Czech secondary school students have a chance to win a scholarship for a free annual stay in the USA. This opportunity is provided by the Future Leaders Exchange, or FLEX, funded by the US Department of State and run by the American Councils for International Education, a non-profit educational organization.
More than 900 high school students come to the United States with the FLEX program each year, this year from 21 European and Asian countries. Scholarship holders await living in an American host family and studying at an American high school. Last year, the Czech Republic joined this popular program for the first time and the first group of ten Czech students left for FLEX in August.
Czech applicants for a scholarship stay in the 2020-21 school year can apply from 1 September 2019 . An online application for FLEX will be available at http://ais.americancouncils.org/flex until October 17, 2019 . FLEX also welcomes applications from applicants with disabilities.
All high school students who meet the following conditions can apply:
- have Czech citizenship and are not US citizens
- born between July 15, 2002 and July 15, 2005
at the time of application, they study in the first or second year of secondary school (or the corresponding year of a multi-year grammar school) - they learn well and understand English
- qualify for an entry visa to the US for participants in exchange stays and have not resided in the US for more than 90 days in the last five years.
FLEX scholarship holders cover travel from the Czech Republic to their US and vice versa, monthly allowance for basic personal needs and social activities and basic health insurance. The program provides stay with a proven host family, high school studies and on-site activities in the United States. Students themselves cover the costs of acquiring a passport, personal spending beyond the monthly allowance or the cost of telephone and internet at the place of stay.
The scholarships will try the life of an American teenager for a year and learn to respect the differences of other cultures. It is common for long-lasting friendships to arise between them and their American family and classmates. After a year abroad they are returning home more self-contained and more prepared for life in an increasingly interconnected world. Program graduates often study at prestigious universities and find jobs in interesting occupations.
Last year FLEX celebrated a quarter of a century of its existence. The first high school students went to the USA in the school year 1993-94. Its funding was pushed through the US Congress by Senator Bill Bradley to strengthen mutual understanding between the United States and the countries of the former Soviet Union after the fall of Communism. Since then, the scholarship has spread to other countries. It has been in the European Union for several years in Poland, Romania and the Baltic States. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Greece joined last year.
Media Contact:
Kateřina Šantúrová, FLEX Program Coordinator in the Czech Republic, [email protected] , 605 187 451
Petr Dolezel, US Embassy Press Department, d[email protected] , 606 792 567
Jakub Hornek, US Embassy Press Department, [email protected] , 602 298 512
