Sending my daughter abroad

If you're thinking of a student exchange, at the age of 17, many years ago, I spent a year in Thailand as an exchange student with AFS Intercultural Programs. It is a very respected (began exchange programs in 1947) non profit exchange group that's international but headquartered in the US. I can highly recommend them - changed my life, and yes, I do still speak Thai. They're still operating and are absolutely brilliant. They also do shorter term exchanges, such as for a term or semester, generally in which the student attends a local school in the country they've been sent to. I know they operate extensively both in Europe and Latin America.
The alternative is to send your daughter to university overseas. My son is in the UK and my daughter wants to do her university in France (she is also a keen linguist and has been studying French through high school). But that's a longer term thing.

Have you talked to someone at her high school? A good place to start as she will have to arrange with them to get credit for her overseas visit. I think it may be difficult to find programs just now as I know student exchanges were hit hard during the pandemic.

Hi Tammy, One of my daughters did a summer abroad in Spain with CIS Abroad when in college Sophomore year. It was one of the companies recommended by the school and is located here in the Boston area (although she went to school in Tampa). She had a choice of full immersion living with a host family or apartment/dorm style living with other CIS students. She chose the host family, which in her case turned out to be a wonderful woman who was hosting her and 2 other girls. (this was about 3 years ago).

It was an experience she treasures as she also was able to do a lot of additional traveling on weekends with the people she met. I guess my recommendation for her to be old enough to really get the full experience would be to wait until she is at least a Senior in high school as (at least in my daughter's program) it is not a fully supervised affair. There are group activities and staff on the ground they can go to, but they are not there as chaperones and you may want to make sure she is mature enough to handle that.

There are a lot of programs out there, so maybe there are some that are more structured.

Thank you to those who have relied so far. I will check with her school, but wanted to be aware of all the options. I like the summer abroad as a year seems like an awfully long time.

For high school students, Putney Student Travel is the best (warning: it's expensive). Their website is goputney.com . My daughter did a creative writing course in Ireland the summer before her junior year and loved it. Like Rick Steves, they focus on Europe and have been around for a long time.
Cynthia

My daughter spent a semester in Ferrara, Italy while in college. She lived in a dorm type building of apartments with one other student in her apartment. It was a fabulous experience for her. There were quite a few hoops to jump through (we had to provide proof of financial support and she had to meet with an agent of the Italian Embassy for a brief interview). Her college has partnerships/relationships with programs in many countries. If your daughter is planning on college, she may want to explore offerings like that.

I have some experience in this field.

I'll second the recommendation for AFS (American Field Service) for high school students. They have an extensive network. YFU (Youth for Understanding) is another good choice. Both of these groups have support systems in place for the exchange students and the host families. If problems arise, they can help mediate even to the point of changing families if it just isn't a sustainable fit.

A mature junior or senior in high school is absolutely old enough to handle the intense immersion of a study abroad experience and it's even better with home stay. If your daughter knows she wants to study abroad and you can make it happen, I wouldn't wait until college. There are tangible advantages to establishing a history with a county and relationships with people there when you are still a "kid" (ie in high school) rather than an "adult" (ie in college).

Here is another vote for a summer abroad language program while still in high school. If your daughter is gone during the school year you will need to carefully coordinate her course of study with your daughter's school to make sure that the credits transfer and that they are the correct credits. Many of our exchange students that come here in the United States (at the high school where I worked) ended up taking an additional year of school in order to graduate from their home country's school and they could not graduate from here.

It is not impossible to go for the school year and people do it all the time. It is just something that you need to keep track of. I think summer is a great amount of time for this experience for a younger student.

Rotary International has an exchange program for ages 15-19. Your daughter should contact area Rotary Clubs for application. The local club may offer some financial support while student is in host country.

I'm a teacher who has worked for various study abroad programs, as well as advised students on that process, so this is an exciting question to see!

Lots of good suggestions so far - AFS and YFU are both solid. CIEE and Greenheart are two additional programs I'm familiar with. Rotary is great as well; that said, you do have to be more flexible in where the student goes - Rotary Youth Exchange students rank their countries and typically get something in their top 5.

For semester and year-long programs, earning credits is usually a concern - students typically need to take some summer or online classes to graduate on time; others choose to do an additional year of studies or wait to go on a gap year.

If she also has an interest in any critical languages (like Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, etc.), I highly recommend looking at NSLI-Y - it's a full scholarship program for the summer or academic school year.

It's also possible to do a "build-your-own" program in lots of Spanish-speaking places, where there are schools that will also arrange homestays and keep an eye on their students - Habla in Mérida, Mexico is one that comes to mind as having a great program.

It's important to know (if you don't already) that there are differences between Spanish as spoken in Spain and in Mexico

Very true, Spanish is spoken differently depending on where you are. I learned from Spanish speakers from Mexico and Guatemala primarily, but I've found that I function fine in Spain as well - I'm just not comfortable using vosotros, but I understand it when I hear it!

I did a junior year (college) abroad via Wayne State Michigan although my own college was in Pennsylvania. My location of choice was Munich. From the website, it looks like some options for Spain exist - summer is one. I know my Munich program is still going strong. This really was a life-changing experience. Pretty much I emerged as a functioning adult (well kinda, my mother may have had a different take). Of course, high school programs will be more structured in some ways. So yeah, I guess I am endorsing this as a great idea.

