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The Youth Exchange Selection Process
Is there an Age Requirement?
The answer is "Yes". To be considered for Rotary Youth Exchange 2010-2011, with 2011 being the year of study overseas, the applicant needs to have been born between 1 August 1994 and 1 August 1996. Exceptions to this age-based requirement will rarely be accepted by the District Youth Exchange Committee.
Are there any other restrictions?
The applicant must be a full-time student, both prior to departure and during the period of exchange overseas. The 12 month Visa granted to Rotary Exchange Students permitting them to stay in the country of exchange is a Student Visa and it is a requirement that the exchange student attends school on a full-time basis throughout the period of exchange.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Local Rotary Club Selection
To be considered for Youth Exchange the applicant must be nominated to the District Youth Exchange Committee by any one of the Rotary Clubs within District 9780.
Individual Rotary Clubs in District 9780 may undertake local advertising seeking interested Youth Exchange candidates. They may conduct an Information Night, advertise through the local media or at local secondary schools. However, some Rotary Clubs don't do anything to promote Youth Exchange in their area. You need to be vigilant if you are interested in becoming a Youth Exchange Student!
Past Youth Exchange Students are an excellent source of information and they may be invited to speak at the local secondary schools. The District Youth Exchange Committee also promotes the Youth Exchange Program on this website and continually updates the information on it. Find out from your local Rotary Club if they support the Youth Exchange Program and ask them to keep you in mind when Club Selection is being completed - usually mid to late February.
Students are selected by local Rotary Clubs on the basis of their written application and a personal interview.
Written Applications must be on the correct application form available from any Rotary Club and close with local Rotary Clubs before their specified date - usually before the end of February each year. It is acceptable to apply to more than one Rotary Club, if desired.
Applicants and possibly their parents are interviewed by a panel of members from the Rotary Club. Interview questions will cover areas such as school, hobbies, sport, leadership, employment, family relationships, local and general knowledge, Rotary and your potential participation in the exchange program.
The successful applicant from the Club is then nominated to the District Youth Exchange Committee.
District Youth Exchange Committee Selection
The District Youth Exchange Committee assesses all nominated applicants before arranging exchanges with overseas Host Rotary Clubs.
District Selection takes the form of three assessment tasks:
Throughout the entire District Selection process all participating students, with the consent of their parents, are given many opportunities to prioritise the countries of exchange that are available, however, as there are limited places in any one country a preparedness to accept an exchange in any of the available countries is necessary.
Rotary provides training
Rotary Clubs have an important role in this exchange. Once a student is selected as a Rotary Club's Exchange Applicant, the Club will provide one of their members to act as a counsellor. The counsellor's role is to maintain close contact with the student until their time of departure. Even following departure, this contact is expected to continue during the year of exchange, not only with the student but also the student's family. This keeps everyone informed of the progress of the exchange.
The District Youth Exchange Committee also provides training days, Briefings, in the period between student selection and departure. These are compulsory meetings for all selected students, their parents and, where possible, their Club Counsellor or a Club representative when the counsellor is unable to attend. The clear objective of these Briefings is to focus on preparing the student and their family for the year ahead - warts and all! They are very interactive and informative.
What to do now?
Applications in writing must be submitted on the appropriate application form. These are available between late December and early February from the District Secretary, participating Rotary Clubs, or you can fill in an expression of interest online and it will be forwarded to your closest participating Rotary Club who will then contact you.
| CALENDAR MONTH | PROCESS SEQUENCE |
| February/March | Local Rotary Club Youth Exchange Selection |
| March | Rotary Club Nomination to District Youth Exchange Committee |
| April | District Youth Exchange Selection Camp - Halls Gap weekend |
| May | District Youth Exchange Selection Formal Interviews - Ballarat District Youth Exchange Committee Country Placement Offers |
| June | First Briefing Day - Horsham |
| November | Final Briefing Weeekend, involving Inbound and Outbound Students |
| January | Depart Melbourne Airport for 12 month exchange |
Local Rotary Club Selection
To be considered for Youth Exchange the applicant must be nominated to the District Youth Exchange Committee by any one of the Rotary Clubs within District 9780.
Individual Rotary Clubs in District 9780 may undertake local advertising seeking interested Youth Exchange candidates. They may conduct an Information Night, advertise through the local media or at local secondary schools. However, some Rotary Clubs don't do anything to promote Youth Exchange in their area. You need to be vigilant if you are interested in becoming a Youth Exchange Student!
Past Youth Exchange Students are an excellent source of information and they may be invited to speak at the local secondary schools. The District Youth Exchange Committee also promotes the Youth Exchange Program on this website and continually updates the information on it. Find out from your local Rotary Club if they support the Youth Exchange Program and ask them to keep you in mind when Club Selection is being completed - usually mid to late February.
Students are selected by local Rotary Clubs on the basis of their written application and a personal interview.
Written Applications must be on the correct application form available from any Rotary Club and close with local Rotary Clubs before their specified date - usually before the end of February each year. It is acceptable to apply to more than one Rotary Club, if desired.
Applicants and possibly their parents are interviewed by a panel of members from the Rotary Club. Interview questions will cover areas such as school, hobbies, sport, leadership, employment, family relationships, local and general knowledge, Rotary and your potential participation in the exchange program.
The successful applicant from the Club is then nominated to the District Youth Exchange Committee.
District Youth Exchange Committee Selection
The District Youth Exchange Committee assesses all nominated applicants before arranging exchanges with overseas Host Rotary Clubs.
District Selection takes the form of three assessment tasks:
| 1 | Formal Application - completed online by each nominated student with assistance from their sponsor Rotary Club counsellor, their parents and the District Youth Exchange Secretary. This application includes school and medical reports as well as personal information with parents and students endorsement of the exchange rules. |
| 2 | Halls Gap weekend camp - this compulsory selection camp is designed to challenge participants through exposure to a range of games, puzzles, public speaking opportunities and other interesting and enjoyable activities. |
| 3 | Ballarat Formal Interviews - a 2 hour interview broken into 5 panels with each panel focusing on key characteristics deemed necessary for a successful exchange. |
Throughout the entire District Selection process all participating students, with the consent of their parents, are given many opportunities to prioritise the countries of exchange that are available, however, as there are limited places in any one country a preparedness to accept an exchange in any of the available countries is necessary.
Rotary provides training
Rotary Clubs have an important role in this exchange. Once a student is selected as a Rotary Club's Exchange Applicant, the Club will provide one of their members to act as a counsellor. The counsellor's role is to maintain close contact with the student until their time of departure. Even following departure, this contact is expected to continue during the year of exchange, not only with the student but also the student's family. This keeps everyone informed of the progress of the exchange.
The District Youth Exchange Committee also provides training days, Briefings, in the period between student selection and departure. These are compulsory meetings for all selected students, their parents and, where possible, their Club Counsellor or a Club representative when the counsellor is unable to attend. The clear objective of these Briefings is to focus on preparing the student and their family for the year ahead - warts and all! They are very interactive and informative.
What to do now?
Applications in writing must be submitted on the appropriate application form. These are available between late December and early February from the District Secretary, participating Rotary Clubs, or you can fill in an expression of interest online and it will be forwarded to your closest participating Rotary Club who will then contact you.