Overview
Though it may be winter, New Zealand’s beautiful town of Rotorua is still the perfect place to embrace the Kiwi lifestyle and spend time outdoors. Study at Western Heights High School and live with a local Kiwi family.
This program is perfect for you if:
- You love sports! You’ll have the opportunity to join winter sports like rugby, soccer, netball, field hockey, and more
- You love a good adventure. All students are eligible to participate in an outdoor adventure curriculum where you’ll climb mountains, whitewater raft, mountain bike and more
- You can’t wait to experience the Kiwi lingo – it may be English, but it’s new and exciting
Costs & Inclusions
2024 Prices
Check back January 2024 for Summer 2024 pricing!
Packaged into the Price:
- Host family accommodation and 3 meals per day
- School fees (tuition, textbooks, uniform)
- Comprehensive medical/accident insurance
- Arrival Orientation with a local coordinator in New Zealand
- 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 New Zealand.
- Support from in-country staff upon arrival to New Zealand.
- 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:
- Flights to/from New Zealand
- Any school supplies, notebooks, pens, calculators, etc.
- Local transportation
- Pocket money
- Personal hygiene articles (deodorant, tampons, perfume, shampoo)
- Specialty food items
- If there is something you want or enjoy that your host family does not typically buy. Students with intolerances have to buy (for example): gluten-free items, lactose intolerance milk, vegan options, etc. if this is not part of their host family’s diet.
Payment Details:
- $1,500 Application fee due by the program deadline to formally apply
- $5,000 Commitment payment due after acceptance
- Remaining balance is due within 2 weeks of acceptance
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.
Please email us at travelabroad@greenheart.org if you have questions about the program fee, scholarships, or fundraising for your program.
Program Dates
2024 Program Dates
Check back January 2024 for Summer 2024 program dates!
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.
Eligibility
- Be between 15 and 18 at the time of travel (recent graduates welcome!)
- U.S. or Canadian citizen
- High school cumulative GPA of at least 2.75/4.0
- Great mental and physical health*
- Have a genuine interest in becoming part of your host family and community
*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.
Academic Info
Students will have the opportunity to give preferences for the classes they take, but most students take a mix of core subjects and electives. You may take Math, Geography, Science, History, Literature, or Languages. Nearly all students opt to enroll in the outdoor adventure course.
Placement
All students are placed in Rotorua and attend Western Heights High School. Rotorua is an outdoor adventure hub renowned for its hiking, mountain biking, Maori culture, and geothermal springs. Once you see the views of Lake Rotorua, you won’t ever want to leave!
Host Families
You’ll live with a local volunteer family from Rotorua, and they 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 true Kiwi. You’ll start asking for “fairy bread” (Google it!) and wondering where you can buy a new pair of jandals.
All 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.
Why Greenheart Travel?
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 Global Impact Grants (GIGs)
Greenheart GIG Grants are funds awarded to Greenheart Travel participants to use for community development projects in their host or home country. A GIG 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.18
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Application Process
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.
1. Start Your Application Here. You will be sent more information as well as the link to our application portal to begin your formal application. Once the initial form is complete, you will be connected to a High School Abroad program manager who will speak with you and a parent to go over the details of the program.
2. Submit Basic Program Information: The first step in our application portal will be basic things like your chosen start date, etc.
3. Submit your application fee: A $1,500 application fee is required in order to apply for the program. This is subtracted from your total program fee, it’s not additional.
4. Complete Application & Documents: Provide more detailed information about yourself in Part 2 of the application. In this section, you’ll tell us more information like your work history, motivations for joining the program, travel history, and emergency contacts. You will also submit your documents (below) within your portal account.
5. Interview: After submitting your application fee, you will schedule an interview with us. During this interview, we will ask you questions about living with a host family, adjusting to new situations and homesickness, among other things. You will also receive an overview of the next few months and what you can expect. This is done via Zoom, and at least one parent should also be in attendance.
6. You’re Accepted! Once you’ve completed all the steps, Greenheart Travel will thoroughly review your application and will contact you within 2-3 weeks about your acceptance. Then, you’ll get more information about preparation and placement.
7. Commitment Payment: Once you are accepted to the program, you will need to submit a $5,000 commitment payment within 14 days to confirm your spot on the program. We cannot start the host family matching process until we have this payment. Once you submit your commitment payment you will unlock the acceptance portion of your portal, which includes things like pre-departure videos, travel and arrival information, the Greenheart Travel Atlas, and more.
7. Book your flights, and get ready for your adventure!
Required Documents
In addition to completing an application, you will also be required to submit documents. You can be collecting the documents during the application process, but all documents will be due 14 days after you submit your application fee.
