Programs
Long Term Exchange Program
The Experience of a Lifetime
The Long Term Exchange Program, or LTEP, is the signature Rotary Youth Exchange program that allows high school and gap-year students to live abroad and study for an academic year. Students should be prepared to commit 10 to 12 months as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Long Term Exchange Program.
As administered by RMRYE, LTEP is open to applicants in District 5450 between the ages of 15 years and six months, and 18 years at the time of departure from the United States. Please note, however, that some of our exchange partners may impose age guidelines and regulations that are different from District 5450. This means that even when a student is compliant with RMRYE age requirements, he/she may not be accepted in a district with which we exchange.
Ready to go outbound on the Long Term Exchange Program?
Program Details
Rules & Conditions
- You must obey the laws of the host country. If found guilty of violating any law, you can expect no assistance from your sponsors or native country. You must return home at your own expense as soon as released by authorities.
- You will be under the host district’s authority while you are an exchange student and must abide by the rules and conditions of exchange provided by the host district. Parents or legal guardians must not authorize any extra activities directly to you. Any relatives you may have in the host country will have no authority over you while you are in the program.
- You are not allowed to possess or use illegal drugs. Legal medications that are prescribed to you by a physician are allowed.
- The illegal drinking of alcoholic beverages is expressly forbidden. Students who are of legal age should refrain. If your host family offers you an alcoholic drink, it is permissible to accept it under their supervision in the home. Excessive consumption and drunkenness is forbidden.
- You may not operate a motorized vehicle, including but not limited to cars, trucks, motorcycles, aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, and other watercraft, or participate in driver education programs.
- Smoking is discouraged. If you state in your application that you do not smoke, you will be held to that position throughout your exchange. Your acceptance and host family placement is based on your signed statement. Under no circumstances are you to smoke in your host family’s bedrooms.
- Body piercing or obtaining a tattoo while on your exchange, without the express written permission of your natural parents, host parents, host club, and host district, is prohibited, for health reasons.
- You must make every effort to learn the language of the host country, and may be responsible for any costs for tutoring, language camps, or other instruction.
- Limit your use of the Internet and mobile phones, as directed by your host district, host club, and host family. Excessive or inappropriate use is not acceptable. Accessing or downloading pornographic material is expressly forbidden.
- You must attend school regularly and make an honest attempt to succeed.
- You must have travel insurance that provides medical and dental coverage for accidental injury and illness, death benefits (including repatriation of remains), disability / dismemberment benefits, emergency medical evacuation, emergency visitation expenses, 24- hour emergency assistance services, and legal services, in amounts satisfactory to the host Rotary club or district in consultation with the sponsor Rotary club or district, with coverage from the time of your departure from your home country until your return.
- You must have sufficient financial support to assure your well-being during your exchange. Your host district may require a contingency fund for emergency situations. Unused funds will be returned to you or to your parents or legal guardians at the end of your exchange.
- You must follow the travel rules of your host district. Travel is permitted with host parents or for Rotary club or district functions authorized by the host Rotary club or district with proper adult chaperones. The host district and club, host family, and your parents or legal guardians must approve any other travel in writing, thus exempting Rotary of responsibility and liability.
- You must return home directly by a route mutually agreeable to your host district and your parents or legal guardians.
- Any costs related to an early return home or any other unusual costs (language tutoring, tours, etc.) are the responsibility of you and your parents or legal guardians.
- Visits by your parents or legal guardians, siblings, or friends while you are on exchange may only take place with the host club’s and district’s consent and within their guidelines. Typically, visits may be arranged only in the last quarter of the exchange or during school breaks and are not allowed during major holidays.
- Serious romantic activity is to be avoided. Sexual activity is forbidden.
- Talk with your host club counselor, host parents, or other trusted adult if you encounter any form of abuse or harassment.
Financial Obligations
What are the Estimated Costs to our Outbound Applicant and Candidate?
