STS High School 14–18 years of age
Empowering young people since 1958
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Students' testimonials
What is it actually like to spend a high school year abroad? No one knows or can explain it better than the people who have gone on a high school exchange themselves. That’s why we let several of our students tell us about their year abroad, as you can read about below.
Also, don’t miss our social media channels! Follow @stsworldwide on TikTok and Instagram to get a true feel for what a high school year abroad is really like. We have our students take over our channels every week and it is full of our students’ real-life stories. Follow to see how an exchange year can change your life!
Want to share your journey?
We’d love to hear about your experiences! If you’re interested in sharing your story, send us an e-mail at social.media@sts-education.com. You might be featured on our channels next time!
Interested in a specific destination? Choose it below!
Philipp chose to study in New Zealand
25/02/2025
Kia Ora!* I’m Philipp, 16 years old, born and raised in Vienna, Austria. Currently, I’m on my exchange year in Auckland, New Zealand. My journey to...Rozemaryne spent a year abroad in Sweden
24/02/2025
Rozemaryne from the Netherlands made her exchange in Sweden. How was your exchange? I decided to go to Sweden to learn the language and experience...Giorgia studied on high school in Germany
14/02/2025
Giorgia from Italy was on a six month exchange in Germany I spent six unforgettable months in Ottersberg, Germany. It was a life-changing experienc...Marta chose to study in Germany
14/01/2025
Marta from Italy spent 3 months in Germany. I was in Germany as an exchange student for three months, a short but intense experience that allowed m...Teresa studied abroad in Ireland
10/12/2024
Teresa from Austria was on exchange in Ireland. When I was 17 years old, I had the amazing opportunity to spend five months in Ireland on an exchan...Katja was on an exchange year in Ireland
02/12/2024
Hey! My name is Katja and I made my high school exchange in Ireland. It was really difficult for me to choose a country where I wanted to do my...Jule chose to study in Sweden
25/11/2024
Jule from Germany made her 10-month exchange in Sweden. Why did you choose to go to Sweden for your exchange? A few years ago, I saw an interview i...Edoardo studied abroad in Finland
25/11/2024
Nine years ago, I embarked on a year-long high school exchange program in Espoo, Finland. Inspired by a Swiss classmate who spent a year in Italy...Serena was on an exchange year in Finland
25/11/2024
Hi, I'm Serena from Italy! I spent my high school exchange year in Finland. I chose to do this experience because I wanted to get out of my comfort...Eva studied abroad in Switzerland
25/10/2024
Eva from Italy spent a semester at high school in Switzerland. Why did you choose to go on a high school exchange to Switzerland? I went to Solothu...Muki chose to study in Spain
24/10/2024
My name is Muki, I'm 16 years old and I'm from Austria. I am right now spending 5 months in Spain in a smaller city near Madrid called Rivas...Emma studied abroad in Spain
24/10/2024
I love traveling and new experiences, so I decided to go on an exchange year in Spain, which has given me a fantastic opportunity to learn and...Alba was on exchange in Spain
22/10/2024
My name is Alba, I am 16 years old and I am from Sweden. I spent 10 months in Seville, Spain, a city I had never heard of before, but which quickly...Matteo was on exchange in Germany
21/10/2024
Hi! I’m Matteo from Italy and I’m 19. In August 2022 I started my exchange experience in Germany. I stayed until June 2023, so it was an entire...Paula chose to study in Italy
08/10/2024
Paula Binder from Austria went on high school exchange to Italy 5 years ago. Five years ago, I decided to go for a one-semester high school exchang...Alice studied abroad in Germany
02/10/2024
Alice from Italy spent a semester in Germany. Hi, I'm Alice from Italy. I spent 5 months in Germany for my high school exchange. Why did you choose...Franziska went on high school in the Netherlands
01/10/2024
Franziska from Austria spent a year abroad in the Netherlands. I chose the Netherlands because I felt drawn to this country from the beginning and...Neo was on an exchange year in China
18/09/2024
Neo Mossbäck from Sweden went to China for his 10-month high school exchange. I went on a high school exchange for many reasons; to improve my...Louisa went on exchange to New Zealand
16/09/2024
Louisa from Austria was on exchange in New Zealand. Hi! I’m Louisa from Austria. I spent a semester abroad in Auckland, New Zealand. This was the...Celina went on high school exchange to Germany
16/09/2024
