Who can go on Rotary Youth Exchange?

Students between the ages of 15 and 18 at the time of exchange may apply to Rotary Youth Exchange. Generally, this means high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. Some countries offer gap year exchanges, however, not all of our exchange partner countries will accept students who have already graduated high school.

Students are required to have an above-average academic record, a spotless disciplinary record and exhibit open-mindedness, responsibility, maturity and flexibility. Rotary is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the selection of students, host families and exchange partners. Our DEI policy can be viewed here.

How long is youth exchange?

 

Currently, District 5280 is only offering a long-term youth exchange program, which covers one scholastic year. Generally, this is ten months, plus a week or two.

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Can I choose the country I go to?

 

Yes...and no. We give exchange students the opportunity to let us know their top four choices for exchange. About nine times out of ten, an exchange student will be offered their first choice country. Many factors go into the placement of students into host countries and host families. For example, a desired country may only have an available host family who can only accept a girl, because she will be sharing a room with a host sister. Sometimes a host family is not in a position to meet the dietary requirements of an exchange student. Sometimes exchange students with better language skills will be give priority for placement in that country.

 

Sometimes a student is offered an exchange country that was not in their top four. We encourage those students to give these "out of left field" placements a chance, because, while each exchange country is different, each host family unique and each exchange its own individual experience, there are somethings that are universal about any Rotary youth exchange: Namely, the immense learning and personal development that happens when placed in a foreign environment--regardless of the host country.

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What about graduating on time?

The vast majority of exchange students returning from a year abroad graduate high school on time and graduate with the same classmates with whom they started their high school journey. This, however, requires some planning and may require taking summer school classes. Remember, California high schools enroll transfer students from out of the state and out of the country all the time and do count a great deal of their previous coursework toward their graduations. Re-enrolling a returning exchange student is not much different.

It is very important to speak with your high school guidance counselor early in your youth exchange application process. Before applying, it is important to know what is required for you to graduate on time with your peers. There are a few things to keep in mind as you plan for high school graduation and beyond.

The first thing to consider is your particular school district's requirements for graduation. The State of California sets minimum standards required of all high schools, however, individual school districts in California have the authority and are responsible for determining the requirements for graduating from their high schools. Generally, school districts have higher requirements for graduation than the California state minimum requirements. Individual school districts may also have mandatory classes in their particular districts and these may vary from district to district. Similarly, private high schools will have their own graduation requirements beyond the California minimums.

Upon repatriation and re-enrollment, school districts will likely accept some or all of your high school work completed while on exchange for which you received a passing grade (the equivalent of C- or better) as electives. It is up to the policies and discretion of your school district whether to accept a course taken while on exchange as meeting a graduation requirement class, for example, whether your school district will accept that chemistry class taken while on exchange as meeting part of your science requirement or whether it will be listed as an elective.

The other thing to consider is preparing for college and having the coursework required to apply to the colleges on your wish list. The University of California and California State University systems employ a so-called A-G requirements for admission into their schools. These A-G requirements are often higher than a high school's minimum graduation requirements. Most other state university systems have very similar requirements to the California A-G requirements, however, your dream out-of-state university, private college or impacted field of study may have different minimum requirements.

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The universities to which you apply will assess your American high school transcript and your foreign high school transcript and determine which courses meet their admission standards.

 

What about transcripts from the overseas school?

Exchange schools will very likely provide a transcript of grades. It is the responsibility of the exchange student to translate the transcript and present the transcript in a form acceptable to his/her home school district.

Some school districts may require a transcript which conforms to the Hague Convention. The United States is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, which allows for the simplified certification of public documents, including notarized documents, for use in countries that are also members of the convention. 
 

To request a school transcript for use in a country that is a member of the Hague Convention, you can obtain a transcript from the school and have the principal or other authorized official notarize it. Then, you can take the transcript and the notarized certificate to a state Notary Public Administrator to apply the state seal. If the country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, the Notary Public Administrator will add an Apostille certificate, and no further authentication is required. You can check the Hague Conference on Private International Law Apostille Page for a list of countries that are party to the treaty. 

 

Can I travel during the exchange year?

 

Exploring new places and experiencing diverse landscapes is a thrilling aspect of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Throughout the exchange year, students are encouraged to travel and participate in Rotary-organized tours and excursions. These trips offer memorable ways to explore the host country and connect with other exchange students, and they provide structured, supervised opportunities for discovery. Exchange students may also have the chance to travel with their host families on family vacations, or join chaperoned trips through school activities, sports teams, or orchestras. With prior approval from their Youth Exchange Chair, host parents, and, if required, natural parents, students are permitted to participate in such non-Rotary chaperoned trips. 

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Travel, however, is subject to certain limitations. Rotary students must stay within their host “District” unless authorized by the Youth Exchange Chair, and they are not permitted to travel alone or solely with other minors. An adult chaperone must accompany all trips, but this adult must meet Rotary’s standards—individuals between 18 and 21 years of age, for instance, do not qualify as responsible chaperones. In some countries, additional safety measures, such as background checks, may be required for adults accompanying exchange students. Before planning any international travel, students should check for visa requirements based on their nationality.

