About Hosting an Exchange Student

St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco and Sant Ignasi-Sarrià initiated this exchange program in 1999. Sant Ignasi-Sarrià is a premier Jesuit institution with over 3,000 students located in the heart of Barcelona. The students from Barcelona spend approximately four weeks in the U.S. and during that time the students will live with a family from the SI community and attend classes at SI. We wish to give these students the opportunity to experience life in the U.S., grow in their understanding of North American family life, attend regular classes at our school, make friends, visit sites in the Bay Area and try their hand at a variety of extra-curricular activities.

The host family will provide a safe and welcoming place for the Spanish students to stay and learn about the Bay Area. The students are covered by their own medical insurance. The host family does not receive any monetary reimbursement of expenses and is expected to provide all meals and pay for any reasonable expenses that the student may incur through family outings. The students will bring money to pay for their own personal expenses. The host family is also expected to set the same rules regarding curfew, dinner hour, computer use, etc. that the family would expect of their own high school sons and/or daughters.

When selecting potential host "sisters" and "brothers" we look for a student who

can vocalize his/her own interest in our program and an appreciation for the value of a cultural exchange experience;
demonstrates age-appropriate maturity and can vocalize his/her own expectations for the exchange program both as a host and visiting student;
can vocalize how s/he deals with and has dealt with a challenge in his/her life;
has given some thought to and has formulated a potential plan for how the visiting student will spend his/her free time;
is willing to do presentations in different classes at Sant Ignasi-Sarrià when s/he travels to Barcelona in June;
is willing to visit Spanish classes at SI in order to help recruit host families and/or tell classes about his/her experience in Barcelona.

We usually have more applicants than we can accommodate. We try and make the best selection based on the requirements above and the needs of the visiting students. When making the selection, we do review each student's disciplinary and academic record with the Deans, counselors and Faculty members.