What are good foreign exchange programs?

The first thing I did when I thought about becoming an exchange student was talk to my school councilor. I had absolutely no idea where to begin or even what organization I should talk to, and she helped me out wonderfully. The organization she suggested to be was the Rotary club, and, let me tell you, I am so grateful I went with her suggestion. I did a quick search for my local Rotary club and sent them an e-mail. If they don't provide an e-mail, you can always call. If you find any of the applications for Rotary Youth Exchange, don't fill them out before they give it to you. Many of the districts have special applications so if you fill out the wrong one you have to do it all over again. The application deadline is usually at the end of October. If you're accepted, you'll leave the following summer. I know that might seem like a long time, but it's really not. They need time to prepare you to be an exchange student and you need to prepare. There's a lot to do before you can be ready to leave home. As soon as they give you your application, you need to start filling it out right away, because there is a lot of information you have to fill in and they are very specific about how they want you to fill it out, so you need to get started on it as soon as possible! I cannot stress this enough!

One really fantastic thing about the Rotary exchange program is the price. They keep it really cheap, because all of their members are volunteer, so you don't have to pay any of the members, which really keeps the price of your exchange down. It's still going to be expensive, though. It'll be between 3,000-6,000 USD, depending where you want to go and the air fare. I know that still sounds expensive, but it's a lot cheaper than other organizations. I've seen some that cost more like 10-15,000.

Don't worry about exchange (especially your senior year) interfering with your graduation or your college chances. If anything, it's going to be a HUGE plus on your college application. As for your graduation, It's usually up to your school to decide that. For me, I just have to bring a report card (in english) back.

Do not worry about learning an entire language before you go. I am going to Brazil in a few weeks (Rio de Janeiro) and I could not even speak a lick of Portuguese when I was assigned to Brazil. Also, my school doesn't offer any Portuguese classes, so I was pretty much on my own. I bought Rosetta stone and it's working out wondefully for me. If you can't afford Rosetta stone, I've also been using this website called livemocha.com. It's like a cheap (free) version of Rosetta stone, where you can learn the language and interact with other people who speak it, but don't buy anything until you know where you're going. If your school offers any language classes like spanish or something else, get into those. Many languages such as portuguese, french, and italian are similar to Spanish and any foundation you can get is a great idea.

The way Rotary Youth Exchange works is, they give you a list of countries that are available exchange to, and then you get to order them from the one you want to go to most to the one you go to least. Ultimately, it is up to the organization to decide where you go, but they really try to send you where you want to go. I know for a fact Australia, New Zealand, and Italy are all on the list.They organize tens of thousands of exchanges each year, so they can't send everyone to their 1st choice, but they do there best. No matter where you go, you're going to have an amazing time. You're going to meet interesting people, discover new cultures, learn a different language, and have the most amazing year of your life! So don't be bummed if you don't get your first choice. I got my 5th choice, Brasil, and I honestly cannot be happier. I STRONGLY suggest you put Brasil on your top 5 at least. The people from Brasil are just amazing. They are just so happy and kind and warm and accepting. They are the funnest people I know!

Anyways, I think I've explained what you should do first: get in contact with the organization. It's very important to do that right away. If you want to know any more about Rotary or just the exchange experience in general, email me at kori_oconnor_26@yahoo.

Youth for Understanding (YFU) is the cheapest that I've found that is high-quality. They have a good reputation, give you more than your money's worth, keep you safe, and make sure you have a great time.

The cost is fairly reasonable, with many scholarships available, so you should check it out on yfu.org.

Italy is an amazing country as well. It's where I went. If you want to get a general idea of how much fun it is, check out my blog at http://mousterpieces.blogspot.com/

I am a high school sophomore studying abroad, too, so I hope this helps!

I would look into rotary groups/clubs in your local area. Many peers of mine went all around the country (including Italy!) through rotary. I'm not an expert at what they offer, but I know its a great program for high school students!

Tell your dad that even if you have sex with a Japanese man you will probably still be a virgin afterward.LOL Seriously this is a bad idea for a young girl, in my opinion. I don't think there is anyway that you will convince any parent with an ounce of common sense.