Foreign exchange programs for high school students?

Exchange Programs for School Students

• Answer:

  In our era of globalization, where seemingly everyone is always on the go, spending time studying abroad is not merely a culturally enriching experience, but it can be a necessity for success in future careers. Thankfully, the educational system seems to have caught on to this, and today there are numerous exchange programs for high school students. While spending a semester or a year abroad was typically viewed as an option for college students before, today more and more parents are seeing the value and necessity of sending their kids to study abroad at an earlier age. Council on International Educational Exchange CIEE offers programs for high school students who wish to spend a year or a summer abroad, as well as gap year (a year between high school and college) programs. It launched its first study abroad program in 1947. Since then, CIEE has sent over 50,000 high school students on exchange programs. Gap year and summer students may alternately wish to choose one of CIEE's work abroad or volunteer abroad programs. Students are able to choose which country and program best suits their interests. CIEE makes total immersion in the local culture one of its primary goals. In addition, all CIEE exchange programs feature local staff members to counsel students in the event that anything goes wrong. Council on International Educational Exchange High School and Gap Year Abroad Programs 300 Fore St. Portland, ME 04101 (800) 40-STUDY ciee.org/hsabroad/ American Scandinavian Student Exchange ASSE was founded in Sweden in 1938 to foster exchanges between Sweden and Germany. After the Second World War, the company began to expand its operations. In 1976, in coordination with the United States State Department, they added exchange programs between American and Scandinavian students. Today, ASSE also offers exchange programs with most of Western Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, they offer a "Teen Twin" program, which enables the entire family to spend three months abroad in an exchange program alongside the student. American Scandinavian Student Exchange 3091-A E. Shadowland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30305 (800) 333-3802 asse.com/United_States/index.html American Field Service High school students can choose from an academic year, semester or trimester abroad in more than 50 countries. AFS also offers a variety of summer and intensive language programs, for students who aren't able to commit during the academic year. In all programs, students get to live with a local host family and attend a local secondary school as full-time students. The summer programs, which include home stays, focus on language learning, community service and cultural activities. Many AFS programs offer scholarships. All students are required to have a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher. American Field Service 1 Whitehall, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10004 (800) 876-2376 http://www.afs.org/afs_or/focus_on/high_school