The 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 private donors. 

During your Travel Week, you’ll spend time in an American community completely different from your own (think: a born-and-bred New Yorker spending the week 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 your Hometown Week, you’ll show off the best parts of your town to students from across America. 

From tangy barbecue in Texas to fresh-caught lobster in Massachusetts; 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 you see your country, your neighbors, and yourself.

You’ll embark on a two-week adventure: One Travel Week away in another state, and one Hometown Week welcoming visiting students to your town. Travel Week and Hometown are not always consecutive—you may have your Travel Week during session two and their Hometown Week during session seven. It depends on your summertime availability.

To surprise yourself and grow by breaking out of your comfort zone. To form lasting bonds with new friends faster than you ever thought you could. To fill your camera roll with new sights, sounds, and faces that you’ll want to take with you forever. To get immersed in different parts of the United States—and your own town—that you’ll be talking about for the rest of your life. And you can do it all without paying for any of it. What are you waiting for? Sign up! 

“If I was to tell rising seniors one thing about the American Exchange Project, it would be that there’s no catch. It’s actually real. They need to do this.” —Ava S., Portland, Maine→ Dillon, Montana

Short answer: Yes. 

Long answer: Thanks to contributions from generous donors like the Hearthland Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, along with hundreds of individual donors all over America, everything that’s essential in order for you to participate—your plane ticket, your meals, your lodging—is covered. (We don’t cover non-essential items, like checked luggage or souvenirs.) 

Any high school senior at one of our partner schools who is on track to graduate can sign up for the American Exchange Project. If your school is not partnering with the American Exchange Project, you can begin the process of registering your school by filling out this form and nominating one of your teachers to lead the program. 

Student sign-ups for the American Exchange Project have two parts:

• Interest Form: You’ll first fill out a short interest form with your name, your contact information, and the contact information for a parent or guardian. Filling out this form gives you priority when sign ups officially open. 

• Sign-Up Form: When sign-ups officially open, you’ll fill out a longer form to provide information around summer availability and previous travel experience. This helps our team match you to the best Travel Week town for you.

We’re thrilled you’re ready to help bring the American Exchange Project adventure to your town. The first step is to fill out this form and tell us the name of your school and the name of a teacher or administrator who could lead the program. We’ll be in touch soon!

Your Exchange Manager. An Exchange Manager is a teacher or administrator at your school who coordinates the American Exchange Project in your town. They’ll lead activities throughout the year to get you pumped for the summer, arrange your Travel Week flight, and guide your group during Hometown Week. Basically, they’re your number one go-to for all things American Exchange Project. Find out who your Exchange Manager is and get in touch using our map. 

If your school isn’t one of our partners yet, help us bring the American Exchange Project to your school by filling out this form and nominating one of your teachers to be an Exchange Manager. 

Yes, as long as you’re available for the full duration of your Travel Week and most of your Hometown Week. Many American Exchange Project students are able participate in both weeks of the program while also managing work, pre-college programs, or family activities. But remember, this may take some advance planning. You might need to talk with your supervisor at work, or ask your parents if you have any immovable plans during the summer. 

If you’re not available for any of your Travel Week or Hometown Week, talk to your Exchange Manager about other ways that you can be involved with the American Exchange Project. There will be many ways to volunteer leading up to your Hometown Week.

Definitely. There’s a first time for everything, and there’s no better time to try something new and set off on your own than the summer after you graduate high school. But don’t worry: Your Exchange Manager, our staff, and your fellow travelers will have your back every step of the way. Remember that by jumping into this experience now, you’re creating core memories and friendships that you’ll be holding close years later. You’ve got this! 

“You can’t let fear hold you back. The only way to overcome that is just to go for it, all-in. That’s basically what I did with this trip. I was scared about going somewhere new and being with new people. But I can’t just stay in the same box forever. I’ve got to expand.” —Ian C., San Angelo, Texas → Riggins, Idaho

Once you’re locked in to participate in the American Exchange Project, you’ll get to know your Exchange Manager and the other students who will be part of the adventure at your school. Through your school’s American Exchange Project Committee (AEPC), you’ll hang out, play games, and get to work on planning a Hometown Week itinerary that will become the best part of everyone’s summer.  

