Summer Abroad Programs for High School Students

The end of the school year is rapidly approaching and if your child is interested in studying abroad during the summer, now is the time to start signing up. While no two summer programs are alike, the majority of them have the same focus: for young adults to travel, understand and truly appreciate other people and their nationalities by living in their country.

The following five programs are only a sampling of the hundreds out there, but what great programs they are!

Youth For Understanding (YFU)

The YFU has been in operation since 1951 when American minister, John Eberly, proposed to church leaders the idea of teenagers from war-stricken Germany being brought to the U.S. to live with a family and attend high school. YFU's philosophy is that they wish to prepare young adults "for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing, interdependent world."

YFU currently offers Summer Programs in Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Some of these programs allow your child to travel around the country with other YFU students. Other programs are more focused, having your child study a specific activity or partake in language and culture classes. Most of these Summer Programs begin in mid-to-late June.

Lifeworks

The Lifeworks program has over 30 years of experience, offering a travel event like no other. Lifeworks is focused on making a difference and if your child is interested in partaking in community service projects while traveling the world, this is the program for you.

Lifeworks collaborates with the local service organizations in whichever area you choose to visit and allows students to have cultural experiences while partaking in hands-on projects.

Lifeworks offers these programs:

The British Virgin Islands: Living aboard sailing vessels, students undertake sea and land-based environmental projects such as turtle tagging and mangrove restoration.

Costa Rica: Working outside the city of San José, we commit ourselves to helping in the low income community of La Carpio. With a strong cultural and adventure component, students also tour the country visiting both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts.

Thailand: A program focused on the underprivileged kids of Bangkok who attend children's centers run in both the inner-city community of Klong Toey as well as in rural sites nearby. This program includes a strong cultural component, as well as visits to Bangkok Temples, palaces and markets.

India: Working alongside volunteers from the Ragpa and Lha Charitable Trusts, our goal is to help the Tibetan refugee community in the town of Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama.

China: A culturally diverse program where students work with physically disabled children in privately funded orphanages in and around the city of Beijing. Cultural components include trips to the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Xi'an.

Ecuador & Galapagos: Two programs offered each summer, one of which includes ten days traveling in Ecuador. Both programs aid the efforts of the Galapagos National Parks Service as they strive to protect the flora and fauna of this natural reserve.

World Learning

World Learning has been working since 1932 when they sent students from the U.S. to live in Germany. The foundation has since expanded their mission, including almost 20 developing countries and encouraging people who travel to step outside their comfort zones and truly experience the country they're visiting.

The Summer Programs have five different themes: The Arts, Community Service, Ecological/Outdoor Adventure, Language Training, Travel and Regional Exploration.

The countries you can visit include: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Thailand, Turkey, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Botswana, Ghana, Morocco and South Africa.

The program also offers a trip to the U.S. southwest desert to experience the culture of the Navajo Nation.

Intrax

Intrax is a leader with high school study abroad/cultural exchange programs and has been so for 20 years. While it offers a great deal of Summer Programs in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa, Intrax also offers an enticing Western Europe Tour.

Perfect for the student who wants a little taste of everything in Western Europe, the tour is a month long (July) and allows your child to visit London, Paris and Barcelona. While immersing students in the culture of the countries, they will also be exposed to the literature, history and art of these countries.

In London, they will visit Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and Hyde Park. In Paris, students will visit the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. In Barcelona, students will be given the opportunity to examine the stunning architecture and take intense Spanish language courses. The trip will end with a visit to the Costa Brava of Northern Spain. They will also visit Salvador Dalí's museum, as well as Tarragona's Roman amphitheater.

Teenagers Abroad

Teenagers Abroad was founded in 1983 and sends 35,000 students abroad every year. They are the underage division of Languages Abroad, a leading international travel organization based in Toronto, Canada. With 10 enrollment offices worldwide and one of the most comprehensive study abroad websites, the organization has a great deal to offer, especially for teenagers who would like to specialize in a language trip.

Their offered summer programs focus on teens developing their language of choice and learning about the culture of that language's country. The programs offered include:

Austria (Vienna), France (Nice, Cap D'Ail/Monte Carlo, Hyeres, Paris), Germany (Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Rhine Valley, Augsburg), Italy (Lignano, Rome), Malta (St. Julians), Spain (Barcelona, Tarragona), United Kingdom (Brighton, London), Costa Rica (San Jose), Mexico (Playa Del Carmen), China (Shanghai), Japan (Kanazawa), Canada (Montreal, Toronto).