One of the first questions people ask me when I tell them I am going to Germany for a year is "What program are you going through?" I love answering this question because I get to tell them about a wonderful program that few people have heard of (though I can't imagine why). The program is called The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) and I will be participating in it's 28th program since it started. It is a federally funded scholarship program that grants 75 young Americans the opportunity to study abroad for one year in Germany. As I said before, this is a scholarship program that is funded both by the American government (Congress) and the German government (Bundestag). The program is administered by Cultural Vistas and is not affiliated with any school, though the applicants are either current students or graduates. This may be one of the reasons the program isn't as well known as it should be. When most people think to study abroad in school, they go to their school's study abroad office or something of the like where they find many an array of wonderful programs through the school or other universities around the country. This program does not turn a profit for any university which could be one of the reasons it is lesser known. I encourage people who are interested in studying abroad to contact their school's study abroad office as well as search the internet for other programs that may not be known to their universities. Your search could reap many positive benefits!
Below is a direct quote from Cultural Vistas' website on the history of the CBYX program:
"CBYX for Young Professionals is a reciprocal program that provides young Americans with the exciting opportunity to live, work, and study in Germany for one-year and young Germans the opportunity to live, work, and study in the United States for one-year. CBYX depends on the generosity of hundreds of U.S. and German communities that have opened their doors to young international professionals throughout the program’s history. The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange was initiated in 1983 by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first German immigration to North America. The exchange program conveys the importance of common values, mutual acceptance and lasting personal relationships to young Americans and Germans. In the U.S., the program is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961."
It is important to note that the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange operates at both the high school and college level. The link to the high school level program is www.usagermanyscholarship.org and the link to the college level program is www.culturalvistas.org. 24 is the maximum age to apply so apply now! I am also posting a short video below that gives you a look into what the program is all about. It is nothing short of life changing so please look into it. If not this particular program, then please look into another one. The benefits of studying abroad are boundless.
