Host Families

1. Check the bus system from your house to Edmonds College. You must be within 60 minutes of Edmonds College and have frequent buses running on weekdays and weekends.
2. Send an e-mail to housing@edmonds.edu with your name, phone number, address, and bus numbers and how long it takes to get to Edmonds College by bus. After sending this information, you will receive an e-mail with our orientation information.
3. Complete the Host Family Orientation.
4. Complete your Edmonds College Host Family File. You will receive the forms at the orientation.
5. Have your home visited by a Housing Staff member (scheduled after the Orientation.

• For each night that a student lives with your family, you receive a stipend meant to cover food and expenses. The nightly stipend averages nearly $950 per month.
• Stipends are sent after a student arrives. Monthly stipends are sent the first business week of the month.
• Families may only bill students for additional expenses or request funds from students after speaking with the Housing Office.
• Payments may be late if students have not paid or confirmed that they are continuing for a new quarter.
• We work on a nightly rate with a three-day grace period.

• Live in a safe neighborhood within 60 minutes of the college by bus commute (including a walk to the bus stop and transfers).
• Provide a private room furnished with a bed, linens, desk, chair, clothing storage, a window and closet.
• Provide meals. Students help themselves to breakfast and lunch. Host prepare homecooked dinner. Students purchase snacks, special foods, and personal items. Portion sizes are determined by each family's customs.
• Be fluent English speakers.

• If a student travels out of the area for 10 or more consecutive nights, host families must refund 50% of the nightly rate for those days (meals and utilities). This does not apply to local stays with friends. Keep records of any refunds for tax purposes.
• If families go on vacation, we hope the student can go with the host family. If the student can not go with the host family, here are some alternatives: 
  1. The host family has a family member or friend that can stay in the house and watch over students and feed them.
  2. The student stays with another family. They then need to reimburse the other family the nightly rate, and the student does not receive anything.
• Once a plan is decided, be sure to send an email to the Housing Office with the plans with the name of the person looking over the student and emergency phone numbers.

Vacation Refund Form

Host families are expected to review and follow the guidelines outlined in the Information for Host Families section of our Handbook.

 If you have any questions, you can contact Housing at housing@edmonds.edu.

Judy and Bob Collins of Lynnwood have hosted Edmonds College international students since 1991. After their children moved out, hosting helped them fill their five-bedroom home and avoid empty nest syndrome.

“I tell the students, ‘You are a guest the first day. After that, you are part of the family,’” said Judy Collins. “And now, we have a large family overseas.”

The Collins’ have hosted students from countries including Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Brazil, and Indonesia. Most students stay for a year or more while completing degrees in hospitality and tourism, business management, or computer information systems. Other students come for a week or two to learn English and live with an American family.

“We get to travel through our students without leaving home,” Collins said. “And it’s fun to be a part of their lives and goals.”