Parents of high-school students
High schools in German speaking Switzerland provide families who want to send their children abroad on an exchange semester with excellent support to find a suitable hostfamily for them. But when it comes to Lake Geneva? There is none! Luckily we came across student@home. Thanks to her large network, Christina quickly suggested several good host-families for our 17-year old daughter and we were pleasantly spoilt for choice. student@home also contacted our daughter regularly during her stay and gave her useful tips and support. We always felt like we were in good hands with student@home!
Bruno and Olga Fellmann, Solothurn, Springsemester 2022
Christina arranged a family for our son Marco, 16, in the 4th grade of high-school. Since the stay took place during the summer holidays, it was not easy to find a family that wasn’t traveling themselves. Thank you, Christina, for your extraordinary commitment with a lot of passion! The host-family you found for Marco welcomed our son very warmly and provided him with excellent care. Christina, we thank you for the personal, trustworthy and professional mediation. We would happily come back to you if our younger son would want to do an exchange in French-speaking Switzerland.
Anja Fragodt, Zug, Summersemester 202
Our then 17-year-old son Mischa had the opportunity to spend a semester in Morges during his high school year. While the school exchange itself was very easy, finding a host family proved extremely difficult until we came across the student@home website. Christina was extremely committed to us and found the perfect family for Mischa. Marlise and Jean-Pierre cared for Mischa with great love but also with the necessary consistency, welcoming him warmly into their circle of family and friends and enabling him to continue his martial arts training at a club in Morges. On the weekends, they even took him skiing and sailing, so he benefited enormously during this semester both personally and with his French skills. We can recommend student@home without reservation.
Silvia and Raymond M., Wohlen, spring 2024
Our 17-year-old daughter, Ella wanted to spend six months at the Morges High School. Although we had personal contacts, finding a suitable host family was a challenge. We were all the more grateful to have Christina, a warm-hearted, experienced and incredibly dedicated family coordinator, to support us. From the very beginning, we felt understood and well-supported. When personal difficulties arose with the first host family, Christina displayed exceptional sensitivity and foresight. Within a very short time, she found a new host mother – and what a mother she was! Florence was a true stroke of luck. Ella felt at home with her from the very beginning and the two quickly built a trusting relationship. Ella wasn’t just a guest, but truly welcomed. After six months, Ella returned with excellent French skills and wonderful memories. We can wholeheartedly recommend this agency.
Ursi and Christophe B., Liestal, spring 2025
In January 2025, we contacted studentathome and commissioned them to assist us in finding family accommodation for our 15-year-old daughter, Mariel, in Western Switzerland. Although the language stay only had to take place for five weeks in the middle of the current school year, family coordinator Christina Cornes was able to provide us with concrete suggestions after just a few days and arrange a meeting with the future host mother a few weeks later. Christina also provided us with invaluable assistance in selecting a high school for our daughter. The stay was just as professional as the one planned and prepared by studentathome, and it ultimately ran smoothly. Our daughter and we as parents would like to thank Christina sincerely for her excellent work and for always being approachable and helpful when needed. You can tell that Christina loves her job and takes it with great responsibility. Based on our experience, we can therefore highly recommend studentathome.
Michael K., spring 2025
High-school students from Swiss-Germany
I’ve always been fascinated by foreign languages and experiencing other cultures. Christina gave me the opportunity to learn French as well as possible and to make some very close friends. I was extremely lucky to have the host parents Christina found for me—Marlise and Jean-Pierre—who took such good care of me during those six months. By the end of my stay, I couldn’t believe how well I’d learned French—it’s like a second language to me now, and that’s all thanks to Marlise and Jean-Pierre, because they went out of their way to teach me with great precision. They’re no longer just host parents to me; they’re part of my family now. They made this time truly incredible. At the gym in Morges, I made friendships that will last forever; that was also a big part of my stay. Thanks to Christina, I was able to have the time of my life, and I now have a second home in French-speaking Switzerland. The impeccable organization and flexibility were factors I really appreciated and that made my stay very easy.
