Afs-usa, inc.

I started working with AFS recently and I am excited about getting connected to a community that fosters cultural exchanges and supports students to broaden their horizons.

I've been an AFS volunteer since 2008. I studied abroad in Thailand in 2010-2011 and have been back 4 times and counting to visit my host family. Photo is of my liaison and me in 2015 during my second visit. AFS changed my life for the better. I cannot recommend this organization highly enough! Hope to pay forward by hosting someday.

My family has been hosting for many years we starting using this organization which was by far one of the worst organizations we have ever used. The exchange student we received was great, however the organization forced her to go to an orientation during our schools homecoming. The local lady we talked to said these were mandatory from the state department the lady we called from the New York office said it wasn t mediatory (by the state department). After trying to find out a reason to why our student, who is upset at this whole situation, must attend this event we received no answer from anyone. I also find it funny that they have kids who need a host family yet can t accommodate the host families they have. Highly unethical business practices going on at this organization. Please choose another organization if you plan on hosting.

I went abroad with AFS for the 2018-2019 school year. I had an abundance of support from when I was applying for my Visa all the way to touch-down back in the U.S. If you are looking for a great program that will help build your language skills while opening up your perspective of the world, then this is the one.

I went abroad with AFS USA as a teenager and have now hosted three AFS students with my family. We have had amazing experiences with all of them. I would recommend AFS to any family looking to host or send their own child abroad.

In full disclosure - I have hosted 11 students, from 11 different countries, and have been an AFS volunteer for the past 9 years matching families with students and supporting students during their year.
No matter what program a family decides to host thru (and there and a number of them) at the end of the day a kid is a kid regardless what program they come through. No program has all "good kids" nor does any program have just "bad" ones.
Of my 11 kids, Our first was truly not good but we stuck it out with her because we felt very supported by the volunteers. We sent #8 away because of significant maturity issues but again felt very supported. With the exception of these two, we still maintain a close contact with all of the 9 other kids.
What helps separates AFS from the majority of intercultural organizations is that in most other organizations the person who makes the placement gets paid "per head" for each student they put with a family. In other words there is a profit motive in it for them and whenever you introduce a profit motive into the picture, the placement becomes "ripe" for taking place for the wrong reason. As an AFS volunteer I get paid -0- and volunteer only because I find it rewarding.
AFS is the largest intercultural organization which means they have more students to chose from when trying to make the best match between the family and the student. Ultimately, YOU pick the student you wish to host - AFS does not tell you who you will host. AFS also has a lot of volunteers so your support person is likely to live much closer to you than the US DOS required 125 miles. This is a very important thing when you need the assistance of your liaison/counselor/coordinator.
Hosting experiences will not always be perfect. Having a child come into your home that you did not raise, from a culture different from yours, and who speaks a different language, can be a challenge. It will never be perfect - just like raising your own kids is never perfect. What these experiences will be is rewarding in that they give you a whole new view of the world and you truly expand you "family" in the process. While AFS is not "perfect" and can not guarantee you a "perfect" experience, I honestly believe it is the best program I know of.

Our daughter had wanted to study abroad since grammer school. We checked out multiple organizations and AFS offered the best program for us. Our daughter spent the 2009-2010 school year in Thailand. Her experience was amazing. The pre-departure orientations, the program, the volunteers and her host family were all wonderful. We were never worried and knew there was always support staff at the ready. Our daughter blossomed into a well rounded adult and is passionate about sharing her experience in hopes that other students can enrich their lives with a cultural exchange. She went on to earn a Fulbright Scholarship and taught English in Indonesia for two years. She has been back to Thailand multiple times to visit her host family, and has maintained relationships with other global students she met through AFS. She continues to volunteer with AFS. If you are considering hosting or a student exchange, please give AFS a try.

There was a German and Russian exchange student who came to my high school this year and they were both very cool dudes and them and I became friends quickly. We hung-out a lot and I tried my best to show them normal American things and towards the end of the year i asked them if they wanted to go to a gun range, they were very excited and we quickly planned a trip. My foreign friends sadly were set up with very strict and a not fun host family. So we didn't even bother getting their permission, as we knew they would say no because they barely even let them hangout with me and there other friends on the weekend. I told the foreigners to contact their real families to get permission, my family talked to theirs and we were ready to go. But the week we were supposed to go shooting, his host family randomly decided they were sick of hosting them and AFS-USA separated the german from the Russian putting them at opposite ends of of my state. This was without warning giving them no time to say goodbye to their friends and little time to say goodbye to each-other, I was furious with not only his host family and their irresponsibility but AFS and treating these foreigners like a bag of money, and not caring if they have a good american experience. Not to mention the fact that the trip they paid for was incredibly expensive, it was over 10,000 for both of them and the insurance they got didn't even cover their dental work. ( the Russian had braces and needed to pay even more thousands to upkeep them) If you want to see america and get a temporary education here, dont go through AFS find an organization that cares about how good your American experience will be.

- An American who unexpectedly lost 2 friends.

My family has hosted students from Denmark, Dominican Republic and Japan. They were all wonderful experiences, and we have maintained contact with two of them for over 20 years. The support we received from AFS, and the great experiences we had convinced me to be a volunteer for them and as of today, I've been a volunteer for 34 years. It is a great organization.

AFS-USA is an incredible place to work and volunteer. You can witness how intercultural interactions are making the world a better place, one host family, volunteer, and exchange student at a time. I'd highly recommend AFS programs and volunteer opportunities!