After hosting a World Link international student, World Link host siblings often seek out study abroad opportunities for themselves. On this page are four scholarship-based study abroad programs for American high school youth.
If you or your American son or daughter is high school-aged and interested in spending a summer, semester, or a full academic year in another country, World Link encourages you to apply for any of the following programs below.
In 2015, World Link host brother Jacob Burch-Konda was selected to spend a year studying in Turkey through the YES Abroad Program.
World Link host sister, Leah Sherman (right), was selected to spend a year abroad in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2017-2018 YES Abroad Program.
FLEX Abroad
Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Abroad is a full scholarship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Living with a host family and attending a local school for an academic year, FLEX Abroad students promote mutual understanding between the United States and their host country by forming lasting relationships with the local community. Selected applicants will study in Kazakhstan, Poland, or Ukraine.
Learn more: https://www.discoverflex.org/flex-abroad/
Application Deadline: Available Fall before start to the program year. Due two months after it is available.
YES Abroad
The Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, offers American high school students and recent graduates full scholarships to study for one academic year in one of 14 YES countries with significant Muslim populations. The YES Abroad program was initiated as a reciprocal extension of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program for international students from countries with significant Muslim populations. The first group of Americans participated in YES Abroad in the 2009-2010 academic year and now offers 65 full scholarships to American students nationwide.
Learn more: http://www.yes-abroad.org/
Application Deadline: Available Fall before start to the program year. Due two months after it is available.
NSLI For Youth
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students and recent high school graduates to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs. NSLI-Y programs offer intensive language immersion in a variety of locations around the world. Scholarships are available for students to learn one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, or Turkish.
Learn More: http://www.nsliforyouth.org/
Application Deadline: Available Early Fall before start to the program year. Due at the end of the following October after application is available.
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) is for motivated high school students who want to experience a culture and learn a language through a full immersion experience. Students will learn about German culture first-hand by living with a host family and attending a German high school. Initiated in 1983, CBYX was created to strengthen ties between Germany and the United States through citizen diplomacy. CBYX is jointly funded by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag, and in the U.S. is overseen by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over 23,000 students have prepared themselves for success in an increasingly global world by participating in the CBYX program.
Learn More: http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/
Application Deadline: Available Fall before the start to the program year. Due between the following December-February depending on implementing organization.
Youth Ambassadors Program
The Youth Ambassadors Program is a 3-week leadership exchange program for high school students and adult mentors from countries across the Western Hemisphere. The program provides full scholarships for participants to take part in cultural and educational programming focused on a variety of themes specific to the different countries.
Learn More: https://youthambassadors.worldlearning.org/YA/wl_sitelogin
Application Deadline: Apply in the fall.
World Link is an international student exchange and development organization with programs sponsored by public support.
