My Guide to the CBYX Application

I still remember finding CBYX for the first time. I was in seventh grade, and I had strep throat. My mom had to work, so it was just me at home. I tore through my public library copy of Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welches, and I was struck by wanderlust. Despite being the ripe age of twelve, I started googling study abroad programs. When I found CBYX, it felt too good to be true. I spent hours googling every blog and searching through YouTube videos. Even though it was just a vague idea, I felt a pit at the bottom of my stomach. A pit telling me that this was right.

For a year and a half, I fantasized over CBYX. I watched hundreds of YouTube videos, I read through thousands of applications tips, and I swear, I read the official website millions of times. It was an obsession, and I couldn’t wait to start achieving it. Then, in September, applications opened. I spent hours staring at my essays, perfecting every word. It was tedious, but every bit of work made me feel closer to the end goal. And every time I thought about giving up, the pit in my stomach reappeared. It told me to keep going, and something about CBYX just felt right. Looking back on it now, I know God was quietly leading me to Deutschland.

Applying for something like CBYX feels daunting. I mean, who wouldn’t want the Department of State to fork over several grand so they could live in Germany for a year? But the reality is, CBYX is underrepresented. There are not a lot of applicants (especially in the YFU region), making it easier to win the scholarship. I am not saying your application shouldn’t be competitive, but I am saying it is worth throwing your hat in the ring, even if you don’t think it’s good enough.

Let’s get into why y’all are here: the application tips.

1. Be Yourself

Here I am with the cliches, but this one rings true. CBYX wants diversity, so bring your weird and honest self to the table. Also, your interviewer will ask about the activities on your application, so be honest.

2. Be Professional

Since a lot of applicants are younger, I think they fail at being professional, but this is a very professional program and scholarship. They want youth leaders and student ambassadors, not lazy teenagers. Make sure to be polite when communicating with the admissions employees, and try and be as professional as possible throughout your application.

3. Be Genuine

This goes with being yourself, but I can not stress it enough. When you talk about things or relationships you are passionate about, it shows. My strongest essays were about my family, friends, and swimming. AKA, the things I love most.

4. Get Involved

A big green flag for CBYX Admissions is being involved. They want to see that you have roots in your community and that you care about your schools, churches, and teams. A good way to achieve this is to get some volunteer hours under your belt or obtain a leadership position in your club/organization.

5. Have Strong Recommendations

I think recommendations can make all the difference in applications. We can all talk about how amazing we are, but it says something when someone else can testify to your awesomeness. CBYX requires a recommendation from a teacher and someone in the community. I recommend reaching out to people who know you well. My recommendations came from my English teacher and my youth group leader. My English teacher's daughter participated in CBYX, and English is my favorite subject (I also really like her). My youth group leader has known me for years and years, and she can testify to my leadership abilities. Both of my recommendations highlighted unique parts of my personality and different perspectives of my character.

Those are all my general tips, but I know what y’all want: examples. Firstly, I want to say that it is blatantly unethical and rude to cheat on the CBYX applications. CBYX is merit-based, and it is plain dirty to take the scholarship from someone who earned it when you cheated. Despite the potential of cheating, I think that reading example essays can be helpful. It can spark ideas or give new motivation.

1. Describe, in-depth, one of the activities listed in the "Activities, Awards, and Interests" section that you find particularly meaningful. What impact has it made on your life and/or in the lives of others?

I have been swimming competitively year-round for four years, and it is a significant part of my life. I love swimming, not for the early morning practices or hard sets, but for the relationships built and lessons learned. The most difficult aspect of swimming is its repetitiveness, we repeat the same yardage, strokes, and drills over and over expecting to improve. This is literally Einstein's definition of insanity. While insane, swimming has built perseverance I carry with me today within my studies, friendships, and lifestyle.

Swimming has also benefited me with some of the most valuable relationships in my life. My closest friends and I have laughed through kick sets, cried through hard practices, and cheered one another on during meets. Many will argue that swimming is an individual sport, but I couldn’t disagree more. My teammates are what motivate me to push myself in practice, remain positive on hard days, and win when it counts. We mourn each other’s losses and share our victories, and to me, that is the definition of a team. I am not the strongest swimmer on my team, but I try to motivate others. You can often find me in the pool dancing to Taylor Swift or chatting with the younger swimmers. My coaches may describe this behavior as exasperating, but making a teammate’s practice a little better is worth it. Not only has my positivity earned me a mental attitude award from my swim club and a most inspirational player award from my school team, but I believe it also contributed to me breaking my school's hundred-yard backstroke record last year.

4. Reflecting on a non-academic conflict you've experienced in the past two years, briefly describe the situation and elaborate on how you addressed the challenge. Focus your response on what techniques, coping mechanisms, or resources you employed to address the challenge.

Last year I was accepted into a local laboratory school. After going to the same public school for seven years, I decided to take a leap of faith and attend …. for eighth grade. My leap of faith ended with me on my butt, wishing I hadn’t jumped. I felt like an outsider, and it’s hard to make friends from the outside. In fact, I hardly made any friends the entire first nine weeks of school. I did not want my parents or friends to think I had made the wrong decision so I just kept to myself. Being vulnerable has always been difficult for me, and admitting I am wrong is one of my greatest challenges. I tried to make …. work, but I could not do it on my own. I had built walls around me, and it was straining my relationship with my parents, friends, and loved ones. The only way to move forward was to begin tearing my walls down. I started by opening up to my parents about school, and then I started putting more effort into maintaining friendships with my public school friends. Then the more difficult part came, and that was turning my peers into friends. Anyone who ever went to middle school knows that trying to fit in can be painfully difficult, and it was no different for me. But with every awkward attempt at making new friends, it got easier. Eventually, I found a group of girls to sit with at lunch, then I found people to partner with on school projects, and I even made plans to hang-out after school hours. I realized that the more I opened myself up to others, the more they would open up to me. If I had never allowed myself to be vulnerable and open up to my new school I would have missed out on meeting some of my favorite people and making some of my best memories. This year I transferred back to my public school. It would have been easier to stay at …., but it would have been harder for me to meet my academic and athletic goals. This year I have had to be vulnerable all over again. I have had to rebuild friendships, reach out to teachers, and try new things. From my experience at …., I know that while scary, being vulnerable is worth the risk.

I hope this article was helpful, and that it encourages you to apply. CBYX has changed my life, and it has the potential to change yours too.

XOXO,

Bookish Babble