Austin Abroad!

I got sick of the load speeds on Edublogs so I moved my blog to http://austiningermany.wordpress.com/

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So this is like 11 days to late, but I was accepted into the CBYX with ASSE! I had my interviews the 28th of February, and I was called by my ASSE Area Rep the night of March 3rd!

The interviews went pretty well. The guys who interviewed me were really cool, one of them was from Munich! they asked me all sorts of questions, from “What do you have to bring to Germany of America” to “Is your home quiet?”. I did pretty well I thought. I definitely tried to make them laugh, which I think helped a lot. Another girl from Rapid City, SD was accepted as well. She is pretty cool.

Anyway here is my acceptance letter that I received on Thursday the 5th of March.

I’m anticipating the information letters mentioned in the letter very much! I’m so friggen excited; you have no idea. I have been waiting for this since like forever! Just yesterday my application was sent to ASSE Germany! Yay!

So, I am not real sure why or how I want to start this. Although I think I am aiming for something along the lines of my experience applying to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange with ASSE.

First off, what is the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange?

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange is a federally funded exchange program, sponsored jointly by the United States Congress and the German Parliament- The Bundestag.

CBYX provides German and American young people a full scholarship for an academic year experience in the host country. The program is designed to strengthen ties between the younger generation, and by improving their career skills through formal study and work experience participants expand their perspectives and awareness of each other’s culture, society, history and politics.

More than 17,000 American and German students have participated in the program since its inception in 1983.

Second, what are the requirements to apply?

To apply for CBYX you must have a 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA Scale. You must also be inclusively between the ages of 15 and 18. One big thing to point out here is that prior knowledge of German is NOT a requirement. These are all the requirements.

Third, how do I apply?

Before I get too far into this I better explain some more about the CBYX. Like I mentioned the CBYX is federally sponsored, but it is not conducted by the feds. The funds allocated for the CBYX go to 5 organizations. Which organization you apply to is determined by your location in the US. More about those organizations can be found here usagermanyscholarship.org. I kind of got disinheartened when writing this haha. Any questions just ask!