Scholarships For High School Students
The majority of the scholarships below are granted to students who demonstrate a need for financial aid, good grades, and a strong desire to study abroad. While many of these funding opportunities are attached to specific programs, some provide financing to students interested in third party programs. And although most of these scholarships are for long term exchanges, some of them are for short term summer abroad programs. Check out the scholarship options below to see which one applies to you.
BP Global Citizens of Tomorrow Scholarship
The BP Global Citizens of Tomorrow Scholarship program is sponsored by AFS Intercultural Programs. It provides financially-challenged students the opportunity to study in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, or South Africa to gain the intercultural skills needed to succeed in a global economy. The goal of the program is to increase students’ intercultural awareness and second-language skills. To apply you must be between of 15-18, reside in the greater Chicago or Houston areas, and demonstrate academic achievement (with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale), and qualify for need-based financial aid.
Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program
This scholarship and program is for those who want to live and study abroad in Germany for an academic year. Essentially, they are looking for ambitious students who want to become youth ambassadors of the United States by sharing their life and culture with their German hosts and building greater international understanding of the United States. To apply for the CBYX Scholarship, you need to be between the ages of 15-18, a U.S. citizen, and possess at least a 3.0 GPA. http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org
National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and awards 600 scholarships to high school students each year. This scholarship aimed towards those who have a strong desire to learn Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, and Turkish. They also offer language immersion programs to countries where these languages are spoken. To qualify for a scholarship, you must be between the ages of 15-18, a U.S. citizen, and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. For more info about their programs and scholarships, check out their site, http://www.nsliforyouth.org
Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad Program
YES Abroad is another scholarship based program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It’s aimed towards students who want to study in countries with significant Muslim populations for up to one year. These countries include Bosnia and Herzegovina; Egypt; Ghana; India; Indonesia; Malaysia; Mali; Morocco; Oman; Thailand; and Turkey. To be eligible for the program, you must be between the ages of 15-18, a high school student, and a U.S. citizen. For more info about scholarships, check out their site, http://www.nsliforyouth.org
Family, Friends, & Grandparents Scholarship
If none of these scholarship opportunities apply to you, you can always try asking the grandparents. Write up a detailed synopsis of the program as well as the costs and estimated living expenses. Be sure to include a thorough description about how studying abroad will contribute to your future goals. Finally, instead of asking for a grant, propose a loan and illustrate how and when you will pay them back. Make it look professional. You never know until you try.
I love this post. So funny because Chris always told me you guys were friends in high school but you were never there for long because you were always running away ;) Looks like travel was meant to be for you!
Thanks!!! Haha, yup, it’s true :) Hope this guide helps some kids like me. That summer camp in Spain looks amazing! I wish I could still do that.
Hey man! Great post! I’m doing something similar myself at the moment, travelling in high school, except I go to an online school! It’s great, you wake up at 10, get on to your computer, sit in class for 3 hours (ish) and then homework, and then you’re as free as an albatross on a summer breeze. It’s a bit restrictive on when you can travel, normally I only move somewhere on a short holiday, but it’s entirely doable to hop on a plane on Friday, get across the planet by Sunday and not miss any school. I’ve done it. It’s a really really good system when you want to travel, although you do miss out on some things, as you said.
Anyway keep up the good work man!
Hey Joe, that’s awesome! I hadn’t thought about an online high school. Glad that’s working out for you!