Hey guys, I didn’t see any space for the 2019-2020 YES Abroad people… Did anyone else apply? How’d it go? And does anyone know how the rolling admissions go? Like are finalists called first?
Hey, I applied too, my interview went really well, me and my interviewer talked for about 1 hour and 30 minutes! How was the interview for you? You’ll be told what will be your status to the scholarship this month, next week is a guess I have
I applied this year as well. I am super nervous! I just want to know what my status is because the wait is killing me! How did you guys rank your countries?
This is my ranking from 1-13, Jordan, Thailand, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Macedonia, India, Bosnia, Ghana, Bulgaria, Philippines, Senegal and Morocco. My status just came in about 20 minutes ago, I’m an alternate, how about you guys?
I’m a finalist for Ghana!!
finalist for senegal!!!
I am an alternate as well!
I’m also an alternate!!! congrats everyone!
I’m a finalist for Jordan. Anyone else?
Do you guys think a finalist should accept? In other words, is this an unmissable opportunity?
My daughter is a finalist for Ghana!
You got accepted into Jordan?? It wasn’t on the list of countries this year, on the email and finalist webinar they said only Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Turkey. btw i’m in the same boat, especially with the whole school credit ordeal
I think if you don’t have a need in using the international skills you learn during the scholarship, you wouldn’t see it as an unmissable opportunity… If you’re completely sure your school will transfer your credits from the program smoothly, I’d say to take it, other than that it seems a bit too risky
Also if you’re considering to improve your GPA, a lot of the times transfer international credits (from all I’ve heard and seen, I could be wrong) don’t contribute negatively or positively to your GPA
I would definitely see YES Abroad as an unmissable opportunity. In the end, your high school grades, credits, and GPA can be figured out and sorted through. But when would you be able to live and learn in Jordan for almost a year for free again? Things like this are one of a kind. I know that if I declined my scholarship, I would regret it 10 years from now. Of course, it’s not for everyone but you were selected for a reason!
Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand are the countries that are implemented by AFS. The rest of the countries are still going but have different implementing organizations.
Naevia – Congratulations to your daughter! I was also accepted to Ghana. I am in a WhatsApp chat with the current YES Abroad Ghana students if she would like to be added
Thanks for replying guys. Of course living the year in another country would be an amazing experience- I’m just unsure of how it will affect my GPA and college aps. Someone mentioned that international credits don’t count towards gpa- is that true? If you’re a finalist, can you tell me how you plan on working out credits and things like that with your school (for non-gap year students). Also, some of my friends and family are very uncomfortable with me going to Jordan; I know you guys might not be experts, but do you guys think it could be risky for a girl?
Oh and yeah, Jordan is implemeted by AMDEAST
It depends on how your school decides to handle it since it is a unique situation. Definitely talk to your counselor/principal as soon as you can to work out a plan. Since taking classes abroad may (most likely will) be harder (especially since the classes will be in a language that I have not learned) and I am unsure as to how much I will be learning, my school will not be counting those grades towards my GPA, but of course it solely depends on what your school decides. I will be taking a few classes this summer to fulfill all of my graduation requirements.
Regarding college apps, it would definitely be useful to get as much done as possible before leaving. They recommended completing everything but maybe one or two essays before you leave so you can focus on your experience there instead of worrying about applications. It is a little hard to even decide what colleges to apply to in this short amount of time, but I think that getting it all finished will take a huge weight off of your shoulders. Also, I have heard that some students who go abroad their senior year decide to take a gap year after so that they do not have to worry about college at all while abroad, so that is always something to consider.
I am not too familiar with Jordan specifically, but I know that a lot of the countries are having country-specific webinars so that is definitely a concern that you can ask them about during that. However, I know that there will be staff there to make sure the students are safe while in their host country, so hopefully the staff will be people to confide in. It also may be helpful to look for experiences from other girls who have completed their exchange year in Jordan. There are probably blogs and videos out there from these students and it may be good to read about their experiences in the country. But, just keep it in the back of your mind that these blogs may highlight the positive over the negative. Either way, they will surely give some insight.
Congrats on receiving the scholarship, it’s an amazing opportunity but there is so much to consider! 
Also, would anyone be interested in making a group chat for finalists?