What is a good foreign exchange program?

Question

I am looking to spend a few weeks in England during the summer. I had been looking at the Two Worlds United program until I discovered it was a scam. I now cant seem to locate one that sonds as good. I would prefer to stay with a host family rather than a dormitory. I also am not able to pay a very high fee to participate in the program. Could anybody help me? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

Most organizations offer a summer program -- although not all to England. Usually they are 4-6 weeks long. You should be sure your selection is CSIET listed (www.csiet.org) and also be aware that there are people up here trying to sell you THEIR program, saying it's cheap! Remember, you get what you pay for!

In general, the following programs are reputable everywhere: AFS, Aspect, Rotary and YFU. I'm not sure if Rotary has a summer program or not, but the others do. You could also check into ASSE, which is pretty good as well. Another to stay away from is AYUSA/INTRAX. Its reputation is not the best and many schools don't like them.

As a side note, one of the biggest benefits of an exchange is language immersion. Why not take advantage of this experience and go to a country where you DON'T speak the language (or have only had a bit in high school)?