International student exchange program. How to find exchange programs in the USA: FLEX, UGrad, Fulbright, W&T, AuPair, etc. What you need to know about school exchange programs

05.09.2024

Many parents want their child to study abroad, and some prefer to study in the USA: this is where the best potential employers in the world are, almost the entire top hundred in the world ranking of universities. You can start while still in school if you enroll in a program where the government pays for a year of study at an American school, and the rest of the expenses are paid for by the parents. Svetlana Ovcharenko, representative of the ACES program in Russia and the New York State program, tells who should apply there and how.

Study in the USA - on a budget

The main question for those who decide to educate their child abroad is: how much will it cost? And parents do not always know that in the United States there are several government programs that allow them to educate and support smart and promising high school students from other countries for free. The countries of the former Soviet Union have been involved in this process for more than twenty years. In 2014, the Russian authorities, after deteriorating relations with America, unilaterally refused to participate in the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) program, which is completely free for parents, while schoolchildren from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Moldova from poor families still have a chance study for an entire academic year in the USA.

Ambitious but poor Russian schoolchildren are now left with only partially free programs, where parents must pay associated costs that run into the tens of thousands of dollars. And a year later, a self-confident, organized and purposeful teenager returns home, who speaks fluent English, has acquired American “relatives” and friends - and at the same time has also begun to value his family of origin more.

How to get into the exchange program?

To enroll in the program you will need the following:

attend secondary school and be at least 15 and not over 18.5 years old
I REALLY WANT TO PARTICIPATE,
and once again: REALLY WANT TO PARTICIPATE, since high motivation is one of the main selection criteria,
be as sociable as possible, open to everything new, have a high degree of adaptability and a positive character. All this is clarified during an interview back at home.
successfully pass the English language proficiency test. For this, a confident Intermediate level will be enough, which is not so difficult to achieve,
study well at your home school - ideally be an excellent student, minimum level - not too many Cs in the final grades for the last three years,
have vaccinations according to age,
fill out the large application form on time,
pay program-related expenses: visa, tickets, health insurance and administrative costs.

Our office is trying to guide the child through these trials. If you fail to pass the test with a passing grade the first time, we give recommendations and time to improve your level and invite the child to retake it. All attempts are free, it is important for us to see progress in knowledge of the English language. So far, everyone who wanted to go, but did not have a sufficient level of language from the very beginning, was able to achieve a passing test score over time.

After “victory” over the test, you can begin filling out a large application form, where it is very important to qualitatively reveal the child’s personality in order for the selection of a host family to be as successful as possible.

After the next stage - the interview, the program announces the final decision: whether the child was accepted or not. Refusals are extremely rare, and as a rule, parents agree with the decision - most often it is explained by the child’s extreme closedness and reluctance to make contact with others. This does not mean at all that such a child cannot study abroad, but private schools with residential accommodation are more suitable for him/her, where he/she will not experience inconvenience from a large number of people around.

After paying for the program, a host family is selected and visa documents are sent.

Host families

The conditions of the program are such that it is not known in advance where in the United States the child will be assigned. It depends on where the most suitable host family is found for him.

Families are always carefully selected. These are families with small children; with children the same age as our participants; “young pensioners” whose children have recently grown up and left their parents; grandparents; as well as single moms and dads.

Most often, they live in small towns where everyone knows each other, and, as a rule, they do not even have the habit of locking cars and houses. Families participate in the exchange on a voluntary basis, meaning they do not receive money for placing a child.

Why do they need this? First of all, because the American mentality is not dependent: people do not expect benefits from the state, they do not expect other people to do something for them. They live with the idea of how they themselves can be useful to other people and society. They may also be interested in learning more about the country from which they are inviting a child.

In addition, by engaging in socially useful activities, such as hosting foreign students, they inevitably raise their status in the local community and engage in communication with other host families and their students from different countries.

