This is hopefully somewhat useful for future applicants.. That is if anyone reads this blog..
Since I participated in CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) in 2014, I guess I can say my online application was pretty solid. This is all based on my application experience. (I actually wroe this back in 2014. I decided to re-post this because a lot of people actually read it.)
- Essays: After you wrote and edited your essays, don't hesitate to ask people (preferable alumni, parents and teachers) to read them! Believe it or not, I attacked at least 15 people with my not-so-good essays and their comments helped me improve a lot! Essay is one of the most important parts of the application, since it's the only way the judges get to know you as of now. They look for genuine and motivated applicants; bragging and lying in your essays doesn't help.
In the interview, the interviewer(s) will be reading your application while asking you questions and talk about things you put on the application; it is IMPORTANT for you to review what you wrote in the application before having interview [and congrats if you've made it this far!].
- Host family letter: This is different from the essay in my opinion. This letter is for your future host family to know more about you, so there isn't a specific prompt to follow. Before you write, ask yourself what you would want to know if an exchange student is coming to stay with you for 10 months. The student's family life? Social life? Hobbies? Interests? Personality? If you don't have a word limit for the letter, just keep writing, but keep in mind that you don't want the letter to sound boring and redundant because, once again, it's the first impression you have for your future host family. I would say keep it under 700 words and don't just restate everything you wrote in the previous essays, because they'll most likely review your whole application. Try to really give them a glimpse of who you are.
- Teacher's Recommendations: Double check if the teacher's recs are in. A lot of people didn't complete the application because a teacher's rec was missing. If you aren't sure about it, email the person in charge of application processing! It never hurts, plus this would show him/her that you actually care about the program.
- Your cover picture: This is the first impression that the judges (and possibly host family) have on you. So you better look nice. I'm not saying you should be complete dressed up for it. Like me, I just wore a nice sweater and had my hair down, nicely combed, and smile like how I would normally. It's better to just show your personality (while looking professional). I'm kind of a casual person and I wear sweaters all the freaking time so that's what I chose to wear. As long as you don't look like a hobo or someone who just woke up, you should be good to go.
- The grades: There's a section where you fill in your grades by hand, please don't fake it. It's so obvious since you'll be required to provide a transcript anyways. Grades aren't as important (still important) if you have an outstanding personality and desire to go :)
- Your activities and awards: It's important to show how much you involve in different activities, because this is what the judges are looking for: people who are active and will involve in activities in Germany. In the tiny column they provided us, I included a little description for each of the things I wrote. For example, I didn't just write "Equestrian" or "Art". Instead, I wrote "Equestrian - Started in Hong Kong Jockey Club and continued in Sam Houston Equestrian Center; assisted in youth riding classes", and "Arts/crafts - School elective and personal hobby, participated in numerous local/regional/state competitions and auctions". This will give a little bit more insight to the things you do without having to write a whole essay. The judges will feel like they know you better.
The Student Information and Stats, Academic Certificate, Medical Information, Media Release etc. really just depend on you and the school. You can't really screw those up unless you filled them out incorrectly. Make sure you review your application and forms to check for mistakes!
Future applicants, I hope this helped and I wish you the best of luck!
Annie
Since I participated in CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) in 2014, I guess I can say my online application was pretty solid. This is all based on my application experience. (I actually wroe this back in 2014. I decided to re-post this because a lot of people actually read it.)
- Essays: After you wrote and edited your essays, don't hesitate to ask people (preferable alumni, parents and teachers) to read them! Believe it or not, I attacked at least 15 people with my not-so-good essays and their comments helped me improve a lot! Essay is one of the most important parts of the application, since it's the only way the judges get to know you as of now. They look for genuine and motivated applicants; bragging and lying in your essays doesn't help.
In the interview, the interviewer(s) will be reading your application while asking you questions and talk about things you put on the application; it is IMPORTANT for you to review what you wrote in the application before having interview [and congrats if you've made it this far!].
- Host family letter: This is different from the essay in my opinion. This letter is for your future host family to know more about you, so there isn't a specific prompt to follow. Before you write, ask yourself what you would want to know if an exchange student is coming to stay with you for 10 months. The student's family life? Social life? Hobbies? Interests? Personality? If you don't have a word limit for the letter, just keep writing, but keep in mind that you don't want the letter to sound boring and redundant because, once again, it's the first impression you have for your future host family. I would say keep it under 700 words and don't just restate everything you wrote in the previous essays, because they'll most likely review your whole application. Try to really give them a glimpse of who you are.
- Teacher's Recommendations: Double check if the teacher's recs are in. A lot of people didn't complete the application because a teacher's rec was missing. If you aren't sure about it, email the person in charge of application processing! It never hurts, plus this would show him/her that you actually care about the program.
- Your cover picture: This is the first impression that the judges (and possibly host family) have on you. So you better look nice. I'm not saying you should be complete dressed up for it. Like me, I just wore a nice sweater and had my hair down, nicely combed, and smile like how I would normally. It's better to just show your personality (while looking professional). I'm kind of a casual person and I wear sweaters all the freaking time so that's what I chose to wear. As long as you don't look like a hobo or someone who just woke up, you should be good to go.
- The grades: There's a section where you fill in your grades by hand, please don't fake it. It's so obvious since you'll be required to provide a transcript anyways. Grades aren't as important (still important) if you have an outstanding personality and desire to go :)
- Your activities and awards: It's important to show how much you involve in different activities, because this is what the judges are looking for: people who are active and will involve in activities in Germany. In the tiny column they provided us, I included a little description for each of the things I wrote. For example, I didn't just write "Equestrian" or "Art". Instead, I wrote "Equestrian - Started in Hong Kong Jockey Club and continued in Sam Houston Equestrian Center; assisted in youth riding classes", and "Arts/crafts - School elective and personal hobby, participated in numerous local/regional/state competitions and auctions". This will give a little bit more insight to the things you do without having to write a whole essay. The judges will feel like they know you better.
The Student Information and Stats, Academic Certificate, Medical Information, Media Release etc. really just depend on you and the school. You can't really screw those up unless you filled them out incorrectly. Make sure you review your application and forms to check for mistakes!
Future applicants, I hope this helped and I wish you the best of luck!
Annie
Hello Annie!
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing the post, it helps a lot! :)
I was wondering if teacher recommendations are due the day an applicant's application is due? Because for NSLI-Y teachers have an additional two weeks after the application was submitted. And I only seem to have one teacher recommendation and the other may not be written in time.
Thanks,
N
Hi! Thank you for this great article.
ReplyDeleteA question about the grades section:
You said that we have to enter in our grades by hand...does that include every grade since the beginning of high school, or something else?
Thanks!