Here are some ideas to help convince your parents.

1. Maturity. You will grow up and get experiences overcoming some of the biggest challenges of your life. You will learn great people skills and gain the ability to get along with people from all walks of life.

2. Language. You will have the opportunity for language and cultural immersion, the proven best way to learn! People who speak more than one language are in high demand in the workforce and can often command a higher salary.

3. College. Colleges and university LOVE exchange students and many prestigious ones offer preferred admissions and sometime scholarship money.

4. Citizenship. While you are learning to appreciate another culture and country, you will also be getting a deeper understanding of your own. As an exchange student, you’ll be finding yourself researching the U.S. political systems, history and culture — so you can explain it to your new friends! You’ll be a young ambassador for the U.S.

5. Fun! Yes, it will be fun and exciting. It will also be boring and you’ll be homesick at times too — but that’s part of the experience and you should let your parents know you realize this.

6. Expenses. This is expensive! Offer to pay for part of it and apply for scholarships. Get a job so you can pay your own personal expenses.

7. Research! Before approaching your parents again, do some research. Find some good organizations. Rotary is the cheapest, but most competitive. You can find a list of all of those certified to operate in the U.S. at www.csiet.org. Contact your school counselor for a recommendation as well. An organization is only as good as the local people who represent it.

8. Have a plan. Talk to your counselor about how you could arrange your classes so you graduate on time.

9. Go to www.exchangestudentworld.com. This site was developed for exchange students around the world and it will have a lot of information for both you and your parents. If you should be lucky enough to go, it also has a diary you can keep.

10. Meet and get to know the exchange students at your school (if you have some). Invite them home to meet your parents. The best “persuasion” might come from kids already doing it!

Good luck! I hope you realize your goal!

For example, in the last three decades, China has had an amazing economic growth that seems to be influencing our lives at almost every level. The Chinese language has become so important that there are many elementary schools that are sprouting which teaches Chinese.

To check some recent news about China from Yahoo, please go to our website at: http://www.encabroad.org/recentnews.htm

If you have anymore questions, please email us, and we would be more than glad to answer any other study abroad questions you may have.

Best,

ENC Abroad

Here’s a good site that gives you information on how you can afford to pay for studying abroad:

http://www.studyabroaddomain.com/finance_your_experience.aspx

And here are some good safety precautions you can take:

http://www.studyabroaddomain.com/health_safety_info.aspx

Then you can look here for some good exchange programs in different countries:

http://www.studyabroaddomain.com/locations.aspx

To help you pay for the study abroad experience you can get a scholarship. Scholarships are basically free sources of money that help you pay for college costs, and you don’t have to pay them back. You can read about them here:

http://www.studentfinancedomain.com/financial_aid/college_scholarship.aspx

Here are good sites that offer study abroad scholarships:

http://www.studyabroad.com/forum/financial_aid.html

http://www.studyabroadfunding.org/

http://www.studyabroadlinks.com/search/Study_Abroad_Resources/Scholarships_and_Financial_Aid/

http://www.ciee.org/study/scholarships.aspx

http://www.academicstudies.com/?gclid=CL-W56Cbjo4CFSgRGgodW0ezEQ

http://www.gowithcea.com/

Here are sites that offer scholarships to all students:

FedMoney.org Home

http://www.freegovmoney.net/

http://www.grants.gov/

http://www.findtuition.com/scholarships/

http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

http://www.educationplanner.com/education_planner/paying_article.asp?sponsor=2859&articleName=Grants_and_Scholarships

http://www.studentawards.com/

http://www.college-scholarships.com/

I would suggest making a list of your top countries to visit, some good schools you like, and how you’re going to pay for it. Then make a long list of scholarships you’d like to apply to. Show your parents this, and they’ll know you’re serious!

I hope this helps! Good luck!