Foreign exchange program

[Anonymous]

My niece is interested in participating in a foreign exchange program and asked for help researching the ins and outs.
Any advice or experience is appreciated. Her guidance counselor has not been especially helpful, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Check out Rotary. I did 2 years with them and it was overall a great experience. What it looks like in terms of graduating from her HS will vary.

I don't mean this to be snide, but your niece should really be taking the reins on this. There are tons of forums and online resources. I say this because it takes a special kinds of teen to figure out if they need summer school to get their credits met, if they have to take SATs overseas, if they submit their college applications while on study abroad etc and generally functioning pretty independently in a foreign environment and language. I think the kids who thrive with this are self starters who are good at advocating for themselves and don't require much, if any, hand holding so figuring out some of this stuff is a decent place to start in advance of being boots on the ground.

[Anonymous]

I did Youth For Understanding, great organization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out Rotary. I did 2 years with them and it was overall a great experience. What it looks like in terms of graduating from her HS will vary.

I don't mean this to be snide, but your niece should really be taking the reins on this. There are tons of forums and online resources. I say this because it takes a special kinds of teen to figure out if they need summer school to get their credits met, if they have to take SATs overseas, if they submit their college applications while on study abroad etc and generally functioning pretty independently in a foreign environment and language. I think the kids who thrive with this are self starters who are good at advocating for themselves and don't require much, if any, hand holding so figuring out some of this stuff is a decent place to start in advance of being boots on the ground.

This.

[Anonymous]

AFS also runs a good program. We have sent 1 child as well as hosted 2 children. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My dd spent her senior year of high school abroad with YES (one of the State Dept programs) and was able to graduate on time with a couple on online classes through BYU to meet her graduation requirements. Big plus of the State Dept programs is they are fully funded, private programs can be expensive! The biggest issue your niece will want to sort out is school credits and all that. Her school counselors may not know about individual programs but they should definitely be able to talk her through the implications of study abroad for her transcript. Good luck! Happy to answer any specific questions.

[Anonymous]

I did Rotary in HS. I spent my senior year in South America. I am still in touch with the kids who participated from all over the world that year. Still in touch with one of my host families; learned the language quickly.

Best thing I ever did , especially in getting the hell out of high school.

[Anonymous]

Looking for one too, but must be open to high-functioning neurodivergent kids (autism spectrum). Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for one too, but must be open to high-functioning neurodivergent kids (autism spectrum). Any suggestions?

I think none will turn them away but also unlikely any would offer any specific support. My gut reaction is it's an intense experience for an outgoing, super social and charming NT kid to be in a "sink or swim" environment where they're automatically the weird one just by being foreign I think it would be challenging to have this added layer, but only you can assess that for your child. I would assume no accommodations will be made and proceed accordingly.