A year abroad gives young people much more than just stronger language skills. For many, it means breaking away from their parents' home for a long time for the first time and being largely on their own in a foreign country. The new daily life demands a lot from teenagers or young adults, who benefit greatly from a year abroad. It's not only adapting to new cultures, the foreign language and new people that make travelers more open to the world. Time abroad builds self-confidence, and they often learn for the road into the working life ahead.

Going on a gap year abroad with a scholarship

Going abroad for a year is the dream of many teenagers. Through a school program at the school they attend here, there's a chance to complete a student exchange. Since demand is often not that high, the chances of getting a student exchange spot aren't bad at all.
However, the popular stay abroad often comes with high costs that not every parent can afford. A 12-month student exchange to the USA, for example, can cost at least $9,000. A gap year abroad scholarship can ease the financial burden on the exchange student's parents and often makes the stay abroad possible in the first place.

Other options where the gap year abroad scholarship can help include popular work and travel stays. Since the young traveler not only tours the country but gets to know the culture and people up close by also working on site and earning their long stay that way, a work and travel stay comes with lower costs than the classic student exchange.
Stays abroad as an au pair are just as popular. Here the gap year abroad scholarship helps above all to bridge the cost of the trip to the country and the first period on site.

Gap year abroad scholarship

What are the requirements for a gap year abroad scholarship?

If a student wants to go abroad for a year as part of the school year, they can apply for a gap year abroad scholarship under certain conditions. Various organizations provide young people with financial support and also help organize the stay abroad.

A compelling application is decisive, in which the student plausibly explains their reasons for the stay abroad. Students with a grade point average of at least a B (a 2 on the German scale) and very good performance in foreign languages also have good chances of getting funding for the year abroad.

But young people who want to go abroad as part of their studies or as an intern, can also apply for funding for the trip.
Likewise, young people who offer their help abroad to the provider through work and travel can claim the scholarship for themselves.

Providers of scholarships for stays abroad often specifically look for young people who take part in social projects abroad, and in this way they support both the country and the young traveler.