Summer Short-Term Exchange Program (STEP)
Frequently Asked Questions for Students and Parents
- What makes a good candidate for a Summer Short-Term Exchange Program aka Family-to-Family, or STEP?
- Students age 15-18 who are curious about other countries, want to learn a new language, and are excited to spend more than a month with a new brother or sister from another country.
- Students who may not be able to do the long-term, school-year Rotary Youth Exchange program due to family, work, or school conflicts.
- Students who are interested in participating in the long-term program sometime in the future.
- Students and families that are willing and able to engage a student during the summer and share their culture and life with them.
- How is STEP different from long-term exchange?
- STEP Family-to-Family is approximately a two-month summer experience in which two families are paired together and exchange a student. Both students are in each country, together, at the same time. The long-term program requires students to be in a foreign country for 10-11 months, attend school, and typically have more than one host family.
- STEP Students do not typically need a visa. (Starting in 2024, U.S. passport holders traveling to Europe will need to apply for authorization through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) before their visit.)
- Students and families communicate with each other to coordinate exact exchange dates and travel information.
- How much does it cost to participate in STEP?
- Rotary District 6220 requires a $250 application fee which covers insurance, orientation, background check fees, and processing fees. District 6220 purchases health insurance for the student from the time their plane leaves, to the time they touch back down in the U.S.
- All airline travel, travel insurance, spending money, incidentals, etc., are covered by the participants’ family.
- Host families are expected to provide food, housing, and all other such costs to your foreign student, just as you would your own child.
- How are matches made?
- Information is exchanged between District & Country Short-Term Exchange Coordinators from across the world, including age, gender, interests, and country preference.
- Once coordinators believe they have a match, they exchange student applications and review these in detail for compatibility.
- After coordinators review applications and believe they have a good match, they share information to families to approve the match.
- If both families agree to a match, then a match will be finalized, and students and families can start communicating.
For more questions, contact:
Gage Beck, STEP Coordinator