Author Topic: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship (CBYX) to study in Germany for a year?  (Read 15443 times)

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
1. WHAT IS IT?

For 30+ years, the US State Department has been offering a full scholarship  for a year of study in Germany for US citizens (age 15-18).  It's called the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) and details can be found here.

http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org

TIMELIME
Quote
Fall 2018: Application becomes available online
December 2018 - January 2019: Application deadline (dates to be confirmed upon application launch)
Spring 2019: Finalists and Alternates announced

2. WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Quote
Previous German language study is not a requirement and all levels of language ability are encouraged to apply.

Quote
A U.S. citizen
Between the ages of 15 years and 18 years and 6 months at the start of the program
A current high school student at the time of application, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale

there is a also a conflict of interest clause that may affect eligibility, as detailed in the link below
http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/app/#Eligibility%20Policy

3. WHAT COSTS ARE COVERED BY THE SCHOLARSHIP?

Quote
Round-trip travel between Washington, D.C. and your placement city in Germany
Tuition and academic materials
In-country support
Cultural excursions
Pre-departure and re-entry orientation
Room and board
Secondary medical benefits

4. WHAT COSTS ARE NOT COVERED?
Quote
Transportation between your home community and Washington, D.C. for the departure and re-entry orientations
Any costs associated with obtaining a passport
Spending money while in Germany ($300 per month is suggested for personal expenses.)

I am an alumna of the scholarhip program, though it was 20+ years ago.  I am happy to answer questions as best as I can, though please realize the administration aspects of the program have changed since I was a participant.  Basics on my experience.

1.  ~300 US students won the scholarship my exchange year.  I traveled with ASSE, though how the exchange organizations is chosen has changed since I won.

2.  I applied a a HS junior, and traveled as a HS senior (age 17).  I had prior German language study though ~ 1/2 of my group (so 30 of 60 students) had never studied German.

3.  When I traveled with ASSE / CBYX, we received
 a 5 day orientation in Wash. DC prior to arriving in Germany
 a 10 day orientation camp in a small town in Germany prior to meeting our host family
 a 1 week cultural trip to Berlin 1/2 through the program
 a 1 week cultural travel to Bonn/Cologne near the end of the program.
 a one day visit to my host state's capital
 a one afternoon outing to meet my host area's Bundestag(German parliament) representative
 a local advisor in Germany who organized ~3 outings through the year for area exchange students.
 monthly bus/tram card for travel to school.
 50% Bahn card for reduced train travel, that I also could use for personal use (i.e. non program travel)
 medical insurance in Germany (though I never had to use it, so I don't know full extent of coverage).

4.  What I( well, really my parents) had to pay

 my passport.  can't remember if my visa cost anything, my memory fails me.
 spending money, including all travel expenses on vacations with my host family. Recommendation during my exchange year was ~$200/month (mid 90s).  That covered my portion on host family vacations to Spain, Paris and Austria as well as normal shopping/food/drink with friends.
travel to and from DC from my hometown. 


« Last Edit: September 14, 2017, 08:59:17 AM by gatortator »

Spiffy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 286
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2017, 12:31:40 PM »
Thanks for this info...I did not know about this and my 15 yo is studying German now and might be interested in this!

kontrakode

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 3
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 05:35:49 PM »
Also worth mentioning that most public universities in Germany don't charge tuition fees (even to international students) and provide courses taught in English. You only need to cover your living expenses, and pay an amenities fee (a few hundred Euro per year) - see: https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-germany

thedigitalone

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Location: PNW
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2017, 08:58:02 PM »
Wow, my wife did this back in '89, we just ran the idea past our 16yr old and she is quite interested.

What an amazing chain of events that a random posting on a finance forum reminded me of my wife's stories from a decade before we met and might lead to our kid having a similar experience.

Thanks for posting this, you've made my day!

« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 09:01:46 PM by thedigitalone »

secondcor521

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5503
  • Age: 54
  • Location: Boise, Idaho
  • Big cattle, no hat.
    • Age of Eon - Overwatch player videos
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 10:06:20 PM »
OK, so one of my kids meets the basic criteria.  Is it competitive?  How does my kid increase their chances of getting selected to participate?