The student receives free room and board from their host families, which act in loco parentis. The student pays no tuition costs even if the host club enrolls the student in a private school. The student receives a monthly stipend of about US$100 from his or her hosting Rotary club. Here is a detailed list of estimated financial obligations:
PRELIMINARY APPLICATION FEE
- $200 submitted with preliminary application to the sponsoring club
- Fee will be applied to the total application fee
- Due by November 1 to following link – Application for Interview Weekend – Rocky Mountain Rotary Youth Exchange
- Payable to RMRYE on line
- Application fee pays for cost at interview weekend. (Meals)
Interview Weekend is Mandatory for Students and Parents. One parent must attend the entire weekend with student and both parents must be present Saturday afternoon from 1:30-4:30. (check Calendar for annual dates)
FINAL COMPLETE APPLICATION FEE
- $1,900 submitted with the remainder of the full application
- In combination with the preliminary fee, this completes the total application fee of $2,100
- Due by January 15 to the respective country contact
- Payable to RMRYE
- Application fee covers, blazer, sweatshirt, t-shirt, meals (lunch and snacks) at orientations, pins, business cards, mail costs for committee, and other fees to support in bound students for school requirement
REFUND POLICY
- $1700- if student is not placed in a Foreign District
- $1500 if students withdraw after placement before March 1st
- No refund if student is placed in Foreign District and withdraws After March 1st
REQUIRED INSURANCE
The insurance provider for students leaving Colorado for their exchange is determined by the host country. The requirement for specific countries is discussed at the Interview Weekend in December and can be obtained from the relevant Country Contact.
- If the host country requires the student to purchase their local insurance (in the exchange country) the cost will range from approximately $500 to $1,600
Families can choose to purchase additional coverage from our Insurance vendor CISI Bolduc. More information may be found here:
EMERGENCY FUND
- This amount varies by host country. It is typically $500. If you do not use it, it is returned to you before you travel back home at the end of the exchange.
EXPENSES
- Open end round trip airline ticket good for one year- Miles MAY NOT be used to purchase this type of ticket. You will work with our Travel Partner It's Your World Travel.
- Extra spending funds
- Some districts offer end-of-year bus trips with associated fees. Some Rotary clubs may help with these extra expenses.
- Certain countries offer and require a language camp at the beginning of the exchange. There is likely an extra fee for these.
Our Current Exchange Partners
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
Gap-Year Information
Considerations for a Gap-Year Exchange
A gap-year exchange student is one who spends an extra year in high school compared to the typical duration. In the U.S., where the typical duration is four years, a gap-year student will spend five years in high school, including the year spent abroad.
Gap-year exchange students participating in the program between their senior year of high school and the freshman year of college often apply for college in their senior year and then request college deferral.
CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) limits athletic eligibility to eight (8) continuous semesters. Gap-year students returning to U.S. high school are not eligible to play sports their senior (5th) year. CHSAA is firm on this issue and does not consider participation in the exchange program as a mitigating circumstance warranting special consideration.
Many high schools in Colorado will grant enough academic credits to a Rotary exchange student during his or her year abroad to allow the student to graduate in four years, including the year spent abroad. Prospective exchange students anticipating this outcome should obtain agreements in writing from appropriate school officials.
Travel & Transportation
Travel for LTEP Participants
Inbounders to District 5450:
For inbound students traveling within the state of Colorado, the host family needs to inform only the Youth Exchange Officer and Country Contact of where the family will be traveling and how they may be reached. For travel outside of Colorado, a Travel Permission Form MUST be completed. The planned trip must be described in detail, including contact information. The student may fax or email the permission form to his/her natural parents for their signatures. The natural parents may return the signed form to indicate approval of the trip.
Outbounders from District 5450:
It’s important for all outbound students to remember you’re on an academic exchange, not a travel exchange. All travel plans must be approved by your hosting district and be in accordance with their rules and regulations. This includes any travel with natural parents from District 5450 who choose to visit their son or daughter.
Applying to LTEP
LTEP ApplicationLTEP Application Requirements
- Between the age of 15 years, 6 months and 18 years, inclusive, at the time the exchange begins (typically in July or August, but earlier and later departures are also not uncommon)
- RMRYE applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the U.S. and must have a valid passport in time to apply for a year-long student visa. They must reside in Rotary District 5450.
- Applicants may be children of Rotarians or non-Rotarians; applicants related to Rotarians receive no special privileges given to relatives or friends of Rotarians
- A local Rotary Club must sponsor the student and verify the student’s qualifications
- Must be able to be a good ambassador for Rotary and home country
- Socially ready to handle living abroad for an extended period
- Exchange students attend high school and have student immigration status; the host district will choose the school, and there will be no tuition charged to the student
- Must be able to attend mandatory departure orientations with parents or guardians
Outbound Students
Your World Is Waiting.
And it is your world. When you go on a Rotary Youth Exchange program, the experience you have is mostly up to you. Just like in life, a positive outlook matters.
Are you the type of person who can make the best of tough situations? Are you adaptable? Do you like new adventures and meeting new people? Are you curious about other languages and cultures? Do you like to try new foods? Can you represent your family, your community, and your country in a way that won’t just make them proud, but make you proud?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, being an outbound exchange student might be the right fit for you. Are you ready to find out? Request LTEP Application
Inbound Students
Welcome to Colorful Colorado!