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While these excursions provide incredible exposure, it’s essential to remember that the Rotary Youth Exchange is primarily a cultural immersion program, not a vacation. The goal is to foster genuine connections with local communities and to understand their unique perspectives. Exchange students are expected to fully engage in their school environment, build meaningful friendships, and invest time in understanding their host community’s traditions and values. Tourism alone offers only a surface-level glimpse into a culture, whereas Rotary aims to deepen students’ understanding and appreciation. Exchange students are required to attend school regularly and strive to maintain at least C-level grades, taking language ability into account.

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Can family and friends visit us during the exchange year?

 

Visits from family and friends during the exchange year are strongly discouraged. If family and friends do plan to visit, it’s best to schedule this for the very end of the exchange, ideally after the school year has concluded.

Visits from home can take the exchange student "out of exchange" mentally and emotionally. In our experience, the anticipation before, the visit itself, and the adjustment period afterward disrupt the immersion process, making it harder for the student to fully engage in their host culture. With only ten months abroad, any time spent away from forming friendships, adjusting, and creating deeper connections is a missed opportunity.

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Additionally, if friends who are minors visit, the exchange student will face restrictions. They cannot travel unsupervised and must remain within the district without prior approval from the Youth Exchange Chair.

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Who are the host families?

Host families are volunteers who identify with Rotary's mission of peace. Often, members of Rotary clubs will volunteer to host. Host families are not paid to host and often incur extra expenses in order to host a foreign exchange student. Host families come in all types:
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• Families with children at home

• Child-free couples

• Empty nesters

• Retired people

• Single people

• Same-sex couples and LGBTQIA+ families

• Families of any ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds

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Host families agree to undergo a criminal background check and home inspection.

Why do exchange students going abroad need to recruit host families in the U.S.?

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To participate in Rotary Youth Exchange, all applicants are required to recruit two, and preferably three, host families to support the inbound exchange student experience. Rotary Youth Exchange operates as a true 1:1 exchange program: for every student Rotary sends abroad, there must be an opportunity to host a student in return. The responsibility to recruit and commit host families lies with the outbound applicant.

 

Often, the applicant’s family is one of the host families, and additional families can be recruited by reaching out to local contacts—teachers, family friends, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and friends’ parents. Each host family must reside within the same school district.

The sponsoring Rotary Club may help in identifying potential host families, though primary responsibility for securing them remains with the applicant. Early conversations with the sponsoring Rotary club can help provide guidance on recruiting suitable families.

The inbound exchange student hosted locally may or may not come from the same country the outbound applicant is sent to, as placement is based on family fit rather than geographic pairing. Each host family will typically host the student for 3-5 months, with the entire exchange lasting about ten months. Unlike other programs, Rotary Youth Exchange intentionally rotates students between host families to enrich the student’s experience, reduce the burden on any single family, and create a support network if a host family is temporarily unable to provide care.

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Host families are responsible for providing basic needs, including:

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• Meals: Two to three meals per day.
• Access to essential facilities: A bathroom, kitchen, and laundry facilities.
• Study space: A quiet area for homework.
• Private or semi-private room: A bedroom with a closing door, bed with a mattress and frame, bedding, and towels. This room may be shared with a minor host sibling of the same sex. 

 

By sharing this hosting experience among multiple families, Rotary creates a stronger, more interconnected exchange community.

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How much does Rotary Youth Exchange cost?

The cost of Rotary Youth Exchange varies year to year and country by country. Some host countries require things such as in-country language camps, additional vaccinations and so on, which can make one exchange cost slightly more than another. Health insurance varies in price from country to country as well. Generally speaking, however, Rotary Youth Exchange will cost approximately $6,500 USD for the 2025/26 exchange year. Limited needs-based full and partial scholarships are available. Speak with your sponsoring Rotary Club about scholarship opportunities.

Rotary Youth Exchange is run entirely by volunteers. Rotary does not earn anything on Youth Exchange. In fact, much of the program is financed through donations. Exchange students, for example, are provided a monthly stipend of approximately $100 per month. This $100 is donated by Rotary and is not part of the program fees. This stipend is intended to make sure every student has at least some spending money for school supplies, transportation, toiletries and other incidentals. 

Exchange students are expected to cover all other expenses during the year, such as cell phones and cell phone plans, school supplies, clothing, public transportation, ride shares and taxis, travel expenses, sports equipment and team expenses, school and activity fees, medical expenses and prescriptions, souvenirs, and have spending money for things like movie tickets, meals, and outings with friends. Some host families can be very generous with their exchange students. Some families offer to take exchange students on trips or to cover certain big-ticket things like concert tickets. However, anything offered to an exchange student in addition to the above listed "room and board" is a host family going above and beyond. Exchange students should not be asking host parents to cover any additional expenses, nor should exchange students be borrowing money while on exchange.

