Rotary Youth Exchange: Information for Students
 

U.S. Department of State
1-866-283-9090 jvisas@state.gov

Important Dates
for 2011-12

November 15, 2011
Long-term exchange applications are due to your local club

December 1, 2011
Long-term exchange applications are due to the district office

December 3-4, 2011
Long-term exchange interviews

January 15, 2012
Short-term exchange applications are due to your local club

February 1, 2012
Short-term exchange applications are due to the district office

June 6-10, 2012
Orientation camp for long-term outbound students. Location to be determined.

Every year about 8,000 young people will see the world the way it is best seen - from the inside out - through the Rotary Youth Exchange program.  This could be your year!

As a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you will spend a year, or perhaps just an extended period, living with a host family in a country other than your own.  You may learn a new language; you will learn a new way of living and a great deal about yourself.  But there’s more!  While you are busy learning, the people you meet will be learning as well – about your country, your culture, and your ideas.  You will be a young ambassador.  You will be helping to bring the world closer together – and you’ll be making some good friends in the process.

To see what Rotary Youth Exchange students have to say about the program, look at this two part YouTube video showing interviews with students:

If you are ready for the challenge and the reward of living in another land as an exchange student, then you are ready to discover new worlds through Rotary’s Youth Exchange program.

Each year, local Rotary districts and clubs worldwide arrange international Youth Exchanges for high school-aged students.  A primary goal of the program is to foster world understanding. There are two principal types of exchanges:

  1. Long-term exchanges usually last for an academic year, during which the student lives with two or three host families and attends school in the host country.

  2. Short-term exchanges vary from a couple of weeks to months.  They often take place when school is not in session and usually do not include an academic program.  Short-term exchanges usually involve a stay with a host family, but they can also be organized as international youth camps, which bring together students from many different countries.

Older students, ages 18-25, may participate in a New Generations Exchange.  These exchanges are from three-to-six weeks in duration and may be organized for individuals or groups.  

Student Selection

Victoria Foshee from Cabot in front of Sacre Coeur Cathredral in Paris. 2009

Victoria Foshee from Cabot in front of Sacre Coeur Cathredral in Paris. 2009

Local Rotary districts and clubs screen youth interested in the program by using detailed applications and interviews.  This process helps ensure that only highly responsible and mature students are sent on an exchange.  Generally, students are selected based on the following criteria:

  • Scholastic record (top half of class)
  • Linguistic ability / interest in learning a new language
  • Community involvement / extra-curricular activities
  • Potential as a cultural ambassador

If you are interested in becoming a Rotary Youth Exchange student, please contact us.  We will help you begin the process.  The important dates listed above provide you with the deadlines for submitting your application.

Ready to go?  Start here.  Need more information?  Just ask.

Are you ready for the experience of a lifetime?
If you are interested in becoming a youth exchange student, why become a Rotary Youth Exchange Student?

Three Reasons!!!

  1. Variety of countries to choose from!  Rotary Youth exchanges can be arranged in more than 80 countries and 6 continents.  Sorry, no exchanges to Antarctica.
  2. Support!  It may not be a big deal to you, but it will be to your parents.  You will be sponsored by a Rotary club in our district and hosted by a Rotary club in the country where you are sent.  These Rotarians will provide you with many opportunities to be involved in your host country and will be interested in making sure you have a fantastic exchange.  Hosting Rotarians will assist you in acclimating to the local culture and will help you in cases of an emergency.  Six or more Rotarians will be involved in the planning of every exchange to make sure you are successful.
  3. Cost!  The fees and expenses for the Rotary Youth Exchange program are one-half to one-third what other programs change students.  Why can Rotary charge so much less?  Because the Rotarians involved are all volunteers.  The savings from having an all-volunteer staff can be the equivalent to a $5,000 to $15,000 scholarship.  Will any other program give you a scholarship to participate?

If you were buying a computer, you would want the one that comes with the most options, the best support and the lowest price.  Why settle for less?  Become a Rotary Youth Exchange student.