Money (It's a crime)

Hello all!  I hope you understand my Pink Floyd reference in the title, but more importantly, I hope you all are having a fun holiday break! The time for me to begin my AFS application is creeping up on me, and I'm going over the cost breakdown, for like the 25th time.  I figured that if I am asking you readers to donate in the future, that I should probably give a you an explanation why.  Also, I will attempt to explain the application process as well.  Well here we go...

I will begin my application in February, as early as possible.  It will take me a couple of weeks at the latest to finish it, and send it off to the office in Italy.  When I start the application, a $75 fee is due, and when completed, the first tuition payment of $975 is due.  Then I begin the real crazy part of it

Before I can be accepted, I must go through an in-home interview with a local AFS volunteer.  This is mandatory so they can assess my capability of studying abroad first person.  I'm actually very excited about it!

After I have gone through all of that, I am left with $11,775 to pay off by November.  This is also the time that I begin to apply for scholarships, and financial aid.  There is one that I am almost relying on.  Because I live in Minnesota, a need-based scholarship is available that could potentially cover up to 50% of my tuition. I am not worried about qualifying, so I hope that this is my main form of payment.  In the best case scenario, this scholarship could bring my tuition down to $5887, which is definitely more do-able.  Another scholarship available to Italian students in one called Viaggio Italiano.  This is a merit-based scholarship that awards students $2000 off of there tuition.  Unfortunately, it is not available to semester students, like me, until fall of 2014.  So, if I were to also get this one, it would bring the total price down to $3887, but I would not know until almost the last minute!  The last form of aid that I am hoping for is straight up financial aid.  Based on tax documents, a family could receive $200-$2000 dollars off of the tuition, on top of any other need-based awards.  In the event of another miracle, this could bring my tuition down to the comfortable price of $1887!

But that is just the tuition....  I also have to worry about how I will support myself financially while in over there.  I will be there for five months, and AFS recommends around $100-$300 a month, so I need between $500-$1500 on top of the tuition.  I will shoot for around $1000, but am lenient on the exact number.

I also have to worry about visa/passport fees.  The passport fee is not that big of a worry, but the visa fee will be more of a worry.  I don't believe that there is a fee for applying for the visa, but may be some small miscellaneous fees along the way.

So as you can see, I have a lot to deal with in the next year!  It will be hectic, but hopefully do-able!  The numbers that I have included in this post are best case scenario numbers, so I will not know exactly how much money I need until I am done paying it basically. Which brings me to my next point.  If any of you are on the edge about donating, please do!  I am trying my hardest to make this happen, and it will not be possible without the generosity of others, like you.  I appreciate you reading my blog, and I will attach the link to my GoFundMe page at the bottom.  If you would like to wait to donate, I hope to have the donation button ready to go by spring!  Thanks again!  Happy holidays!

http://www.gofundme.com/sendmetoitaly

School (ughhh)

          Well, in an effort to procrastinate my AP homework even further, I guess I can blog for a while...  As you may have guessed, my entire purpose of going to Italy is to attend a high school there.  Often times when I tell people about this, there first question is, "Why?".  Well, it's pretty simple.

          New Experience:  This one is fairly obvious.  Not many people get the opportunity to study in a foreign country while in high school, and personally, it fascinates me.  Many say that, "they could never do that", and I cannot understand that.  I can understand that it might be a little intimidating, but to completely shut the option out?  I don't get it.

          Unique Education:  Every country has a different education system, some better, some worse.  America is still home to a significantly successful system, but perhaps an exposure to a different way of things could be of use to my future.

          So now i'll tell you a little more about the Italian school system.  First of all, there is not just one type of high school like the US.  There are six different kinds, Liceo Classico, Liceo Linguistico, Liceo Delle Scienze Umane, Liceo Scientifico, Liceo Artistico, and Liceo Musicale e Coreutico. Around their equivalent to our eighth grade, the students take a test that will determine what school they go to.  Once placed, they follow curriculum's specific to their high school's focus. I will add an image to better organize it.

