STS Education Reviews 

Always someone to contact, they wanted me to make me feel save and welcomed. I loved the check ups from my local coordinator, she was great.

I went on an exchange year in 2023-2024 to Sweden with STS and it was amazing! The staff was really nice, they helped me through the application process step by step and I recieved clear personal information about the plan for the coming year! Everything from the start till arriving back home to my family again was planned well. We did so many cool things in the welcome camp and there were many trips and activities we could sign up for during our exchange year. I also recieved good personal guidance during my exchange year with a local coordinator!

My exchange semester with STS is the best thing I ever did. They helped me with the application process and I was placed in an amazing host family. Throughout my exchange semester a local coordinator from their partner organisation regularly checked in with me to see how I was doing and I could always ask them for help with anything. It was an unforgettable experience!

We contacted Sts with an inquiry that could have been clarified through an email. Instead, our child was subjected to a long interview and later received a disrespectful and condescending response based on information that was clearly stated in our initial email. An unnecessary belittling of a young, hopeful person.

Mike 717
Rice 294
KDC - 717-294
very helpful bringing the new sofa in, very friendly and fast service.

We cannot in any way recommend STS exchange student program.
Our son hosted a family in Missouri, and we had okay contact with them before he traveled to the USA.
He was dismissed from the family after 10 days because he had watched pornographic content on his cellphone. It was common on the school transit bus and in the high school to watch and share pornographic content. The only way the host family found out was by tracking his cellphone in their home.
He was removed from the host family one Monday after school without any warning or being confronted with the problem. After being removed from the host family he was suddenly also accused of having “sexually advanced” on the host family´s daughter among many other things.
Our son is diagnosed with Aspergers but is a very normal functional teenager and is aware of his diagnosis. The host family’s mother is a child psychologist, and the father runs an organization for families with diagnosed children, so we thought it could help our son to be in a family with awareness of the diagnose Asperger.
The family was late picking him up at the airport, for the first couple of days he was ignored due to the family also hosting last year’s exchange student, who had dropped by for a late holiday with the family.
The mother was working at home most of the time, and the father didn’t live in the house, but was only visiting his family on Sundays.
Before our son was dismissed from the family, we didn’t get any indication of the host family having any problems with our son, and after he was dismissed the host family has been silent and won’t answer our replies to get their side of the situation. We only got our sons side of the story, where all the accusations are false, besides he had watched pornographic content on his cellphone.
He was removed from the family by the regional director, who soon after began accusing him of not being very cooperative and then he suddenly harassed their daughters, so they didn’t feel safe with our son. Once again, it was false accusations according to our son, and an example was that they texted him when dinner was ready, while he was sitting in his room. And when he didn’t see the text message, so then he was not very cooperative. We asked for an online meeting with the regional director, but it was denied.
If that wasn’t enough, then he was accused of being harsh vocally on his political opinion towards his local director, which is another false accusation, since our son never raises his voice and is very balanced in any conversation no matter subject. The local director’s Facebook profile shows he clear opinion on what side he is on and what side he hates.
No matter if our son is guilty or not guilty in all this harsh accusation, then we think it’s very important to keep a dialog between all parts of this sad situation. We asked for an online meeting with the staff from STS in the USA, which was denied. All dialog and information came from STS Sweden and there from was no sympathy or respectful dialog. They only believed in the information they got from the USA and didn’t care about what we or our son said about the situation and the false accusations against him.
According to the STS rules it is forbidden to for the exchange student to access websites or watch films, in the host country, with pornographic content. Our son didn’t get a warning when it happened but got 20 minutes to pack and was dismissed from the host family. We didn’t get any warning either or notice of him being removed from the host family. All the details we got from our son as they happened were because of our daily contact with him.
We believe that our son was removed from the family because of something else and was the start of STS turning our son into a monster with all those false accusations, so they could dismiss him from the STS’s exchange student program and send him home. The more accusations, the easier it was for STS to send him home. And STS thought that we would believe in all of them and accept that our son was that monster they created. But we didn’t believe STS and therefore they denied any dialog with STS in USA hoping we would surrender by time.
Our son got 3 weeks in the USA, and we paid almost 20.000$, but STS refused to give us a refund. STS stole all our money without showing any rules and rights to do that. They don’t care!!!
WE CANNOT RECOMMEND STS
They are a sick organization without any responsibilities towards the exchange student or his family.
It is now 3 months since our son got home and we are still in shock over the way STS has handled this bizarre case.
We have written to the host family and the staff of STS in the USA several times to get their side of the story, but nobody wants to talk openly with us. We find that very suspicious.
Maybe its time for STS to take us seriously!!!