Under the terms of the program, participants can be placed in separate rooms or in rooms with same-sex host siblings if there is a separate bed and enough space for studying. Children eat with their host family. School lunches ($2-3) are paid for out of pocket money, which parents must send monthly - in the amount of $250.

Studying at an American school

American school is very different from what we are used to. The child himself chooses the necessary subjects to study. In addition, if a student wants to study the subject he needs in more depth, then he can take more difficult classes: say, while studying in the 10th grade, choose mathematics for the 11th, 12th grade, or even college level.

What to do with the missed year and the army?

The most common solution is to switch to “family education” and, upon arrival, pass the subjects completed in a year.

For boys, the issue of upcoming conscription is resolved as follows: the program provides official certificates about which program the child is participating in, where he is, in which school and for what period he plans to study. In our experience, military registration and enlistment offices accept these documents; to date, they have not had any additional questions.

Many parents dream of their child achieving life and professional success. Therefore, it is quite natural that our compatriots have a huge number of questions about how and who can become a participant in the interethnic student exchange program. And today we will try to answer your most pressing questions on this topic.

International school exchange programs– this is a unique opportunity for a child to get acquainted with the culture, traditions, value orientations and education systems of other countries. Moreover, to introduce them not superficially, through stories and short-term excursion tours, but through a method of deep immersion into the natural habitat of a resident of a foreign country.

Simply put, a student can live for some time in a foreign family with all the ensuing consequences (that is, active participation in family holidays and the everyday life of foreigners), study in a regular school and communicate freely with foreign citizens. As a result of such close communication with foreigners, the child not only thoroughly studies the peculiarities of life in a particular country and the subtle nuances of a spoken foreign language, but also meets a huge number of new people, friendly relations with whom can help him in later life (and this is very important , especially if the student plans to continue his education abroad and work or live there in the future).

Well, since so many parents dream of their child achieving life and professional success both in their homeland and throughout the world, the issue of participation of Russian schoolchildren in such international exchange programs is more relevant today than ever before. Therefore, it is quite natural that our compatriots have a huge number of questions about how and who can become a participant. international student exchange programs. And today we will try to answer your most pressing questions on this topic.

Who can apply for participation in international exchange?

Any Russian schoolchild between the ages of 15 and 18 can participate in an international exchange (that is, the child must be at least 15 years old on the day of sending to another country). Please note that in rare cases, exceptions based on age requirements are allowed.

But if age restrictions may vary, then knowledge of a foreign language at an upper-intermediate level is mandatory. After all, a student who does not speak the language properly will not be able, if necessary, to explain to the host family what worries him, what he is dissatisfied with, or what he needs at the moment.

Another mandatory requirement is the student’s good academic performance, at least for the last academic year (average score - not lower than 4). This requirement is not accidental, since the child will represent his country in front of foreign citizens, and his erudition and mental abilities will largely be used to judge his level Russian education generally.

Also, the child must have such personal qualities as sociability, initiative, independence, curiosity, tolerance, stress resistance and the ability to quickly adapt to new conditions.

How much does it cost to participate in an international exchange?

Many international exchange programs involve a student studying at a free public school abroad. However, all associated expenses (introductory week-long course, accommodation, airport transfers, paperwork, supervision by the program organizers, air tickets, pocket money, etc.) parents will have to pay out of their own pockets. However, in exceptional cases, the costs will be borne by the parents. state or charitable foundations.

Of course, the cost participation in the international exchange program largely depends not only on the country of residence, but also on the level of the school, living conditions in the host family, the duration of the program and additional costs (for example, training in specialized courses or narrowly focused excursion trips around the country). On average, parents need to focus on the standard approximate cost of international exchange for an academic year (9 months):

USA - $10,000 (per semester - $5,500);
France – 10,500 euros (per semester – 6,500 euros);
UK – 15,000 euros;
Germany – 8,000 euros (per semester – 5,500 euros);
Italy – 7,800 euros (per semester – 4,500 euros);
Australia – $22,000 (per semester – $12,000);
Spain – 8,000 euros (per semester – 5,500 euros);
Canada – $22,000 (per semester – $12,000);
Belgium – 8,500 euros (per semester – 5,500 euros);
Japan - $6,500;
New Zealand - $19,000 (per semester - $12,000);
Mexico – $6,000 (per semester – $4,500);
Ireland – 14,000 euros;
South Africa - $6,500 (per semester - $4,500).

