<p>I'm going into my sophomore year this fall and planning to do a study abroad program through SYA during my junior year in Italy. However, there are a few issues, the greatest of which being money.</p>
<p>I already know the I can do SAT/ACT prep and college aps in Italy and that I can earn my highschool credits there, but I need to know how I can bring a tuition of $44,000 to a more digestable price (15,000 or less?).</p>
<p>I'm also not sure how much the financial aid will cover for a middle class (150k a year, I think) family of 5, also counting one with a disability. So if there's any idea of how much I can hope for the financial aid to provide, it will be much appreciated.</p>
<pre><code>On another note,
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<p>I'm currently attending a pretty rigorous highschool (hours ranging from 8am to 5pm every day), maintaining a 4.0+, sports, volunteer services, president of a slam poetry club/team, and I was wondering if doing a study abroad program my junior would seriously up (or down) my chances for getting into an ivy league (specifically Harvard).</p>
<p>If you have ANY info, that would help a lot! Thanks!</p>
<p>The best advice I can give you is find scholarship money. There are many opportunities to study abroad on someone else’s dime. It seems that with a 4.0 playing sports and being the president of a club you are on track to make it into an ivy league college, but studying abroad would be the icing on the cake. </p>
<p>Here are some ideas:
Check with your local community college or university about scholarships (some of these scholarship are open to high school students)
Speak with a counselor at your school about opportunities they usually can point you in the right direction
Do a fundraising campaign with friends and family</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for advice!
Yeah, I’ve been looking into doing a fundraiser with my family, and the greatest idea we came up with is reaching out to movie theaters, restaurants, and other buisnesses (I thought possibly even a professional football team, like the Chargers) to simply ask for a one dollar donation towards a student trying to study abroad. However, the only issue that I could think of, is that, if I were to reach out to organizations such as football teams, will word somehow get out to Ivy Leagues, like Harvard, and think that I’m simply going out and panhandling people. Do you think that would be a possibility?</p>
<p>Oh, by the way, I filled out your questionare. Seems like you’re the best person I could be talking to right now!</p>
<p>A fundraiser for a family at 150k. So you can study abroad. In a program that costs 47.5k. Wow, while many top kids are fundraising for the needy.
Look into AFS. </p>
<p>Many people think new posters with odd questions are trolls, ya know?</p>
<p>Well, I have a brother and a sister. My sister just started her sophomore year of college, and my brother goes to a pretty expensive private school. Along with that, there are a ton of other expenses (mortages, cars, day to day things) we have to pay that makes it more and more difficult to be able to pay for SYA. But, I agree, it does seem kind of strange that I would have to go out and do something like a fundraiser to be able to pay for SYA. I guess, the only thing I know for sure about my financial situation, which is what my parents told me, is that we can only go up to 10-15k (which would therefore require financial aid/fundraiser) and I have college just a few years away.</p>
<p>And nooo, I am not a ■■■■■. Just trying to find some way to be able to pay for SYA, because apparrantly, I can’t on my own.</p>
<p>Why a $47,500 program? That’s what can look crazy to adcoms. AFS or others can cost well less than 15k.</p>
<p>If you “could” raise 30k, think how much better to would look to a U if you did this for a legit charity or cause. It would be a plus. Instead, you want to fundraise for a quadruple-cost program for yourself?</p>
<p>Well, from what I’ve seen, is that SYA is the top top program that you could possibly go for. They offer SAT/ACT prep, multiple AP classes, and all the classes are in English (except Italian). However, if I were to go through a program like Rotary or any other program really, I wouldn’t be able to take the SATs or get SAT prep, my grades would suffer as a result of struggling with a new language, and it wouldn’t be as highly looked upon as it would with SYA. And it’s not like my soul is being siphoned into this project, I’m actively involved with multiple volunteer and charity programs. This is just something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. A fundraiser would just be one way to get there.</p>
<p>Obviously if you do well at SYA it will make you stand out in college admissions. Just look at the matriculation list on their website. Also, from what I’ve heard SYA is fairly generous with financial aid, and they have merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Programs like YFU and AFS are of course much cheaper, but SYA was created with the intention to keep up the academic standards of some of the best prep schools in the world–Andover, Exeter, and St. Paul’s. </p>
<p>If it doesn’t work out financially for your junior year, you could also consider SYA for senior year. A lot of people do it. Good luck</p>
<p>In my opinion, SYA serves its purpose which is to give private school students a sheltered environment in which to experience another culture during high school. I don’t think that is a bad idea, however I truly doubt that any college would find such a program superior to the experience that a high school student would have as an exchange student through Rotary, AFS, YFU or any other reputable program. These other programs would be much cheaper because host families are not paid and there is no private schooling involved. Yes, you would have to plan ahead and take your graduation requirements during summer school or double up your senior year. You would also have to study for SATs on your own or take them before or after your exchange year. Some students have taken SATs and even APs during their exchange year by getting in touch with American schools in major cities. My D spent a year in S. America with Rotary in 09-'10. She became fluent in Spanish (AP Span language: 5) although she had never studied the language prior to arrival. She also self-studied for the AP art history exam while she was studying at a local Spanish language high school. She made arrangements with an American school to take the exam and scored a 5. She treated her year as a gap year between 10th and 11th grade but had enough credits that she could have graduated in 2011 had she desired. She did not experience the hand-holding she would have had if she had done SYA and studied her subjects in English. It also cost me a very small fraction of the cost of SYA. You and your parents do not to spend a fortune for you to have a valuable study abroad experience as a high school student. Be a little more adventurous and you can make your dream be a reality.</p>