I’m currently working on my global citizenship award and I want to either go somewhere as a volunteer or foreign exchange student, or host a student. Will this make me seem more interesting to the admissions boards?
I do think it might be an interesting thing that would make you a bit different from the standard applicant. I agree with all the above, except not necessarily the volunteering part. Volunteer abroad by all means, but if it is one of those “go to an exotic third world country and build a school” type of things, that isn’t super interesting to adcoms. On the other hand, studying abroad for a year in, let’s say Spain, and volunteering in a local hospital, animal shelter, etc…, could be much more interesting.
Okay, not sure what happened to the other post, but at any rate, study abroad is very worthwhile for its own sake, not just for college applications.
A year abroad is considered in many ways an outstanding EC - it shows maturity, risk taking, advance planning, etc. Especially if you go to a non-English speaking country. But a fair amount of kids do semester abroad, and while it looks nice on a resume, don’t expect it to be a huge advantage. Hosting won’t do anything - except it could make for an interesting essay .
Do things that are interesting to you, not things that “will make you seem more interesting to admission boards.” If you want to be part of a foreign exchange program then do it, if not then pass.
I would hope that hosting a student WOULD help…maybe not so much in impressing adcoms, but in showing them what kind of person you are. If global citizenship is truly a value/passion of yours, I would think that hosting a student would be a great manifestation of that, as not everyone can afford to do an exchange year. Not everyone’s parent will let them go, either. The U.S. Dept. of State has called the exchange experience an important informal diplomacy, and IMO, it goes both ways, between the hosted student and the host. Sharing your home and your life with an exchange student does take a certain kind of commitment, and involves a good deal of cross-cultural learning on your part, too. I was a volunteer liason with AFS for eight years, and I found the experience definitely impacts host families as well as exchange students. Not always easy, but if global citizenship is an important part of who you are (or want to be) I’d say, go for it!
Not sure what a global citizen awards is, but in my experience (having been admitted to a few top tier schools this season) is that a study abroad program must be well known and not something mommy and daddy payed for. State dept study abroad scholarships like Nsli-y and YES or CBYX are very prestigious and selective, and highly regarded by admissions because of their obvious connection with the State Dept. These programs also serve a unique purpose-- intensive language and cultural training to build up tomorrow’s cadre of diplomats and intelligence officers.
I agree with NikkuWade for the most part. Schools are not going to be impressed by those volunteer trips that cost exorbitant amounts of money, but you don’t have to gain admission to intensive programs like NSLI-Y. I have been admitted to Georgetown SFS (waiting on RD decisions still) and the central part of my app was my experience on the Germany Peace Project, an effort between my school and a school in Germany. So, my recommendation if you’re looking at study abroad/hosting is do something genuinely, and not just to put it on a college app.