How International Student Exchange Programs Work

Ever since she saw an online ad about international student exchange programs, Linda Brouwers, from the Netherlands, says she dreamed about living in the U.S. She was able to fulfill that dream through EF Education First, a Switzerland-based international education company. Brouwers spent one year as an exchange student at East Jessamine High School in Nicholasville, Kentucky, during the 2015-2016 school year.

"My experience in the USA as an exchange student is definitely one of the most enriching experiences in my life," says Brouwers, who documented her experience for her YouTube channel.

International students between the ages of 14 and 18 can apply to study at an accredited public or private high school in the U.S. and live with an American host family for one year on a J-1 exchange visitor visa, a program overseen by the U.S. Department of State. They can also study at an accredited boarding school.

There were 23,527 new secondary student exchange visitors in 2018, with the top three destinations being Texas, Michigan and California, according to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Private Sector Exchange. The majority of students came from Germany, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Thailand.

Here are some things prospective students should keep in mind when considering an international student exchange program in the U.S.:

An approved sponsoring organization will place students. International exchange students must pay a sponsoring organization a fee for its placement and oversight services.

The process starts in a student's home country, says Rene Brown, director of student services for high school programs at United Studies Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Arkansas that specializes in work and travel programs as well as high school exchange programs. She says students must sign up through their school or an organization to go to the U.S. The U.S. partner organization then reviews the application for admission.

"Our organization partners with agencies in other countries who recruit students and help them complete their online application," Brown says.

Brown says students must also write a letter introducing themselves to their prospective host family, take an English test administered by the partner agency and submit transcripts and letters of recommendation. She says the partner agencies also interview applicants and hold orientations for all students prior to departure.

"Typically the student pays an application fee or deposit to the partner agency, and then the partner pays our program fees if (the student is) accepted into our program," Brown says.

Brown says the cost for the international exchange program varies as both the international and U.S. partner organizations charge fees. She says while it's dependent on the country, "an average cost would be between $8,000 to $10,000 a year for a student to pay, and this would include both sides of the ocean."

Anne M. Ring, who serves on the board of directors for the Academic Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, a nonprofit organization based in California that focuses on student exchanges, says that AFICE similarly charges its overseas partner organizations that recruit and screen students for suitability. She says organizations will include additional fees for their operations, which are passed along to the student.

"The fees we receive are used for everything from supervising the students, health insurance for the students and background checks on the host families," she wrote in an email.

The high school exchange program can be affordable. Experts say J-1 programs tend to be the least expensive option for international students when attending high school in the U.S.

"J-1 is far more affordable. Because of the nature of the J-1 visa program, students do not pay tuition when attending public school, and J-1 visa regulations do not allow for any sort of payment to the host family," Ring says. She says a J-1 student placed in a private high school would pay tuition. However, the vast majority of J-1 students are placed in public schools, Ring says, and would not be required to accept a placement in a private school.

In comparison, Ring says for students on an F-1 visa, host families are typically paid and students must pay tuition to any school, including public schools. That cost can range between $8,000 to tens of thousands of dollars for certain private schools, she says.

"Most public schools offer a specific number of spaces for J-1 students that are offered to the J-1 visitor free of tuition," Brown says.

Diane Pyle, international exchange coordinator with Education First High School Exchange Year, a nonprofit division of EF Education First based in Boston, says EF typically has two J-1 visa students at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, a private Catholic coed school in Overland Park, Kansas.

Pyle says most public schools allow three to five spots for international students in her area in Kansas City. She says when a school provides a spot for an exchange student, the principal signs a high school enrollment form that indicates there is a spot in that school for the year, which allows the student to obtain the J-1 visa. Given the limited spaces for international students, experts encourage students to apply early to secure a visa.

Students will stay with volunteer host families. Experts say students are placed with host families and attend whichever high school any children in their host family do or would attend. A host family must be found before the student leaves to study abroad, and students cannot stay with relatives.

"For most J-1 programs the student does not choose the host family; the host family chooses a student they think will be a good fit for them," Brown says.

Ring says host families are required to provide room and board to the student, along with transportation to and from school as well as school activities.

"Basically put, a high school student on a J-1 visa becomes part of the family," Ring says.

Being a part of the family can have many benefits. Over spring break this year, Calle Moberg, from Sweden, went with his host family on a trip to Hawaii. Moberg, who is spending his senior year at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Kansas, says other highlights have included winning a state championship in football and getting a ring, attending the prom, getting a U.S. driver's license, throwing javelin for track and field, attending concerts and more.

Brouwers' host family, the Duffs, have hosted 10 exchange students from six countries in more than six years. The Duffs say they cherish that they have family all over the world and look forward to the day when the students they hosted return to visit.

Brouwers holds her experience with her host family close to her heart.

"I learned a lot about the American culture by living in a local host family. They treated me as their own daughter, which is something I am forever grateful for," Brouwers says.

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