High School in Italy

Studying abroad on Greenheart Travel’s high school program in Italy will give you a chance to live in a cultural mecca famous for its history, art, music, literature, landscape, and delicious food. As an exchange student in Italy, you will live with a host family, practice your Italian language skills while attending a local high school and have the opportunity to stand out on college applications.

This program is ideal if you:

• Find yourself buying gelato every time you head to the grocery store
• Love history, art, and culture. Trust us, there’s lots of it in Italy!
• Want to learn a less commonly taught language or connect with heritage
• Want a rigorous academic experience

Sound about right? Here’s a quick overview:

• Host family accommodation provides full language & cultural immersion
• No previous Italian experience is required — beginners welcome!
• You can choose between trimester, semester or academic year lengths
• Start dates available in spring or fall

Greenheart Travel High School in Italy alum, Natalie Berger, explains how her exchange program in Italy changed her life in her TedX talk:

Spring 2025 Dates

Application Deadline: August 15, 2024
Missed the deadline? We are still accepting applications for Spring 2025 on a case-by-case basis. Email travelapplications@greenheart.org for more details!

• Trimester: January – April 2025
• Semester: January – June 2025

You’ll know your exact arrival and departure dates after being placed in a host family and in a school! Program dates vary depending on region and school placement.

Can’t commit to going during the school year? Check out our summer language camp in Florence!

Arrival and Departure 

All students are required to book flights on their own. An airport transfer upon arrival is included in the cost of the program. We will provide your exact arrival and departure dates after acceptance, as well as the exact timeframes you should arrive/depart, so that you can start to search for possible flights. We require prior approval of a proposed itinerary before you purchase any flights.

Nervous about flying on your own? We recommend students and parents sitting down together to review the following resources:

• How to navigate an international airport blog
• Flying internationally video
• Webinar with tips on flying internationally

For many Greenheart Travel students their first time flying is across the world to start their exchange program! You can read our alumni experiences on our blog, such as Emily’s or Madison’s blogs on their experiences flying to Japan or Rachel’s tips on what you actually need to know about flying.

Program Fees for Fall 2024 – Spring 2025

• Academic Trimester: $8,630
• Academic Semester: $10,530
• Academic Year: $12,280

Packaged into the Price:

• Airport pickup upon arrival & domestic transfer to the host placement site
• Host family accommodation and 3 meals per day
• Comprehensive medical/accident insurance
• 3-day on-site orientation in Milan
• Arrival Orientation with a local coordinator
• Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the program for use on college applications.
• Access to Greenheart Travel Facebook groups to connect with alumni and others on your start date ahead of your program.
• Greenheart Atlas Program 
• Greenheart Travel T-shirt & other Greenheart swag

Our Support and Services: 

• Visa Assistance in applying for the visa ahead of arrival, including visa paperwork and extensive directions and support.
• Extensive pre-departure advice and support from your US-based program coordinators! They will be with you from your first inquiry, all the way through preparing to leave and your arrival in Italy.
• Support from in-country staff upon arrival to Italy.
• Online pre-departure cultural and logistical orientation before you leave
• 24-hour in-country and emergency support for the duration of the program, including 24-hour emergency phone numbers to reach a program manager at any time.
• Opportunity to apply for a Greenheart Grant to give back to your community at home or abroad

Payment Details:

• $1,500 Application Fee due by the program deadline to formally apply
• $5,000 Commitment Payment due 14 days after acceptance
• Remaining balance is due 16 weeks prior to your start date. If your program starts within 16 weeks of acceptance, the remaining program balance payment will be due at the same time as the commitment payment. 

Please note there is a non-negotiable $450 late application fee for any applications received after the stated application deadline.

Extra costs not included in the fee: 

• International airfare to/from Italy
• Optional weekend trips throughout the program
• Public transportation costs
• Cell phone bills
• Personal spending money for things like toiletries or snacks bought outside the home

Worried about the program fee?

Our goal is to help make travel accessible to everyone and we are here to help when you are deciding if this experience is financially do-able. Each year we offer scholarships for high school study abroad students! We also have a guide to fundraising your program fee, and many high school students fundraise in their hometowns ahead of their program.

We also offer discounts for applying early (plus there are many other benefits to applying early!) for each start date and for US families that have hosted an exchange student with Greenheart Exchange.

We’ve placed students all over Italy! Our top 5 most common placements are in the following cities and towns: Turin, Legnano, Milan, Perugi, and Lucera.

We make it a priority to place students with host families that match your interests and personality, for example, if you like soccer, we’ll do our best to find a family that also loves soccer! However, we will require that you be okay with any type of family, as we cannot fully guarantee any preferences be met. For this reason, we work first to find a suitable family rather than a destination preference.

