Learning, Sharing, and Teaching > Mini Money Mustaches
Whose HS student wants a FULL scholarship (CBYX) to study in Germany for a year?
gatortator:
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
--- End quote ---
2. WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
--- Quote ---Previous German language study is not a requirement and all levels of language ability are encouraged to apply.
--- End quote ---
--- 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
--- End quote ---
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
--- End quote ---
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.)
--- End quote ---
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.
Spiffy:
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:
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:
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!
secondcor521:
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?
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