Each year over 30,000 high school students choose to be foreign exchange students. Why choose to go somewhere that’s not familiar? Some think it’s a good opportunity to learn about new places, others simply feel like it might be a better way to learn. When people who aren’t foreign exchange students or who are just curious about it think about what it’s like and they have a different perspective then the people who are foreign exchange students. In an interview with Teodore Ripka he tells us, “The application process was very time consuming and was a little stressful but not too bad, the change in countries was a little weird but it didn’t really impact me emotionally other than being a little sad leaving my friends from back home. We didn’t have to have a certain GPA but i think good grades impact on if we are able to go or not, we did get to choose which general country we wanted to go to but state and town wise we didn’t get a choice of where we go. I learned more about traditions and certain celebrations that happen in america. ”  As he tells us it definitely wasn’t the easiest thing for him to do. Country to what most people might believe, this shows that there are two sides to things like studying abroad.

Now adults might have a different perspective on studying abroad and the whole process for it, it can be a very emotional time for the parents of kids who leave to study abroad. It might also be a very stressful time for the adults in charge of figuring out everything and seeing if the kid is eligible to study abroad.  Faculty members at the other schools have a different perspective on this topic than the teen might, in an interview with Gabby Woods she tells us, “The program started in 1979, and a federal company started the program it wasn’t a specific school that did, Students from our school can go to other countries but they tend to not want to go somewhere different, for students to come here they have to be semi-fluent in English and they have to have a transcript. The kids put together a get to know me paper and then parents go through the agency and they get to decide who they want to take in for the year, most of the foreign exchange students do excel in there time at Skyline especially the ones who participate and get more involved with school clubs or sports, It’s not as stressful on my part I have to do twice the amount of paperwork and have to check a lot more information then a normal student but it isn’t super stressful. “ In this interview it’s showing a very different perspective on studying abroad, it helps people further understand how difficult it is to study abroad.

Only about 188,753 students are able to study abroad each year. Nationally, they have to be pretty fluent in other languages such as English, or the main language spoken in the country they go to. Foreign exchange students also have to have a visa and other important documents to complete the application process since they would be going into a different country. It costs about $10,000 to $25,000 to do the foreign exchange student program per year, which includes all the travel, entry, visa, and other paperwork expenses that go along with being a foreign exchange student. Not only is it expensive but it also takes a lot of effort and time. Being a foreign exchange student is a great way to learn about other countries and cultures, it’s also a great way to travel and see more of the world and the amazing things that are in it. I would encourage more people to go and enjoy a year studying abroad learning new things.