Rotary Youth Exchange...?

Question

I want to become an exchange student somewhere in Europe through the rotary club since I heard there one of the best exchange services. For those of you who have done an exchange is the rotary club the cheapest or is some other program cheaper? I'm 15 years old and a feshman and I have all A's and one B. Are those good enough grades to get into this? I'm on student council in school, and I run track. Is this going to be expensive though? What was the cost for someone who's done this already? Was it hard to get accepted? I don't want to do it for a whole year...do they have like summer exchanges for a few weeks or a month? or do i have to do a whole semester..?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Rotary does have a summer youth exchange program but it costs a bit more.  Start planning now for either program because it does take time to turn everything in and find a sponsoring Rotary club and, of course, finding the exchange student from the other country that will be coming to where you live (it is an exchange for the RYE, but one way for summer programs).  If your high school has an Interact Club, make sure you join.  There is also a myspace group that I once ran across that was former RYE students - they might be able to help with suggestions:  http://groups.myspace.com/rotex  

Other than that, read through the whole www.rotary.org section on the youth exchanges.  Of course, check out other programs out there too and compare & contrast.  I am not sure the cost of other programs but I do know that when we have had exchange students sponsored by my club, we pretty much paid for most everything but I don't know if that was just us or that's standard.  Good luck!!

Answer 2

Rotary is a great program and you do sound like a good candidate. Because it is the cheapest out there, it is the most competitive.  Right now you are a bit young, you should think about your junior year, but you ARE at the right time to begin planning.

I'm not sure if they offer a summer program. Most programs are one semester or one year. However, you SHOULD go for at least a semester! One of the biggest benefit of an exchange is language immersion! If you only go for a few weeks, you don't get that benefit! You also don't get the experience that many colleges and universities look for (and often give preferred admissions and sometimes scholarships for!).

As for cost, generally you have to purchase your plane tickets, passport, visa, and that sort of thing and the program covers the rest.  You should contact a Rotary member in your community for more information.

For general information on becoming an exchange student, check out this on-line community: http://www.exchangestudentworld.com/

Good luck!