Unlock the world from your own home
Have you ever thought of opening your home and your heart to an international student? Not only can you make a huge difference in a young person’s life—it could be the best thing you’ll ever do for yourself and your family! It’s well worth the effort as you see the discovery of American culture through their eyes, while expanding your own horizons. When you include a young person in your family, you make their dreams come true—and experience a new culture without leaving home!
Learn moreFour reasons why
Expand your worldview
When an amazing young person joins your household, it broadens your horizons right away! You’ll learn how a person from another culture thinks and feels, and you can share their excitement as they learn about your country and culture.
Support your community
The tuition that international students on an Educatius F-1 program contributes to local American schools, allowing them to reinvest in programs that bring benefits for all their students—and to the community at large.
Unrivalled support
While hosting an international student, you and your family will create bonds that last a lifetime. Some families grow so close that they visit each other for many years to come. It’s a wonderful way to experience another country and culture from the inside.
Earn a stipend
In the USA, Educatius Group operates an F-1 program that allows us to provide a monthly stipend to support the cost of feeding and hosting your international student.
Embrace the host family opportunity
Stories from our families
Rewarding experiences
We welcome all kinds of host families: large or small, single parents, empty nesters and retirees—everyone is welcome to apply. There is no ‘typical’ family. Some host for the whole school year, or a semester, while others prefer to be a welcome family for a few weeks when students first arrive and are not yet placed with their long-term host family. Students are enrolled full-time in high school, so they will be busy much of the time with their own activities.
Our SELECT High School programs allow students to choose the school of their dreams; we seek host families within an easy commute of their school.
Our Academic Exchange High School programs provide an affordable option for international students looking for a more flexible or academic alternative to the J1 high school exchange.
We need families in many parts of the USA, with demand particularly high in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Silicon Valley, Tacoma, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, the Greater Boston Area, Michigan State, Florida Space Coast, New Jersey, Fort Collins (Colorado) and many more.
Contact us to see if we have a student coming to a school near you.
Meet our amazing students!
Students from countries around the world are eager to learn from their U.S. experience. At this age (14-18) they are curious and open. They soak up everything, want to share, and evolve quickly. Their time with a host family helps them become more self-reliant and mature. This is a gift to them, and you will experience the satisfaction of making a huge difference in their lives.
These students are already speak English and must meet all the requirements of our partner schools. They come from many countries including Brazil, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand, Norway, Italy and Germany. Take a look in the Yearbook with insights from 100+ International Exchange Students.
Be a Local Coordinator
As a Local Coordinator, you will place international students with host families and be the backup support if the family is traveling without the student or if there is a crisis. These relationships have proven to be very rewarding for our Local Coordinators, who truly make a difference in these people’s lives.
Read moreFrequently asked questions
We welcome applications from all kinds of families—young kids; old kids; no kids; 2 parents, single parent. There is no ‘typical’ family!
To ensure the quality of the experience for both families and students, the household must be English-speaking. Families are required to offer the student a bedroom with their own bed and closet/dresser, as well as a quiet place to study and three meals a day. Students may share a bedroom but only if it is large enough to accommodate both comfortably.
Our application and interview process includes a criminal background check.
Yes! If your family can’t commit to hosting for a full year or semester, you can become a “Welcome Family” and host a student upon their arrival for 6-8 weeks while we work to secure a long-term home for the student in the same community!
Our students are between the ages of 14-18 years old, and they speak English. Before they’re accepted into one of our programs, they must submit comprehensive applications with personal, academic and health records. All students must be accepted into a school prior to being matched with a family. They are fully insured with medical and other liability policies. During their program, students are required to maintain good academic records and performance.
Yes, many families host two international students at a time. However, the students must speak different native languages to ensure they’ll only use English in your home. In the USA, UK and Ireland, students may share a bedroom but only if it is large enough to accommodate both comfortably.
We have a lot of experience in placing students with families, and we provide extensive support throughout the year, beginning with an orientation to prepare for the student’s arrival as well as 24/7 local and national support, with an emergency hotline. We will try and work through adjustment issues that can be common. However, if the placement does not work out satisfactorily, Educatius assumes responsibility to move the student to another family.
Unlike J-1 exchange organizations, we are allowed to provide our host families with a monthly stipend per student to help offset associated expenses.
