High School in Ireland

Welcome to Ireland!

Studying abroad with Greenheart Travel’s high school program in Ireland will give you a chance to live and study in one of the world’s friendliest countries. As an exchange student in Ireland, you will experience what it’s like to attend high school in the Emerald Isle and live like a local, allowing you to gain a new perspective during your academic adventure overseas.

Program at a Glance:

• Host family accommodation provides a full cultural immersion experience
• No foreign language experience required — they speak English!
• Program fee includes tuition, accommodation & lots more!
• You can choose between term or academic year lengths

Explore Ireland while studying abroad!

Fall 2024 Dates

Application Deadline: March 15, 2024
Missed the deadline? We are still accepting applications for Fall 2024 on a case-by-case basis. Email travelapplications@greenheart.org for more details!

• Term: August – December 2024
• Semester: August 2024 – February 2025
• Academic Year: September 2024 – May 2025

Spring 2025 Dates

Application Deadline: September 15, 2024
Apply early and save! Apply by June 15, 2024 and save $300 off a trimester or semester program and $500 off an academic year program. 

• Term: January – April 2025
• Semester: January – June 2025

You’ll know your exact arrival and departure dates after being placed in a host family and in a school! Program dates vary depending on region and school placement.

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 you’re placed in a host family and school, 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.

Program Fees for Fall 2024 – Spring 2025

• Academic Trimester: $19,010
• Academic Semester: $22,620
• Academic Year: $33,145

Packaged into the Price:

• Airport pickup upon arrival
• Host family accommodation and 3 meals per day
• Comprehensive medical/accident insurance
• Tuition in a public or private day school
• 4-day Arrival Orientation in Dublin for students that start in the fall
• 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 Ireland
• Support from in-country staff upon arrival to Ireland.
• 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

What’s NOT included:

• Roundtrip airfare to/from Ireland
• Any personal expenses like extracurriculars, toiletries, entertainment, etc.
• Local transportation
• School Uniform
• Textbooks

Payment Details:

• $1,500 Application Fee due by the program deadline to formally apply
• $5,000 Commitment Payment due 14 days after acceptance
• Remaining balance is due 16 weeks prior to your start date. If your program starts within 16 weeks of acceptance, the remaining program balance payment will be due at the same time as the commitment payment. 

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 hometown 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.

In researching a study abroad program, you have already shown you are a leader and open-minded in your academic pursuits. These are just a few of the traits that our exchange students possess. You’re motivated to immerse yourself in another culture and flexible enough to live outside your comfort zone. You should also:

• Be between 15 and 17 years of age at the time of travel
  • Freshman, Sophomore or Junior at time of travel
• Be from the United States or Canada
• Possess a high school cumulative GPA of at least 2.75/4.0
• Be in great mental* and physical health
• Have a genuine interest in becoming a 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.

So, what about credits? 

Neither Greenheart Travel nor the host school abroad provides high school credit. All credit must be granted through your home school in the U.S. or Canada. All U.S./Canadian schools have different policies. Here’s a blog post to read more about how some alumni have transferred credits.  

In Ireland, we cannot guarantee your host school will provide you an official transcript, but it is common that many Irish schools provide unofficial progress reports. In the case school will not provide official transcripts, some host schools will provide documentation, letters, and any other materials you require upon request. You must have good behavior, attendance, and performance in order for the school to fulfill this request.  

Then, you should take this documentation back to your home school as proof of your participation in the program. Your home school is responsible for awarding you credit for this program or not.  

Before You Go Abroad

You should meet with your U.S./Canadian high school before you leave and share the general curriculum guidelines for Ireland with your guidance counselor and/or teachers.  

Because the curriculum will vary by school and we cannot guarantee you’ll take any specific classes, it is important that you arrange the required classes required for your graduation, such as U.S. History, before or after your time abroad.  

Greenheart Travel will be able to provide information about the general curriculum for your age level in Ireland, but you will not know your course schedule until after you arrive in country and start attending school.  

Access your High School Curriculum Guidelines for Ireland here!

Once You’re Abroad

Please keep in mind that the grading system in other countries is different than the US. If your host school is able to award you grades, they won’t be an exact match to what you would get in the US. Please make sure your U.S./Canadian school understands this prior to your departure.

“When I was in the process of applying for college I wrote my main essay about what life lessons I learned in Ireland. When I actually moved into my dorm at Gustavus Adolphus College I was ready for all the emotions I would face. I had learned to cope with homesickness and how to adapt to living with complete strangers. I remembered how my shyness in Ireland had hampered my friend-making efforts in the first month so I jumped right in at college, introducing myself and finding common ground with everyone around me. I was prepared to live independently from my parents because I had earlier experience with it and had learned how to build a new support system in a strange place while still relying on my family and friends from back home.” – Emily Syverud

As a High School in Ireland student, we will support you and welcome you to the program in a variety of orientation activities.

These include:

• Online pre-departure cultural and logistical orientation before you leave with the Greenheart Travel staff.
• Greenheart Travel Atlas Program will provide pre-departure activities to complete ahead of arrival, on program, and for reflection after returning home.
• In-Country Orientation Camp conducted by Irish staff upon your arrival in Ireland
• Local coordinators will meet you personally after arrival in your host family placement

In-Country Orientation Camp

Start your study abroad experience in Dublin! You will experience the best that this city has to offer alongside an international cohort of fellow exchange students while participating in workshops to help start your exchange student journey. During the orientation camp, program staff will share insights and experiences to help students navigate life as an exchange student and get the very best out of their cultural exchange experience.

Dates: Late August

Inclusions:

• 3 nights / 4 days
• Full board accommodation
• Transfers to and from the Orientation Camp
• Workshops to help guide you through everyday life in the UK
• Sightseeing excursions and time to explore
• Team-building games and social activities to help you build bonds with your fellow exchange students

The best way to learn about a new culture and language is to be fully immersed in it which is why all Greenheart Travel high school abroad students live with local host families. By being a part of your family’s daily life, you will learn to live and speak like a local.

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! 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.

A Greenheart Traveler and part of her host family, a sheep!

We are more than happy to assist students in their endeavours to gain access to the activities they enjoy while in Ireland, but we cannot guarantee the availability of any particular activity in a given school. This is because the range of activities available in schools varies greatly and changes on an annual basis.

In many schools, extra-curricular sport is intensively focused on a particular sport like rugby & GAA rather than on a broad PE approach. PE class, which is compulsory at school, involves a range of team sports & general exercise.

The standard and most commonly available sports in the majority of schools are as follows:

• GAA – Football; Hurling; Camogie
• Soccer
• Rugby
• Basketball
• Field Hockey (girls)
• Hockey for boys is limited to very few schools
• Athletics (Running)
• Tennis

Other sports such as handball, gymnastics, martial arts, swimming & dance may be offered in a small number of schools or as part of the Transition year programme for a 6-10 week period.

With other sports such as Horse-riding, although schools may have an ‘equestrian team’, they do not offer riding or riding facilities. Attending students who are involved outside school, represent the school in schools competitions. Therefore, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the availability of this activity. The less common sports are best pursued in local sports centres or clubs.

Boarding schools and host families are generally very helpful in facilitating students in their extra-curricular interests.

The cost of travel to and from the school regularly to pursue extra-curricular activities lessons, or sports training is not included in the program fee.

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.

Have questions or want to talk to one of the program coordinators? Set up a time to have a phone call below.