<p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>I'm thinking about applying to a bunch of different summer programs this year, and I was wondering if any of you had some experience with them.</p>
<p>Bronfman Youth Fellowship
EF Tours Global Citizen Scholarship
High School Diplomats
Brown Leadership Institute
Emory Pre-College Program
Global Leadership Adventures: Galapagos
Habitat for Humanity Learn and Build Experience
Jump Start at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at University of Maryland
Washington Youth Summit On the Environment
National Environmental Summit for High School Students
Anthony Robbins Global Youth Leadership Summit
University of Idaho JEMS Summer Program
Lebanon Valley College Youth Scholars Institute
CIEE South Korea Scholarship</p>
<p>If anybody has any experience with these programs it would be awesome if you could share your knowledge. Thanks!</p>
<p>hey yhbultimate11, I don’t know about the rest of the programs you mentioned, but the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel ranks very highly in my list of Meaningful Life Experiences. I can’t even begin to describe the Fellowships, because I’m at a loss for words when it comes to explaining the most intellectually challenging, diverse, spiritual and unique (Jewish) summer program ever.</p>
<p>What it comes down to is the following: if you’re interested in tackling the main issues facing American Jews (relationship to Israel, denominational interactions, assimilation/intermarriage/conversion, rabbinic authority, etc.), discussing Jewish identity, engaging in stimulating learning (weekly lessons, massive amounts of brilliant text study, speeches from charismatic, Important Figureheads in Literature, Politics and the like), meeting 25 other best friends from across denominations (from Reconstructionist to Right-wing Orthodox) and regions (from Hawaii to Toronto), and all of this in the hills of Jerusalem/streets of Tzfat/sands of the Negev, then Bronfman is the right program for you.</p>
<p>And while the program is definitely academically/religiously fulfilling and intensive, it somehow manages to be a ‘summer’ program - lots of romping through ancient cities, singing crazy melodies, sailing in a yacht and spending soulful, carefree nights looking up at the uncluttered skies. There’s fun to Bronfman, and there are also gobs and gobs of intellectual conversations that will kick your brain into being hyperaware and analytic. </p>
<p>If you’d like to know more, you can email/send me a private message about it. I went this past summer and had the time of my life.</p>
<p>wow, that sounds incredible! im definitely really excited for bronfman, but i know it’s an incredible long shot. do you think you could chance me for it?</p>
<p>GPA: 4.1 (unweighted: 4.0)
EC’s: pretty good, i listed 5, which was the maximum they would allow on the application. I think i showed how passionate about them i am.
As far as my connection with judaism, i’m definitely reform. after my bat mitzvah, the only thing i’ve done was go to high holy day services. but i think i showed that im interested in learning more about it pretty well.
Essays: I spent a LOT of time on them, so i hope their good
Letters of rec: I asked a family friend, who wrote an incredible one (im sure, shes a writer), and i asked my school principal, who knows me pretty well. he hasn’t written it yet, but it should be pretty good
Transcript: again, 4.1 GPA, and I’ve taken lots of hard classes</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Sounds good to me.
You’re successful in the academics department, so you’ve passed that benchmark. You spent a lot of time on your essays, which is a pretty accurate indicator of how much thought + effort you put into your responses.
As long as the “interested in learning more” part is strong, you’ve got a fairly good chance. We had fellows this year who had attended yeshiva day school for all their lives, and others who were celebrating Shabbat in a fully observant manner for the first time.
I don’t know you well enough to make any good prediction, but it does seem like you could make it to Finalist level - and then it depends on your presentation/speaking skills and self-expression.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you! That was incredibly helpful. Do you know how many applicants Bronfman gets each year?</p>
<p>I did the CIEE South Korea scholarship this past summer. It was a really great experience. It’s sponsored by the Korea Foundation, which must have a lot of money to burn, because they treated us <em>so well</em>. Every part of the trip is paid for, with the exception of your transportation to one of the gateway airports from which you’ll fly to Seoul (Chicago, LA, NYC, DC, Atlanta). Over two weeks we were showed pretty much every aspect of Korean culture, from the language to the politics to, of course, the food. </p>
<p>Highlights included trips to the North Korean border (seriously one of the best/most intense moments of my life - I’ll never forget being stared down by the North Korean soldiers and the South Korean troops looked on), a spectacular Buddhist temple in the hills, ancient palaces, a top broadcasting company, and Everland (where I rode the steepest wooden roller coaster in the world). </p>
<p>I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dorm accommodations (a bit cramped) but whatever, it’s a free trip. We went on an excursion where they put us up in a 5 star hotel, so that made up for the dorms, haha.</p>
<p>We had a weekend long home stay with a Korean family (that included a teenager), and that was <em>really</em> insightful and fun. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that you need to be very familiar with Korean culture to get in or enjoy yourself - it’s all about your willingness to embrace your surroundings.</p>
<p>I would definitely encourage you to apply for this - it’s an amazing time and it definitely beats shelling out thousands of dollars for other (often not prestigious or competitive) summer programs.</p>
<p>Thanks watchmesoar! I don’t think the application for it is out yet, but I’ll definitely look into it more. My parents are a bit skeptical about sending me to Korea, but I’ll share this information with them when the application comes out. Do you know how competitive the program is?</p>
<p>I’m not really sure…They pick a hundred students and there are supposedly up to a thousand applications, but I can’t confirm that.</p>
<p>Wow, 1,000 applications? That’s crazy! What do they look for in an applicant, do you know?</p>
<p>Again, the 1,000 apps figure is hearsay from other students, so I don’t know how accurate it is. It would probably be safer to say there are hundreds of applications.</p>
<p>As to what they look for, it’s hard to say because the group of 100 I was with was SO eclectic and diverse. All types of personalities, interests, maturity levels, and backgrounds. I think the main point is that you show that you’re really interested in exploring Korea and can handle being independent in a foreign country. I think academic strength is important, too.</p>
<p>Okay, that sounds awesome! I’m definitely going to apply when the application comes out! Does it require a letter of recommendation, do you remember?</p>
<p>Yes. Letter of Rec, transcript, one essay (not too long), a few short answers.</p>
<h1>psychedforbronfman</h1>
<p>im really excited for all of these programs!</p>
<p>Hmm…I’d say there are a few hundred (maybe around 300-400 or so) applicants, 70ish finalists, 26 Fellows. The number changes from year to year. </p>
<p>The # of applicants may be lower than for other prestigious programs, but it’s actually a very self-selecting, overqualified pool (i.e. people who would bother to write essays/want to go on a Bronfman-type program), so basically once you reach finalist level you’ve got 70 intelligent, Jewishly involved individuals, and it comes down to slight differences and interview performance to choose the final fellows.</p>
<p>Yikes that’s really nerve wracking!</p>
<p>I went on the CIEE South Korea program in 2010 and I was told there were just shy of 500 applicants for 100 spots. That figure could have likely increased since then as I know the program is becoming more popular, though. I definitely second watchmesoar, this program is an incredible opportunity. You should definitely give the application a shot! I know it is a bit tedious, but you really have nothing to lose! I was so close to not applying and I am honsetly so glad that I did. You have to write about why you are interested in Korean culture, but remember that they want people who havent been exposed to Korean culture so it is really just essential that you show that you are adventurous and curious about other cultures</p>