What you need to know about international exchange?

First of all, you should not consider international exchange programs as one of the ways to obtain a high level of academic knowledge, since the school curriculum of educational institutions abroad differs from educational programs that meet domestic standards (for example, the level of knowledge in mathematics and physics provided for in European schools is significantly lower than in Russian schools).

In addition, it is necessary to clearly understand that such programs are rather a cultural exchange between schoolchildren, aimed at the overall development of the child. Upon completion of participation in an international exchange, the student receives only a program participant certificate, which is not taken into account in the Russian education system as an official document confirming the level of knowledge acquired. Therefore, to ensure that your child does not miss an academic year in Russian schools, you need to take care of the possibility of studying externally.

Where should a student go to become a participant in an international exchange?

Today there are several operating in Russia international exchange programs for schoolchildren, which are offered by various international organizations (for example, Youth For Understanding, International Exchange Center, International Research & Exchanges Board, ASPRYAL).

In order for a child to become a participant in an interethnic exchange, the student’s parents (or the student himself) must contact the representative office of one of these international organizations and leave an application confirming your desire. Then the organizers will contact you and provide detailed instructions on what steps you need to take and what documents to prepare.

Many schoolchildren and their parents dream of studying in another country. For some teenagers, this is an opportunity to visit another country and learn more about its culture. Others believe that exchange studies for schoolchildren are an effective way to improve their foreign language. Some people see it as a chance to make useful and interesting contacts. The motivations of students are justified and understandable, but unfavorable political trends lead to a reduction in exchange programs.

Free study exchange: myth or reality?

Typically, the exchange of schoolchildren from Russia involves them going for some time to another country, where they live with an ordinary family. And their parents accept foreign students who want to study in our country. Such exchanges are carried out by government and private organizations, which not only perform intermediary functions, but also bear part of the travel costs.

Exchange education for schoolchildren is free and is not an unrealistic dream, but it usually becomes so only after the child arrives in a foreign country. His Russian parents should take into account that they will most likely have to pay for the preparatory stage of the trip out of their own pockets. In particular, funds from the family budget will be needed:

to obtain a foreign passport;

for obtaining a visa;

for the purchase of air tickets, etc.

Free exchange studies for schoolchildren were more accessible 4 years ago. From 1992 to 2014 (until October), the Future Leaders Exchange program, abbreviated as FLEX, operated in Russia. It allowed Russian high school students to live for free with American families for a year and also receive a small stipend for incidentals. Round-trip flights and medical insurance were also paid for through a program implemented by the United States Department of State. The latter circumstance probably became the reason for the closure of the program when political relations between the Russian Federation and the United States cooled sharply.

How to go to study as an exchange student for money

Nowadays, the interregional public foundation Interculture, which is a representative office of the non-profit organization AFS Russia, continues to operate in Russia. Under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the UN, it is engaged in the exchange of schoolchildren around the world, including in our country. By becoming a participant in the program, you can temporarily study in different parts of the world, as the foundation extends its program to 56 countries. AFS has developed programs designed for exchange training during the trimester, semester and 1st academic year.

The Interculture website states that parents' responsibilities include:

vaccinations for schoolchildren traveling abroad;

visa fee and registration of exit documents;

collecting documents from school;

sometimes – familiarization with the language of the receiving party.