Celina from Brazil spent a school year in Germany. I was on exchange in Germany for ten months. I chose Germany because it is such a different...Elena was on an exchange year in Italy
10/09/2024
Elena from Austria went to Italy for a year. From the age of 13, I was very determined to do an exchange year. At first, I thought of the obvious...Ode went on exchange to Italy
10/09/2024
Ode van Daele, from Belgium was on exchange in Italy. I always had it in my mind that I wanted to go to Italy. The language, the culture, the food,...Grace studied abroad in the Netherlands
09/09/2024
Grace from New Zealand was on exchange in the Netherlands. I chose to go to The Netherlands, because my family is originally from here. I thought i...Andrea chose to study in the Netherlands
05/09/2024
Andrea from Italy was on exchange in the Netherlands. When I was little, I traveled a lot with my family. When we visited The Netherlands, I felt...Abigail went on exchange to the Netherlands
02/09/2024
Abigail from Australia was on exchange in the Netherlands. My mom was born in the Netherlands and part of my family still speaks Dutch, so going on...Rayn studied abroad in Sweden
27/08/2024
Hi, my name is Rayn. I‘m from Germany and had the chance to be an exchange student in Linköping, Sweden for half a year. Why I chose to go to Swede...Nele was on an exchange year in Norway
19/08/2024
Nele from Germany went on an exchange to Norway. When were you on exchange and for how long? I was on exchange in Norway from August 2023 to June...Alejandro chose to study in Austria
05/08/2024
Alejandro from Monterrey, Mexico went on an exchange to Austria. Why did you decide to go on an exchange? I decided to come to Austria as an exchan...Mauricio studied on high school in Austria
05/08/2024
Mauricio from Mexico went on an exchange to Austria. Deciding to go on an exchange with STS This year, I had the incredible opportunity to spend a...Noelle on exchange in France, joined a trip to Montpellier
01/08/2024
During my last few weeks as an exchange student in France, I had the opportunity to join students from around the world on an excursion to...Gosia studied on high school in the USA
31/07/2024
Gosia from Poland went on an exchange to the USA. I was doing my exchange program in American Fork, Utah. I was living there for 10 months, and I c...Eline spent a semester in Austria
26/07/2024
Eline from the Netherlands spent an exchange semester in Austria. I spent my exchange semester in Austria. I went to Austria because I wanted to...Jaqueline was on an exchange year in Austria
26/07/2024
Jaqueline from Mexico went on an exchange to Austria. I hope this story can inspire someone to make an exchange year and have an experience as...Two sisters studied abroad in the USA
21/05/2024
Sisters Malin and Sophia from Sweden spent their exchange in different cities in Massachusetts, USA, one hour apart. Malin (17) and Sophia (18) hav...Laryssa went on high school in the USA
21/05/2024
Laryssa from Austria spent her exchange year in Nebraska, USA. In the summer of 2022, I started my exchange which lasted for 10 months, meaning tha...Petra was on an exchange year in the USA
13/05/2024
Petra, 41, from The Netherlands is a former STS exchange student. Here she shares her exchange story: “When I was 17, I spent the school year of...Selina was on high school exchange in the USA
18/04/2024
Hello, my name is Selina, and I am from Germany. I spent my exchange year in Anchorage, Alaska. Spending a year in the probably most unique state o...Michelle chose to study in the USA
15/03/2024
My name is Michelle and I am from the Netherlands. I am spending my exchange year in America in a place called American Fork, Utah. Living with a...Ada studied on high school in the USA
15/03/2024
Ada from Finland spends her exchange in Arizona, USA. Hi! Greetings from sunny Arizona I had been dreaming about doing an exchange year for years a...Clémence studied abroad on high school in the USA
05/03/2024
Clémence from Switzerland spent her exchange in Nebraska, USA. Since I was little, my dream was to go to the USA. When I was ten, my brother did a...Giulia spent a year abroad in the USA
05/03/2024
Giulia from Italy spent her exchange in the Lansing area, Michigan, USA. Why did you go on exchange? I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures,...Valentina went on exchange to Denmark
05/03/2024
Valentina from Switzerland spent her exchange in Denmark. How it all started In April 2018, my mom and I took a trip to Copenhagen during Easter...Leona studied abroad on high school in Argentina
05/03/2024
Leona from the Netherlands spent her exchange in Argentina. I’ve always had a lust for traveling. When I was a little kid, I dreamt of moving to th...Noelle studied on high school in France
01/03/2024
