Senior year. The last year of high school. The year that we all have been waiting for since Kindergarten. It is also the year of stress and applications. I have been writing essays and applications non-stop since September, and I will not be finished for a long time!
Everyone asks themselves at some point, “what do I want to do? Who do I want to be?” It is a confusing time, but also exciting! The world is our oyster, we have the ability to do so much. As long as we want to write 432985923 essays to get there. So let’s talk about that. Whether your a senior right now, or will be soon, this is just a mish-mash of everything I’m doing.
College. It’s on everyone’s minds right now. I did early application, so I have already been notified about my status into 2/3 colleges I applied to. I looked for colleges with strong modern language programs, and with campuses that I felt at home with. I applied to Indiana University Bloomington, The University of North Carolina Greensboro (the more humanities-based branch of UNC), and the University of Wisconsin Madison. Indiana is my first choice, Wisconsin second, and UNCG third. Beginning of November, I was accepted into IU! I will likely end up there, if I can find some scholarships. Out-of-state tuition is rough. I also got accepted into UNCG last week! I am only waiting on UWM before I make my decision. I will likely revisit IU and UWM, if I get in to UWM.
I was born in August 1999. For a senior, I’m young. I’ve been thinking that maybe I don’t want to head straight to college. As you may recall, last year I applied for a scholarship called CBYX, or the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. I made it to the interviews, but I, unfortunately was not accepted. However, I am not too mad about it! It would have been difficult for me to graduate and get the right credits. I haven’t given up on taking a gap year. Last year, I applied last-minute and missed the deadlines for all of the other programs. This year, I was prepared. I am applying to/ have applied to NSLI-Y, YES-Abroad, CBYX, and ExCEL Abroad. These are all scholarships that are fully paid!
Studying abroad is something that is very important to me. I love languages, and I love to learn about cultures. Nothing is better to me that immersing myself in a culture, and living as a local. It is so enlightening to see life through different eyes, and to experience great things.
NSLI-Y was the first one I applied to this year. The applications all seem to be staggered, which is nice because I’ve been able to work on one at a time. I submitted NSLI-Y in late October, and as I write this, semi-finalist notifications begin coming out in three days (omg). I applied for the Arabic year as my first choice, and the Russian year as my second choice. The application was not that challenging, and I found the essays enjoyable to write. It is fun to get to write about something that means a lot to you. I won’t say what the essay questions are or anything, but I would definitely recommend applying. If you didn’t get a chance to apply this year, you should next year! I believe you will be able to apply for the 2018-19 year if you were born between September 20, 1999 and June 20, 2003. This is similar for most of the programs, I believe.
YES-Abroad is the application that I just finished up today. For this one, you apply for certain countries instead of languages. I picked Morocco and Senegal as my top two choices. The point of this one is stated to be an exchange to a country with a Muslim-majority population, however I have heard that it is more about breaking down stereotypes and making connections. You can apply next year for this one if you were born between December 24, 1999 and June 24, 2003. That might not be exactly the days, but it should be around there. This one has a few more essays, but it’s definitely manageable. If you want to study abroad, I recommend this as well.
CBYX varies depending on where you are in the country. Everyone is in a different region, I am in the ASSE region. This one has the most essays, but, again, if you are dedicated it is manageable. I got to the interviews last year, but was not selected as a finalist. CBYX basically sends you to Germany for a year. It is a wonderful opportunity. The age cutoffs for 2018-19 will likely be around January 31, 2000- to July 31, 2003.
The last one that I plan to apply for is known as ExCEL. It is a program that sends US students to Lithuania. I know the least about this one, the year I am applying for is the 3rd year. As far as I understand, it may be the last. As well, I have heard that they only accept 2 people. I am not very familiar with this one, as there is not as much information/ as many alumni. I am very interested in the Lithuanian culture, that is why I am applying! My father recently visited Vilnius, and he loved it. The Baltic culture is very interesting to me, and I would love to learn about it. I can’t tell you much about this one, but since the application isn’t even open yet, I’d say just check it out yourself!
As a wrap this up, I just want to mention something important. If you are looking for a study abroad program where you can just chill, kinda like a prolonged vacation, these are not the ones. These involve representing the US, attending school, and making a strong effort to learn. It is important that you are dedicated and willing to push yourself.
This is just a snippet of what I hope to do in the next few years, and where my blog might be heading. I will let you all know what happens as the year goes on! If you want to see my posts more often, I also have a vegan blog called theweeklyvegan.wordpress.com. I don’t know when I will update this again, but until then, goodbye!
LINKS:
NSLI-Y : http://www.nsliforyouth.org/
YES-Abroad: http://www.yes-abroad.org/
CBYX: http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/
ExCEL: https://www.americancouncils.org/programs/excel-abroad-program
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