While in South Africa, you will live with a volunteer host family and attend a local high school.
| PROGRAM | DEPARTURE | RETURN | FULL TUITION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Spring Year | Late January | Late November | $14,595 |
| 2025 Rugby Spring Year | Late January | Late November | $15,395 |
| 2025 Fall Year | Late August | Late June | $14,595 |
- Placement with a host family
- Enrollment in a local South African high school
- Airport transfers
- Domestic and international travel
- All pre-departure and post-arrival orientations
- Pre-program support by trained YFU staff
- Support from a YFU South Africa Area Representative while on program
- Comprehensive insurance
During your stay, you will attend a local public or private high school located near your host family. Students should be aware that nearly all high schools in South Africa require uniforms, and school etiquette can be quite formal. You will take courses that are familiar to you in subjects like science, history, geography, English, math, and art. You can also embark on learning a language like Zulu or Afrikaans. Schools also welcome initiatives to start projects or after-school activities. Often, extra-curricular activities are integrated into the school day, and students can try new activities like rugby, cricket, drama, or music. Seniors should be aware that due to South African regulations, exchange students will be placed in the 11th grade.
All students applying for the year program must be available for a mandatory 3-day National Pre-Departure Orientation*, which usually takes place in mid-July or early-mid December (Spring departures). This orientation is a required part of the program aimed at preparing students for their experience overseas.
*Due to COVID-19, the 3-day National Pre-Departure Orientation described above may take place online, dependent upon recommended guidelines at the time of the event. YFU will continue to assess the situation as it develops.
After arrival in South Africa, students will attend a post-arrival orientation in Johannesburg, followed by another orientation a few weeks later in the region where they are placed to prepare for the exchange year. Students also have a regional mid-program orientation and a re-entry orientation before they return home. All orientation costs are included in program tuition.
- 2025 Academic Spring Departures: Students born December 31, 2007 – December 30, 2009
- 2025 Academic Fall Departures: Students born July 30, 2008 – August 6, 2010
- Students who will turn 18 within the first 6 months of their exchange or will graduate from high school before the start of their program will not be considered for admission.
Zulu, Xhosa, Sothos, Afrikaans, and English. These are only 5 of 11 official languages. There is no guarantee that students will be placed in an English-speaking family or school, so students should be open to learning a new language.
In urban or semi-urban areas such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Gauteng, Western Cape, Bloemfontein, and Port Elizabeth. Students are occasionally placed in smaller towns but not generally in very rural areas or in Cape Town (except for the Gap Year Volunteer Program.) YFU South Africa’s host families and host communities reflect the country’s diverse multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-lingual society.
