Forum-Nexus Financial Aid: Scholarship Points Program
Are you interested in traveling and Studying in Europe (or in South Africa during the World Cup?)...
But, are you worried about the price? We at Forum-Nexus are doing our best to try and open up the world of study
abroad to all students.
We realize that in every school there may be a few students that can easily afford the program cost, but there are those that can not. For this reason, we have tried to come up with innovative ways in which students can earn Scholarship Points for Forum-Nexus Study Abroad programs.
What are Scholarship Points?
Program Details
If you are motivated to study abroad and you are willing to be creative and entrepreneurial you
can participate in any Forum-Nexus program with a significant scholarship by applying to the Forum-Nexus
Scholarship Points Program.
You can earn Scholarship Points in many ways (see list below),
for example by disseminating information about Forum-Nexus in your campus and among your friends,
and referring new participants.
Application process
As you will see below, most of the opportunities to enter the Scholarship Points Program require a formal application. There is no single deadline. All applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, so that interested students should plan to apply as early as possible. In order to qualify, candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.0, strong inter-personal skills (be friendly and outgoing), and have a track record of initiative, leadership, integrity and responsibility. Specific application requirements for each scholarship are listed below.
How to use Scholarship Points
Scholarship Points can be used on any future Forum-Nexus program.
20,000 Scholarship Points equates to a scholarship of US$1,000 applicable to any future Forum-Nexus program.
So, if you accumulate 60,000 points you qualify for a 50% scholarship on any 4-week 6-credit program.
Accumulating 120,000 points is equivalent to a full scholarship for the program.
You can always use your Scholarship Points for a proportional scholarship.
Points will never expire, and can be used on Forum-Nexus programs at anytime in the future.
10 ways to earn Scholarship Points
1. Photography scholarship
Do you love to take photographs? Do you have an "eye" for the perfect shot? Could you contribute to the photos on our website and brochures?
Scholarship Points up to 20,000 for the right candidate. Partial scholarships also available.
Tasks include: Helping during the semester before the program (with analyzing Forum-Nexus website and portfolio of photos) and during the trip (with taking photos) and for one month after the trip (uploading best photos to Flickr and engaging other students to participate in our photography contest)
If you are interested, please send us an e-mail, including a resume, a portfolio of your photos, and a 1-page essay outlining why you think you would make a great candidate for the photography scholarship position.
2. Video production scholarship
Are you a professional film producer? Or are you an amateur that just happens to be great with a camera? Can you make and edit great videos?
Up to 30,000 Scholarship Points for high-quality amateur production (filming, producing and editing work)
Up to 100% Scholarship for professional work
Tasks include: documenting the program, outlining the history of Forum-Nexus, filming at the universities, classes, professional visits, and conducting meaningful interviews with guest speakers, professors, students, and more.
Our goal is to create either a series of short videos or one longer production
If you are interested, please send us an e-mail, submit a portfolio of previous work, and a 1-page essay outlining why you think you would make a great candidate for the video scholarship position.
3. Creative writing scholarship
Are you great with a pen and paper? a typewriter? a computer? Would you like to help document our program and inspire others to study abroad? Could you contribute to the writing on our website and brochures?
We are looking for some creative souls to travel with us and help us inspire others
Scholarship points up to 20,000 for the right candidate. Partial scholarships also available.
Tasks include: Helping during the semester before the program (with writing tasks assigned by Forum-Nexus) and during the trip (with our travel blog) and for one month after the trip (capturing the enthusiasm of the program after its completion). Also, we will ask our creative writers to help inspire others to write and take part in our writing contest.
If you are interested, please send us an e-mail, including a resume, a portfolio of writing samples and a one-page essay outlining why you think you would make a great candidate for the creative writing scholarship position.
4. Online social-media scholarship
Scholarship for helping Forum-Nexus with our blog, Twitter, YouTube, website, and overall social media presence
Help with blogging, and social media before, during and one month after the trip
Objective: bring the fun to our online community! Lead discussions about the cities, the sights, travel photos, videos, favorite moments, music we share, people we meet, experiences we cherish. Blog about the process of planning the trip, the excitement, and share stories about the languages you learn, places you visit and the friends you make. Take notes about the cultural lessons learned while visiting Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Venice and other great Forum-Nexus destinations.
Scholarship Points up to 20,000 for the right candidate. Partial scholarships also available.
Scholarship points vary depending upon the level of involvement by the student and the quality of the effort.
The scholarship committee will decide on awards based on track record of the applicant. In the case of experienced bloggers, a general guideline is a popularity higher than 10,000.
