Youth For Understanding (YFU)

I spent a year with YFU in Spain. They are a total mess. They charge exorbitant amount of fees and then do not deliver on any of their promises. The host family's background check was sketchy - to put it mildly (according to YFU the host mom lying about her age and birth date was OK and "met the local background check requirements"). They failed to mediate when I had issues with the host family, failed to inform my parents about the issues, and then simply ordered me to pack my stuff within 48 hrs and move to a new city!

The only person I could contact was the local rep - despite their claims that they provide 24/7 support.

When I contacted my parents and they talked to YFU in Washington DC they not only did not help resolve the situation, did not apologize, but insisted they had done everything they were supposed to do.

The YFU Australia program is a mess! YFU USA offered none of the orientation that was promised before or after travel, and YFU Australia offered none of the orientation promised, nor any of the program support during the trip. The host family did not seem to have been background checked, and when it was clear that a move was in order, the program was not helpful or responsive. Rather than delivering on the promise to work together for a successful experience, they created a dangerous and damaging situation!

The only contact there was with YFU staff in Australia was with the local volunteer, and when the program could not provide a host family for the second leg of the trip, they refused to refund the money we had paid.
Mixed response: relieved to be home, and profoundly disappointed at the loss of a great opportunity.

YFU program is super supportive program in my opinion. They took care of me very great and I was super fun that once I could have such a great opportunity to become a YFU exchange student in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin 🇺🇸. This program provides the home that located in the safety state which is very nice to me and of course my parents that we would not be worried about that at all year long. In every two or three months the program will have a student conference in Milwaukee so I can hang out with other people from all around the world (I mean we could get to know so many international people from around the world)

I was very fortunate that I was given an opportunity to spend my exchange year and created lifelong friendships. Mostly due to all the supports from many of my friends, I really feel confident about announcing that my exchange year has been tremendously successful regardless of the difficulties and issues that I was confronted with. I cannot express how much this exchange year meant to me. All I can say is that It has definitely given me a new perspective about life itself. Realization of something that is difficult to notice unless u get out of your comfort zone and dive into whole another world. I, also, cannot describe how grateful I am to all my friends, teachers and host families who made this year so amazing and unforgettable. I couldn’t have chosen any other people to spend the best 9 months of my life. My exchange year wouldn’t have been the same without everyone I met.

I was a student who didn't know exactly what they were doing when I got there, and I didn't speak any of the language. I had problems with my host family because they didn't understand my cultural differences and rather than move me, they made my sit there with them despite the fact that they didn't want me there I was left there for a month, and blamed me for my families treatment of me. I finally moved and had a fantastic experience with another family in the way north. I learned alot of the language, I learned more about myself then I ever would have at home, and finally learned how to be happy. Now I have a second home, another family, and an amazing best friend from my time there, and my life will never be the same.