However, this does not mean that all expenses associated with moving to another country and living are paid by the fund. For teenagers to participate in the program, their parents pay a preliminary fee that covers the material costs of sending the student on an exchange, maintaining contact with him, etc. If the money is not transferred in a timely manner, the teenager is excluded from participating in the program. The amount of the contribution depends on the country where the high school student will go to live and the time of his stay in a foreign country. Thus, a year of study in Europe costs 450,000 rubles, and the same period spent in Latin America will cost 480,000 rubles.

Various commercial organizations organize paid education for schoolchildren in foreign families, but their cost will be higher than under the AFS program. For example, one of these companies offers to send a child to Germany for a year for $11,000, and to Canada for $17,000, which will be approximately 700,000-1 million rubles.

How to go to study as an exchange student for free

There is practically no free exchange of schoolchildren now. However, some non-profit foundations organize competitions for high school students. Based on their results, teenagers can win a scholarship that fully or partially compensates for the costs of studying in another country.

In particular, the above-mentioned Interculture (AFS Russia) also conducts similar competitive events. For example, the foundation now offers to take part in the German language competition “Bridge of Cultures - Russia and Germany 2019”. The winner’s parents will not have to find money for education, since he will study on exchange from September 2019 to July 2020 for free - at the expense of the scholarship paid to him.

A full scholarship is provided for both 2nd and 3rd place, but the period of stay in Germany for the remaining winners is much shorter. Participants in the competition can be teenagers who turned 15-17 years old by September 1, 2018.

Exchange Study for Students Abroad

There are more different programs for students, masters, and young researchers that allow them to study abroad. One of the most famous - Global UGRAD - is funded by the US Government (Department of Education and Culture). Its participants need to obtain a foreign passport at their own expense. The costs of round trip flights, accommodation and training are covered by the American government.

Exchange studies for students under this program are carried out in the United States of America for one semester without receiving a diploma.

Studying in America today is considered promising, so many schoolchildren and students dream of leaving here. But if for some the dreams remain unrealistic, then other students turn their plans into reality, find exchange programs and leave to conquer another country.

Studying in the USA is available not only for children of wealthy parents; you can even move here for free – as part of interethnic cooperation.

What exchange programs are available in the USA?

Exchange students come to America as part of several programs, some of them are completely free, while others will have to pay a lot of money to participate. But at the same time, they offer an excellent development opportunity for schoolchildren and students.

The following programs are available:

AFS is a popular program for teenagers, which is available in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and CIS countries. Intercultural exchange is carried out free of charge, and the child ends up in any family that is ready to provide a decent standard of living;
Flex is a non-profit program that involves competitive participation, the main requirement is excellent knowledge of the English language, cultural exchange between the USA and the Russian Federation is not currently taking place, but positive changes may occur;
Paid programs - parents can send their child as part of a paid participation, but they will have to bear all the costs themselves. Tuition in a public school costs $7,000 per year, in a private school – over 20,000;
UGRAD – exchange study in the USA for students, designed for one semester;
Work and Travel - the program involves the student working and resting in the States during the summer holidays, you can spend money on travel, shopping, or you can bring an impressive amount home;
Career Training USA is an internship in America that takes place according to the student’s profile. The period ranges from a couple of months to 1.5 years;
Au Pair in America - the program is available only to girls who get a job as a nanny for a host family. At the same time, Americans pay for education in the States and give them pocket money.

Exchange students go to America to gain experience, learn a language, and spend time having fun. If you want to learn independence yourself or want this for your own child, participation will be an excellent way to implement your plans.

Features of the AFS program

Schoolchildren aged 15-18 can come to America as an exchange student under AFS. At the same time, the child of American parents also moves to another country to study. How to travel to the States? There is a competitive program, the application is submitted on the official website, and accordingly, the training is sponsored by partners.

Those children who show creative inclinations and study well have a chance to move; children whose parents work in sponsoring companies are also sent to the United States as exchange students.

Participation is available both for residents of megacities and for children from the outback - in this case, the interview is conducted via the Internet.