If you are interested, please send us a resume and a twitter message (or an e-mail) with a link to your existing blog (or find some other creative way to show us what you can do on the web :-)
5. Serve as a Forum-Nexus student assistant during the trip
Examples of previous recipients of Assistantship positions:
USA - University of Houston
USA - New York University
Mexico - Universidad de las Americas
USA - University of Dallas
Brazil -
Feevale University
USA -
George Washington University
Egypt - American University in Cairo
USA -
Pennsylvania State University
Holland -
University of Tilburg
Help the program director with various logistical support activities during the trip and qualify for up to 10,000 Scholarship Points
Examples:
(a) help professors communicate with students about special events or schedule updates
(b) help organize the process of boarding the buses
(c) assist with logistics during the professional visits
(d) assist the professors with attendance taking
(e) help organize special social activities (music, sports, etc)
(f) be a contact person for other students to come to ask questions
(g) help professors with handouts...
plus other activities to be outlined by the Director
There are limited spots available. As a general guideline Forum-Nexus likes to have about 5 assistants per cohort of 40 students (per program).
Candidates should have strong inter-personal skills (be friendly and outgoing), and a track record of initiative, leadership, integrity and responsibility
If you are interested, submit your resume and a 1-page essay outlining why you think you would make a great candidate for the position.
6. Internships: Become a Forum-Nexus intern in the Fall or Spring semester
Help Forum-Nexus with special projects during the Fall semester (September-December) or the Spring Semester (February-May)
Possible topics include: strategy, planning, contacting students, communicating, organizing and more...
Earn Scholarship Points based on number of hours: 5, 10 or 15 hours per week
Standard internship = 10 hours per week for 12 weeks = 18,000 Scholarship Points
If you are interested, please send us an e-mail with your resume and a 1-page essay outlining why you think you would make a great candidate for the internship position.
7. Opportunities to earn Scholarship Points after the completion of the program
Immediately following the end of any of the Forum-Nexus programs, participants will be able to earn Scholarship
Points for future trips by entering into one or more
of the following contests:
Photo: best photograph prize: (uploaded on Flickr and submitted to the Forum-Nexus group for voting by Forum-Nexus professors)
Video: best travel video prize: (uploaded on YouTube and submitted to the Forum-Nexus group for voting by Forum-Nexus professors)
Writing: best travel writing prize (shared on Wordpress or any other blogging software, for voting by Forum-Nexus professors)
Scholarship Points are awarded as follows:
1st place = 10,000 Scholarship Points
2nd place = 6,000 Scholarship Points
3rd place = 3,000 Scholarship Points
8. Organize and lead a local "Forum-Nexus Student Association" chapter
We are looking for leaders!
Start up a local FNSA chapter on campus (or lead an existing one). For example: a student from Penn State could create the "Forum-Nexus Student Association - Penn State Chapter"
Officers of local FNSA chapters can earn up to 10,000 Scholarship Points
Members of the FNSA are alumni of Forum-Nexus programs, students who are planning on attending, and interested candidates
Career and resume benefits: Student leaders can say "I served as the president of FNSA"
Networking benefits: interact with student leaders from around campus and from other schools, building up your international network
FNSA officers will present a weekly report about their online and on-campus activities. They will also compile a list of interested students and share feedback and suggestions about Forum-Nexus promotions with FNSA officers from other schools
9. Build connections between Forum-Nexus and your University
Help Forum-Nexus build meaningful relations with your University
Forum-Nexus programs are highly regarded by many university administrators who readily accept the transfer of credits
If your university is not currently familiarized with Forum-Nexus programs we ask for your help in building that bridge by starting a dialogue with the office of Study Abroad as well as with the various relevant departments and schools (School of Business, International Studies, Political Science, School of Communication, etc.) and you may earn up to 20,000 Scholarship Points
Examples of tangible progress in this respect would be one or more of the following:
designating Forum-Nexus as an affiliate program
designating Forum-Nexus as an approved external program provider
including a link to Forum-Nexus in the web page of the Study Abroad office
including a link to Forum-Nexus in the web page of the School of Business or the Department of Political Science, etc.
Credit transfer: we know that 90% of all schools accept the transcripts and credits issued by our two sponsoring universities,but the process of getting the credits approved takes a little work (print out our syllabi, communicate about our program with your school, etc). If you are the first student in your University to get our credits transferred, you can earn up to 5,000 Scholarship Points.
Forum-Nexus programs offer credits that are AACSB accredited through our academic partnership with the IQS Business School of the Ramon Llull University in Barcelona and are co-sponsored by the Catholic University of Milan (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, member of the ISEP Network).
Credit Transfer Process
Download and e-mail the course syllabi for the classes you are planning to take with Forum-Nexus to your school's administrator
Ask your university to contact us and provide us with the names of the right people for us to contact them
10. Refer a Friend
We want to thank you for referring Forum-Nexus within your community. For every participant that you refer, we will gladly contribute 10,000 Scholarship Points to your scholarship fund.
