Program Information
Spend a Whole Year Abroad
Rotary Youth Exchange offers international study-abroad opportunities for students who meet our requirements. You can choose to participate in the program either during your high school years or in a gap year following high school.
Program Objectives
- To further international understanding and goodwill.
- Learn and adapt to another culture, while sharing your own.
Qualifications of Applicants
- Student must be between 15 ½-18 years of age at the time of departure. (Please note that many host countries will not accept students who are 18 or older, or high school graduates.)
- Student must be a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in high school at time of application.
- Student must demonstrate scholastic competence, be active in his/her community and demonstrate aptitude to be an ambassador for Rotary.
Program Requirements
Selected students will:
- Attend high school in their host country. (Grade placement cannot be guaranteed, and many countries will not accept high-school graduates.)
- Act as an ambassador for Rotary and the United States, sharing customs and adapting to the host country’s culture and customs.
- Demonstrate a willingness to be flexible and open throughout the exchange process.
- Follow the rules, regulations and counseling of the sponsoring and host Rotary clubs and districts. (Rules will be discussed at orientation sessions prior to departure and are not negotiable.)
Parents of the selected student will:
- Pay the application and participation fees.
- Pay costs of passport, language learning, inoculations, other host application fees, gifts, local travel, personal items, additional baggage expenses, not included in the fee.
- Abide by the rules and decisions as set forth by the Rotary Youth Exchange committees and clubs locally and in their student’s host country.
- Pay costs of host club/district’s required language lessons or camps and trips.
Hosting Rotary club/district will:
- Correspond with student prior to arrival, giving pertinent data of the host city, family and school.
- Identify an inbound counselor for the student who will be the student liaison with Rotary, the families and the school in the host country while the student is abroad.
- Meet and transport the student from the arrival destination to the host family.
- Provide one academic year of education in a local high school.
- Be responsible for host families, room and board and the physical well-being of the student while abroad.
- Supervise the student’s activities, opportunities and experiences.
Costs and Deadlines
As a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you are receiving an extremely valuable opportunity. It is estimated that if a student were to pay all expenses associated with a year abroad, it would cost between $15,000 to $25,000 per year. Therefore, if you are selected to represent Rotary, your community, and your country as a Rotary Youth Exchange student, you are in effect receiving an in-kind scholarship, including room and board.
Participation Costs
Students pay a one-time fee of $6,500 which covers:
- Airfare – round trip, open-ended ticket to host country (with one return-date change included)
- Host-country visa expenses and residency permits
- Basic overseas medical/accident/travel insurance
- Orientation sessions (three full days) and materials
- Administrative and travel agency expenses
The club sponsoring the accepted Outbound applicant will cover the cost of:
- RYE blazer, District patch and name badge
- Business cards, Club Banners and District pins for trading while abroad
Not included in the participation fee are costs for passport, host country language camp(s) or pre-exchange language-learning requirements, pre-exchange medical exams or vaccine requirements, gifts, travel while abroad, personal items, additional luggage fees.
The fee is subject to change if there is a significant change in airfare. Should the student discontinue participation in the program, the unused portion of the fee will be refunded, less a service charge, dependent upon time of withdrawal.
While in the exchange country, students will receive a monthly allowance from the host Rotary club for miscellaneous spending. This allowance varies by host country and host club.
Payment Schedule
Payment of the fee is due in increments as follows:
- November: Application fee of $300 due by the time of the interview
- February 1: $2,067
- April 1: $2,067
- June 1: $2,066
For specific details regarding this fee, including the available payment plan, please contact outbound@rye5180.org.