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From the stunning coast line to the Amazon River and Rain forest, Brazil offers amazing destinations throughout. Want to learn more about this amazing country first hand? You can with our high school study abroad programs!

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Overview

Overview

Our Cultural Family Stay Program in Brazil will enable you the opportunity to live with a Brazilian host family, while gaining first hand knowledge of Brazilian culture and the Portuguese language.

Location

About Brazil

From geographic size to resources, everything about Brazil is big. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, larger than the continental United States (that means excluding Alaska and Hawaii). With forests that cover more than 65% of its territory, Brazil is home to the world’s largest tropical rain forest – the Amazon – which possesses rare plants used for modern medicine. Brazil also has one of the most diverse animal populations in the world.

The differences among Brazil’s regions are also big. In the Southern region you will see beautiful beaches and mountains similar to places in Europe. In the Northeast you will find beautiful palm trees and beaches with white sand and warm temperature and warm seawater all year around. In the Mid-West region you will find savannas similar to the ones in Africa.

The most famous of Brazilian cities is, of course, Rio de Janeiro. The soft blue seawaters and the huge statue of Christ with his arms open wide inspire tourists the world over. Brazilians are considered friendly, warm people and open to other nationalities. In fact, Brazil is made of a mixture of cultures, especially Native Indians, Africans and Europeans, these ones coming mostly from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Brazil Placeholder
Brazil

Program Dates

Program Dates & Deadlines

Our cultural family stay program in Brazil is available all year round.

Final deadline to apply: 3 months prior to your selected arrival date. 

Program Costs

Program Costs

4 weeks

6 weeks

8 weeks

Costs

$2,910

$3,480

$4,390

Inclusions

What's Included In The Program

  • Intensive 10 hour Portuguese language class
  • Recruitment of and placement with a host family
  • Accommodation and meals as described
  • Local assistance

Additional Expenses You Might Incur

  • Personal Expenses – cell phone bills, personal spending money, travel expenses
  • Transportation to airport at conclusion of program

Eligibility

Eligibility

  • Must be between the ages of 15-20
  • No language requirement
  • Follow the rules and regulations of the program
  • Be motivated and respect family rules

Application Process

Application Process

  1. Explore our programs, options and countries to find your best match. 
  2. Complete our interest form and, if applicable, let us know who referred you to us.
  3. Schedule a meeting with one of our Travel & Study Abroad experts.
  4. Submit your application and a $200 application fee. This non-refundable fee will be applied to your overall program costs.
  5. Upon acceptance, you will be required to pay a deposit of 50% of the total program costs, up to $1500. The final payment is due several weeks before your departure. 

Parents

Parent FAQs

Moving away from your support network and into a new and unfamiliar environment can be difficult even for the most well-adjusted students. Students with pre-existing mental health conditions may find this adjustment particularly challenging, which could worsen any issues they were previously facing. In order to ensure the safety of our participants, we conduct a thorough screening of all applicants to ensure they are in the right mindset to participate. While the majority of students are eligible to participate, we may not be able to accept students who have recently struggled with mental illness and/or are reliant on medication to treat mental illness in certain circumstances. Pre-existing mental health conditions include, but are not limited to:
  • Severe anxiety
  • Depression
  • Eating Disorders
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
For students prepared to take on the challenge, absolutely. It is, however, important to consider a student’s level of maturity prior to the program because it directly impacts their success.  Ideally, our programs will push students beyond their comfort zone and into what is referred to as their stretch zone. It’s in the stretch zone that learning, growth, and development - along with challenges and risk - occur.  If a student is not ready and/or willing to move beyond their comfort zone, plunging into a new and unfamiliar environment could actually have an adverse effect and place them in what is referred to as the panic zone.  Parents should make an honest assessment of their child’s maturity level and understand that study abroad will not fundamentally change their child’s personality or behavior when considering the program. 
While abroad, your child will be fully supported. First, they will receive a personal Program Manager to assist with everything from the initial request to your child’s departure. Then, they will be supported abroad by a dedicated Local Coordinator who will frequently check in on the student and provide monthly progress reports. Your child will have the contact information of their Local Coordinator and can contact them at any time. There is also a 24/7 emergency line managed out of ISE headquarters.
No. Visits of any kind are not allowed during our programs. If you plan to visit your child, you should plan to do so after the program has ended.
The vast majority of our participants are placed in small to medium-sized towns outside of major cities. They may not be living in the most “touristy” areas, but as long as participants are open-minded they will be treated to a truly immersive and authentic experience.

