldn't be affected.</p>
<p>Georgetown has a summer institute for international relations that provides a broad introduction to the whole concept. It only lasts a week, and it is mainly lectures that can sometimes border on the repetitive, however, the head of Gtown's school of foreign service runs it and there are some truly interesting speakers. I thought it was a little bit fast paced because they were trying to cram in every single aspect of international relations in only a week, and it really didn't cover many topics as in-depth as they deserved. But, again, the T.A.'s and lecturers are passionate and excited about the subjects, and thus it is a great introduction to the world of international relations. The international crisis simulation on the last day was especially well done as it brought to life everything that we had studied the previous week.</p>
<p>^ Add Georgetown's National Security Institute to this. It's a week long just like internationl relations and you will meet some amazing presenters. It really depends how many people get in because that is likely to be the determining factor in what exactly you get to do off campus. For example, we couldn't visit CIA because there was about 100 of us.</p>
<p>I did a study abroad in the summer of 2010 with a program called go abbey road. They offer different trips all around Europe and its not hard to apply too (plus the actual studying wasnt that hard, but it looks great on my resume)!! This past summer I did community service for a month in Thailand and Laos. They have service trips as well as French cultural immersion trips all over the world. I know you were lookin for something pertaining to international relations (which is what I wanna do) but this shows that you have a real interest in the world and want to be involved ona global scale. Doing a program in the United States doesnt seem very ambitious for "international relations" no matter how distinguished it is.</p>
<p>I'm very interested in this subject; does anyone know of any which are available to students in England?</p>
<p>Hey! I went to the NSLI-Y Summer Program to Beijing. I , second that recommendation. Students are able to promote American culture abroad - and that's one of the goals for international relations.</p>