Any foreign exchange students around here?

[merithyn]

Pretty much everyone who studied a language at school did an exchange programme when we were about 15 and it was organised through the school. There were "twin" schools in France and Germany we had an ongoing relationship with.

Why does it cost so much? Surely the idea is you just pay the air fare and put up the German exchange student while his parents look after your son?

Is he old enough to hold down a part-time job? Legal drinking age in Germany is 16 so he could work in a bar, semi-traditional for Americans in Europe.

If he waits until he's university age, he can go through the Erasmus exchange scheme. http://www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus.htm

Until then a full year isn't necessary - he could just spend the long summer holiday out there. I learnt a lot French with just two weeks of immersion.

Agreed. The price quoted by Merri seems prohibitvely expensive.

It's a bit different if you're not from the EU, or if traveling to a European country is further than an 8-hour flight. Hell, a round-trip ticket to Frankfort from Chicago is $1300 right now. (Or was last I checked.)

[merithyn]

Round I: Informational Meet & Greet - Completed

We met with the Rotary guy tonight to get the necessary information for applying. It was a bit bumpy beginning (we arranged to meet at a coffee shop which turned out to be closed for the day to a staff meeting), but overall, I think it went well.

Round II: Local Interview - Upcoming this week

He'll need to complete the initial application (two pages with general information and passport photo attached).

Round III: Regional Interview - November 3

The comprehensive, 10-page application with medical and dental documentation, personal statement, and photos of home and family must be completed and brought to the interview.

Estimated total cost: $3100 + spending money ($1000 by February; $1800 by July; $300 by September)

My cousin has volunteered to make a quilt to sell raffle tickets for. She's done this for other fund-raisers, and her quilts generally go for $1000 or more. On top of that, there are a number of companies in the community who are big on donating items to help kids with their education, so Jeremy plans to talk to them about additional raffle items, too. It would be nice to get a bit of help with the costs, but it's not so much that we couldn't do it without that.

I truly hope this works out for him. It was always a dream of mine, which obviously didn't work out. It would be wonderful to make the dream come true for one of my kids, anyway.

[Zanza]

It's a bit different if you're not from the EU, or if traveling to a European country is further than an 8-hour flight. Hell, a round-trip ticket to Frankfort from Chicago is $1300 right now. (Or was last I checked.)

Are you looking at the price for flying today? If I look up a price in half a year, it's like half of what you quoted.

[merithyn]

It's a bit different if you're not from the EU, or if traveling to a European country is further than an 8-hour flight. Hell, a round-trip ticket to Frankfort from Chicago is $1300 right now. (Or was last I checked.)

Are you looking at the price for flying today? If I look up a price in half a year, it's like half of what you quoted.

He needs an open-ended ticket, which is almost twice the normal cost.

[CountDeMoney]

Estimated total cost: $3100 + spending money ($1000 by February; $1800 by July; $300 by September)

Oh, that's bullshit.

I truly hope this works out for him. It was always a dream of mine, which obviously didn't work out. It would be wonderful to make the dream come true for one of my kids, anyway.

Meh.   At a certain age, kids need to learn that dreams are made to be crushed.  It prepares them for adulthood.  And parenting.

But good luck anyhow.

[merithyn]

Oh, that's bullshit.

$3100 + spending money for a year in Europe is "bullshit"?? That's including the flight, by the way (that's the $1800 in July). I'd say that's one hell of a deal!

Meh.   At a certain age, kids need to learn that dreams are made to be crushed.  It prepares them for adulthood.  And parenting.

But good luck anyhow.

Agreed.  I just don't think it should start at 17.

[CountDeMoney]

$3100 + spending money for a year in Europe is "bullshit"?? That's including the flight, by the way (that's the $1800 in July). I'd say that's one hell of a deal!

He's gonna need more spending money.  Good hookers are expensive.   

[merithyn]

$3100 + spending money for a year in Europe is "bullshit"?? That's including the flight, by the way (that's the $1800 in July). I'd say that's one hell of a deal!

He's gonna need more spending money.  Good hookers are expensive.   

He'll be getting ~$300/month on top of that.

I just hope the good hookers are relatively clean. 

[CountDeMoney]

I just hope the good hookers are relatively clean. 

Of course they will be;  we're talking European socialism here.

[katmai]

Why does he need open ended ticket?

[garbon]

I truly hope this works out for him. It was always a dream of mine, which obviously didn't work out. It would be wonderful to make the dream come true for one of my kids, anyway.

Neat, hopefully that works out. I'd always planned to try the Rotary route but got lazy as a teen.

[merithyn]

Why does he need open ended ticket?

In case there's an emergency, and he has to come home immediately. There's no worries about how he'll get a ticket, etc. He can just show up at the airport and catch the next open flight.

[Zanza]

It's much cheaper to buy a ticket with a set flight date and pay the rebooking fee than buy a flex ticket upfront. Just make sure the terms & conditions of your booking class allow for rebooking. It's usually just $100-200 rebooking charge.

And unless you have a high frequent flyer status, I doubt any airline in the world sells flex tickets where you can just show up any day and fly on the next plane. You'll always be stand-by/wait list, so if the flight is booked with people who bought a regular ticket for that flight, you are out of luck anyway.

[Jacob]

Yeah Meri, open ended tickets are not worth it. Just get one that allows rebooking for a fee - which generally are the second cheapest option.

[merithyn]

It's much cheaper to buy a ticket with a set flight date and pay the rebooking fee than buy a flex ticket upfront. Just make sure the terms & conditions of your booking class allow for rebooking. It's usually just $100-200 rebooking charge.

And unless you have a high frequent flyer status, I doubt any airline in the world sells flex tickets where you can just show up any day and fly on the next plane. You'll always be stand-by/wait list, so if the flight is booked with people who bought a regular ticket for that flight, you are out of luck anyway.

I don't have a choice on this one. It's a requirement for the program. The ticket must be an open-ended ticket so that there is no concern over money if Jeremy has to come home immediately (who has to pay, reimbursement concerns, etc). I get what you're saying - and agree with you - but the program dictates this.