Getting off the plane in a foreign country where you barely know the language is a scary experience, especially when you’re moving there for an entire school year.
But you didn’t land in a “foreign country.” You landed in Colorful Colorado with snow-capped mountains, 300 days of sunshine, and an amazing support network of District 5450 Rotarians who will help make your exchange as successful as you want it to be. But it is your exchange. The experience you have is largely up to you, so make the most of it.
Why Participate in an Exchange
Exposure to new cultures and ways of life can foster a better understanding between people from different lands. That understanding can be the foundation upon which lasting peace and harmony can someday rest. Rotary Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures, thus planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
Students reap many rewards from an exchange experience including:
- Benefiting from immersion in another culture while adapting to a new way of life
- Improving foreign language skills in some instances
- Making lifelong friends, not only within the host country but also with other students from around the world
- Learning about the practices and accomplishments of people in other countries
- Returning home with a greater sense of the world and a deeper understanding of themselves and their culture
- Assuming leadership roles shaped by lessons from the experience
- Improving resumés for college or job applications
- Building memories that may last forever
- Participants benefit their community by serving as an ambassador for their country and community.
Ideal Youth Exchange candidates are young, open-minded individuals who demonstrate leadership qualities that will enable them to become excellent cultural ambassadors for their country and the Rotary club or district that supports them. Applicants are not required to be involved with Rotary in any way before applying. Children of Rotarians are welcome to participate, but are not given any preference. Students with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Our Current Exchange Partners
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkiye
Recommendations for a Successful Exchange
- Learn ahead of time as much of the language of your host country as possible, and use the language regularly when abroad. Teachers, host parents, Rotary club members, and others you meet in the community will appreciate the effort. It will go a long way in your gaining acceptance in the community and with those who will become lifelong friends.
- You should communicate with your first host family before leaving your home country. The family’s information will be provided to you by your host club or district before your departure.
- Respect your host’s wishes. Become an integral part of the host family, assuming duties and responsibilities normal for a student of your age or for children in the family.
- Attend Rotary-sponsored events and host family events, and show an interest in these activities. Volunteer to be involved; do not wait to be asked. Lack of interest on your part is detrimental to your exchange and can have a negative impact on future exchanges.
- Get involved in your school and community activities. Plan your recreation and spare-time activities around your school and community friends. Don’t spend all your time with other exchange students. If there is a local Interact club, you are encouraged to join it.
- Choose friends in the community carefully. Ask for and heed the advice of host families, counselors, and school personnel in choosing friends.
- Do not borrow money. Pay any bills promptly. Ask permission to use the family phone or computer, keep track of all calls and time on the Internet, and reimburse your host family each month for the costs you incur.
- If you are offered an opportunity to go on a trip or attend an event, make sure you understand any costs you must pay and your responsibilities before you go.
Top 10 Tips on How to Be a Successful Exchange Student
- Do not ask to do things that you know you may not do. Accept the fact that rules exist and abide by them.
- Write thank-you notes and express appreciation often. Anytime someone entertains you or gives you something, write a thank-you.
- Get involved. Stay engaged. Share news from home with your host family. Be willing to try new things.
- When arriving at a new host family, immediately ask your host parents about the rules and responsibilities you have as a member of their family.
- Offer to cook a meal for your host family at least once.
- Learn to strike a happy balance between spending too much time alone in your room and spending too much time with your host family. Remember everybody needs some time to be alone; you do, and so do your host parents and brothers and sisters. But nobody likes an exchange student who spends much of the spare time alone. Be creative with your spare time.
- Always make sure your host family knows where you are. Be sure to inform them where you are going and when you will return. If you are late, your family will worry. Call them if you cannot return home by the expected time.
- If your host parents are doing a project around the house, offer to help. Always offer to help set the table or clean up after meals.
- Make your bed in the morning, and keep your room neat. Coordinate your laundry schedule with the rest of the family.
- Don’t spend too much discretionary time on the computer, browsing, Skyping, and such. Never text while at the dinner table. If being driven by an adult, do not talk on the cell phone or text during all or most of the trip. The driver is not a chauffeur.
General Advice on Packing
- YE participants may find that clothing styles abroad differ somewhat from those at home. Generally, participants coming to Colorado from abroad will be able to supplement their wardrobe with American-style clothes at a surprisingly low cost.
- Colorado participants may find that purchasing new clothes abroad to be quite expensive. Going native in terms of fashion may prove prohibitively costly. Therefore, take exactly what you will need for yourself, leaving room for small gifts and souvenirs for your host families.
- Pack coordinated clothes.
