Internet
Explorer Users: Click here to add this page to your list of
favorites
Netscape (Firefox)
users: Press CTRL-D to add this page to your bookmarks
This site is dedicated to
the HIGH SCHOOL Student Exchange industry and those students, host
families, volunteers
and programs who make student exchange possible. This
site is unbiased and no one program is/will be promoted.
Feel free to use
the buttons on the top of this page to navigate through the Resource
Center.
This site was designed to
best be viewed using a screen setting of 1024x768 pixels.
FREE Multi-Language
"Exchangestudent" Email 
We are proud to offer
our visitors a FREE FOR LIFE "exchangestudent" email address
Once registered, you can
access your Email account from any computer, anywhere, and at
anytime to read, or write your email!
What is Student Exchange?
Conceptually there are two distinct "types" of exchange
students.
The first, and by far most
common, is an "Academic" student and the other is a "Cultural"
student.
Simply stated, an Academic student exchange
is when a student (aged 15-18 years old) signs
up with a student exchange
program in their country to go abroad and live in another country,
with a volunteer host family
and attend a local high school for either a single semester,
or an
entire academic year.
The local program either has an affiliate office in other countries,
or
cooperates with "sister" programs
in other countries. The program in the host country is
considered the sponsoring
agency. They are the ones who issue the required forms that
make
it possible for a student
to attain the necessary visas (usually a J-1 in the United States)
to the
student so they are eligible
to enter the country they are exchanging to. [Click on PROGRAMS in
the top frame to access StudentExchange.net’s
extensive list of exchange programs which we
update weekly. Not all
exchange programs are listed here, but every American CSIET member and
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT designated
program is] You can click on the links on the top frame
to learn about both CSIET
and The State Department, in respect to their roles in studentexchange.
Students who exchange through an approved sponsoring
agency carry health insurance,
bring their own spending money
and to a degree, have a command of the language
spoken in the country they're
exchange to. (each sponsoring program rates their incoming
applicant's language levels).
Volunteer host families agree to provide the student with
room (his/her own bed, and
a quiet place to study), board (three meals a day), and most
importantly, LOVE! The
student becomes part of the host family and participates with their
family in all aspects of the
host family's life. The student is responsible to maintain good
grades in the school he/she
is attending and is responsible for taking on chores as does
any other family member.
Each student and host family is supported by a sponsoring
agency's volunteer
representative whose main
responsibility is to check up with the student, the host family,
and the school to assure that
the exchange is going smoothly. The representative is an
objective party and is off
times called upon to intervene when a problem arises and offer
counselling support.
The sponsoring program is the responsible agent for the time the
student is on program and
one individual from each approved sponsoring agency is listed
as the responsible officer
(for American programs).
Cultural student
exchanges, although the applicant doesn't attend a school is none the
less
educational and as such the
applicant is, in essence a student who is studying the culture
of the country to which he
or she is exchanging to. Cultural students can be as young as
10 years old, but not over
18 years old. These "students" can travel with a group or
individually with a cultural
escort to any one, or more countries. Cultural exchanges last
between 1 week and 6 weeks
(summer program) and the "student," depending on the
type of program may stay with
a host family, or stay in hotels along with the escort.
Language skills are not required
for these types of exchanges, but conversational
skills are encouraged.
These students essentially are tourists who become acquainted
with the local customs, foods,
historic sites, etc.
About Becoming a Host Family
Almost anyone can apply to be a host family, whether
it be a two parent family, a retired
couple, a childless couple,
or a single parent. All approved programs in the United States
MUST have one of their representatives
conduct an in-home interview with the
prospective host family.
Usually, that person also confirms with the prospective host
family's local high school
that they'll accept a foreign exchange student for enrollment.
If both the interview and
the school enrollment proves acceptable, the representative will
assist the family in selecting
the student that best matches the host family (i.e.; interests,
hobbies, special conditions,
etc.). Once this is done and all the documents are completed
and submitted to the sponsoring
program, the host family will either be approved or
disapproved. If approved,
the sponsoring program usually mails out the selected
student's entire “file” which
includes, but is not limited to, a letter from the student, a
letter from the student's
natural family, an interview form, school transcripts, a health and
immunization form, and original
photos of the student, his/her family etc. Once received,
the host family is, in most
cases, encouraged to make contact with their new son or
daughter to establish a relationship
prior to the student's arrival. Although host families are
not paid to host, families
may be eligible for a $50.00 per month tax deduction.
Speak with your tax advisor
for more information about this,
or read what the IRS says
about this under "Expenses Paid for Student Living With You" located
on page 4. Currently, there
is a bill in front of Congress to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986
to increase the deduction
for host families of foreign exchange students from $50 per month
to $200 per month.
You can read more about this bill and how you can help by clicking here.
