ASSIST (student exchange organization)

ASSIST (American Secondary Schools for International Students ) is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships exclusively for a stay as an exchange student at American private schools.

Participating schools

To the ASSIST schools are about 90 private schools with exceptionally high academic level and specific extracurricular offerings, including Deerfield Academy, the Indian Springs School, Phillips Exeter Academy, The Hotchkiss School, and St. Paul 's School. The schools want to enrich cultural, academic and extracurricular by foreign scholars their student body.

Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts

The Hotchkiss School, Connecticut

St. Paul 's School, New Hampshire

Structure

ASSIST is in the U.S. it is a charitable organization that is a member of the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel as authorized by the State Department exchange program. This may ASSIST the services and facilities of the United States use abroad and accompany the exhibition of J- 1 visas. ASSIST is headquartered in Suffield, Connecticut. In Germany ASSIST maintains an office in Dusseldorf. There is also a recognized non-profit development association and a former organization called Res Nostra.

History and Mission

ASSIST was founded in 1969 by Paul Sanderson and supported by public figures in the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Germany in response to the tensions between East and West. In addition, because of the significant European reservations about the United States of America as well as large gaps in knowledge in the U.S. about the real situation in the divided Europe of those days was the basic idea of ASSIST overcoming prejudice through their own knowledge and their own intuition. First exclusively German, later students from other European countries should be given the opportunity, the American Way of Life know by year's school visits to teach at the same time as ambassadors of their country to the visited host schools a better understanding of Europe and vice versa after their return from their own experience help overcome prejudices in their home country. The well-equipped private U.S. schools with their very manageable class size offered the best requirements, to meet the high demand. ASSIST therefore mediated exclusively scholarships for one-year stays at U.S. private schools.

Since its inception, ASSIST has awarded more than 4,300 scholarships, of which about 2500 to German students, the rest to fifty students from other countries, including Spain, Sweden, Austria and Eastern European, African and East Asian countries, to Somaliland. Almost without exception, the objective set by the founding fathers goal is achieved, to be provided through a multiplier effect on the current number of participants far beyond continuous, mutual cultural understanding. Detailed knowledge of the United States, coupled with the acquired language skills and many, arising from the exchange year personal ties are important characteristics for ASSIST Fellows. In the U.S., these enjoy the wide, by German standards unimaginable range of educational opportunities and sporting as of arts activity and the close dialogue with teachers and classmates as a challenging and formative enrichment in their lives.

1st May 2009 ASSIST celebrated in Cologne its 40th anniversary. The alumni include Margot Käßmann and Wülker.

Scholarships

The scholarships are awarded to high-performance, artistic, athletic or otherwise gifted students spend a year at the most demanding private high schools in the United States. The American School of stay is completed primarily during the tenth grade, after which students return to their home country. About 70 % of the ASSIST schools are boarding schools. The ASSIST schools offer scholarships because they want to make their international student body or want to enrich themselves through, for example, in sports or art talented young people. All schools are members of the National Association of Independent Schools and twice a year by ASSIST checked. Each school has at least one full scholarship and beyond if necessary partial scholarships, the full scholarship covers the boarding school experience with.

The selection of scholarship recipients is based on personal skills and talents by teams that travel for interviews with the candidates around the world. Each year, the candidates of the approximately 120 scholarships will be awarded to approximately 10% (2013 of 1650 were 725 invited candidates for interview and 161 taken as fellows ). Approximately half of all beneficiaries is as a rule from Germany. Due to the high fees of the schools ( average about $ 35,000 per school year ), the scholarship holders must pay an amount between 8.500 ( full scholarship ) and $ 21,000 ( partial scholarship ) despite the scholarship yet. In the event of proven financial need a sponsoring grants further assistance.