www.iefa.org

or if you want to study in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, etc)

www.britishcouncil.org

If you have not yet picked a program, you should look into Rotary. They are the cheapest, but most competitive. To find others, go to www.csiet.org. That has the list of all those certified to operate in the U.S. You should not use one not on that list. You should also check with your counselor for recommendations as an organization is only as good as its local representatives.

If you are applying for scholarships for the 2008-09 year, be aware that many will need to be in before Christmas!

Hopefully you are planning on a full year exchange or at LEAST a semester! Those are the best way of getting the most “bang” for your buck. Some summer programs are OK, but the two-three week things are just glorified tourist trips and not worth the money.

A full year exchange will allow you to reap the all the benefits that colleges and universities will be looking for — namely culture and language immersion. Exchange students (especially American) will tell you they are only able to use their language after about four months.

As to other fundraiser ideas, try asking civic groups for sponsorships. In return, you will provide quarterly updates to the group (don’t forget!) and a powerpoint presentation when you return home. You might also try a fundraising pancake feed — get your friends to help. If you can connect it with another town activity, it works even better.

If you are interested in more on being an exchange student, go to http://www.exchangestudentworld.com/

That’s a site BY exchange students FOR exchange students!

Good luck!

http://www.internationalscholarships.com/