As a parent, you might be asking, ‘Is an AFS Program worth the investment?’ AFS Programs provide students the opportunity to become more confident, self-reliant, and worldly before starting college. Colleges often recommend study abroad programs because students gain a better idea of what they want to study, hone their skills, and are prepared to handle college life and academics. Your child may spend less time switching majors and paying tuition—gaining a real economic benefit. And their newfound language skills might help to exempt them from required language courses and finish school sooner. An exchange program also can round out a resumé and help them stand out on their college application.
- If you look at our most expensive program ($10,900), the daily cost ends up being about $40 a day. Compare that to what your family already spends now on transportation, food, extracurricular activities, school supplies, and perhaps tuition. And remember, an AFS Program is not only an investment for now, but in your child’s future.
- But don’t just take it from us. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that a middle-income family spends an average of $13,480 per year to feed, house, clothe, and entertain a child between the ages of 15-17. For the same cost of keeping your student home (or perhaps even less), your son or daughter could study abroad, learn another language, gain invaluable life experience, create long-lasting international connections, and bolster their college applications. A good value? You bet!
- An AFS experience helps set a student up as someone who is already capable of doing the independent work required in college. It gives them an extra boost in getting accepted into almost any college. Read what Don Asher has to say about acquiring The New Global Skill Set and how organizations like AFS can help students prepare for the modern global market.
- An AFS experience can also provide an advantage in getting college scholarships.
- An AFS language experience can provide skills necessary to test out of language classes and often to obtain credit for those languages. Some students have received as much as 18 hours language credit—almost enough to provide a minor in language and certainly a financial savings when figured on cost of credits.
- The REAL benefit, however, is that an AFS experience consistently creates a more flexible and developed individual who knows their mind better and is less likely to waste college money with ineffective study habits and/or indecision in career directions. They should be able to set a course, determine goals, and accomplish them without multiple changes of curriculum or poor grades.
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