High School Exchange Program

Through CETUSA’s high school exchange program, students from 20+ countries have the opportunity to live for one semester or school year with a volunteer U.S. host family attending an American high school. Host families choose their student from a pool of available students.

When you host an exchange student, you gain a new family member and experience the cultural adventure of a lifetime!

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Information for US High Schools
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Who can participate?

CETUSA only admits students into the program after a thorough application and review process. All students who are accepted must:

  • Be between the ages of 14 and 18 upon arrival to the United States.
  • Have a minimum of three years of English language studies
  • Pass a written and verbal English proficiency exam.
  • Have a minimum of a C grade point average.

CETUSA implements a rigorous vetting process in cooperation with our overseas partners to ensure students are academically, socially, and emotionally ready for to succeed in their exchange program.

How does it work?

Once a student is accepted into CETUSA’s high school exchange program, a CETUSA local coordinator connects the student with a US family who is excited to host an exchange student. (First-time host families often become repeat host families!) The local coordinator helps the family submit their host family application and select their exchange student based on the family’s daily life, interests, and activities.

Exchange students arrive in the US about one week before the first day of school at their US high school. Every host family has the ongoing support of a dedicated local coordinator for the duration of the program.