Swedish-Canadian Noelle is on exchange in France and she is one of our guest bloggers. #1 In Sweden, before takeoff My adventure started this summ...Mirja spent a year abroad in Germany
09/02/2024
Mirja from Montenegro spent her exchange in Hamburg, Germany It was my big dream to live in Germany. The language has played a big role. They say...Liel went on exchange to the USA
29/11/2023
Liel from Switzerland was on exchange in USA. Where did you go on exchange and why? I went to the USA, more specifically to Long Island,...Lina went on high school exchange to the USA
22/09/2023
Hey there! My name is Lina, I'm from Austria and I was on exchange in Gonzales, Louisiana, in the United States for 5 months, this first half of...Bo went on high school in the USA
08/09/2023
Bo from the Netherlands went on exchange to Kansas in the USA. "Dear future exchange student, How wonderful that you are thinking about doing an...Gustav studied abroad in the USA
31/05/2023
Swedish Gustav was on a high school exchange in the USA in 2010/2011. “My high school exchange in the USA in 2010/2011 made me realize the importan...Emilia was on an exchange year in Canada
02/05/2023
Emilia from Austria went on exchange to Vancouver, Canada. Why Canada and Vancouver? Because it is the “bigger version of my hometown in Austria” –...Vittoria was on high school exchange in Germany
02/05/2023
Vittoria from Italy spent her exchange in Germany. Where did you go? I spent 11 months in Starnberg, a small town 30 minutes from Munich in Bavaria...Jenny chose to study in Costa Rica
02/05/2023
Jenny from Norway went on exchange to Costa Rica. We asked her about her experience. Why did you go on exchange? I have always wanted to go on an...Amanda went on high school exchange to Australia
26/04/2023
Amanda from Finland is on exchange in Australia. How did you decide to go? I remember writing a list of the pros and cons of doing an exchange year...Eliza went on exchange to Sweden
26/04/2023
Eliza from the Netherlands was on exchange in Sweden. Why did you go on exchange? I wanted an experience of my own, away from all the things I...Cedric spent a year abroad in Canada
26/04/2023
Cedric from Switzerland was on exchange in Canada. Where did you go and why? I went to Canada, mostly because my parents deemed it to be a safer...Simon studied abroad on high school in the USA
12/04/2023
Simon Hyberg from Sweden is on exchange in Louisiana, USA Why did you go on exchange? It wasn’t really planned, I saw a brochure in my school, and ...Theo studied on high school in the USA
12/04/2023
Theo from Sweden on exchange in Illinois, USA. Why did you choose to go on exchange? I chose to go for a couple of reasons. One being that I love...Johan chose to study in Japan
30/03/2023
Johan from Norway is on high school exchange in Tokyo, Japan. Here’s his story. I was not prepared to gain such a deep understanding I left Norway...Lucie was on high school exchange in the USA
30/03/2023
Lucie Caste from France spent her exchange in Dallas/Fort Worth in Texas, USA. We asked her some questions about her experience. How was it to live...Barbara was on an exchange year in Costa Rica
30/03/2023
Barbara from Italy went on exchange to Costa Rica. Why did you go on exchange? I decided to go on an exchange year because I wanted to challenge...Joelle studied abroad in the USA
30/03/2023
Joelle from Switzerland was on exchange in Texas, USA. Where did you go on exchange? I was placed in Stephenville, a small city in Texas. In the...Amelie went on high school in Sweden
22/03/2023
We managed to get an interview with Amelie from Italy. She was on exchange in Uddevalla, Sweden for 322 days. Why did you go on exchange? Because I...Lovisa studied on high school in the USA
22/03/2023
Lovisa from Sweden went on exchange to the USA in 2019/2020. We asked her about her experience. 1. Why did you choose to go to the USA? I went to t...Lisa chose to study in the USA
03/02/2023
Lisa from Sweden went on exchange to the USA in 2015/2016. She stayed 10 months in a city called Mechanicsburg, outside of Harrisburg, in...Maja was on high school exchange in the USA
12/12/2022
Swedish Maja was a high school exchange student in Kansas, USA in 2016/17. Her drive came from a passion for traveling, a curiosity about...Tuuli was on an exchange year in Costa Rica
02/09/2022
Hello! I'm Tuuli and I spent my exchange year in Costa Rica in the academic year 2021/22. The exchange year had been a long-time dream of mine, as ...Clara studied abroad in the USA
21/12/2020
Becoming an exchange student and living and going to school in another country is an exciting and fulfilling experience. Clara Ylander from...Albin went on high school in Spain
21/12/2020
I had always wanted to go on a high school exchange to experience a different way of life. I chose Spain because I knew some Spanish. I preferred t...