Scholarships for Foreign Service Dependents

Thanks to the FLO office for compiling this great list of 2021 deadline dates for Foreign Service related scholarships:

Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) Merit Scholarships
AAFSW is now accepting applications for its two scholarship opportunities. Students who apply for either scholarship will also be considered for the Judy Felt Memorial Volunteerism Scholarship and Best Essay Award. The deadline for application submissions is April 15.

AFSA National High School Essay Contest
Applications are now open for the AFSA National High School Essay Contest. The application deadline is April 5.

AFSA Scholarships
The AFSA Scholarship Program provides financial aid scholarships to undergraduates and academic merit awards, art merit awards, and a community service award to graduating high school seniors. All applications are due March 15.

Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA)
FEEA champions the pursuit of higher education and supports over 200 students with merit-based scholarships each year. The deadline to apply is March 25.

Foreign Service Youth Foundation (FSYF) Academic Merit Scholarship
High School seniors and gap-year dependents of Foreign Service employees are invited to apply for the FSYF Academic Merit Scholarship. Applications will be accepted until March 2.

FSYF Contests and Awards (Art, Community Service, and Essay)
The annual FSYF Art Contest challenges Foreign Service youth to create art in any flat medium based on a theme related to their experience. Children ages 5 – 18 are invited to participate. The deadline to submit entries is March 17.

The annual FSYF Community Service Contest recognizes Foreign Service youth who demonstrate outstanding volunteer efforts in service to their community or to their peers. The deadline for consideration of this award is March 24.

The annual FSYF Essay Contest challenges Foreign Service youth to reflect on their experience by responding to an essay prompt. Middle and high school students are invited to participate in the contest. The essay contest deadline is March 31.

Choosing Courses for 11th grade

You’ll get great advice from your school counselor about choosing courses that will ensure you graduate and demonstrate the kinds of academic habits that colleges are looking for (rigor, intellectual challenge, etc.). What else should you consider?

  1. Do you have genuine interest in a non-academic course or field? If so, take the drama, fashion design, or hospital-volunteering for credit course. Colleges are going to see this slightly alternative path as an honest exploration of your interests, not a way of hiding from harder courses. 
  2. Don’t drop language. It’s so tempting to drop courses, like foreign languages, once you’ve met the minimum requirements to graduate, but many colleges require that you have 3, or even 4, full years of language in addition to the core courses in math, science, social studies/history, and your native language/literature. 
  3. Don’t worry too much about taking American History, unless it’s part of the standard curriculum at your school. Many state universities require domestic US applicants to take US history during high school. International school students whose high school doesn’t offer it as a standard course shouldn’t worry about it, though. Colleges will either waive the requirement for international applicants, or give students the opportunity to take the course for college credit the summer before, or during, the first year. (Admittedly, I’ve heard of students who’ve had some issues with this, but usually it’s a matter of communicating with the office about your international status, even as a domestic applicant.)
  4. If you’re an IB student looking to go to the US for college, choose HL subjects that you feel you can work hard and still succeed in, because HL courses are meant to be a challenge. Don’t choose an HL that sounds awful to you. Also, make sure that your final course selections are balanced across all core subjects. At some non-US universities, they actually prefer that your IB courses are concentrated around the field you’ll be applying to for university study, but US schools and US-style universities abroad prefer a more well-rounded academic preparation. 

More than anything, choose classes that you will enjoy and grow in. Don’t choose them just because you think they’ll look good to admissions officers.