When deciding to host an exchange student you have time period options. The organization I work with is for high school exchange, so the students attend school, this is what I will talking about. I know there are summer programs but I have not dealt with them.
Options:
Full Year: traditionally August/September till the end of the school year May/June OR for Korean students, they start in January stay the summer and leave again in January or December.
Half Year: either Fall semester or Spring semester; so starting August/September till January or January till the end of school in May/June.
We have only ever done full year students. We have found that students get used to you and America and come out of their shell at different rates and the full year gives us more time for them to come around. Some students are open and ready to accept everything from day one but others take a lot of time. The thing that angers me most about our 2020 year getting cut short because of the coronavirus was that one of our students was finally coming out of her heavily guarded shell, she was finally making friends and trusting that we had her back and then she had to go home. And it breaks my hear that she couldn’t develop that and see what could have been. Plus there is so much in both semesters that we love to share: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in the Fall, and prom, spring break trips, and graduation in the Spring.
But half year students definitely have their pros. One being that you have half a year to plan other things for your family, perhaps a vacation. There is less commitment so it’s also a good way to be introduced to hosting exchange students. Or if you do not like the idea of double hosting but would like to have two students within a year you can host one student for the fall and then a different student for the spring. The key with half year students is that not all schools will work with them, so you will need to check with your IEC or the school itself to see if they do. It is also important to note that some fall half year students will change their minds and want to stay the full year, you are not obligated to keep them of course because you signed up for the half year. But if you want to keep them, yay! And if not, that’s okay and the student usually can find a family within their friend group, or the IEC will look. But there is no guarantee that a student that wishes to turn their half year into a full year will be allowed to, there are lot of factors that go into deciding if they can stay.
Hosting exchange students is a fantastic experience no matter how long you choose to do it. You will have to decide what will work for you and your family: a full year or a half year student.
If you are interested in hosting please contact me!
