Through the generous support from the Speedwell Foundation, AFS-USA has launched the Global Citizen Scholarships and Aid (GCSA) process, our exciting new approach to scholarship giving. This approach expands the opportunity to all students, regardless of personal finances, to study abroad with AFS-USA and change their lives through valuable intercultural learning, language acquisition, and global competency experiences.
AFS-USA is committed to making studying abroad more financially accessible to high school students from all backgrounds who possess the unique qualities needed for success on an AFS transformative program. We also believe that studying abroad should not be contingent on personal finances, and we are dedicated to meeting the demonstrated financial need of all accepted applicants.
This transformation in our study abroad programs reflects one part of our ongoing commitment to recruiting applicants who represent the diversity of our country, with removing cost as a barrier being a major step forward in our commitment to IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility).
What are the key changes?
- GCSA is a focused approach working toward AFS-USA’s commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), simplifying our application process, and making our programs more accessible and affordable for high students who want to study abroad.
- There is no cost to apply!
- We offer short summer, semester, and academic year programs to over 30 countries, allowing your students to have an intercultural learning experience that works best for them.
- Admissions are on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply early as program spots are limited. Program application timelines:
- Fall departing programs – applications close in March
- Spring departing programs – applications close in October
- Summer departing programs – applications close in May
- Eligible applicants are aged 15-18 years old (each program has a specific age requirement within this age range), who have a propensity for developing the qualities of an AFSer: open-mindedness, curiosity, adaptability, resiliency, and compassion.
Key language changes:
AFS-USA is committed to making our study abroad programs more accessible and affordable to high school students from all backgrounds who possess the unique qualities needed to succeed on our transformative programs. We are expanding scholarships and aid to ensure that more applicants have the opportunity to become AFS active global citizens.
Accessible and Affordable
We believe that studying abroad should not be contingent on personal finances. We are committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of every accepted applicant, ensuring that the cost of studying abroad is not a barrier to participation.
Diversity
We seek students from all backgrounds and experiences to represent the diversity of our country. We believe that fostering inclusion is essential to fulfilling our mission of creating a more just and peaceful world.
Scholarships & Aid
We offer a variety of scholarships and financial assistance. AFS Global Citizen Scholarships & Aid, through the help of generous donors, offers students $1 million dollars in merit and need-based scholarships that range from partial to full program fees for summer, semester, and yearlong AFS-USA study abroad programs.
Qualities of an AFSer
AFS students have an openness to learn and be challenged, are flexible, resilient, compassionate, and curious, and are willing to contribute to ongoing dialogues and become lifelong active global citizens. Applicants must demonstrate these qualities in essay questions and an interview when applying for our prestigious scholarships and programs. We also expect students to reflect on and share with us the learning they experience while abroad and contribute to the AFS mission when they return home.
Transformative
AFS participants do far more than travel to a new country – our immersion programs provide authentic intercultural experiences where students build meaningful connections with a host family, community, and school. AFSers learn about the world in ways that cannot be found in a guidebook and, in turn, get out of their comfort zones to experience an abundance of growth over the course of the exchange program and beyond.
Active Global Citizens
AFS defines active global citizens as human beings whose informed, compassionate, and ethical compass drives them to lead lives and make decisions that contribute to a more just, equitable, peaceful, and sustainable world. The world needs more active global citizens—and AFS helps create them.
Promote Global Citizen Scholarships and Aid
As always, all Study Abroad promotional materials is housed in the Promote Study Abroad Help and Learning section. We are particularly excited about new GCSA focused materials available in this section, particularly the Official GCSA Promo Kit! Please help us spread the word about this exciting new framework to your established networks and also use it as a tool to open doors to new communities!
For questions or concerns about GCSA, whether it be our process or about specific applicants, please contact:
Caitlin Schneider, Senior Director of Study Abroad (cschneider@afsusa.org)
or,
Adriana Miladinovic, Senior Manager of Visas, Scholarships, and Diversity Initiatives (amiladinovic@afsusa.org)