- Take clothes that fit a wide range of occasions, including formal. For instance, pack one pair of dress shoes.
- Don’t take five pairs of shoes. You won’t wear them.
- If your pants fit perfectly before you go, they may not fit properly after several months.
- Closet space abroad may be limited!
- Don’t bring non-essential electrical appliances and electronics. Make sure that you have the appropriate plug adapters and converters for the appliances and electronics that you take.
- If you wear contact lenses, pack extra solution and lenses, and take a pair of eyeglasses.
- In your carry-ons, pack essential and important items. Consider taking a bulky or heavy clothing item onto the plane. A heavy sweater, if needed, may serve as pillow or blanket for the flight. Carrying it onto the plane will free weight and space in the luggage or carry-on.
- Be prepared to have to repack your carry-ons after you go through security.
- Make sure you carry on your person telephone numbers for your host family and for important Rotary contacts abroad, your passport, ticket, and money and/or credit cards.
- Think about the old travel adage: When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
Note: For your traveling and for your flights to and from your host country, be sure to dress as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Wear your blazer. This will help other RYE students identify you. If there are any Rotarians in the airport, they will be able to identify you, as well, and will likely approach you and offer their assistance if needed.
Bring Gifts and Souvenirs
Bring gifts for your host families, your friends, your teachers, or anyone else you expect to meet. These do not have to be expensive, but something typical of Colorado or the Southwest is suggested. Consider postcards of the Rocky Mountains or Denver Broncos gear. In addition, smaller tokens of appreciation should be brought for others who may assist you during the year.
For Rotary, don’t forget about club banners. Every Rotary club has a banner, and exchanging these banners is an important function of Rotary. Your sponsoring Rotary club should provide you with a few club banners to present to your host club and any club you visit on your exchange. Don’t forget to bring the banners given to you back to your sponsoring club when you return.
Consider House Rules
Consider some of the following and see if they apply in your host family:
- If you opened it, close it.
- If you turned it on, turn it off.
- If you unlocked it, lock it.
- If you broke it, admit it.
- If you cannot fix it, call someone who can.
- If it has value for you, take care.
- If you borrowed it, give it back.
- If you dirtied it, clean it.
- If you removed it, get it back.
- If you don’t know how to use it, leave it alone.
- If it is not broken, don’t fix it.
Ask First Night Questions
Whether it’s the first night of your entire exchange or the first night in your last host family, always ask a list of “first night questions” so you can better understand your new family, their expectations, and how to best navigate your new living situations. You may also want to discuss your goals & expectations with your Rotary Club.
A list of First Night Questions can be found here.
Other Students Will Follow You
While you are being hosted as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in a foreign country, please remember that you are an ambassador for your family, Rotary and for your home country. This comes with a lot of responsibility. Bear in mind that other students will follow in your footsteps, and how you conduct yourself will often determine whether your host family, host club, and even your host country decides to host another Rotary exchange student in the future.
Rebound Students
Your Exchange Doesn’t Have to End.
When you go on a Rotary Youth Exchange and return back to the United States, you are officially considered a “rebounder.” This comes with a whole new set of opportunities.
As you may know by now, getting off the plane in your home country can often be more difficult than when you got off the plane in your host country almost a year ago. Time flies, doesn’t it? You’re probably looking for ways to “continue your exchange,” and one of those ways is to be around other students who have similar experiences.
This page is designed to help you rebound from your experience and encourage continued participation in the program.
Want to reconnect and “continue your exchange”?
Consider these ideas and suggestions.
Host an Inbounder
One of the best ways to build on the experience you just had abroad is to help facilitate someone else’s experience. Talk to your family, and consider hosting one of our incoming students during the next school year.
Join Us at an RMRYE Event
There are many opportunities throughout the year to rejoin the RMRYE family. From meeting new inbound students at our Welcome Picnic in August to helping next year’s outbound students prepare for their adventures, you’re always welcome to “continue your exchange” right here in District 5450. And you’ll most likely get the chance to meet an inbound student from the country from where you just returned.
Connect on Social Media
Stay connected with rebounders from your class and other classes. Meet the inbound students who are in Colorado from across the globe. Talk to current students preparing to go abroad next year. Connect with these groups and more on social media.
Discover Other Rotary Programs
Don't let Rotary Youth Exchange be your last Rotary program - get involved with other District 5450 Youth Services programs like Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Interact, Roteract, and ROTEX.
Parents of Students
The Ultimate Experience
The thought of sending your child halfway around the world to a new country where they don’t know anyone and can barely speak the language is a scary proposition. But if you’ve read to this point, you probably know it’s the right thing to do.