Thank you Amy and Debbie, very helpful!

As a Spanish speaker who learned Latin American Spanish, your daughter won’t have much of a problem studying there. Yes, Spain uses vosotros form but it’s not much different than studying abroad in the UK and using American English. She will be understood but pronunciation and some words are different.

Hi- high school counselor here. I also studied abroad in college and now live abroad (Korea, Thailand, now Jordan). Lots of good advice here so far.
Your daughter should start with her high school counselor. Depending on your school, her counselor could have 500, 600, 700 kids on their caseload but he/she is the best place to start. Her counselor could have some information or lots- your daughter will be the one in charge of this search.
A summer is a good length of time for most high schoolers. Keep in mind that teens in Spain (where I studies abroad in college) have loads more freedom than your typical American teenager. A homestay will be a way more immersive experience. I would wait until summer after her junior or maybe even senior year. The program will probably be quite expensive, as a heads up.
Another really good option for down the road is to study abroad in college (or maybe even attend college overseas, as others have suggested). I studied in southern Spain for a semester my junior year; part of the reason I attended the college I did was because they had one of the best study abroad programs in the country. There are a few others with really great programs but it's possible to do it from just about anywhere, and you're usually paying your same tuition plus the flight- and earning the credit.
Happy searching!

I spent a month in Germany during the summer between my junior and senior years in high school and highly recommend any kind of travel or study abroad experience for a young person. The program was through Youth for Understanding and the American Association of Teachers of German. My German teacher recommended me for the program. We were a group of 20 students from the West Coast and we met up each day to learn about the culture and prep for visits to local sites. It changed my life and broadened my outlook in a way that I don’t think anything else could have. I made some lifelong friends and gained the confidence to travel further in Europe as I got older. One of the best experiences of my life. I hope your daughter finds the right program for her.

I spent my junior year of high school in a European country with Rotary Youth Exchange and it was a wonderful year. Certainly, there were challenges like homesickness, adjusting to a new school system, etc., but it was well worth it. The language skills I gained benefited me in college and professionally, I made great friends and am still in contact with host families, and I definitely gained a lot of maturity in that year.

The benefit of going for a year over a summer program is that you really do become part of a school class, a family, etc. and your language and cultural skills really do improve greatly. The risk of a summer program is that, since you're just passing through, you don't forge great bonds, you end up reverting to English a lot more, and your language skills really don't develop nearly as well.

I likewise spent a semester in college in another country, and while I enjoyed that experience, I didn't find it as culturally immersive since I was living in a dorm vs. with a family, and it was a lot easier to revert to English, especially since there were a number (maybe 15%) of international students in my dorm. So, when it comes down to improving language skills and really immersing yourself in a culture, going on a high school program will beat almost any college study abroad program.

That said, it should definitely be your daughter's decision on whether or not she might be interested in doing a summer program, semester, or full year. If she doesn't want a longer program, then it's for the best that she go for a shorter amount of time. As others have said, if she might stay for a semester or year, it's important to connect with your child's guidance counselor to see how that can be handled. I was lucky in that my school was willing to work with my school overseas and I got enough credits that I didn't need to repeat a year, just take a U.S. government class that one typically takes as a junior during the summer after I got back from Europe. Another option for a longer exchange may be to take a gap year exchange after graduating high school but before starting college.

On programs, whether it's for a summer or longer, it's important to do your due diligence on the program your daughter participates in, as some are well run and have safety procedures in place, and others leave students more vulnerable to problems. Rotary, AFS, YFU, and CIEE mentioned here are well known and generally well run. There are also other reputable programs, but just make sure you do the appropriate research on how volunteers are vetted, whether host families are paid to host (which can result in families doing it for the money rather than because they care about the student), etc. As others have pointed out, you often have to have a degree of flexibility in your destination with Rotary, though talk it over with the Rotary Youth Exchange folks from your district to see how they handle country assignment.

Good luck!

She sounds like a terrific kid :)
It's worth looking into scholarships to support her study abroad. She certainly seems like a good candidate for a merit-based scholarship. Then she will have a real sense of pride in her trip!
Wishing her all the best.

Going on an exchange program is a great way to learn languages and explore cultures. It is a great way to experience what it's like to live in another country, away from one's comfort zone. Learning a new language and culture will help your daughter to evolve as a person and develop her own identity. Knowing that your daughter is studying abroad program will be very helpful in her growth. It will help her to interact with different people from different cultures. She will become more confident, conquer her insecurities and learn to deal with any situation. She will learn how to solve the problems on her own. She will become independent. There is a self-motivated person in her, so you should trust and let her decide what she wants to do. You can be proud that you have a smart daughter like her. Convey my wishes to her.

I had a SIL who spent her senior year of high school in Germany. She lived with her aunt near Cologne, so she didn't have to search for a host family. She was a decent student but had trouble maintaining grades. Even a C in English was an uphill battle. She survived and her memories were pleasant, if not life changing.

For a couple of years, my daughter’s summer job, pre Fulbright and pre grad school, was as one of the activities directors (doing the non-academic portion in the afternoons) for the Paris French Immersion for high school students by Oxbridge. They have such a program in Spain as well. It sure sounded like a lot of fun to me.