Parent FAQs

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Student sign-ups have two parts:

• Interest Form: In the fall, we have students fill out a short interest form with their name, their contact information, and the contact information for a parent or guardian.

• Sign-Up Form: In the winter, when sign-ups officially open, we have them fill out a longer form to provide information around summer availability and previous travel experience. This helps our team match your student to the best Travel Week town for them.

Once your student signs up, our team will be in touch with you using the contact information provided by your student with further updates. 

American Exchange Project is a two-week adventure for high school seniors that takes place in the summer after graduation. Both weeks of the program are fully funded thanks to generous donations from foundations like the Hearthland Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as hundreds of individual donors. 

During Travel Week, students will spend time in an American community completely different from their own (think: a born-and-bred New Yorker camping in the dense forests of Oregon; a student who grew up on their family farm in Minnesota walking the National Mall in D.C. for the first time). During Hometown Week, students will show off the best parts of their town to peers from across America. 

From tangy barbecue in Texas to fresh-caught lobster in Maine; eye-popping Alaskan glaciers to Kansas’s great golden plains; L.A.’s glittering coastline to Montana’s sprawling ranch country, an American Exchange Project adventure will change the way students see their country, their neighbors, and themselves.

Yes, it really is 100 percent free—we believe nothing should stand in the way of a young person who wants to learn more about their country and the people who call it home. Everything that’s essential in order for a student to participate, from their plane ticket to their meals to their lodging, is covered. (We don’t cover non-essential items, like checked luggage or souvenirs.)

The safety and well-being of our participants is our primary operating principle and our foremost concern, and we take great pride in our reputation for approaching every exchange with caution and responsibility. We reevaluate our safety protocols year over year and are working to adjust and improve them continuously.

Our exchanges are held to the strict safety and security standards set by our Chief Operating Officer, who brings more than 30 years of operational experience to the organization. Every Exchange Manager goes through a number of mandatory trainings around safety, risk management, abuse and harassment prevention, and crisis response. Each exchange itinerary is reviewed for potential risk and ultimately approved by a member of the Operations Department. Throughout the exchange, the Operations Department communicates with Exchange Managers around relevant weather alerts, national news updates, and airline updates.

As we state in our organizational values, we are obsessive about the details of our work and are dedicated to its improvement—safety first, and adventure right behind it. We care deeply about making sure that each exchange student has a positive experience, and our safety protocols are in service of supporting that goal.

American Exchange Project has received generous grant support from organizations like the Hearthland Foundation, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, the Milken Family Foundation, Stand Together, and others. We also have hundreds of individual donors across the country who are passionate about giving young adults this transformative experience. Learn more about our donors and partners here.

Early survey data from an independent university study shows that American Exchange Project students:  

• Became substantially less biased towards those who view the country through a different ideological lens

• Made an average of three new friends throughout the program

• Grew more hopeful about the future of the United States

Many of our alumni also credit American Exchange Project with exposing them to new industries, helping them form connections that later led to job and internship opportunities, and allowing them to develop a sense of independence and maturity.

“I firmly believe that this trip not only gave me a renewed sense of open-mindedness and confidence but also helped me mentally prepare for college." —Josh (Toms River, New Jersey → Kilgore, Texas)

For families and communities, we offer…

• Ample volunteer opportunities in support of hometown students and traveling students (see our volunteer FAQs for more information)

• Opportunities to create lifelong bonds with traveling students through being a host family or becoming a mentor

• The chance to help us build a new civic rite of passage in America

• An outlet for highlighting local professional and service opportunities to students exploring life after high school

Any high school senior at one of our partner schools who is on track to graduate is eligible to participate.

They will need a REAL ID or U.S. passport.

All traveling students are required to have a REAL ID or U.S. passport to participate in American Exchange Project. If they don't have a REAL ID or U.S. passport, they must obtain one or the other before traveling. Exchange Managers will work with you and us to make sure your student has the required documentation ahead of your exchange.

A teacher or administrator at your student’s school serves as an Exchange Manager. They will be your main point of contact throughout your student’s American Exchange Project adventure. Exchange Managers are responsible for guiding hometown students as well as visiting students from across America through the Hometown Week exchange. Find your local Exchange Manager on our interactive map.

If your student’s school isn’t one of our partners yet, help us bring American Exchange Project to your student’s school by filling out this form. 

No. Your student could be sent to any one of our host towns, and the same goes for their fellow travelers. We rarely, if ever, send students from the same school to the same travel destination on the same exchange—the idea is for every participant to meet as many new people as possible. 

We’re thrilled you want to bring American Exchange Project to your town. The first step is to fill out this form—have the name of your student’s high school and the name of a teacher or administrator who could lead the program ready. We can partner with any organization that serves high schoolers, including public, charter, independent, and religious/parochial schools as well as homeschool co-ops. We’re also open to partnering with third party organizations that work with high schoolers, like afterschool programs.

If you have questions about the registration form or the process of bringing American Exchange Project to your school, email our team.

Students embark on a two-week adventure: One Travel Week away in another state, and one Hometown Week welcoming visiting students to their town. Travel Week and Hometown Week are not typically consecutive—your student may have their Travel Week in mid-June and their Hometown Week in late-July. Your student’s Travel Week dates will depend on their summertime availability, while their Hometown Week dates will be determined by their Exchange Manager’s availability. 

Your student will receive the dates of their Travel Week and Hometown Week dates in the spring. Both sessions—usually nonconsecutive—will take place over seven weeks in the summer, typically mid-June through late-July.

From the golden plains of the Midwest to the glaciers of Alaska, East Coast beaches to Rocky Mountains, small-town Texas to the Pacific Northwest, our host towns represent all of the geographic diversity America has to offer. We work hard to match your student to a destination that’s completely different from your town. Learn more about the towns we’re in here.