A Leap of Faith
A leap of faith is a good way to think about it. First, you have to trust your child. Does he or she have the desire and ability to thrive in a situation that requires him or her to be adaptable? Second, you have to trust the program, and for the record, Rotary Youth Exchange is the largest and one of the most established available. Finally, you have to trust yourself. Are you truly capable of letting your child go?
What Will Happen to My Child?
While every situation is different, there’s a high probability your child will return more worldly, more mature, and more capable of living an independent life.
Have a child heading abroad or currently overseas? Consider these ideas and suggestions.
Being the parent of an outbound exchange student comes with its own set of concerns. But just like RMRYE has suggestions for students to help them make the most of their exchange, we also have some suggestions for parents. Consider the following fictional letter:
A Fictional Mother's Letter to Her Outbound Son
Hey, sweety!
How are you doing? I know it isn’t always easy being an exchange student, and we are proud of you for having the courage to go on exchange.
After hosting several exchange students, I can share with you some helpful suggestions. I realize that you know these things already. So, consider them to be reminders.
Keep all of your personal stuff in your room. Don’t leave socks, papers, and gym gear lying around the common area of the house.
Don’t leave your clothes and towels on the bedroom or bathroom floor.
Keep your bathroom toiletries in one special place (in a toiletries bag or in a drawer), and be neat about it.
Offer to do your own laundry. Do it about once a week to avoid a foul smell in your room.
Put your clean laundry away in drawers or in your wardrobe. In other words, use the wardrobe and drawers, not the floor or the furniture.
Getting into the habitat of making your bed each morning would be great!
Don’t take dishes of food into your bedroom. However, if you do, be sure to promptly return the dishes to the kitchen after you have eaten.
Every time you get out of someone’s car, say “thanks for the ride” even if it’s a regular ride to school. Be sure to show that you are appreciative every time.
While you’re being driven somewhere by an adult, do not text or talk on your cell phone. The adult driver is not your chauffeur.
Here at home, you have your own car, which allows you to go where you want and when you want to. Now that you’re on your exchange, you don’t have a fraction of the transportation freedom that you had at home. Please do not burden your host family with too many requests for rides.
Don’t be gone from home all the time. Host families don’t sign up because they want to offer a free hotel.
When your host mom or dad prepares dinner, always tell her or him what you especially liked about the meal or just say “thanks for dinner.”
Before dinner say things like “something smells good” or “that looks great.” Engage in conversation during dinner, and don’t ever text or talk on your cell phone during dinner. In fact, do not take your cell phone to the dinner table.
Very often, almost always in fact, ask “what can I do to help?” Or, if you don’t want to say that, look around for what needs to be done and do it.
Without being asked, offer to help around the house: vacuum, sweep, set the table, take out the garbage. Do things that show that you are a help to your family.
If your host parents are doing chores like shoveling snow off the sidewalk, without being asked, offer to help
Greet each family member in the morning. Say good night to your host family before you go to your room for the night.
You are not the first exchange student that your host parents have hosted. Your host mom said that her first Rotary Exchange Student spent an unusual amount of time in the bedroom, with the door closed. They didn’t know what he was doing for so much of the time. Not good!
When someone in your host family is sick or has had something bad happen, take the initiative to do something to help. Also, express concern. Send a card.
Tell your host parents when they can expect you home in the evening and phone them if that time changes. Let your family know well in advance when you won’t be home for dinner.
“It’s all about me. It is all about what I want.” If this ever became your tune during your exchange, change it. As we raised you to behave, think about others.
Do something to recognize the family: occasionally make dinner or dessert, bring flowers and a card home, and so on.
When you’re around your host parents, don’t have earphones in all the time, listening to music.
Remember last year when I wanted to go to a show at the Princess Theatre and no one else was interested in going with me? Then, Jeremy said, I’ll go. I think you and Ben couldn’t believe that Jeremy would volunteer to do such a thing. Well, I thought it was such a nice gesture. I really appreciated his going with me to the show. So, if your host mom or dad wants to go somewhere or run an errand, but not especially alone, you might want to say, ”Would you like me to go with you?” Even if you don’t especially want to go, your offer shows that you are part of the family and you will be there for your family. Know that we often email your host parents to express our appreciation for their kindness.
Now that you have been there awhile, ask your host parents if there is something you need to do differently or if there is anything that you are doing that bugs them.
Okay, enough of all that good advice. Dad and I think you are doing a really super job as an exchange student and we wish you continued success.
We are missing you very much.
Love,
Mom
P.S., We’re proud of our culture. Share it with your host family. Spend as much time as you can to learn about theirs, of which they are also proud.
A look into the Rotary Youth Exchange experience.