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2017, 08:53:18 AM »
Wow, my wife did this back in '89, we just ran the idea past our 16yr old and she is quite interested.

What an amazing chain of events that a random posting on a finance forum reminded me of my wife's stories from a decade before we met and might lead to our kid having a similar experience.

Thanks for posting this, you've made my day!

Your comment put a smile a my face too-Thanks!  How cool it is to find another CBYX alum on this forum.  And '89- what a year to do the CBYX -- to be at the doorstep of history.  I can only imagine what the Berlin trip was like that year.  Tell your wife "Hi" from an internet stranger and your daughter best of luck! 

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2017, 10:50:19 AM »
  Is it competitive? 

It's difficult to quantify.  It has also changed since I was a participant, hence my original disclaimer.

The number of scholarships has dropped from 300 (mid-90s) to 250 (2017-18)  due to reduced funding.  I don't know when that change happened.  The CBYX is also now administered regionally by 5 well-renowned international exchange organizations.  50 scholarships are awarded in each region.

Per the CBYX website, the regions are :

AFS:  (Northeast) CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT, DC
ASSE: (Northwest) AK, HI, ID, MT, ND, NV, OR, SD, WA, WY, and Northern CA
CIEE:  (Southeast) AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV, and Puerto Rico
FLAG: (Southwest) AZ, CO, KS, NM, OK, TX, UT and Southern CA
YFU: (Midwest) IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, NE, and WI

The East coast regions are supposedly more competitive because of a greater application pool. However, I can't verify with numbers. 

There is a an explosion of postings on reddit, college confidential, Facebook groups, nytimes blogs and student blogs all attempting to describe the application process.  Someone even wrote an ebook about it.  Wow...  it was overwhelming combing through these links trying to find a answer of true acceptance rates, but in the end the only numbers I found are based on rumor, not fact.  So I have no numbers.

The application is very similar to applying for college.  Sections on the application include basic personal information, teacher recommendations, and several essays.   Semifinalist interviews include both individual and group interviews. 

My best advice:  can they give an honest, meaningful answer to the question "Why do you want to go to Germany?". 

secondcor521

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5503
  • Age: 54
  • Location: Boise, Idaho
  • Big cattle, no hat.
    • Age of Eon - Overwatch player videos
Thanks for the detailed reply!

thedigitalone

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Location: PNW
Follow up, daughter dropped her application packet in the mail this morning, darn kids are growing up on us!

melanie2008

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 46
Good luck to your daughter, the digitalone! I am a 1995 alum. Highly recommend.

topshot

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 155
I wish I had known about this 10 years ago, but at least our youngest has a chance. Our oldest had 4 years of German (and did go on a trip) though may not have had the grades enough to be competitive for this. Middle son did 3 years of German. Youngest is not in middle school yet and is the best academically of the 3 so he will have the best chance anyway.

Out of curiosity, if someone is in GT/advanced placement type track, how well do things transfer back to their US transcript?

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
Follow up, daughter dropped her application packet in the mail this morning, darn kids are growing up on us!

Yeah!  I am excited for her.

Good luck to your daughter, the digitalone! I am a 1995 alum. Highly recommend.

Hi!  so cool to find another CBYX alum!

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
Out of curiosity, if someone is in GT/advanced placement type track, how well do things transfer back to their US transcript?

Hi!  If your child is interested, it would be best to talk to the school guidance counselor.  They will know the school procedures.

For my own experience,  I applied for the CBYX as a junior and traveled my senior year.  I was able to go to summer school to finish up my school requirements and apply for HS graduation prior to departure.   6 weeks after I returned from Germany,  I left for college. (my exchange year became essentially a gap year). 

