High School in Spain

Bienvenido a España!

Studying abroad in Spain with Greenheart Travel is an opportunity to learn how to speak fluent Spanish, while immersing yourself in a culture that holds a high regard for great conversation, food, and friends. As a high school abroad student you will live like a local while you study alongside your Spanish peers and stay with a native host family. Perfect your Spanish and stand out on college applications as an exchange student in Spain!

Program at a Glance:

• Host family accommodation provides full language & cultural immersion
• At least 2 years of Spanish language experience is strongly suggested
• You can choose between a 1 or 2-month, trimester, semester or academic year program length
• Start dates in the spring or fall
• Placement can be guaranteed in these cities for an additional cost: Andalucía (Seville, Cadiz, and Granada), Aragón (Zaragoza) Asturias, Castilla la Mancha (Albacete), Castilla León (León, Valladolid, Soria, and Segovia), Extremadura (Cáceres, Badajoz), or Madrid.

See what our alumni Christina Boyce’s experience was like studying abroad in Spain:

Spring 2025 Dates

Application Deadline: September 15, 2024

• Trimester: Mid-January – Early-April 2025
• Semester: Early-February – Late-June 2025

Fall 2025 Dates

Application Deadline: March 15, 2025
Apply early and save! Apply by December 15, 2024 and save $300 off a trimester or semester program and $500 off an academic year program.

• Trimester: September – November 2025
• Semester: September 2025 – February 2026
• Academic Year: September 2025 – late-May/early-June 2026

Note: Greenheart Travel’s program dates do not necessarily coincide with Spain’s general school year dates. Refer to the Academic Info page for more information.

Any arrivals or departures different from these dates may incur an additional $350 fee.

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 2-4 week Spanish summer language camp options in Costa Rica or Spain! We also have high school abroad opportunities in the summer for Costa Rica & Argentina.

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.

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 17 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
• Have at least 2 years of Spanish language instruction or be willing to enroll in an additional Spanish language course
• Be open to 5 hours per week of English language exchange with host family

Interested in gaining Spanish fluency before you go? Check out our Teen Summer Language Camp in Salamanca!

*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.

Fall 2024 – Spring 2025

• Academic Trimester: $11,380
• Academic Semester: $13,680
• Academic Year: $15,470

The following locations can be guaranteed for an additional cost of $1,000 USD: Andalucía (Seville, Cadiz, and Granada), Aragón (Zaragoza) Asturias, Castilla la Mancha (Albacete),  Castilla León (León, Valladolid, Soria, and Segovia), Extremadura (Cáceres, Badajoz), Madrid

Packaged into the Price:

• Airport pickup and drop off 
• Host family accommodation and 3 meals per day
• Comprehensive medical/accident insurance
• 2 Night Arrival Orientation
  • Accommodation at Orientation Site
  • Traditional Spanish Meals
  • Orientation workshops (covering school life, host family life, Spanish culture, etc).
  • Cultural Tours of Madrid (museums, palaces, plazas, cathedrals, etc)
• Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the program for use on college applications.
• 4 hours of private Spanish tutoring, option to extend for an additional fee
• 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 Spain.
• Support from in-country staff upon arrival to Spain.
• 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

Additional Expenses to Budget for (Estimates):

• Airfare to/from Spain
• Textbooks ($300-400)
• Personal spending money for entertainment, trips, meals out, and extracurriculars ($200-300/month)

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. 

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 hometown 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.

All participants will get to participate in a 2-day orientation upon arrival, in Madrid. You’ll have the opportunity to meet many other new like-minded and adventurous students who have also just arrived! By the end, you’ll have new friends scattered around the entire country. Orientation includes important activities and classes on what to expect on your program, language, and local culture. The accommodation will be at a hotel in downtown Madrid.

Example Itinerary:

Subject to change.

Tuesday – Welcome to Madrid! Plaza Mayor, Tapas, and Art!

On Tuesday you will arrive at the Madrid Airport and the High School Spain team will greet you there! Then the staff will bring you to the hotel you’ll be staying at in downtown Madrid. Up first – a tour of Plaza Mayor and Old Madrid! We’ll have lunch at a Spanish restaurant where you can try your first tapas! After lunch, we’ll go to the Prado museum, which is one of the most famous art museums in the world.

Greenheart spotting in Plaza Mayor!

Before dinner we’ll take a walk through Parque Retiro (dinner won’t be until 8PM – welcome to Spain!) After dinner, we’ll head back to the hotel.

