Program Information
If North Star Youth Exchange sounds intriguing, you’ll need to know some important details.
Application Information
Applicants need to apply through their local Rotary club. Your local club will inform you of important deadlines and any application updates, as well as be able to provide more information on the program in your community. If your local Rotary club does not participate in youth exchange, contact the district chair at chair@northstaryouthexchange.com.
The applicant may be male or female. An applicant’s parents do not need to be a member of Rotary; children of Rotarians are also welcome to apply.
Selection Process
Applications are due to your local Rotary club on a date set by them, typically in September or October, and the club will interview you. Successful candidates on at the club level will be interviewed at a district/program level in early December. Deadlines are strict, interviews are mandatory and late applications are rarely accepted. No students will be accepted into the program after the first orientation in January.
A Youth Exchange applicant who is successful in being selected by the Rotary club, and who is then further interviewed and selected by the North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Committee, will have the opportunity for this overseas experience.
Students applying should be prepared to tell about their participation in school and other activities. During their interview, applicants will discuss their knowledge of their community, state and nation, world problems and affairs, and their spirit of helpfulness in the community and home. Both parents must be present at each interview session and, if selected, subsequent orientation sessions. (In one-parent families, only the parent with whom the candidate lives is required to attend.)
Though it is preferred that the student going abroad has studied the language of the country to which s/he is going, fluency is not always a requirement. Students are expected to enroll in an introductory language course prior to departure. During the orientation period, every effort will be made to prepare the student for living abroad. While overseas, the student will live in Rotary-approved homes and is expected to become a member of the host families.
Program Details
Object of the Program
- Further international understanding and goodwill.
- Learn and adapt to another culture, while sharing your own.
Qualifications of Applicants
- At least 15 years of age and not over 19 years at the time of departure. (Most receiving countries require that students are no older than 18 years 6 months.) See Countries page for exact age requirements.
- Student must be a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in high school at time of application.
- Student must demonstrate scholastic competence and be involved in extra-curricular activities.
The Selected Student Will:
- Attend high school in their host country. (Grade placement cannot be guaranteed)
- Act as a student ambassador, sharing customs and adapting to the host country’s culture.
- Demonstrate a willingness to be flexible throughout the exchange process.
- Follow the rules, regulations and counseling of the sponsoring and host Rotary clubs and Rotary districts. Rules will be discussed at orientation sessions prior to departure.
The Parents of the Selected Student Will:
- Pay the participation fee (which includes airfare, orientation materials, basic insurance, blazer, etc.). For students applying in 2010-11, this fee is $5,200.
- Pay costs of passport, visa or residency permit, inoculations, gifts, local travel, personal items.
- Abide by the rules and decisions as set forth by the Rotary International Youth Exchange Committee here and in the host country.
- Pay costs of host country language camp, if required.
Sponsor Rotary Club (sending student) Will:
- Interview and recommend applicants for the Youth Exchange Program.
Rotary Club in Host Country Will:
- Correspond with student prior to arrival, giving pertinent data of the host city and family.
- Meet and transport the student from point of arrival to host family.
- Furnish one year’s education in a high school.
- Be responsible for the physical well-being of the student.
- Supervise the student’s activities, opportunities and experiences.
Costs and Deadlines
The cost of participation in the outbound North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Program for students applying in 2010-2011 is $5,200.
This includes:
- Airfare – round trip, open ended ticket to host country
- Basic overseas health/accident/death insurance
- Orientation sessions (3 half-days)
- Rotary blazer
- Rotary emblem
- Orientation materials
- Business/calling cards
- Pins for trading
- Name badge
Not included in the participation fee are costs of passport, visa or residency permit, host country language camp, inoculations, gifts, local travel, personal items.
Payment of the fee is due in increments as follows:
- January 21, 2012: $1,700
- February 25, 2012: $1,700
- April 21, 2012: $1,800
The fee is subject to change if there is a significant change in airfare. Should the student discontinue participation in the program, the unused portion of the fee will be refunded, less a service charge, dependent upon time of withdrawal. See schedule below.
Financial assistance may be available to the student, based on need. The availability and amount of assistance will be determined by the sponsoring Rotary club and the Youth Exchange Finance Committee.
While in the exchange country, students will receive a monthly allowance from the host Rotary club for miscellaneous spending.
Refund Schedule
The candidate must notify the Rotary District 5950/5960 Youth Exchange Chair or the Youth Exchange Executive Secretary IN WRITING of his/her withdrawal from the Youth Exchange Program:
- On or before January 22, 2011: Full refund
- Between January 23 and February 26, 2011: Refund less $50
- Between February 27 and April 2, 2011: Refund less $300
- On or after April 3, 2011: Refund less $450
Refund will be issued when the following requirements have been met by the candidate:
- Issue a written statement, declaring that you are withdrawing from the North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Mail a copy to:
- Your Sponsor Club Youth Exchange Officer
- Your Country Officer
- The North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Office, 11251 Red Fox Drive, Maple Grove, MN 55369
- Travel One (Attn: Linda Hindal, Riverview Office Tower, #1250, 8009 34th Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55425)
- If you have been provided with the following items, they must be returned to the North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Office in new condition:
- Youth Exchange Blazer
- Youth Exchange Trading Pins
NOTE: If your airline ticket has been issued:
- Any agent fees sustained will be deducted from your refund.
- If it is non-refundable, the ticket amount and any associated agent fees will be deducted from your refund.
- Your refund will be sent to you when the airline has credited our account with Travel One. This takes approximately 4-6 weeks.
Should it be deemed by the North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Committee that the student is not a good fit for the program, the student’s payment will be fully refunded minus any incurred airline fees/costs, when the above requirements have been met.