HawkeyeNFO

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 347
  • Location: Moose Scrotum, Alberta
  • Retired at 44.....back to work at 45
Missed the deadline, will look at it next year for DD.  Sounds like an awesome program.

ymsicatow

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
made an account for this - there’s actually two other big DoS exchange scholarships:

YES Abroad (http://www.yes-abroad.org) - 13 countries, year program
and
NSLI-Y (http://www.nsliforyouth.org) - 8 languages, summer and year programs.

I applied to all three, was accepted to YES and CBYX, and chose the YES Abroad program to spend my senior year of high school abroad! There’s no way to teach your kids independence and resilience that’s better than this. Plus the alumni communities are pretty great :)

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1943
  • Location: Germany
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #15 on: January 10, 2018, 10:45:19 AM »
Also worth mentioning that most public universities in Germany don't charge tuition fees (even to international students) and provide courses taught in English. You only need to cover your living expenses, and pay an amenities fee (a few hundred Euro per year) - see: https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-germany
Side-note that the state of Baden-Württemberg reintroduced fees for non-EU nationals last year. Having said that, at about 1.5k per semester, it's still not prohibitively expensive.

Good luck to everyone applying for a scholarship. It sounds like a great program. I had to wait for the summer after my first year in college (so I was 18 already) before coming here for the first time. I have since been convinced that most people, if not everyone, should have to spend at least a few months living independently, away from family at that age. On the other hand, lots of people come from less dysfunctional families than mine and may not reap quite as much benefit as I did. :)

CrustyBadger

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1085
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #16 on: January 18, 2018, 06:30:19 PM »
Wow, my wife did this back in '89, we just ran the idea past our 16yr old and she is quite interested.

What an amazing chain of events that a random posting on a finance forum reminded me of my wife's stories from a decade before we met and might lead to our kid having a similar experience.

Thanks for posting this, you've made my day!

I went on this program for the 88-89 school year as well, Digitalone!!

It was such a great experience!   (I wonder if I knew your wife?)


thedigitalone

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Location: PNW
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #17 on: February 07, 2018, 12:30:04 AM »
I went on this program for the 88-89 school year as well, Digitalone!!

It was such a great experience!   (I wonder if I knew your wife?)

Quite possibly, did you know any of the participants that came from Washington State?

On another note, my daughter received an email today and was accepted as a semi-finalist in our region, she has her in-person interviews scheduled for late February, whoa, this just got very real for our family.

Gatortator started this whole chain of events and wow it makes my head spin how life and random interactions can have such a huge impact down the line.  My little girl might be heading overseas for ~9 months this fall, what a great experience but I can't quite wrap my head around not seeing her for that long.


CrustyBadger

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1085
Congrats, @thedigitalone !   

 I wish your daughter luck at the interview!

(I don't think I knew your wife.  I got my years wrong -- I went '84-'85 school year! So long ago... Wow '89 would have been a wild year to have been there!
« Last Edit: February 09, 2018, 03:58:05 PM by CrustyBadger »

melanie2008

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 46
Re: Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship to study in Germany for a year?
« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2018, 03:21:52 PM »
I went on this program for the 88-89 school year as well, Digitalone!!

It was such a great experience!   (I wonder if I knew your wife?)

Quite possibly, did you know any of the participants that came from Washington State?

On another note, my daughter received an email today and was accepted as a semi-finalist in our region, she has her in-person interviews scheduled for late February, whoa, this just got very real for our family.

Gatortator started this whole chain of events and wow it makes my head spin how life and random interactions can have such a huge impact down the line.  My little girl might be heading overseas for ~9 months this fall, what a great experience but I can't quite wrap my head around not seeing her for that long.

So exciting!! I wish her luck! I am sure things have change in the past 20 years, but my interview was very relaxed.

thedigitalone

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Location: PNW
Interviews were last weekend, I wasn't able to go so my wife took her.

Everything went well, it was low key, there were 28 applicants invited in for interviews in our region, 26 showed up, there are 8 spots available so reasonable odds.  She'll know sometime in the next 30 days if she has been selected for the scholarship. The only hiccup in her case is that she flubbed a class last semester and her GPA dropped to a 2.98 when they require a 3.0 or higher, she claims to have addressed it, we'll see how that develops, we are very much letting her drive this and just supporting her efforts along the way.

