FLEX Abroad is a U.S. Department of State cultural exchange administered by American Councils for International Education. It sends eligible U.S. high school students to Georgia, Kazakhstan, Poland, or Romania for an academic year.
Participants live with a local host family, attend a local high school, and serve as citizen diplomats. The program emphasizes language, communication, problem-solving, leadership, and intercultural understanding.
Benefits & funding
- A fully funded scholarship for one academic year.
- Placement with a local host family and enrollment in a high school in the assigned host country.
Eligibility
- U.S. citizenship and enrollment in grades 9–12, including home school, at the time of application are required.
- Applicants must be ages 15 to 18½ at the program start date.
- Applicants at every GPA and level of academic performance are encouraged to apply.
- Prior participation in specified in-person U.S. government youth exchanges can make an applicant ineligible, including participation in another program in the same calendar year or current or previous participation in an academic-year program.
- Strong selection preference is given to applicants who have not joined an in-person exchange or lived abroad for six months or more during the previous five years.
- No separate residency requirement is published.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
USA
Education required
High School
Age requirement
≥ 15 yrs
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Application process
- 1Review the official eligibility policy, including the rules on prior U.S. government exchange participation.
- 2When applications reopen, follow the FLEX Abroad program page to the American Councils online application system.
- 3Complete and submit the online application by the published deadline; the 2026–27 cycle closed on December 8, 2025.
Program timeline
December 8, 2025
Application deadline for the 2026–27 academic year.