<p>I really want to do Rotary to go to France during the upcoming summer or next school year.</p>
<p>When do you sign up and how do you sign up? How competitive is it? Do you have to have connections to your local Rotary club to get the scholarship?</p>
<p>RIGHT ON!! I did Rotary to Germany in 05-06. DO IT. The deadline for next year has already passed (it's usually in November). You can go to the Rotary International website and find a Rotary club in your area. You apply through them and can contact them -- maybe there weren't many in your district who applied and they'd be willing to take another. For me, it wasn't too competitive -- it depends on where you're from and how many are interested in that particular year. Usually if you go abroad, it is encouraged for your family to host a student (hosting is usually 3 months). My family has hosted a student from Germany and one from Turkey. You don't have to have connections, but my mom decided to join Rotary after I went abroad. I really recommend doing it, even if you can't do it next year. It's awesome and probably the best program out there. Feel free to contact me for more questions! Oh, but the countries with a higher demand (France, Japan, Germany..) are usually more competitive. You could also go to the French part of Switzerland or Belgium. Either way, you'll have a blast. (Cheesy, but true.)</p>
<p>Thanks sarahm!</p>
<p>I know the deadline for next school year has passed but I am planning on going abroad senior year. I'm a sophomore. What grade were you in when you went abroad and what do you think it would be like for a senior?</p>
<p>I would only be lacking 2 credits for graduation if I went senior year: 1 Math and 1 English. What would it be like to make up these credits? What country did you go to and how did the credits transfer over (if they did)?</p>
<p>I've heard senior year is a pretty laidback year, except for college apps of course. Could I still graduate on time and apply to colleges on time?</p>
<p>Sorry, a ton of questions! It just sounds really exciting and I don't want to miss out on an opportunity like this.</p>
<p>Hey there. </p>
<p>I'll try to help you as much as I can, as I'm still familiarizing myself with the program. I'm what they call a Rotary "outbound." I will be leaving for Spain sometime august of '09, and returning june/july of '10, studying there for my Junior year. </p>
<p>So far I'm very pleased with Rotary and the rotarians. most have been very pleasant to deal with, and they weren't too intimidating during the interviewing process.</p>
<p>As far as credits, the way my HS works makes it pretty easy to work out the credits -- many people have finished grad reqs. by junior year anyway. Our core classes are each just a semester long, so I "doubled up" on science this year, taking Chem the 1st semester, and now I'm taking Bio. the only problem for me is English. I'm in the Honors program, which means to continue that, i would have to take english at the local community college in order to take AP eng my senior year when I return. Luckily, this won't be too difficult for me, since my stepmom works at the Community C. so classes there are free for me. I'm not sure how classes at your school work, but I would recommend speaking to your GC about options, and see if community college might work for you, too.</p>
<p>In terms of College applications, i think it would probably be the same, but you'll just be in a different country. be sure to keep track of due dates, and figure in you want to mail early, just to make sure it gets there. </p>
<p>i think that you could probably graduate on time, but again, check with your GC -- i'm sure whoever it is is quite familiar with exchanges, and should be able to help you in your decision making.</p>
<p>GL!</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread but my daughter is considering a junior year rotary exchange and I am concerned about timing. To defy gravity and anyone else that studied abroad junior year–what was it like for you missing junior year and then “reentering” for senior year. How has the adjustment been? How do you think colleges will feel about it? </p>
<p>Thank so much for any insights/advice you might have.</p>
<p>what’s rotary club?</p>
<p>Rotary Clubs are a national organization of service clubs. There are local branches in many US cities. Historically a lot of local business people have belonged. It is a good way to give back to the community, and also for business networking. They sponsor study abroad programs.</p>
<p>So amw, I can give you two examples with different results. When I was in college (yup, 20+ years ago), my best friend that I met there had gone to Japan with rotary for her junior year. She was a Japanese major in college, and was quite successful grade-wise. She is now a Japanese teacher and translator. So it is worked out for her.</p>
<p>However, D1’s roommate freshman year in college (2 years ago) had also gone to Japan for the year with Rotary as a junior. She struggled freshman year (only doing well in Japanese :)), and eventually dropped out. D commented to me that she though her roomie had missed some basic skills she needed in college (writing, math, study skills) from having that jr. year abroad and that hurt her in college.</p>
<p>Not everyone would agree, but my take from these two examples is that if your D is a very strong student, it could be a great thing. But if she is not, then she could suffer academically. Even though this college admitted D’s roommate, she was not ready to do the work… so the college looked upon it favorably, I guess, but in the end it probably was not beneficial. Academically, at least. </p>
<p>I admit, D1 brought up doing this at one point, and we suggested she wait and study abroad in college. Almost every college supports it now. D1 is abroad this semester as a college junior. She did spend a summer in her country of choice in high school. But we didn’t want her to miss the academics of junior year in high school.</p>
<p>My daughter was a Rotary student to S. America last year after her sophomore year. We decided to just count it as a “gap year”. She is a junior this year. The ideal age to go abroad with Rotary is 16 1/2- 17 at departure because different countries have different requirements. If you are that age and still in school (ie not a gap year after 12th), you can go to virtually any country except for the few that require prior language study (France, Fr. Belgium, Austria and Switzerland). You can go to those as well if you have sufficiently studied French or German.</p>
<p>Let’s bring this back!!</p>
<p>Has anyone recently done Rotary? Last summer, I spent HOURS looking online for exchange/volunteer abroad opportunities and programs for high school students, but I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t thousands of dollars! I just found out a friend was doing this, she’ll be going to Ecuador, and I am interested!</p>
<p>I don’t think I would do the long-term if I were to apply, probably a short term (a few weeks - a month or two). </p>
<p>What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Hi, this is actually my 1st post, just thought i’d share that!! This year I applied to Rotary and went to an interview a couple months ago. They did not accept me, and it was not because it is very competitive, at least i dont think it is. They want you to be very very very flexible and ok with going anywhere at all. In my interview i just said i really wanted to go to south or central america, and not anywhere else really. They called me back later and told me that I was an alternate, which meant they might find a place for me.</p>
<p>So if you really want to go to France I would recommend YFU or another program that does specific countries, even though it’s more expensive. I’m going to apply with them for next year.</p>
<p>oh i thought i was replying to the 1st post. sorry i think theyre all really expensive. they have scholarships though.</p>