(This is all second hand info and may be poorly relayed)
The program is under some stress in recent years, our government backed out of funding on the US side and the Germans stepped in and funded the full program to keep it going.  As such the trip to Washington DC has been eliminated (or greatly curtailed?) and the students meet in Germany for a short period before going to their hosts.  The second bigger issue is that in recent years students have been bailing out of the program and returning home outside of the system (AKA; calling mom and dad and having them fly them home.) This is very disruptive to the whole program and is causing a big enough stir that they are warning applicants to not even apply unless they are very serious about going the course and completing their year.


gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
bumping this thread.

application process is now open for the 2022-23 program year.  deadline to apply is Dec 1st.

I have heard that the students did travel this year( 2021-22), although with some program modications due to COVID.

lhamo

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3094
  • Location: Seattle
Flagging this for @Trifele -- I think her teen is on this program and they are also hosting one of the German students in their home.

Sucks that the US-side funding got cut.  Trump and his minions axed the program I used to work on (Fulbright in China) - people are lobbying for its return but so far no luck.  People really don't understand how much value for money there is in cultural exchanges -- certainly way more valuable than the cases of screws the same money would fund in the defense department..

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Thanks for the batsignal @lhamo!  Yes our daughter is in Germany on the program this year, and we are hosting one of the German students.  It’s going great so far on both accounts, and I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has. 

I didn’t know about the US cutting funding a few years back.  That is so sad.  I wonder if it’s been reinstated, or if the German government is still paying for the US side?  I’ll see if I can find out. 

It really is a fantastic program, very well run.  I would highly encourage interested students to apply. Special thanks to @gatortator for this thread — it’s how we heard about the program in the first place!   
« Last Edit: October 17, 2021, 07:31:17 PM by Trifele »

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
I just wanted to add a couple things to my comments above.  @gatortator's earlier posts about the CBYX program are still accurate:  This year there were a total of 50 students selected per region, for a total of 250 U.S. students sent.  The Germans sent 300 students to the U.S. for their half of the program.

Just to confirm -- prior German study is not required for CBYX; our daughter didn't have any.  She also applied for and was accepted to another government program, YES Abroad (see below).  The application process was very similar for the two, and she was able to use the same essays, references, etc.  She applied as a junior, and is traveling this year as a senior.

Someone asked about how to increase your chances of acceptance.  My takeaway from both CBYX and YES is that they are looking for well-rounded young people who are curious about the world.  They want someone who is going to be a good "citizen ambassador."   It's not an academic program per se, and they don't focus a ton on academics in the application process.  They were way more interested in DD's real-life experiences -- work, family, activities.  They value diversity and welcome students of all types.  I can't comment on NSLI-Y; they may have different criteria since the goal is straight-up, focused language acquisition. 


As another poster mentioned a few years back, there are several other U.S. State Department high school study abroad programs that offer full scholarships.  *  Among them are YES Abroad, which sends U.S. students for cultural immersion to 14 different countries around the world, and the National Strategic Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) which is focused on language acquisition of seldom-taught languages.  Both of those are open to 9th -- 12th grade U.S. students.  Students can and do apply for multiple programs.  If you are accepted to more than one of the programs, you get to choose which to accept. 

     CBYX:  https://usagermanyscholarship.org/ -- Application deadline 12/1

     YES:  https://www.yes-abroad.org/ -- Application deadline 12/8

     NSLI-Y:  https://www.nsliforyouth.org/ -- Application deadline 11/4


Also !  If you know an interested non-US teen, there is a U.S. program that funds Asian and Eurasian students to come to the U.S. -- FLEX Abroad.  https://www.discoverflex.org/students-and-parents.  YES Abroad also operates both ways, and accepts foreign students to come to the U.S.  I believe they are open to applicants from ~30 different countries.   
« Last Edit: October 19, 2021, 06:25:07 AM by Trifele »

change_seeker

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 427
Posting to follow!  We have four kids aged 14-5, would be awesome to get them exposure to another culture.  We did an expat assignment in India when the oldest two were 3 and 9 months, and it was a fantastic experience for our family.

lhamo

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3094
  • Location: Seattle
Another wonderful (but intense) overseas study opportunity:

www.uwc.org

I am an alumna of the school in Wales and would happily answer any questions based on my now very dated experience (I attended in the late '80s).