FAQ

High School Program FAQs

We can’t offer any guarantees that certain classes will be offered at your host school. We can provide you with general curriculum information, but often students are not able to sign up for specific classes until after they arrive in the host country.
You will not be able to take the SATs while abroad. We highly recommend that you take the SATs prior to or after the program.
Yes! We offer a post-high school Gap Year Program. Visit our Gap Year Program page for more details.

General FAQs

ISE’s Travel & Study Abroad Program will take your academic, career, and life opportunities to new levels! College admissions and employers love compelling personal growth stories, and Travel & Study Abroad will supply you with those stories.  Some of the many benefits of participating in our programs include: Academic & Career Benefits
  • Stand out during the college admissions process
  • Develop new language skills in an immersive environment
  • Develop problem-solving skills
  • Identify interests to better select academic & career paths
  • Establish cross-cultural skills
  • Improve academic scores
Personal Benefits
  • Improve personal organization and time management skills
  • Develop a sense of adaptability, independence, and self-reliance
  • Boost self-confidence
  • Learn about new lifestyles
  • Experience new cuisines
  • Make lifelong friends
  • Gain life experience
Since 1982, our nonprofit organization has remained committed to educating future leaders and making a positive, long-lasting impact in communities.   To make cross-cultural experiences accessible to more people, we offer the best pricing available to our participants...and we do so without compromising the quality of the experience or level of support offered.    We assign each participant a personal Program Manager, so you’ll receive assistance throughout your entire program experience by someone you know by name. We also provide 24/7 support from our dedicated Student Services Team.   Lastly, the trusted international organizations we partner with have been trained and certified over the course of many years working to provide study abroad programs
“The summer abroad experience does lend itself to some very important essays that students write.” Deputy director of admissions for the University of Texas  “A lot of schools, including ours, are looking for a diverse perspective, and international experiences lend themselves to that.” - Admissions Advisor, University of California “Anything that makes your application stand out is a good thing.” - Admissions officer, University of Chicago “Not only does studying outside the United States help build necessary language fluency for all college-bound students, it shows those headed to elite institutions will go outside their comfort zone and expand to meet the challenge. Nothing speaks to the ethics of those institutions quite like a commitment to that kind of excellence and personal achievement.” - Admissions Advisor, New York University
First and foremost, program candidates should be mature, open-minded, and adaptable. Wondering if our Travel & Study Abroad Program is right for you? Check out our article Should You Study Abroad? 8 Signs You’d Make a Great Exchange Student to find out!
During the Academic Year (Visit Our High School Programs Page for Specific Dates)
  • Short Term Option (1-2 months)
  • Trimester and Semester Options
  • Full Year Options
During the Summer (Visit Our Summer Program Page for Specific Dates)
  • Program options from 1-8 weeks
Post-High School Gap Year (Visit Our Gap Year Page for Specific Dates)
  • 12-month program option
For the majority of our programs, you’ll be living with a host family.  A few of our programs offer boarding schools. In those cases, you will be living with other students in a dormitory.
We don’t include airfare in our pricing because we know that allowing people to shop around for the most competitive rates and convenient airport locations is best. Not to mention you might have frequent flyer miles that you could use towards the purchase of a ticket, why take that opportunity away? You may see other programs that include flights, but it should be noted that often these flights will cost more than what participants could find on their own and/or depart from less convenient locations.
Yes, a travel medical insurance policy is included in the program price for all participants.
To attend a high school you must be sufficiently proficient in the native language of the country you would like to visit, but you don’t have to be fluent. Your language skills will improve quickly once you are culturally immersed!  Don’t speak another language? Don’t worry - we offer several programs in English-speaking countries.
We try to make the application process as simple as possible. Here are the steps you should follow if you’d like to apply:
  1. Explore our programs, options, and countries to find your best match.
  2. Complete our interest form and, if applicable, let us know who referred you to us.
  3. Schedule a meeting with one of our Travel & Study Abroad experts.
  4. Submit your application and a $200 application fee. This non-refundable fee will be applied to your overall program costs.
  5. Upon acceptance, you will be required to pay a deposit of 50% of the total program cost, up to $1500. The final payment is due several weeks before your departure.
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