It is interesting that the program itself is free, and there are also grants, scholarships, and assistance in paying for flights for participants. However, children need US visa category j 1, for which you will have to pay a consular fee.

Features of the Flex program

The student exchange program in the USA has been operating for more than half a century; the first students from Russia came here at the end of the last century; today the destination has become very popular. The program is called Flex - study in America, and accordingly, it is available only to schoolchildren.

What is the appeal of studying in the States? A teenager comes to a host family for one academic year, while the children from this family go on exchange to Russia. At the same time, the American schoolchild does not live in a Russian family. During a year spent in America, you will be able to better learn English, learn local customs and traditions, and American history.

How to become a participant in the program? To do this, you must meet several criteria:

Be a high school student – grades 8-10;
Have good or excellent grades;
Excellent command of English;
Be aged 15-18 years.

To participate, you will have to pass 3 language proficiency exams, a psychological test, an interview and obtain a J1 visa to the USA. The selection process begins in October, and the following year, in the spring, the result of admission becomes known.

Russia temporarily suspended participation in the flex program due to the fact that an American family adopted a child who came from abroad, and several other children also did not return to their homeland.

Features of UGRAD

UGRAD is a student exchange program in the United States.

Only third-year students who demonstrate academic success and have creative or scientific achievements can go abroad. The participant is sent not to the USA for a year, but only for a semester.

All student expenses are covered by the host country, America. They will pay for you:

Full cost of training;
Cost of living;
Return plane tickets.

Student exchange is free of charge, and the young person only needs to obtain a foreign passport. The selection criteria for this program are quite strict:

Excellent grades in all subjects are required;
You need to be interested in student life, be an active student;
Confidently communicate and correspond in English;
Pass the exam as a competition;
Letters of recommendation from teachers are required.

It is noteworthy that exchange children to America can apply for participation online, that is, look for an intermediary, an agency, and there is no need to pay fees - you can go through the entire procedure yourself.

About studying at an American school and host families

Despite the fact that traveling to America and studying in the States is very profitable, convenient and tempting, many parents are afraid to part with their child, because anything can happen in another country overseas.

In fact, worries are in vain for several reasons:

Host families are always carefully selected - the desire of Americans to shelter someone else's child is not enough. Children can only be taken into care by families with children, young pensioners who have already raised their own children, grandparents, and single parents. That is, the family must have skills in raising and communicating with the child;
Living conditions are checked - the schoolchild and student are accommodated in a separate room, or together with their own children of the same sex. Government authorities carefully ensure that the foreigner is well fed and provided with leisure time, and parents, in turn, must send money for pocket money and school lunch;
The receiving party performs such a service completely free of charge, and does this not only out of curiosity and a desire to be useful. Helping a foreigner is a prestigious occupation, the status of the family in the eyes of society immediately increases, the neighbors understand that wealthy and good-natured people live behind the fence;
As for studying at school, there are no already formed classes and layers - students usually do not get to know each other in lessons, since the flow of children is extremely large, now the teenager studies with some children, later with others. You can make acquaintances only in additional classes and extracurricular sections.

Accordingly, a student from abroad will be of interest, students will approach him with questions, and then it depends on the child whether he can find contact.

About visas for program participants

How to get a j1 visa to the USA? This question worries the exchange program participants themselves and their parents.

The process of obtaining permission to leave is quite simple, since the participant is sent only for study, he cannot change his status to immigration. j 1 – a visa issued to students wishing to go on exchange. If you have passed the competitive selection process and the sponsor has agreed to pay for your training, then most likely you will be given all the permitting documents.

Another visa – j2 to the USA allows relatives of program participants to move. For example, if a mother is afraid to let her child go alone, she can go with him, having received the appropriate visa. In order for family members to be allowed into the States, you will need to prove the absence of migration intentions and confirm your own financial situation.

Exchange training in the USA is an excellent opportunity to get to know a foreign country better, improve your English, and gain experience and impressions.

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