You must be flexible about where you are placed within Italy. 

In researching a study abroad program, you have already shown you are a leader and open-minded in your academic pursuits. These are just a few of the traits that our exchange students possess. You’re motivated to immerse yourself in another culture and flexible enough to live outside your comfort zone. You should also:

• Be between 14 and 18 years of age (at the time of travel)
• Be from the United States or Canada
• Possess a high school cumulative GPA of at least 2.75/4.0
• Be in great mental* and physical health
• Have a genuine interest in becoming a part of your host family and community
• Be willing to study and learn Italian

*What does it mean to be in good mental health?

Moving to a new culture and staying in unfamiliar surroundings without your normal support structure can be very stressful, even to a well-adjusted student. Sending a student with pre-existing conditions on a long-term exchange program could exacerbate whatever challenges the student was previously facing. In order to ensure the safety of our participants, we must be rigorous in our pre-screening of all high school abroad applicants.

Therefore, we may not be able to accept students who have struggled with any kind of mental illness, specifically within the last 2 years and/or are reliant on medication to address their existing mental health condition. Each student will be addressed on a case by case basis and ultimately it is Greenheart Travel’s in-country partner who holds the right to accept or decline a student based on their individual policy.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Eating disorders
• Chronic debilitating migraines
• Bipolar Disorder

All students who currently experience one or more of these conditions will be required to submit an addendum to the terms and conditions as well as a letter of support from their current mental health specialist. If the student’s mental health issue has been managed (post-medication) for over 2 years, we will still require a note from his/her relevant practitioner (psychologist, therapist, psychiatrist, etc) as part of the application process.  We encourage you to discuss your specific situation with us directly, before securing these documents.

Please note that students who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD will not be guaranteed any academic accommodations plans by the host school abroad.

As a High School in Italy participant, we will support you and welcome you to the program in a variety of orientation activities.

These include:

• Online pre-departure cultural and logistical orientation before you leave with the Greenheart Travel staff
• Greenheart Travel Atlas Program will provide pre-departure activities to complete ahead of arrival, on program, and for reflection after returning home.
• 3-day on-site arrival orientation in Milan with other exchange students
• Local coordinators will meet you personally after arrival in your host family placement

Students meeting together in Rome during an excursion!

So, what about credits? 

Neither Greenheart Travel nor the host school abroad provides high school credit. All credit must be granted through your home school in the U.S. or Canada. All U.S./Canadian schools have different policies. Here’s a blog post to read more about how some alumni have transferred credits.  

In Italy, we cannot guarantee your host school will provide you an official transcript. If your school will not, some host schools will provide documentation, letters, and any other materials you require upon request. You must have good behavior, attendance, and performance in order for the school to fulfill this request.  

Then, you should take this documentation back to your home school as proof of your participation in the program. Your home school is responsible for awarding you credit for this program or not.  

Before You Go Abroad

You should meet with your U.S./Canadian high school before you leave and share the general curriculum guidelines for Italy with your guidance counselor and/or teachers.  

Because the curriculum will vary by school and we cannot guarantee you’ll take any specific classes, it is important that you arrange the required classes required for your graduation, such as U.S. History, before or after your time abroad.  

Greenheart Travel will be able to provide information about the general curriculum for your age level in Italy, but you will not know your course schedule until after you arrive in country and start attending school.  

Access your High School Curriculum Guidelines for Italy here!

Once You’re Abroad

Please keep in mind that the grading system in other countries is different than the US. Most host schools in Italy will not grant grades or transcripts as it is too difficult to evaluate your work due to the language barrier.  If your host school is able to award you grades, they won’t be an exact match to what you would get in the US.

Your Quick Guide to Italian High Schools

• Most schools begin around 8am and finish around 1pm, 6 days per week. (School on Saturdays is more fun if you’re in Italy, right?)
• You won’t eat lunch at school, but you will bring a snack for break around 11am
• Your school sets your course schedule for  you. Most students take the following: Italian Language and Literature, English Language and Literature, History, Math, Science, and P.E.
• You’ll be enrolled in one specific “class.” You won’t move from one classroom to another, that’s what the teachers will do!
• Most learning is lecture style, where teachers will give information and students will take notes. There is less group/experiential work in the Italian classroom.
• Most students are enrolled in schools called “Liceos” – these are for students who will later attend university. Some Lyceums have specific focuses such as science, arts, linguistics, classical, musical, or human sciences.
• There’s no uniform, but you should dress nicely (not formal, just not sloppy!)
• Each student has a “dedicated teacher” – this is your school coordinator who will be your resource for any academic questions or concerns
• Many (not all) schools offer extra language tutoring for international students. If your school does not, your local coordinator will be able to help identify where to find tutoring.

