Rotary Youth Exchange Program (YEP) is a one-year cultural exchange to a foreign country.   The exchange students usually live with 3 host families and attend the local school.   The student becomes a member of the host family and of the community in which he/she lives.   During the exchange the student learns the language, customs, traditions, and culture of the host country.   Additionally the student is an ambassador of our country, providing insight about our customs and culture.   While the YEP is not a travel program, the students do get opportunities to travel and visit areas of local and national interest.

In the hosting country a local Rotary club sponsors and oversees the student.   Host families are selected and screened by the hosting Rotary club.   Members of the hosting club serve as uncles/aunts to the student providing assistance, oversight, and ensures he/she participates in Rotary youth activities.   The student will participate in Rotary activities of the hosting club and Rotary district.

The Rotary District 7170, of which our club is a member, sends and receives between 40-50 exchange students each year.   The District spans the southern tier of New York from Cooperstown on the east to Trumansburg on the west.   While our District is not one of the most populous in the country, we are among the top for the number of students exchanged.   This is the result of the District's members who run and organize the Exchange Program are very enthusiastic, dedicated, and strongly committed to the ideals and world benefits of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

A student may request to be placed in a specific country, however, that choice cannot be guaranteed.   It is necessary for the student to be open and receptive to placement in other countries.

Students accepted into the program should be flexible, adaptable, willing to try new things and have an outgoing personality.   Top academic achievement is not mandatory, but if a student is struggling academically then school in a foreign country will be difficult.

• Application is made through this club.   See Who Do I Contact?, below.
• Applications are available on CD from this club's contact.
• Interview with members of this club are held in late September and early October.
• A Passport Fair is held in mid-October for students and their parents to learn about all of the exchange countries.
• District interviews are held in early November.
• Selected students and their parents are prepared for the exchange year through a series of orientations and other events held from February through June.

When asked of a Lansing family what they estimated the cost for their son to be in an exchange student was, they said it was around $4,000, but they may have actually saved money because of all the food they did not need to buy while he was away!

      Typical Costs

• Application and acceptance fees: ~ $200
• Airfare: $700 - $2,200
• Insurance: $200 - $400
• Passport & Visa: ~ $100
• Miscellaneous: ~ $2,000 (Depends on student's spending habits)