Typically some prompts and questions will make you think about why you want to even participate in a program. The information you come up with can be recycled and reused as long as it is in your own words. Use the scholarship office and online portals to have a stress-free experience because I received $7,000 in scholarships. The scholarships I received were the Gilman Scholarship, Alice and Doug Diamond EOP Scholarship and AS Global Education Scholarship. I completed several short essays for scholarships. I used some of my college application letters, recycled them, used the information there, and applied it to these programs. You can plan ahead by asking yourself: how would it benefit you to study abroad, what do you know and what do you want to know? This information will likely be asked by the scholarship programs.
Things to keep in mind:
If you are thinking of going to a partner university, the credit systems can be different from California universities. Be prepared to potentially take summer classes or an extra semester when returning if you did not follow your pre-approved classes list for your program.
Any international place outside of the U.S. and these territories will require your passport. If you do not have one already, make that one of your first steps (hopefully, you will use it more than just this trip).
If you don't plan to go to college, you can still apply for short-term programs right out of college with CIEE. Consider taking a gap year! Other international programs such as volunteering abroad are also available.