Exchange students are not permitted to work during exchange. Their visas do not permit employment. Exchange students may occasionally do things like babysit or do yard work for extra pocket money, as long as these things do not interfere with schoolwork and his/her overall cultural experience with the host family and community. The exchange student is required to be in a position to finance his own exchange without working.

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As far as bang for the buck, Rotary Youth Exchange is much more cost effective than for-profit youth exchange programs, which can cost $20,000-$25,000. We invite you to compare our program to other programs to find the right fit for you.
 

What is the application process?

To apply for Rotary Youth Exchange, a comprehensive application packet must be completed and submitted by December 31, 2024. A non-refundable deposit is also due at this time. This application packet is not just the "ticket into" Rotary Youth Exchange, but is an important file that will accompany you throughout your exchange. It contains medical records, dental records, school transcripts, personal statements, vaccination records, documents needed for your visa and much more. Many parts of the application packet require official signatures from different people. Because the application contains many parts, it is important to get an early start on it. It is also important to take great care in scanning all the documents so that they are legible. Treat your application packet as you would your college application: You will want to make sure everyone is able to easily read and understand the information contained within. Please keep in mind the 5 C's when completing your application:

Complete (all sections completed and all documents collected, particularly medical records, vaccination records, birth certificate or passport, and school transcripts)
Compliant (documents submitted should be official records signed/stamped by the school, physician, immigration office and so on)

Current (include recent school transcripts, medical records and valid passport.)
Clear (include only clearly legible PDF scans, no JPEGs or other image formats. Type or print very neatly all other information. Please understand that other countries and languages have very different penmanship and cursive writing styles and may be unable to read your handwriting, however clear it may be to the average American.)
Consistent (spellings of names, birthdates and so on need to be the same across all documents. Use full legal names of students, parents, and host parents where required. Nicknames or preferred names may be indicated in parentheses, but please use full legal names)

Once your application is submitted, you will be asked to participate in one or two rounds of in-person interviews and orientations in about February 2025. Shortly thereafter, you will be notified of your acceptance into the program. Within one or two months of that time, we will let you know your destination country. You may accept or decline the country offered. In rare cases, we may be able to arrange another destination country, however, this may not be an option. By May or June, 2025, you will be notified of your host family and host Rotary Club. At this time, you can begin your exchange in earnest by getting to know your host family through video calls and so on.

 

Which countries does District 5280 exchange with?

Exchange partners can vary year to year for various reasons. Currently, our exchange partners include:
 

• Australia

• Austria

• Belgium

• Brazil

• Chile

• Croatia

• Czech Republic

• Denmark

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Japan

• Mexico

• The Netherlands

• New Zealand

• Norway

• Paraguay

• Poland

• Romania

• South Korea

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Thailand

• Taiwan

No exchange country is guaranteed.

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What are the rules of Rotary Youth Exchange?

The Rotary Youth Exchange program its accredited through the United States Department of State within is mission of citizen diplomacy. Exchange students are considered citizen ambassadors of their countries and are therefore held to very high standards of conduct, perhaps higher standards than are expected in their own homes and/or of their peers at school. Furthermore, Rotary International donates a lot of money and thousands of volunteer hours toward this mission of peace. We at Rotary contribute our time, talents and dollars toward achieving the goal of creating a generation of future leaders: Our exchange students are expected to exhibit and exemplify best behavior because they are representing not only themselves, but also  Rotary and their country as well.

 

The rules of Rotary Youth Exchange include several "Don't's," which encompass illegal and harmful activities and things which may threaten the program. Rotary Youth Exchange also includes several "Do's," which are just as important to youth exchange as the "Don't's." These rules require the exchange student to engage proactively with gratitude, curiosity, flexibility, kindness, and a sense of service and purpose. 

Exchange students are given extensive training during two orientations before exchange and again during an inbound orientation upon arrival in the host country. The student is provided continuous counseling throughout the exchange year to make sure they maintain the high standards of conduct required.

A major infraction of the rules, for example, engaging in illegal activities and/or activities which negatively reflect on the student and the program, will be grounds for immediate release from the program and return. 

 

Similarly, the culmination of "minor" infractions can also result in repatriation. If, after repeated counseling, a student continues to exhibit behavior contradictory to the mission and goals of Rotary Youth Exchange, that exchange student will be returned to his/her home country.

Each student's visa is sponsored through Rotary International Youth Exchange: If Rotary removes sponsorship, the visa is no longer valid and a student will be required to return to his/her home country. The reasons for ending an exchange early are communicated to the countries issuing the visa. Depending on the reason, this may impact that person's ability to seek a visa from that country in the future. Therefore, it is very much in the interests of the student to stick to the rules and make an effort to maintain a very positive impression of him/herself and his/her country throughout the exchange.