Applications for long term exchange the program are now being accepted. Please contact your local Rotary club to see if they are accepting applications. Preliminary applications can be found under the ‘Applications Forms’ tab and are due to your local Rotary Club by Oct 15th. Please note that this date may vary from club to club... please check with your local Rotary Club.
About Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE)
As a Rotary Exchange student, you will spend one year living in another country, usually with two to four host families. You'll learn a new way of living, experience different foods, study different subjects, enjoy a new culture and maybe even learn a new language. In addition you will learn a great deal about yourself and gain confidence and self sufficiency. You'll also be an ambassador, teaching people you meet about your country, culture, and ideas. You can help bring the world closer - and make some good friends in the process.
The most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures. The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people - regardless of nationality - desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for ourselves and our children. Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures, thus planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
You will attend school in your local community, as well as participating in Rotary activities and civic functions. At the same time you will make new friends, see exciting places and experience adventures that will take a lifetime to recount. Rotary's Youth Exchange Program is recognized by participants, parents and schools as one of the best student exchange programs in the world. It is the largest of its type and is backed up by caring and dedicated Rotarians who provide the infrastructure of the program.
Age Requirements
Rotary District 7080 exchange students must be 15-1/2 but not yet 18 on September 1st of the year they depart. For 2027-28 academic year, this means born between Sept 1, 2009 and March 1, 2012)
For more information please read the links on this page and visit https://www.rotary.org/en/our-
Key Dates for going on Rotary Youth Exchange for 2027-28 academic year
2026:
- Oct 15: Preliminary applications due
- Oct 15-30: Student/parent Interviews
- Dec 15: Long form applications due
2027:
- Jan 9-10: District interviews (both days mandatory for students, Jan 10 afternoon mandatory for parents)
- Feb 5-8: Winter Camp - training (mandatory for students)
- Feb 21: Country Announcement Day (student and family event)
- Apr 10-11: Youth Exchange Weekend (mandatory for students)
- May 29-30: Spring Training (both days mandatory for students, May 30 mandatory for all parents as well)
- July/August: Depart for exchange!