Aurel A., 16, Gymnase de Liestal, Basel-Ld, spring 2025
Post-graduate from Italy
I moved to Geneva in January 2026 to begin a PhD at the University. In the weeks prior to my arrival, I struggled a lot to find an accommodation online, until finally I encountered Christina’s website. I contacted her via email, and we also spoke on the phone: she really is a lovely lady who cares deeply about her work. Luckily for me there was already a family eager to welcome me! Elias and Dora have been nothing but kind and generous to me: they have given me advice on the various administrative things I had to take care of upon my arrival, and it was nice having someone to practice my French with. I want to thank them and Christina for providing a home for me to kick things off in this new chapter of my life.
Sofia C., Milano, 25 years, Spring 2026
Post-grade Student from Canada
In the spring of 2025, I did a 4-months post-grade study at the University of Lausanne in child psychology. Christina from student@home was incredibly committed to finding me a home stay that suited all my requests. Jo, my host-mum, welcomed me open-armed into her home. When I arrived I had minimal French (A1), but this didn’t stop Jo from teaching me French. We communicated through Google Translate until I was able to understand and reply in French. During our final day together, we didn’t even use Google Translate! Jo took me to lovely spots in the area to see the natural beauty of Switzerland, I highly recommend using student@home for your next trip.
Maya Koven, 27-years, Toronto, spring 2025
EPFL Student from Finland
Summer students from Swiss Germany
I spent seven weeks in Lausanne – as an internship at Aquatis. I lived with a lovely elderly lady. I was her first student! I was a little insecure at first, but she welcomed me warmly and I quickly felt at home. My home was truly beautiful, the food Marcelle cooked was amazing – and she anticipated my almost every need. We often chatted – as far as my French allowed! Not only did I learn more French, but I also gained insight in what makes French-speaking Switzerland tick! It was an enriching and wonderful experience that I will never forget. This is also thanks to Christina from student@home who organized everything impeccably .
Nicola F., 16 years, St. Gallen, summer 2024
High-school students from Swiss Germany
My stay with my host mother was a wonderful experience. She was very loving and warm, which really helped me settle in quickly, especially at the beginning. There was always warm, fresh, and delicious food, and I felt completely taken care of. I also got to stay in a huge room with my own bathroom, which was truly a luxury.She has chickens, koi, birds, and two dogs, Elsa and Dreamer, who are both very friendly. She lives in a large house with a huge garden, which is especially beautiful in the summer. I was very lucky that she could also speak German, because she often helped me by explaining difficult French words to me in German or even writing them down for me.She was always understanding of my situation, and I could talk to her about anything. Even on days that weren’t so great, she encouraged me, and we laughed together. She also told me that I could invite friends over anytime, and my best friend stayed with us for a weekend several times. I’m very grateful for the wonderful time I spent with her and know that I was very lucky to be able to do my exchange with her.
Daria A., 15 years old, Kantonsschule Freudenberg, fall 2024
I spent 3 months with Ketty and Patrice. They were 3 months during which I experienced and learned many things. Ketty always went to great length to prepare hearty meals for me. She told me a lot about the area and gave me lots of suggestions of places to go and visit and things to do. I talked about music with Patrice and learned a lot of new things. If I needed anything, I could always ask them for help.
Jael S., 17, Highschool in Wettingen, Argovie Spring semester 2022
Christina, thank you very much for everything. Coming from Swiss-Germany, it would have been very difficult for me to find a hostfamily so close to my school without you. The stay with my host-mother Florence was very pleasant and I got along very well with her despite the initial language barrier. The exciting conversations with her greatly improved my French. The semester at the high-school in Lausanne was very enriching, and not just in terms of language. If I had to do it again, I would, again and again!
Polina Fellmann, 17 years, Solothurn, Spring 2022