YFU offers over 200 full and partial merit-based scholarships and needs-based financial aid to students every year.

To be considered for scholarship awards, students must meet the eligibility requirements listed on the individual Scholarship Information pages below and demonstrate characteristics like flexibility, tolerance and open-mindedness. In addition to the standard application and fee (if required), students also need to submit essay responses, a host family introduction letter and teacher recommendations by the scholarship deadline. Students can apply for multiple scholarships and pay only one fee.

Through the generosity of numerous corporations, governments, foundations and individuals, YFU awards more than $2.3 million in partial or full study abroad scholarships annually. Students are encouraged to consider all of their scholarship options and apply to as many as they qualify for by the December 1 scholarship application deadline!

YFU Financial Aid Fund

YFU Scholarship Information Sheet

Eligible Countries

Argentina Brazil Denmark Germany Ireland Lithuania Paraguay South Africa United Kingdom

Australia Canada Ecuador Greece Italy Mexico Poland Spain Uruguay

Austria Chile * Estonia Hungary Japan Netherlands Romania Sweden

Belgium-Flanders * China Finland India Korea New Zealand Serbia Switzerland *

Belgium-Wallonia * Czech Republic France * Indonesia Latvia Norway Slovakia Thailand

Please refer to individual country pages for program duration and departure times.
* Previous language study may be required.

Several partial scholarships are available for students who demonstrate a financial need. To be eligible for a financial award from YFU, the applicant must also be approved to go on program through YFU's standard application procedure.

Age Requirements

• Applicants must meet the age requirements defined on the country page of desired program(s).

Complete Application Includes:

• Complete Online YFU Application
• FACTS Application for financial aid, due March 15. Set up your FACTS account here.
• 1 Teacher Recommendation
• 3 Short Answer Essay Questions
• $75 Application Fee (non-refundable)
• Parent-student agreement
• Health certificate
• School certificate
• 5 Candid photo
• 1 Headshot

Application Fee

• $75 Nonrefundable YFU Application Fee (paid directly to YFU)
• $35 FACTS Application Fee to Assess Financial Need (paid directly to FACTS)

Scholarship Covers:

• Round-trip international airline travel
• Round-trip domestic airline travel
• Placement with a carefully selected host family
• Regional orientation for scholarship recipients and parents
• Preparatory materials
• Pre-departure orientation
• Support services in host country

Scholarship Recipients are Responsible for:

• Passport
• Visa fees (if necessary)
• Any excess luggage tariffs
• Required overseas medical insurance (many insurance policies will cover students while traveling abroad)
• Personal spending money
• Upon returning home, scholarship winners are expected to complete at least one presentation in their school or community to share their experiences, teach others about the culture in their host country, and encourage other students to participate in foreign exchange.
• If a scholarship winner cancels their program less than 30 days before departure, they are responsible for paying for their airfare and cancellation fee.
• Within one month of returning home, the student must provide a report and photos detailing their exchange experience to YFU. 

NOTE:

• All applicants will be notified of their status (via email) in April.
• Scholarship programs are subject to change or cancellation without prior notice.
• The FACTS application (due March 15) fee for financial aid assessment is an additional $35, paid to FACTS directly. The applicant can pay $35 and apply for as many financial-need based scholarships as they qualify and YFU offers. Students must be approved to go on a YFU program before YFU can consider them for financial aid scholarships. For this reason, students may want to wait to submit their FACTS application until after they are accepted into the YFU program.

PLEASE KEEP A COPY OF THIS PAGE AND YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

If applying for multiple scholarships, please indicate each scholarship's name and code on your application. All scholarship recipients are required to travel on the YFU group travel dates, and to complete the entire program. For more information regarding YFU and the scholarship selection process call 1.800.TEENAGE or refer to the Scholarships Overview section of this web site.

APPLY NOW!