This photo, as well as the next, are from Katie's blog on the AFS website.

          Also, there day-to-day schedule is much different than ours.  My AP class granted me more freedom, but it was not always that way.  In America, everything is pinned down to the minute, with little student freedom beyond the allotted amount the teacher offers.  There, the students run their classroom.  I say their classroom because it really is theirs, all through high school.  They remain in the same room all through high school, with the same students, and rotating teachers.  A complete 180 from here.  

          The "liceo" I am hoping for is Liceo Linguistico.  This high school focuses on the modern foreign languages of today, including Italian (obviously), English (even more obvious), Latin, French, Spanish, and German.  Can you imagine how awesomely multi-cultural that would be?  An American, in Italy, in a German, Latin, French, and Spanish class, all taught in Italian.  Crazy!  Another one of my top choices is Liceo Scienze Umane.  I believe the direct translation of that is "human science".  This school focuses on exactly that, psychology, anthropology, sociology, ect.  That being said, I am open to any one of them, but would prefer not to be placed in the Liceo Musicalo e Coreutico. That one focuses on the arts, and can be specific to dance/choreography.  That does NOT sound like my kind of field!  Haha!

          As you can see from the picture above, there way of school is a little different.  School is attended on Saturday, but only for 4 hours, while Monday through Friday are for 6 hours.  There is no assigned gym class, but at least once a week, the class will go to the gym for a free period.

          Also, being that I have not been accepted to my program yet, (stress on the yet), I do not have the donation widget on my blog.  For now, however, if you would like to donate, I have a GoFundMe page set up that you can use. I'll have the link at the bottom.

          Well, I guess that kind of wraps things up. Hope you feel more educated, haha!

          (Sidenote: Listen to the song Pompeii by Bastille. Greatest song ever... just saying.)

http://www.gofundme.com/sendmetoitaly

First Post!

          Hello everyone!  Well, I'll start off by letting you know who I am!  My name is Colin Gran, and I live in Hutchinson, MN.  I am a sophomore at Hutchinson High School, and am active in groups such as Business Professionals of America, although most of my time is devoted to the AP US History class i'm in right now... Haha!  The point of my blog is to inform you readers about the wonderful craziness of studying abroad in Italy through AFS.  My specific program will send me to Italy for 5 months in 2015, (January-July), where I will live with a host family, and attend one of the many different high schools.  My hope is that this experience will change my view of the world, and open my eyes to a new, fascinating culture different than my own.  Eventually, I will take these experiences and use them to my advantage in a possible global business venture, but that's just an idea :).  My goal in life is to be able to be in a position where I can better my community, and give back to the people that help me get to where I will be.  If this experience will help me get to that position, than I will stop at nothing to make it happen.

          Here's the problem though, I will probably sound fairly familiar...money.  The full price tuition of the program is $12,750.  I am hoping, though, through scholarships and financial aid, that it will be closer to $5-$6000.  My family, at risk of over-sharing, is lower middle class, and cannot pay for the tuition without the help of others through fundraising and scholarships.  I plan to have several different fundraising options planned out for the next year, this blog being one of them.  I have toyed around with the idea of having an Italy themed fundraising dinner at some point, but no concrete plans have been made yet.  On top of this, I hold a part-time position at Shopko, and while this will help, it will not nearly cover all of the tuition.

          So where do you play into this?  Well, this blog is provided to you by AFS as a fundraising tool designed for students, like me, to gain funds that go directly towards the tuition.  Although i'm not quite sure how it works yet, there is a donation button on the page where you can give your secure, non-tax deductible donation. I would greatly appreciate any financial help, but feel free to simply follow along on this long journey to Italy.

          To sponsor my AFS program, please click the Donate Now button to make a non-tax deductible contribution directly towards my AFS program account.

Update:  I do not have the Donate Now widget set up yet, so if you would like to donate, please visit my GoFundMe page.  Eventually I will have the widget set up, so if you would like to wait, it is still greatly appreciated.
http://www.gofundme.com/sendmetoitaly