The best way to learn about a new culture and language is to be fully immersed in it which is why all Greenheart Travel high school abroad students live with local host families. All of our host families are volunteers and will treat you as a member of their family. By being a part of your family’s daily life, you will learn to live and speak like a local.

Prospective host families undergo a rigorous screening process. Participants can rest assured that only suitable host families will be selected. In fact, many of our current host families have hosted students in the past, showing what an impactful experience it was.

In order to qualify as a host family, the prospective hosts must:

• Successfully pass a criminal background check
• Undergo and pass an in-person interview with program staff
• Agree to and pass a home inspection

We will connect you with your host family prior to your arrival in your host country. By e-mailing and speaking with them before arriving, it will help break the ice when you finally meet in person. It will also show that you are as excited to live with them as they are to host you!

Host families have many reasons why they want to welcome you! Our host families are volunteers, meaning they don’t receive compensation for housing and feeding students during their program. Many host families love the experience of cultural exchange – they learn just as much about your country as you do theirs. Many are also former exchange students and want to return the favor, or they have children who have gone or will go to study in the U.S. Having an exchange student exposes their children to new languages and cultures.

Host siblings can be the best help in learning Italian phrases!

While you’re in Italy, you’ll become fully immersed in your community, but you’ll also have the chance to travel within Italy and also Europe!

Rome Trip

Each semester, the in-country staff organize an optional 3-day excursion to Rome for all exchange students in Italy. The approximate price is ~400 euros. This is not included in your program fee. Here’s the tentative schedule:

Friday

Arrival day! Settle in, head to the hotel, and explore the streets of Rome on foot.

Saturday

Visit the Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Castel Saint Angelo, and Villa Borghese Gardens. Spend the evening in Trastevere, where you’ll eat a delicious traditional meal!

Sunday

Sightseeing in Rome, including the Roman Forum, Palatino and Coliseum, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. Free time to explore Rome on your own.

Monday

Visit the Palazzo Madama and Montecitorio, Campo de Fiori before saying goodbye to your other exchange student friends and head back to your host community.

Optional weekend trips throughout Europe

Throughout your program, we will let you know about any additional optional weekend trips you can join. There are typically other organized trips to other Italian locations such as Venice and Florence.

Committing to studying abroad can feel daunting, but we are here every step of the way to make the application process as simple as possible! Below are the various steps you’ll need to take to be accepted on a high school abroad program.

Greenheart Travel has been working with high schoolers for many years, and there are advantages of applying for this program through us:

• 33 years of experience with cultural exchange programs.
• Friendly, responsive, and professional support from your program manager.
• Connect with alumni and others on the program via our Greenheart Travel only Facebook forums, before you even leave!
• We try and make our program fees as inclusive as we can. We include things like medical insurance so you don’t run into any hidden fees down the line.
• Greenheart Atlas Program. The Greenheart Travel Atlas is a cultural training interactive guidebook alongside five videos where you will find three main topics covered: Personal/Professional Development, Cultural Understanding, & Environmental Awareness.
• Our alumni recommend us! GoOverseas.com Reviews // GoAbroad.com Reviews
• Hands-on support and personal attention every step of the way
• 24/7 emergency phone number to reach a staff member at any time
• Pre-departure “Culture Shock and Adjustment” Webinar before you leave
• Discounts for future Greenheart Travel programs
• We are a non-profit, mission-based organization
• Continued support throughout your time abroad

We also have some unique offerings to our Greenheart Travel students and alumni!

Greenheart Grants

Greenheart Grants are funds awarded to Greenheart Travel participants to use for community development projects in their host or home country. A Greenheart Grant is the opportunity to create, improve, or maintain an impactful, community-focused project abroad or at home. Grant funds could be applied to supporting women’s cooperatives, schools, community centers, or health clinics, for example. Grant winners will be featured on our website, social media, and blog. You can see our past winners on our blog here.

Greenheart Alumni Program

We created the Greenheart Travel Alumni Program to provide resources and a community to support alumni in their advancement as global leaders, and a way to celebrate and reward our participants for being ambitious, inspiring catalysts of cultural exchange!

Junior Greenheart Global Leaders Conference

Each May Greenheart offers full-ride scholarships to around 10 teen alumni to attend our annual conference in Chicago. You can see more about what Jr. GGLC is and what you could do at the conference here.

Have questions or want to talk to one of the program coordinators? Set up a time to have a phone call below.