Information for parents

Since 1947, AFS has prepared young people with practical skills, knowledge and more needed to thrive in a global world. Today we’ve enhanced these 21st Century competencies by introducing a new state-of-the-art AFS Learning Journey Curriculum so you can follow along as your student grows. Many universities and employers seek students and young adults who have a sense of the world beyond their own communities—and are comfortable interacting with people from other countries and cultures.

Why should my child go abroad with AFS?

With over 75 years experience, AFS has an exceptional reputation for providing quality international programmes that develop skills essential to succeed in the 21st Century. The AFS experience:

Builds confidence, broadens perspectives and enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Includes respected intercultural education and language learning components that are valued by universities and employers.
Offers fun adventures that makes learning easy and meaningful to teens.
Provides lifelong access to a global community of friends, connections and volunteer opportunities.

What types of programmes does AFS offer?

AFS offers a variety of programmes for students. They can attend a local secondary school in another country as a full-time student during an academic year, semester or trimester. Cultural immersion, language study, volunteer opportunities, and single topic courses (such as investigating environmental issues or studying new technology) are short-term opportunities lasting several weeks up to three months.

Where will my child live?

Most AFS students live with a volunteer host family. AFS host families are carefully chosen, screened and prepared to welcome AFS students into their homes. Once the student’s application is accepted, local AFS volunteers and staff will identify a community and family that are right for your child. Or, depending on the programme and country, some students may live in dormitories with home stays on weekends, others stay in camp-like settings.

How will AFS support my student?

The health, safety and well-being of our students is the number one priority for AFS. AFS volunteers and staff are committed and trained to support students and their families throughout the AFS experience. AFS has consistent guidelines that apply to all AFS Organisations. All AFS Organisations also have a local 24-hour emergency contact number that is always monitored.

How much does an AFS exchange cost?

Each programme has a different price due to insurance, cost of living and support costs in each country.

Our administration fee of $450 is the first payment you will make at the time of submitting your full online application. You will then receive a payment schedule for your fees over 4 payments across 6 months prior to your departure.

There are scholarships and funding available, and some students fundraise for the money. Every year hundreds of exchange students raise money to do an exchange.

To get started, send us an enquiry about the destination or programme your child is interested in.

What are the housing options?

AFS host families come from all walks of life. Students may be hosted in an inner-city apartment, a suburban home, a farm in the country or anywhere in between.
Although much less common, some students live in dormitories, with weekend homestays to experience everyday life in a new community. For a very few short-term programs, students may even live in camp-like settings, if appropriate.
Once a student’s application is accepted, AFS volunteers and staff in the host country will look for a community and family that are right for that student. We encourage students to be as open and flexible as possible when it comes to placement.
All living facilities and situations are inspected and closely monitored by AFS throughout the exchange experience.

What about Security & Insurance?

The health, safety and well-being of our students is the number one priority for AFS. AFS volunteers and staff are committed and trained to support students and their families throughout the AFS experience. AFS has consistent guidelines that apply to all AFS member organisations. All AFS member organisations also have a local 24-hour emergency contact number that is always monitored.

Most AFS programmes provide comprehensive travel medical insurance for accidents and illness to our participants while on the programme, which includes medical repatriation and additional benefits not often found on travel medical policies.

What is the AFS intercultural learning programme?

The AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum covers the AFS experience before, during and after your child’s exchange programme. The programme has three primary goals to help your child:

Become more comfortable with their new family and school.
Learn how to communicate with and make friends with people from different cultures.
Begin developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that young global citizens need to compete, live, study, work, volunteer and become leaders in an increasingly diverse and global world.

The AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum is based on the 16 AFS Educational Goals (developed by AFS international experts in intercultural learning) and is facilitated by trained AFS volunteers and staff. It Includes fun and informative orientation sessions in your home and host countries to help students prepare and enjoy their AFS exchange.

The The AFS Educational Goals are designed to help students improve in four areas:

Personal values and skills: As a result of their experiences, students learn how to turn difficult situations into valuable opportunities for personal growth. They are challenged to reassess their values, stretch their capacities and practice new life skills while learning more about themselves. Students usually become more confident, improve their creative and critical thinking skills and learn how to solve their own problems.

Interpersonal relationship building: AFS students become fully involved in daily living and working arrangements with a variety of people in the new environment. This may include host families, community residents, educators and other students. These skills are transferable to many other settings during your child’s lifetime. Being part of a family, school and community improves their communication and language skills and teaches young people how to work more effectively in groups and teams.

(Inter)cultural knowledge and sensitivity: The AFS exchange experience deepens students’ insights into their home culture as well as their knowledge of their host (or visiting) cultures—both strengths and weaknesses. Learning how to appreciate other cultures helps students value cultural and other difference, and how differences make our world a stronger more interesting place.

Global issues awareness: Students learn to appreciate and empathise with different perspectives on global issues and concerns, and thus appreciate that workable solutions often need to be culturally sensitive to succeed. Our goal is to encourage and empower students to work with others to help build a more peaceful and just world—at home or across the globe.

How does AFS help my child adapt to a new family, school and community?

Combining real-world experiences and the AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum materials, AFS volunteers, staff and host families help students:

Learn how to turn challenging situations into valuable opportunities for personal growth
Discover new ways to solve problems
Practise new life skills in cross-cultural settings
Learn to respect and value differences
Enjoy exciting experiences that help young global citizens shape and define their place in increasingly diverse and internationalised schools, communities and workplaces
Practise being a leader and collaborating across differences.

Will my child fit in with young people in another country?

Most students are concerned about fitting in, especially when they don’t speak the language. Facing challenges is an important part of the experience, but most AFS students adjust, make friends and have fun in the process—and the AFS trained volunteers and staff help them every step of the way.

One way to learn more about studying abroad and what’s it’s like to make friends in other countries is to meet other AFSers in your home country. Visit our social media to connect.

How does NCEA/IB work?

You can our guide to information about NCEA and IB here

We also highly recommend sitting down with your dean/form teacher to create a credit schedule for the year. This will help you and your child feel secure in the decision of going on programme without compromising credits. AFS is more than possible, find a teacher who knows about AFS!

If university or a trade apprenticeship is the way you choose to go post AFS, it is also a good idea to figure out what may be needed for this. Discretionary entry is something to look into. Have a look through the guide above!