Wednesday – Orientation, Paella, and the Royal Palace!

After breakfast, we’ll start our day with orientation classes! We’ll cover things like expectations, Spanish culture, school life, host family etiquette, and more! After the orientation lectures, we’ll have a large paella lunch at a restaurant nearby.

After lunch, we’ll visit the Royal Palace, another top tourist destination in Madrid, followed by dinner and back to the hotel.

Thursday – Picasso, Mercado de San Miguel, and Finally – Placements!

Thursday morning we’ll head to the Reina Sofía Museum, which has modern art from artists like Picasso, Dali, and Miro. Afterward, we’ll have lunch at Mercado de San Miguel which has tons of stalls with different foods to try.

After lunch, we’ll head to the train or bus station where you’ll board your transportation to your new host city. Your host family will be waiting for you when you get there to meet you and welcome you! This is such a great part of the week as now the adventure really starts and all of the students will go to their new Spanish home with their new Spanish family!

Orientation fun!

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 Spain, we cannot guarantee your host school will provide you an official transcript unless you complete a full academic year program, take exams, and have good behavior and attendance at your high school. 

Students studying on trimester and semester programs can request their host schools provide documentation, letters, and any other materials, but it is unlikely that these will include any sort of grade evaluations (either a number grade out of 10 or even pass/fail). High schools in Spain look at a student’s academic performance throughout an entire year and award a grade at the end, so it not always possible to award grades for trimester or semester student. You must have good behavior, attendance, and performance in order for the school to fulfill any requests for documentation. 

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 Spain 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 Spain, 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 Spain here!

Once You’re Abroad

Please keep in mind that the grading system in other countries is different than the US. Most host schools 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.

In your free time, you can play soccer, basketball, go swimming, and more! If athletics don’t interest you, you can participate in theater, music, and a wide variety of youth organizations and cultural activities. Getting involved is the best way to meet people and make friends.

How to Understand the Program Dates:

Have you had a look at our program dates? If you’ve been researching high school in Spain, you might be confused. Here’s some explanation: In Spain, the school  year is divided into trimesters and there aren’t exact dates for that. They change each year and they change from one school to another. The trimester ends when the students take the trimester exams. For the first trimester for example, some schools wait until Christmas and other school have the exams the first week of December. It also varies according to the grade: usually 11^th  and 12^th grade go together but 10^th grade has other dates.

When a U.S. or Canadian student wants to come to Spain for a semester, it makes sense that it should be 4 ½ months which is half of the school year (9 months). However, this timeframe doesn’t quite coincide with any school dates. So, we have semester students start a bit later so you finish the school year with your class.

What else to know about attending a high school in Spain:

• Students are usually placed in public high schools in Spain, with academic start dates ranging from early to mid-September and ending in late May or late June.
• The grade students are placed in in Spain will correspond with their birthdate and not necessarily their grade equivalent in the U.S.
• Classes typically run Monday through Friday.
• In the Bachillerato grades (11th and 12th grade equivalents) most students are placed in the Social Studies track with required subjects including History, Language & Literature, English, Catholic Religion or Ethics. There are also some elective courses depending on the school.

You will come back from Spain with a thorough understanding of Spanish culture and a level of fluency in the language that is impossible to obtain in the classroom at home.

“I just started classes here at Brown University, and I’ve decided to take a class called “Spanish for Health Care Workers.” In order to take this class, you have to take a placement exam. I was pretty nervous to take it considering there are a lot of native speakers and plenty of upper-level Spanish classes here, but I did really well!  I know I would not have scored this high without my time in Spain.” – Greenheart Travel high school in Spain alumna, Claire Ryan

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.

Check out this video a Greenheart Traveler made with her host sisters in Spain:

We’ve placed students all over Spain! Our top 5 most common placements are in the following towns: Badajoz, Albacete, Leon, Villanueva de la Serena, and Azuaga.

The majority of our families live in small to medium-sized towns outside of major cities, and it is important you be open-minded to small-town life.

We make it a priority to place students with host families that closely match your interests and personality, for example, if you like field hockey, we’ll do our best to find a family that also loves field hockey! 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 Spain unless you upgrade to a destination guarantee program. We can offer a destination guarantee for an additional fee. The following locations can be guaranteed: Andalucía (Seville, Cadiz, and Granada), Aragón (Zaragoza) Asturias, Castilla la Mancha (Albacete),  Castilla León (León, Valladolid, Soria, and Segovia), Extremadura (Cáceres, Badajoz), Madrid.

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.

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.

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