StudentExchange.net encourages
Americans who support student exchange to contact their local
Congressperson and tell them
to support Congressman Andrews' bill in front of the Committee on Ways
and Means.
For answers to the most commons
questions about hosting, visit our Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) page.
To apply right here, online
to become a host family, or for more information: CLICK HERE
About Becoming an Exchange Student
ACADEMIC STUDENT CULTURAL STUDENT
To begin with, for Academic exchanges, only students
15 to 18 years of age should read further...
OK, with that out of the way,
let's talk a little about what being an exchange students is
all about. You must
be mature to start with, after all you'll be away from your natural
family and familiar surroundings
for quite some time. Maturity plays a large role in your
ability to adapt to your new
surroundings, new family, new school and new friends.
Whether you are a student
from outside the U.S. interested in coming to the States, or you
are an American teen interested
in learning more about travelling overseas, the one thing I
can tell you from both my
experience in the student exchange field, being a repeat host
parent, and being the father
of a son who was an exchange student, IF you decide to
participate as an exchange
student IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER! Your
experience in a foreign land
will enrich your outlook on life in general.
As an exchange student, you will NOT be a guest in
someone's home. Rather, you will
become a member of a completely
different family than the one you're used to. They'll
have different customs, eating
habits, hobbies.... everything. The one thing you can be
sure WILL NOT be different,
is that your host family will LOVE you just as if you were
one of their own. You
will have responsibilities in your new family, maybe ones you've
never done before, nor ever
wanted to do, but that, as I mentioned earlier is why you must
be mature to become an exchange
student. You will NOT be on vacation. You will be
on a student visa and accordingly,
your primary reason for becoming an exchange student
is to become a student in
a foreign land. You will be expected to maintain good grades
and follow all your new school's
guidelines. You may not even get credit for your year in
school away from home, but
none the less, you MUST try your very hardest to be the best
student you can be.
As an exchange student to the United States, you should not expect
to receive a diploma from
your American high school. IT'S UP TO YOUR LOCAL HIGH
SCHOOL WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL HONOR CREDITS EARNED WHILE
OVERSEAS AS AN EXCHANGE STUDENT. SPEAK WITH YOUR SCHOOL'S
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER.
Still reading? OK, now for the fun part....
This may be your first trip away from home.
This may be your first airplane
ride. Regardless, this will be the time of your life.
Imagine having become part
of a family in another country and remaining a member of
that family even after you've
returned home. How about having a host brother or sister
who will be your brother/sister
for the rest of your life? How about making friends in
your host country who you
can stay in contact with year after year? You will be able to
enjoy life in your host country
as no tourist can ever imagine. You will be able to
participate in your host country's
holidays just as the natives do. Most importantly, you
will have the opportunity
to improve your language skills. There is no better way to learn
a language than to live in
a society where that language is exclusively spoken. After a
while, you start “thinking”
in that language! If you are a non-U.S. teen thinking about
exchanging to the United States,
you can almost be assured that you will return to your
home country with an excellent
command of English, the “common” language of the
world. If you are interested
in learning more on how to become an exchange student, or if
you have any questions about
becoming an Academic exchange student: CLICK HERE
Now
for those of you who want to experience culture and travelling but
are not ready
or wanting to spend an Academic Year away from home or
attend a foreign school,
becoming a "Cultural" student is the way to go.
As a cultural student, you may either
travel with a group for between 1 and 8 weeks to a foreign
country, or you may want
to enjoy a private dedicated escort and travel with him
or her to just about wherever you
may want to go. Along the way, your escort will
help you become familiar with your
destination's cultural habits, foods, habitat, history
and much much more. Naturally
private cultural tours are more expensive, but well worth
the investment. Cultural
students may live with a host family, or may stay in hotels.
There is practically no
language skills required to be a Cultural student!
For answers to the most commons
questions, visit our Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) page.
If you would like to learn more on becoming a "cultural"
student: CLICK HERE
About Becoming a Student Exchange Volunteer
Other than being an exchange student or a host family
yourself, this is the greatest way to
experience the cultural aspect
of student exchange. You become the student's confidant,
his or her support person
while their on program. You work together with your student,
his or her host family, their
local high school and your sponsoring student exchange
program to assure that the
exchange is going well and that all the participants are happy.
Many sponsoring programs pay
their representatives a placement fee that range from
$100.00 to $500.00 and more
per student placed. Other programs do not pay such a fee,
but might offer more support
and just count on your volunteer good-will.
Representatives are involved in the exchange itself.
Many volunteers set up get-togethers
for their area's students
and families. Others like to visit with their student and family
from time to time. Your
level of your involvement is YOURS to make so long as you
abide by the guidelines of
whichever exchange program you choose to work with.
For answers to the most commons
questions, visit our Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) page.
If you are interested in learning
more about becoming a student exchange representative, or if
you have any questions about
these volunteer opportunities: CLICK HERE
