How It Works: Host Family Placements
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CIEE High School USA students come from 70 different countries. They speak many languages, practice many religions, and eat so many different cuisines that it would make you hungry to list them. At CIEE, we pride ourselves on this diversity. It is one of the many strengths of our program. But we also pride ourselves on knowing that every international student that joins High School USA undergoes the same screening and application processes. This ensures our students are mature, motivated, and possess the written and spoken English skills necessary to attend high school in the U.S.
Family Placements
As a potential host family, you may be wondering: How do I know my international student will fit in with my family? The answer: Our unique matching process makes it possible for CIEE to place students with families in which they naturally fit. You will be amazed at how quickly your international student becomes more than just a guest; they will become a member of your family.
The Matching Process
We rely on our Local Coordinators (LCs) – dedicated, highly-trained individuals living in your community – to find placements for our students. This process begins when students apply for our program. All students fill out a comprehensive profile that help us understand who they are, where they come from, and what they like. They are also required to write a host family letter that describes their day-to-day life, their habits, and their unique qualities.
Our LCs use this information to find compatible host families. Since our LCs live in your community, they get to know who you are in much the same way we get to know our students. They strive to match identifiers that include personality traits, hobbies, curricular or extracurricular interests, family make-up, and more.
The end result? Not only do you get to add an international member to your family, but that person tends to fit right in.
Don’t take our word for it!
Watch our Host Family Life video to see the amazing results of this process. Then, when you’re ready, start your host family application.
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