A number of teachers believe that an international exchange programs are helpful to every high school students. I also believe that the benefits of studying abroad do outweigh the drawbacks.
The major drawback of studying abroad is the high expenses that parents will have to afford to send their child to other country. The increase in spending could include traveling expenses, rent payments and the high living costs in foreign country. For example, an exchange student from Asia may spend twice the amount of money they would spend if they were living in their home country, due to the higher price of goods in Europe or the USA. Furthermore, some student may become homesick or stressful resulting from the new environment they have to adapt to. In this case, the child may not gain any useful experiences from studying abroad.
On the other hand, exchange programs allow students to improve their language skills, especially for children that do not speak English as their first language. Many studies have shown that Thai students studying in foreign countries usually are better at communicating in English. Apart from language ability, students are likely to become more independent. Children can no longer rely on their parents to do difficult tasks for them as they are living on their own. As a result, they will likely develop skills such as decision-making, communication and leadership. These skills could prove to become extremely useful in the future when students work in a business.
In conclusion, I believe that going on an exchange program provides benefits such as developing essential life skills and becoming better at English, which would outweigh the drawbacks.