Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Foreign Exchange Student Questions please help!?
Foreign Exchange Student Questions please help!?
One of my best friends lives overseas in Belgium. They are thinking about coming to America for a school year as an exchange student. Is there anyway they could pick a specific city, school and host family? If so, what organization would you recommend going through? I have heard Rotary is good, but I don't know if they would let you pick the city, school and only have one host. Thanks so much! :)
Studying Abroad - 1 Answers
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1 :
How cool that you have a friend there! Are you thinking of hosting him/her? If your friend wants a specific host family (which would also cover the city and school), what (s)he needs to ask for is a "Direct Placement" (DP). To the best of my knowledge (and forgive me, I don't know that much about Rotary - your local Club should be able to answer your questions) most (if not all) reputable organizations will do a DP *IF* the host family meets the organization's requirements to be a host AND *IF* the school accepts the student. Think about it this way -- it saves the organization the stress involved with finding a host family. If I may, I would like to recommend Youth For Understanding for your friend to use. YFU, AFS, and Rotary are frequently called "the big 3" when it comes to exchanges - long histories and good reputations, although a few others are making their way up that list. Please forgive my bias towards YFU - it's the one that I have direct experience with (I am a 5-time host mom and volunteer). I am gaining indirect experience by corresponding with former students. When I have asked exchange students why they chose YFU, I get the following answers: (1) YFU gave them more bang for their buck and/or (2) someone they knew and trusted recommended YFU. 95% of the fees collected by YFU go for direct program costs (airline tickets, support in hosting country, etc.). YFU has been around for almost 60 years and has learned how to make exchanges successful. If your friend chooses another organization, (s)he should make sure that it is listed with the Council for Standards on International Educational Travel (csiet.org). They routinely audit programs for quality. While it is possible that a good organization is not listed with them, it is less likely and I would advise doing more research on anyone that is not listed with them. I know that YFU does exchanges with Belgium as there are still some Belgian students who need homes for this year. Good luck to your friend!
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