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Posting to follow!  We have four kids aged 14-5, would be awesome to get them exposure to another culture.  We did an expat assignment in India when the oldest two were 3 and 9 months, and it was a fantastic experience for our family.

That’s great @change_seeker!  India is one of the countries included in the YES program, if any of your kids might like to get back there. 

change_seeker

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 427
Posting to follow!  We have four kids aged 14-5, would be awesome to get them exposure to another culture.  We did an expat assignment in India when the oldest two were 3 and 9 months, and it was a fantastic experience for our family.

That’s great @change_seeker!  India is one of the countries included in the YES program, if any of your kids might like to get back there.

@Trifele
That is SO cool.  We have been wanting to take the whole family over once our youngest was old enough to really enjoy it.  Visiting one of them during their study abroad would be a great excuse!

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Bumping this thread.  The 2022 application for the CBYX scholarship is now open.  Deadline is 12.1.22 for the 23/24 school year.

Our daughter just completed the program and returned home this summer.  I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. 

fuzzy math

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1726
  • Age: 42
  • Location: PNW
Thanks for the reminder! oldest kiddo is applying.

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22319
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Bumping this thread.  The 2022 application for the CBYX scholarship is now open.  Deadline is 12.1.22 for the 23/24 school year.

Our daughter just completed the program and returned home this summer.  I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has.

Thanks for the reminder! oldest kiddo is applying.
That is so cool! Fingers crossed that kiddo gets in and has a blast!

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Thanks for the reminder! oldest kiddo is applying.

Fantastic!  Good luck to kiddo.

ETA -- FYI, if kiddo doesn't get it this time, he/she can apply again next year as long as they aren't past the age cutoff.  I know of two students who got it on their second try.  I think the program likes stick-to-it-iveness. 
« Last Edit: November 28, 2022, 02:02:34 AM by Trifele »

Captain Cactus

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 562
  • Location: The Land of Steady Habits
I lived in France through the AFS program in 1997-1998.  Junior year of high school.  One of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.  Changed the whole trajectory of my life.  This program sounds similar.  Highly recommended!

gatortator

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
Bumping thread.  Applications are open for2024-2025.

Details on current eligibility and how to apply are shown here.
https://usagermanyscholarship.org/how-to-apply/

This year, applications are due nov 1, 2023.

@Trifle  has way more recent knowledge on the program( I travelled with the program 30 years ago), so i am batsignalling her as well in case anyone has questions.

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden

Thank you for bumping the thread @gatortator!  Yes, our daughter traveled to Germany on CBYX for the '21 - '22 school year, and we simultaneously hosted one of the inbound German CBYX students.  I also worked for our local agency as a Local Coordinator, supporting the other CBYX host families.  My daughter (now a freshman in college) is also available to answer any questions you have for an American student that was in the program.

FYI there were some changes this year to the four American State Department study abroad scholarships -- CBYX, FLEX, YES, and NSLI.  They've been aligned now to share the same age requirements and the same application deadline.  I believe you can now apply to all of them with the same application.  https://exchanges.state.gov/highschool/   
« Last Edit: September 13, 2023, 03:48:09 AM by Trifle »

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5902
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
The U.S. State Department study abroad scholarship programs for U.S. high school students:


CBYX -- Germany.  https://usagermanyscholarship.org/

FLEX -- Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan.  https://www.discoverflex.org/students-and-parents

YES -- Bosnia-Herzegovena, Bulgaria, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, North Macedonia, Senegal, Thailand, Turkey

NSLI -- Countries vary; focus is acquisition of languages:  Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, Turkish

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!