Yes. We offer several sessions each summer from mid-June through the end of July, and as long as your student is available for all seven days of their Travel Week and the majority of their Hometown Week, they can participate.

Your student’s Travel Week dates are determined by their summer availability. When they sign up for American Exchange Project, they can select the summer sessions during which they’re available to travel. 

Your student’s Hometown Week dates are primarily determined by their Exchange Manager’s availability, but an Exchange Manager will also be taking potential itinerary activities into account when selecting your town’s Hometown Week dates (i.e., does the rodeo always come during a certain week? Does your city host a huge Fourth of July celebration?). Hometown Week dates will be shared with you well in advance. We ask that participants attend as many Hometown Week activities as possible, which means maneuvering around a summer job or preexisting family obligations to the best of their ability (i.e., working during the day but joining in on activities at night and on weekends). Talk to your local Exchange Manager to learn more about how your student can be involved with American Exchange Project while keeping their summer commitments. 

Your local Exchange Manager can provide more information about American Exchange Project and your community’s Hometown Week. Find your local Exchange Manager on our interactive map, and contact them directly to learn more.

• In the months after sign-up, keep an eye on your email and text messages. Our National Staff will be sending you required forms that will need to be completed in order for your student to participate. 

• In the spring, your town will host a celebration during which your student will discover their travel destination, their Travel Week dates, and their Hometown Week dates. Students from the same school will rarely, if ever, travel to the same destination on the same exchange—the idea is for every participant to meet as many new people as possible. 

• Before summer sessions start, you’ll be invited to several Zoom calls where you can meet your student’s host family, travel Exchange Manager, and fellow travelers. 

In the spring, your student’s Exchange Manager will host an epic celebration during which your student will open the letter revealing their Travel Week destination, Travel Week dates, and Hometown Week dates. (Here’s a peek at what those celebrations feel like.)

After the celebration, you’ll receive an email that will require you to confirm your student’s participation.

If your student is hired for a job, accepted to a pre-college program, etc. after receiving their Travel Week placement and is no longer available in the same time frame, alert your local Exchange Manager as soon as possible. Pending your student’s availability and the number of travel spots we have available, we may be able to place them in an alternate Travel Week session.

In most cases, your student will stay with a host family. Some exchanges in larger cities utilize Airbnbs as an option when host families aren’t available, and adult supervision is always required.

Your travel Exchange Manager is your point of contact for the student/host family pairing process. Placements are made based on the information and preferences provided by each student in the student sign-up form and each host family in the host family sign-up form. If you have any questions about this process, reach out to your travel Exchange Manager directly.

Our host family sign-up form asks for information about the host’s home and any members of the household as well as the suitably private accommodations host families can provide for traveling students.

Host family primary contacts must be 25 years old or older, and anyone in the household who is 19 or older must pass a third-party state and federal background check. Host families must be able to provide a safe, secure, and suitably private place for students to sleep for eight days and seven nights. They also typically provide two meals a day and assist with student transportation needs throughout the week. Traveling students are allowed to share rooms with another student in the household—either a fellow traveler or a child of the host family—as long as they’re sharing with a young adult of the same biological sex who is no more than two years older or two years younger than them. Sharing beds is not allowed.

If you have more questions about the host family process, reach out to your local Exchange Manager or check out our host family FAQs.

We encourage families with participating students to host a traveler or travelers if they’re able, but it’s not required for you to host in order for your student to participate.

Yes. There will be a series of Zoom meetings in the spring during which you’ll be able to meet your student’s host family, the students from across America who’ll be in the same travel destination as your student, and the Exchange Manager in your student’s destination who will be their Travel Week guide. These meetings are required for your student, but you’re also encouraged to join and ask questions. Contact your local Exchange Manager via our interactive map if you have questions about when your student’s pre-trip meetings will take place.

Sign up to host a student here. If you have more questions about what goes into being a host family, check out the host family FAQs. 

Your student will take part in at least four kinds of activities during their Travel Week:

• Can’t-miss community events, like the annual Tulsa Powwow in Oklahoma or a rodeo in Wyoming

• Cultural immersion at notable sites like Ellis Island in New York or the battlefields of Gettysburg

• Professional development visits that expand their career networks and connect them to different industries, from Silicon Valley in California to raising cattle in Texas

• A community service project, like cleaning wetlands in Louisiana or caring for sea turtles in Florida, that allows them to give back to the host town that has given so much to them

During their Hometown Week, your student will step into a leadership role as they guide travel students through your town alongside your local Exchange Manager, enjoying the experience of discovery alongside them. Before American Exchange Project students host traveling peers from across the country, they develop an itinerary with guidance from their Exchange Manager that reflects what it looks like to grow up in their town—where they grab sweet treats, go for fun during the summertime, or just hang out for hours with their friends. Your student also has the opportunity to welcome a student from another state into your home if you sign up as a host family, but hosting is not required for your student to participate. 

“It was nice to meet new people and see my state and the place I live from a different point of view, because [visiting students] were all so excited about things I overlook.” —Izzy (Orford, New Hampshire → Kilgore, Texas)

Safety is our top priority, and adventure right behind it.

Our Operations team offers a 24/7 hotline in case of a medical emergency, flight delay, or any other issue. Your student’s Exchange Manager receives crisis response training on handling each of these situations and others that may arise over the summer. All Exchange Managers, host family members, and volunteers your student will interact with during Travel as well as Hometown Week are background checked. If you have more questions about student safety, email our team.

There are lots of ways for you to be a part of Hometown Week, from helping your local Exchange Manager find host families and volunteers to welcoming visiting students when they arrive at the airport. Head to our volunteer FAQs to learn more, and contact your local Exchange Manager via our interactive map to see what specific opportunities are open for your Hometown Week.