A few months after signing up, it’s time for the big reveal: You and your fellow travelers will spend an epic morning, afternoon, or even a whole day opening the letters that announce your Travel Week destinations. Every school celebrates differently—you can get a sneak peek of the fun here. 

Leading up to your Travel Week in the summer, you’ll have conversations over Zoom with your host town’s Exchange Manager, the other students in your travel group, and your host family.

Your Exchange Manager makes the final call on who travels from your school. Here are a few things that they’ll keep in mind:

• Who signed up first? Travel slots are first come, first served, and they are limited. Did you complete your sign-up as soon as possible? 

• How many host families does your town have? The more traveling students your town can host, the more students from your town can travel. 

• How involved are you? There are important mandatory activities throughout the year that all American Exchange Project students are expected to take part in, like planning your Hometown Week itinerary and attending any required meetings. Did you hit all the milestones and make up the ones you missed?

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 diversity America has to offer. We work hard to match you to a destination that’s completely different from where you grew up. Learn more about the towns you could be headed to here.

No—and that’s part of the adventure! We’ll match you with a town that’s totally different from where you grew up using factors like geography, location, and size. That means you’ll get to dive into life—trying new foods, making new friends, and going to the most popular summer events—in a part of the country that you’d never have expected to fall in love with. 

Not quite. You could be sent to any one of our host towns, and the same goes for your fellow travelers. We rarely if ever send students from the same school to the same travel destination—the idea is for you to meet as many new people as possible. So, sadly, you won’t get to spend your Travel Week with your high school friends. But you will get to hang with them while all of you show a totally new group of travelers around town during your Hometown Week, so make sure you’re free during both weeks of the program. 

In the spring, you and your fellow travelers will open letters that reveal your Travel Week destinations during a celebration put on by your Exchange Manager or school. We’re not trying to hype it up too hard, but it’s pretty epic—here’s a peek at what you can expect. 

In most cases, you’ll get to live like a local in the town we send you to by staying with a host family. 

No. But, if your family can host, we encourage them to—you’ll make a new friend from a faraway place, and have the chance to give someone else the same welcome you’ll get during Travel Week. However, you don’t need to host a traveling student in order to travel yourself.

Get excited, because you’re about to do something most people will never have the chance to do: discover a completely new place and culture without having to pay for any of it. 

Wondering what life will be like in your host town? There are tons of ways to get a preview before your Travel Week, from our curated Pinterest boards to our interactive map. You can also ask your Exchange Manager if any previous students from your town have traveled to the state where you’re headed and would be up for talking with you about it. If you’re feeling really adventurous, though, you can always go into your Travel Week with no prior knowledge and make your own discoveries.

No. The American Exchange Project isn’t a vacation; the idea is for you to spend time in a place that’s totally different from where you’re from. Like any good adventure, you’re not going to know what that place is truly like until you get there. Give into the unknown: This is your chance to find your next favorite meal or your new cross-country best friend, even in a town that’s a little off the beaten path. 

Maybe you’ve heard some things about what life is like in the town you’re traveling to and wonder if they’re true. Maybe you’re not sure what to expect from traveling to an unfamiliar place with new people. During your Travel Week, you’ll have plenty of chances to talk about the differences you notice. But you’ll also learn what you have in common with the people around you. 

Every aspect of your Travel Week is designed to build community within your group, whether that’s around the dinner table, at a museum, or volunteering at a food pantry. And you’ll never be alone because your fellow travelers, Exchange Manager, and host family will be with you throughout your time away. You may not see eye to eye with everyone you meet (and they may not see eye to eye with you), but the hope is that by the end of your Travel Week, you’ll understand each other a little bit better. 

If you feel uncomfortable about an experience on your exchange, talk to your local Exchange Manager. There is zero tolerance for unwelcoming or hurtful behavior at the American Exchange Project, and this expectation is made clear to all leaders, volunteers, and hosts in our program.  

Yes. There will be a number of mandatory pre-trip Zoom meetings where you’ll meet your host family, other traveling students from across the country, and the Exchange Manager who will be your guide for Travel Week. Bring all of your travel questions—and let your parents or guardians know they’re welcome to sign on and ask theirs, too.

