Educational Support Before the Exchange
Throughout the exchange experience, students and host families will receive support from YFU and the Campus Coordinator
at the student’s college. Support services provided to students and host families both before and during the experience are
described here.
Preparing Students for the Experience: PreDeparture Orientation
Before students leave for the USA, they attend orientations
in their home countries, conducted by their YFU National
Organization. These meetings address realistic expectations,
review YFU policies and procedures, establish roles and
responsibilities, and address students’ and natural parents’
questions.
Topics presented include:
••You and YFU. How to be a successful YFU exchange
student; living with a host family; program policies and
procedures; responsibilities; travel; etc.
••Culture and Adaptation. What culture is;
understanding ourselves as products of our culture; the
process of adaptation and adjustment; culture in the
USA.
Community College Orientation
Students typically arrive in the U.S. a few days prior to the
start of classes at their community college. The Campus
Coordinators uses this opportunity to orient the students to
their college.
Typical topics covered in the orientation are:
••A Campus Tour
••How to Register for Classes
••How to Open a Bank Account
••Health and Safety Issues
••Transportation
Additional Support Materials
In addition to the Pre-Departure Orientation, YFU
international students receive the following materials to
prepare for their exchange experience before arriving in the
USA.
••Community College Program Handbook. This
handbook.
••Community College Welcome Packet. Campus
Coordinators may send Welcome Packets to their
students. Materials may include: college course
schedules and pre-registration forms, college catalogs
and handbooks, brochures on the community, and a
welcome letter from the college. Note that colleges may
send print or electronic informational materials.
Examples of Student Expectations
Pre-Departure Orientations address expectations because
students may have different or unrealistic expectations
of living in the USA. Many ideas of what the United States
will be like come from movies and magazines. They may
also hear from previous YFU students who are excited to
share the highlights of their exchange and have forgotten
their initial cultural adjustment challenges. Furthermore,
students may be selective in their hearing...they want to
think about the glamorous side of the USA because they are
going there!
YFU begins to clarify students’ expectations during the PreDeparture Orientation. The process continues throughout
their stay in the USA. It is important for students to talk
about their expectations with their host families and
Campus Coordinators. When expectations and reality differ,
there are disappointments, adjustments, and sometimes
problems. Honest communication helps families, students,
and Campus Coordinators work out these differences.
Students may have some of the following expectations:
••My host family will consist of a mother, father, and
children. Stereotypical images of US families persist.
Students may not understand that each family is
unique. For instance, one family may include siblings
and one parent. Another family may have no children at
all, or they may have young children but no teenagers.
The diverse population of the USA means that a host
family can be of any race or ethnicity. These differences
give a true picture of American life.
CCP HANDBOOK - 7