High School Exchange
Norwegian high school students who are interested in a year’s study at an American high school have two main choices
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NB: Many Norwegian students want to study one year at an American high school while living with relatives or friends in the U.S. Unfortunately, today this is virtually impossible, due to the introduction of a new, electronic student visa database (SEVIS). In order to issue the necessary visa documentation for students to receive a visa in their passport, schools must register and invest in expensive computer software. Most public high schools have chosen not to do this, because of the high costs involved. Public high schools will accept students through exchange programs. The other option for foreign high school students are private boarding schools. |
Some private boarding schools will accept students between the ages of 12-18 from overseas. The fees are usually quite high, $15,000-20,000 per year, and include tuition, room and board. The school itself is then considered the “legal guardian”. There are many different types of boarding schools-military, remedial (for students with learning problems), but many are known as “prep-schools”, that is, preparatory schools, whose main goal is to give proper and rigorous training in order that students gain admission to the college or university of choice. Our office has several reference books with listings of private boarding schools in the U.S. A free publication, Boarding Schools Directory, is published annually, by:
The Association of Boarding Schools
1620 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
USA
The directory is also available from their website:
http://www.schools.com/
Formal exchange programs have been in operation for many years. Programs are offered through “non-profit” organizations that offer students from around the world a year in a foreign high school. The organization places the student in a host family, arranges for travel and the “I-20” and any other documents which might be necessary. The organization usually has several representatives in the U.S.which students may contact in case there are any problems. The cost of a year abroad is paid by the student. Contact the following organizations:
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AFS-Intercultural Programs |
Aspect |
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EF High School Year |
STS High School Foundation |
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Youth for Understanding (YFU) |
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