What are the advantages of being a Rotary Exchange Student?

Being away in a foreign country has a powerful broadening and an accelerating effect on your maturing process.  Managing your own finances and making decisions give you more confidence and independence to take care of yourself.  You learn to think and converse fluently in another language.  You develop more confidence in speaking before groups.  You become more tolerant of other people, different cultures and different personalities.  Your youth exchange experience will be priceless, something that you can’t replicate any other way.

Past history has indicated that having the Rotary Exchange Year on your college application carries more weight in many cases than your GPA, class ranking, or even SAT or ACT score.  Colleges are looking for students that are going to successfully complete their studies and graduate.  By completing a full year exchange in another culture you are showing them that you have the “right stuff”.  Future employers will take similar views of your year’s experience, not to mention the benefits of becoming bi-lingual or bi-cultural!

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