The following documents will be required for all destinations:
- Letter of Recommendation (from a teacher, coach or guidance counselor) – does not need to be sealed, should be scanned and uploaded to the document portal
- Transcripts from the last 3 years (unofficial transcripts accepted)
- Student Dear Family Letter
- Parent Questionnaire & Letter
- Photo Album (5-7 photos of you on a Word document with captions)
- Medical Form (including immunizations)
- Copy of your passport
- 60-90 second self-introduction video sent via YouTube link
- Secondary rules & expectations document signed by both parents and students
You’ve Been Accepted, Now What?
Start getting ready for your adventure! Your program manager will be in regular communication with you to make sure that you are on track in your preparations to go abroad.
- Upon acceptance, you will receive a student handbook (parents – you get one, too!) and access to the Greenheart Travel Atlas, as well as the Greenheart Club.
- You will receive your host family and school placement roughly 2-3 months after acceptance.
- After receiving your host family and school placement, you will receive further instructions on applying for your student visa (if applicable for your program length)
- We will also schedule an online pre-orientation with other Greenheart students a few weeks before your departure!
Schedule a Call
Have questions or want to talk to one of the program coordinators? Set up a time to have a phone call below.
Photos
Take a glimpse into life in New Zealand through some student’s photos. Make sure to also check out #greenhearttravel on Instagram for more
I am a parent with questions, where do I go?
Please head to our Parent Handbook page. You’re also welcome to set up a time to chat with us about your child’s program abroad here. We’re happy to chat with you about this big decision!
I identify as LGBTQ+. How will I be supported?
Greenheart Travel welcomes travelers identifying as LGTBQ+, and is committed to helping you find the best program for you. We can provide information on the cultural norms of our destination countries and are prepared to advise you on the best programs based on your needs and interests.
Will I have a host sibling my age?
There is no guarantee that you will have a host sibling your age. Your host family may have young children, teenage children, or grown children who no longer live at home. Regardless of the age of your host siblings, they’ll be excited to welcome into the family!
What if I don’t like my host family? Can I request a new one?
No. We do not change host families based on preferences or location. However, if issues arise once you are on the program, we will handle them on a case-by-case basis and may make changes if necessary.
What visa do I get and how do I apply?
All students studying more than 90 days will be required to obtain a student visa to New Zealand. It is the students’ responsibility to obtain this visa, but Greenheart will provide you guidance and the proper documentation you’ll need to apply.
Are flights included?
Airfare to/from New Zealand is NOT included in the cost of the program.
Will someone pick me up at the airport?
Yes! Our in-country partner staff or your host family will be eagerly waiting for you when you arrive! They’ll then take you to your new host town.
Can I travel on my own during the program?
You are not permitted to travel on your own during the program. There may be opportunities to travel through the program and/or through your school, but you must be accompanied by an approved chaperone to travel.
Will I have a cell phone and internet?
You will be required to have a local New Zealand phone number. Please make sure that your U.S. phone is “unlocked” as to accept a SIM card from Ireland! We give you tips and advice for communication while abroad during your program.
All host families (and most every person) in New Zealand have internet in their homes. There is also 4G internet widely available throughout the country.
If you have a laptop we recommend bringing it, as it will be helpful for school and for communicating with home.
Do I need vaccines/shots?
All students need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before arriving to their destination country.
You are required to submit a record of immunizations during application process.
What is the insurance?
Comprehensive medical and accident insurance will be included in the cost of your program. This will cover you for most medical expenses you might incur, like prescriptions, ER visits, doctor visits, dental accidents, and hospitalizations.
What happens if I get sick or have an emergency?
If you get sick, your host family or local coordinator will help you go to the doctor.
If you have an emergency on program, we have a 24/7 emergency number you can call. Our in-country partner staff and your host family will be there to assist you. Greenheart will be in touch with your parents regarding your emergency.
Can friends study abroad together?
You’re welcome to both go to New Zealand at the same time but you would not be placed together in the same host family. You would attend the same school, though.
Can my parents visit while I’m abroad?
No. Visits are not allowed during the high school program. If your family wishes to visit, they should plan to meet you after your program is completed. In this instance, Greenheart Travel’s National office and international partner office should be informed of your family’s plans.
Do you offer any scholarships, financial aid, or special discounts?
Yes. Every year we offer various scholarships for select high school program destinations. There are two Early Bird Deadline discounts offered each year as well. If you have hosted a student for Greenheart Exchange, you are also eligible for a Greenheart Host Family discount.
When should I apply?
We recommend you apply a minimum of 6 months prior to your desired semester.
The sooner you can apply the better, as acceptance, gathering documents, etc. can take a long time. Read more about why applying early is a good idea.
Our final deadlines for summer & fall start dates are March 15, and September 15 for spring departures.
I have already graduated, am I still eligible?
On a case by case basis, we can accept already graduated students for High School programs in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, and England.
Can I speak to current high school students or alumni?
Yes! Check out our blog or you can join our exclusive teen programs Facebook group to talk to current and past students.
We also have a list of mentors (teens and parents) that are past participants open to chatting about their experience with potential new participants. Please inquire here if you want to be put in touch with a mentor.
