Acceptance of foreign exchange students aged 15-18 years old is based on written and oral English comprehension, determined by standardized tests. Pacific Intercultural Exchange considers academic achievement, letters of recommendation, and a personal interview as well.

To ensure that host families are capable of providing a comfortable and nurturing environment, an in-person home interview is conducted with family members residing in the home. In addition, P.I.E. ensures that the family has adequate financial resources to undertake hosting obligations and personal references are verified. Furthermore, a criminal background check on all members of the family residing in the home who are over the age of 18 is conducted.

P.I.E. sponsored students have comprehensive medical and emergency insurance administered by the program.

Pacific Intercultural Exchange students come from Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, China, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen, among others.

Pacific Intercultural Exchange makes every effort to offer the highest level of support to schools, families, and students. The organization has three different levels of support:

Area Representative- Residing within 120 miles of the exchange student.

Regional Manager- Experienced team member overseeing a region

P.I.E. Headquarters Staff- Monitoring the exchange and providing counseling and emergency assistance.