Why I choose to be an exchange student

My name is Arij M’Rabet and I am 17 years old. I'm from Sale, Morocco, and currently a junior in high school. Last year I got the opportunity to spend 10 months in the US with the Yes Program and get the full American high school experience.

I first learned about this program about three years ago when my dad saw a post about it on Facebook and shared it with me. After I read all about the program, I knew it was a golden opportunity since it was my goal to get out of my comfort zone, have new experiences, and meet new people from different cultures, so I just knew I had to take advantage of it. I also think living away from my family for 10 months only at the age of 15 taught me some really important lessons about myself and life in general and gave me a sense of independence.

The first thing that many people think of when hearing about this program is that they will waste a year of their lives as the exchange year counts as a gap year, however, I don’t see this as a waste at all as those 10 months gave me a life experience equivalent to 10 years in Morocco and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have such an unmatched experience.

Extracurricular activities

My strongest activities were public speaking and volunteering. I joined a public speaking club and earned two awards, and I spent countless hours volunteering for different causes since I was in elementary school.

I also included dance as one of my top activities despite it not being one of my major achievements, simply because it’s something I really enjoy and I wanted to show that part of my personality in my application, which is really important in my opinion because sometimes you may want to show that you are more than a smart student.

Safety in the USA

One of the biggest worries that everyone has when applying, including myself at first, is safety.

The process goes like this: Once you get to the US you get assigned to a local coordinator, then they put you in a host family that they previously ran a background check on. If you have any problems with your host family or with adapting to anything you can just report it to your local coordinator and then he will make sure to create a better environment for you, so you always feel super safe.

Both I and every other exchange student I met through this program felt extremely safe throughout the entire experience as we knew that we had someone that we could talk to anytime as your coordinator checks on you regularly just to make sure that everything is going in the right direction.

Student life & academics

The high school that I got assigned to had a rule that all exchange students needed to be seniors, so even though I was 15 I was placed with seniors, It’s worth noting that many high schools have similar rules, so being the new and youngest person in the class was definitely a challenge I needed to overcome, but in the US there’s so much cultural diversity that you never feel out of place and everyone at the end finds a group that they most feel like they belong to, just join clubs that you find interesting and make the most out of your time there, and you will find a circle that aligns with your interests.

And for academics, so many people assume that they will struggle with academics, especially since they will be seniors but personally, I found it really easy to follow the academic flow that they had. One of the biggest differences between the Moroccan system and the American system is that in the US you actually get to choose which class to take, so you end up only taking the classes that you’re genuinely interested in and that absolutely helps motivate you.

Scholarship

The program covers 100% of all the expenses from your visa to the travel expenses, and they give you a monthly allowance of 200 USD a month on top of that. This is granted to every applicant who is admitted to this program.

I also want to highlight that the application is also free so this is a situation when you really have nothing to lose.

The application process

Details on eligibility and application process: https://www.yesprograms.org/countries/morocco

The application process consists of multiple steps. The application rounds start in September and end in February, and each step is separated by a month from the next one. You start by sending your application and waiting for the pre-selection, if you get selected you go and take a test, the test is free, and if your score meets their criteria, you’ll be invited for an interview, and then they announce the applicants who were admitted and the rest is just a series of providing documents and getting parental agreements.

Resources & Tips

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not preparing for the interview round in order to be spontaneous, but this mostly puts them in a situation where they hear questions they weren’t prepared for, and thus they struggle to answer.

Secondly, let’s talk about the essays; this is the place to be spontaneous as those essays are aimed at getting to know you as a person, and the questions tend to be basic and centered on you and your goals and your answers need to reflect your true personality.

Thirdly, my biggest advice to all is to make the most out of your limited time in the States, don’t shy away from just going to people and introducing yourself or waste good opportunities just because you aren’t confident, try anything and everything, that’s the best advice that can give anyone interested in being an exchange student.

One more thing that I believe every applicant needs to know is that even though this is an overall positive experience for most, it won’t always be a fairytale, you’ll be put in situations where it’s just you and you have to somehow figure it out and this is so hard at such a young age. There will be ups and downs, and this will be a hard journey, but also a really good one.