In the summer, after you graduate. The American Exchange Project has multiple week-long Travel Week sessions starting in mid-June and running through the end of July. You’ll receive your Hometown Week dates from your local Exchange Manager and your Travel Week dates in the spring.

If you’re hired for a job, accepted to a pre-college program, etc. after receiving your Travel Week placement and are no longer available in the same time frame, get in touch with your local Exchange Manager as soon as possible. Depending on your new availability and the number of travel spots we have open, we may be able to place you in an alternate Travel Week session. If you are no longer available during any Travel Week or your Hometown Week, talk to your local Exchange Manager about other ways to support your town’s exchange and be part of your group.

The only time you may be flying solo is on your flights to and from your host town (see what we did there?). Once you arrive, though, someone will be with you every step of the way to help you navigate your Travel Week. 

You’ll get to know your host town and exchange group through four types of activities:

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

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

• Professional development visits that expand your career network and connect you 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 you to give back to the host town that has given so much to you

Some of our alumni say that Hometown Week is their favorite part of the American Exchange Project because you get to see the place you call home with fresh eyes. And this time, you’re the expert: You’ll show a group of visiting students all the best places to eat, shop, and hang out in your town, the same way the local students in your travel town did with you.  

In the months before you welcome your visitors, you’ll create an itinerary with your Exchange Manager made up of the best restaurants, activities, and events your community has to offer. You’ll also have the opportunity to welcome a student directly into your home if your family signs up to host a traveler.

 “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 P., Orford, New Hampshire → Kilgore, Texas

Here’s what our alumni are saying: 

• “Even after more than a year of college, I still think of that week as the best and most important week of my life.” —Matthew

• “I wish I could do it every summer.” —Aniyah 

• “My brain chemistry has been forever altered.” —Karley 

• “This should be more common than the prom.” —Owen 

• “The American Exchange Project can bring joy to even the smallest of towns.” —Ava

Want the full student POV of what American Exchange Project is like? Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all of the adventures. 

Travel Week wouldn’t be complete without staying with a host family—a local family in your host town that welcomes you into their home and wants to help you have one of the best weeks of your life. Imagine tubing with your host fam on the weekend in Georgia, getting invited to neighborhood beach volleyball games in Massachusetts, or devouring the best of your host parents’ home cooking. 

The best part of staying with a host is that your relationship doesn’t have to end with Travel Week. Many American Exchange Project families stay in touch long after the summer ends by starting group chats, swapping holiday cards, and even reuniting on trips. It’s like getting bonus members of your family. 

You’ll spend the most time with your family at the beginning and end of each exchange day. There may also be a host family day on your itinerary, when you can all enjoy some down time together. Some exchanges even organize big gatherings like potlucks or bonfires with all of the host families on your Travel Week! 

“My host family was just so nice. I feel like I have a second family in Maine now, which I never thought I could see myself saying.” —Lear, Lawrence, Kansas → Dover-Foxcroft, Maine 

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. Plus, your Exchange Manager has been trained to deal with each of these situations and many more. 

There may be activities on your itinerary that take you out of your comfort zone in a healthy way—like joining in on a cultural event you’ve never experienced before or trying an outdoor activity that’s uncommon in your hometown. That’s part of the adventure, and your Exchange Manager will be there the whole time to support and guide you. You can always bring your questions about what to expect from anything during your summer to your Exchange Manager.

Yes. Here are just a few of the ways alumni have said the American Exchange Project helped in their life after graduation: 

• Getting internships in their host towns through the connections they made during Travel Week

• Feeling more free and independent 

• Becoming a leader in their town by helping make Hometown Week happen 

• Building a network of new friends and host family members that they still keep in touch with—and even reunite with

• Broadening their horizons when it comes to where they’d like to live, visit, or work in the future 

• Gaining travel experience before longer solo trips or collegiate study abroad 

“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 R., Toms River, New Jersey → Kilgore, Texas

Yes. While you won’t be able to set off for Travel Week until your senior year, there will be lots of other ways to get involved (and have fun along the way): You can help your school’s American Exchange Project Committee find host families and dream up your Hometown Week itinerary—plus, you might be able to join a few of the Hometown Week activities in the summer. Talk to your local Exchange Manager to discover all the possibilities. 

Want to get a head start on your senior year? Join our interest list now so you’ll be first to find out when spots open for travel at your school.