Emil, Jette and Svend
Denmark

I really recommend STS as a organization for your exchange year. They were one of the few that had the Nordics as an option and helped me a lot during the process of becoming an exchange student. It took quite some time until I got my placement, but I’m happy that they found an amazing host family in the end. Also during the year they offer a lot like trips for example. I had the most amazing year!

Amazing experience! I received my host family placement less than a week before I left and it was very obvious that they had tried to place me with the best host family for me. We shared a lot in common and I had the best experience ever. I received a lot of support throughout the entire journey, even after. I've already recommended STS to my friends who have asked and I hope you also choose STS. Best decision ever.

My experience with STS was really good, not just because of the fun trips we got to do in New York and in the Rocky Mountains with the other students but also because of the repeatedly check ins on all of us which made me feel really safe and taken care off.

They also made check in’s with my host parents and I’m really glad they made us meet the other exchange students to bring us closer in this special situation we’re all in with being in another family and so on, this made me feel less alone and I got to understand that we all struggle with similar things.

I’m over all super satisfied with my experience with STS and I would recommend everyone to do it!

I did an exchange year in the U.S. STS helped me with my application and also had really good communication between me and the school I went to.

During my exchange year they always checked on me so everything was fine and they really cared about me during my time in America.
They also organized a welcome camp for 3 days, which was really good and made all of us exchange student prepared for the year.

The trip with STS was truly the best year of my life. The food, the people, the culture etc. was just amazing. STS was always there with me every step of the way and helped with any problems I had. It just happened that the placement I got wasn't to my liking so we called to a friend of ours and they were willing to let me stay. At this point it was only a couple days before I left and they still managed to pull it off.

I was placed in a wonderful family and every month my local Cordinator contacted me and did a check up if things were going well. We received help during the application process and STS always tried to help. Sometimes it took a while to get the help but we still always got it. STS also helped me book meetings at the embassy which I’m very grateful for because otherwise I would not have gotten a visa in time.

My exchange year was truly one off the best things I have ever done, I have many amazing memories like football games, thanksgiving and prom. I still have contact with my family every week and I’m planning on visiting them soon. Got the best family I could get that really help make my year. We did so many trips together and had so much fun.

STS were very helpful with everything, and made it clear you could reach out if you needed help with anything. I’m so grateful to have been able to study a year abroad, and very thankful to STS for making it possible

STS was very helpful

I loved the trips during the exchange with other exchange students. It was wonderful to get to know so many people. Additional it was easy to contact STS before and during the exchange. This was pretty helpfull. However there is one big downside and this is the organisation. I got my placement and my date of departure 4 days before leaving. This was a quiet short time periode to get everything on place. First then they told me about some documents I have ti have before leaving. We had to stress to get everything on time. In the future STS can try to comunicate such things a little bit earlier, so exchange students can get an even better experience. But I had such a great time and I recommend to everyone out there to do a gap year, if you have the possibility.

This was a year of a lifetime. My story began much further back in the fall before I went when I wasn't even sure I wanted to go. I had wonderful (and patient!) guidance, and once I decided to go, everything went very quickly and orderly and never left me feeling stressed. Once in the US, I was in the best family, went to an amazing school, and can safely say this year changed my life.

As parents, we experienced our daughter's exchange year as a wonderful educational, cultural, and social experience in the hands of an organisation that cared, not only before, but also during and after her stay. We can recommend STS to anyone contemplating sending their child overseas. They will go above and beyond in thinking of creative solutions (our daughter was very young when she went) to accommodate the students choosing them. Any email was answered within hours. Guidelines were clear, information easily accessible. What more could we have asked for?

I had one of the best years of my life. I met amazing people and was placed in an amazing host family who will be my second family for the rest of my life! Sts really helped me with everything and I am super grateful for that!

Had a great experience with STS. They supported me a lot and if I had a question they answered really quick. There is good communication between student, parent and organisation.

Just replying to STS reply to me. This wasn’t a perspective or opinion this was facts on the false things that were said and terrible actions taken without any proper investigation. If yall are going to make moves do it the right way and get the full story not just one side.