Going Abroad With YFU

Becoming a YFU Exchange Student

Youth For Understanding (YFU) offers programs for students between the ages of 15 and 18. Many European students between the ages of 18 and 21 are also eligible for the Community College Program. Students need to be communicative, interactive, motivated, and out-going, as well as willing and able to face challenges.

Each student stays with a host family, learning to appreciate a new way of living as no tourist ever could. Being a member of a host family in a foreign country is the most intensive way of absorbing a new culture through participation in everyday life. To live in a totally different environment demands a deeper interest than just wanting to visit.

Living outside of one's home country offers an objective view of the home country that will help students to participate in and appreciate more consciously their home countries. An exchange not only involves understanding the foreign culture but one's own culture as well.

What Programs Does YFU Offer?

Youth For Understanding participating countries around the world offer a variety of programs for exchange students. Not all programs are available into or out of each country. Contact the National Office in your country to learn about the specific programs YFU has available for you!

Internationally, YFU offers:

Academic programs which include living as a member of a host family and attending school in the host country for an academic year or semester.
Non-Academic programs which include living with a host family and participating in the family's summer activities with them.
Community College program in the United States for students who have completed the secondary school requirements in their home country and wish to obtain some of their university training at a community college in the US. Students live with a host family and participate in all aspects of college life, from attending classes to joining campus clubs and sport teams.

How Long Do the Programs Last?

The length of YFU student programs varies from a few weeks to nearly a full year, depending on the home and host countries, as well as the purpose of the program itself.

Academic year programs last for approximately eleven months, generally the length of a school year plus additional time prior to the beginning of the school year and after school closes. Most students leave their home country in August and return the following July. Depending on the host country, students might also leave their home country in January and return in December.

Academic semester programs last for five to six months, generally the length of half a school year, as well as additional time before or after the semester. These programs begin with the student leaving the home country in August or January and returning in January or July.

Summer (non-school) programs last for four to eight weeks and take place during the months of the summer holiday in the student's home country.

Community College programs last for one semester or academic year.

Where Can I Go?

YFU arranges placements for exchange students in more than 40 countries. Contact the National Office in your country to learn about the specific partner organizations that YFU works with in your country.

Are Scholarships Available?

Information about scholarships for students is not currently available on-line. To receive information about available scholarships, please contact the National Office in your country.

To Learn More...

To learn more about programs available to students in your country, click on the Contact link at the top of this page. You may telephone or write to the National Office or fill out a contact request form. Types of additional information available may include:

available programs
participating countries
language requirements
costs
application forms
due dates

After your application has been completed and returned to YFU, it will be reviewed carefully. You will be interviewed by a YFU volunteer or staff member. Additional information will be requested from you and your school.