Student Exchange Program?

Question

I am planning on going on a student exchange to the UK in 2011, as I will have just finished school. And I will be going with EF. But I am just wondering if anyone knows the chances of actually getting to go? And how would I increase my chances of going?

Also we would like to host an exchange student in the next few years. Has anyone done this before? What's it like? Also do you get any funds for hosting the student?? Do you get to choose where the student comes from?

Answer 1

I hosted a student through AFS and my daughter went on an exchange the following year.  We all agreed that both the hosting and the exchange were life-altering experiences for everyone concerned and we'd do it again in a heartbeat.  The AFS is probably the oldest exchange organization and is very well run.  My daughter was active in the AFS chapter at her school for 2 years before we hosted, so we were prepared for the experience.  We did not receive any funds for hosting, but the student we hosted had her own spending money and health insurance.  Since we lived in a very small town (3600), we had more input in choosing our student.  The coordinator was known to us and allowed us to choose from several student applications.  We chose a girl the same age as my daughter who was a Girl Scout from Japan.  My daughter was also a Girl Scout, so that was the deciding factor for us.  Because of my daughter's history with the local AFS organization, she was able to get many references when she applied for her exchange year.  Although we didn't have any choice in the country she went to, we did get a Spanish-speaking country (Mexico), which she had asked for.  

As for what hosting is like, it's like adopting a stranger for a year.  In AFS, host families are encouraged to treat their student as a member of the family.  My daughter still corresponds with her "sister" 20 years later.  

If the organization you're using has a local chapter, join up and get involved.  Since we lived in a rural town, our chapter invited exchange students from the Los Angeles area to visit for a week each spring.  It gave them a chance to see American life outside of a city environment.  We always offered to host a couple of these short-term students and I volunteered to chaperone field trips, as well.  It gave us a chance to meet students from all over the world and, of course, was helpful in our being chosen as hosts later on.  I believe it also enhanced my daughter's chances when she applied for her exchange year.