Press Release For Immediate Release December 7, 2006	Media Contact: Danielle Carpino American Institute For Foreign Study River Plaza, 9 West Broad St. Stamford, CT 06902-3788 (203) 399-5168 dcarpino@aifs.org www.academicyear.org

Full Scholarships for High School Students to Study in Germany

STAMFORD, CT– A once in a lifetime opportunity is being offered to high school students. Through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program, deserving high school students are eligible for a full scholarship to study abroad in Germany.

For more than 20 years, CBYX has been the premier exchange program for American and German high school students. Under this esteemed program, students will gain first-hand experience of German life, including family, school, culture, recreation and much more. Each student will live with a carefully selected host family who will provide room, board, and a caring home.

In addition, participants will be matched with a member of the German Bundestag, who will serve as their “Pate,” or godparent. This government official will help the students gain an understanding of German politics and assist with their discovery of the German government and culture. The relationship with the Bundestag member culminates in May when all participants travel to Berlin to see the German government in session.

CBYX has been helping prepare ambitious young people for a global future since 1983. The program is divided into five regions in the United States: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast.

Students can apply for this program through the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation. AIFS will administer the prestigious CBYX Grant funded by the U.S. State Department in combination with the German Bundestag for the entire Midwest (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota).

“These past few months have taught me so much,” remarks 2005 CB participant Lucia Towianski, a senior from Sterling Heights, Michigan. “It’s an awesome experience! I have learned how strong I can be and even though it’s just one year of my life, I am excited that I made this choice.”

Participants will grow as individuals through this life-changing experience and will return to America as mature and independent young adults. Students will learn about German and European current affairs, social, political and economic life and gain fluency in German as well. They will also gain a competitive edge in college admissions and in the workforce, which is more important now than ever in our increasingly independent world.

Students eligible to apply for the Congress Bundestag scholarship must be between the ages of 15 and 18 ½, have US citizenship, and have a GPA of 3.0 or better (on 4.0 scale). No prior language study is required. The deadline for applications is December 15, 2006. Applications are available online at www.academicyear.org or by contacting Kelley Quigley at (800) 322-4678, ext 5164 or by e-mail at kquigley@aifs.org.

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The AIFS Foundation, which administers the CBYX program in the Midwest, was established in 1967 with the assistance of the late Senator Robert Kennedy. The mission of the AIFS Foundation is to help young people from many nations and diverse cultures to understand each other better. The Foundation’s high school division, Academic Year in America, has been in operation since 1981 and has enabled more than 20,000 students from over 40 countries to live with host families in the USA while attending high school.