How To Become A Host Family

If you meet the criteria to host and you’re ready to get started, here’s what you can expect:

1. Complete a phone interview and fill out your application online.
2. An AIEP representative will come to your home to meet with you and take pictures of the
   common areas and the bedroom where the international student will stay. We’ll also
   conduct a background check (statewide & nationwide criminal & sex offender checks)
   and call references.
3. Based on the information provided by you, we’ll build a profile of your household to
   share with students’ natural families.
4. We work with natural families and their agents to match each student to a household,
   based on your application and house visit as well as our students’ applications and
   Skype interviews. The final placement decision is determined solely by the student’s
   natural family.
5. If you are selected to host a student, we will notify you with a confirmation email. (All
   AIEP students are sufficiently fluent in English to succeed in a U.S. classroom.)
6. Once a match is made, we will reach out to you to discuss logistics and timing. Students
   generally arrive in mid-August for the fall semester and mid-January for the spring
   semester.

If you are not selected to host a student at the beginning of the semester, keep in mind that we
maintain a list of back-up Host Families in the (rare) event that a student needs to be moved
due to a family emergency or change in living circumstances for the host family. If you would
like to be on the back-up list, let us know.

Throughout the process, we are in touch with you about your progress and what you can expect
next. If you have more questions about becoming a host family, please don’t hesitate to contact
us.