Study Abroad Programs
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Study Abroad Programs
March 2008
Looking for advice about ways to minimize costs for college
student who wants to do semester abroad -- I have heard that
if you do it through a school in another country instead of
your own university it can be much more economical.
Anybody have any experience/advice on how this works?
Our daughter did a semester of study in Spain through a US
college. The cost was US college tuition plus study abroad
fee that included accommodations. In aggregate, it was more
expensive than a semester in US college would have been.
She then stayed for a second semester in Spain and
registered at a Spanish public university through the
Erasmus program, which is a European Union agreement to
encourage EU students to study in other EU countries. Her
tuition for her second semester in Spain was under $1,000.
She was entirely on her own, however, without support from a
US college program, e.g., registered for courses on her own,
courses all in Spanish, arranged her own accommodations,
managed independent daily living. Powerful experience for
her and much less expensive for us. Would have been stretch
for her to arrange and survive on her own for the first
semester, however.
pleased parent
Our son went to Australia last year. He attends a CSU and
CSU and many other schools participate in a Bilateral
Exchange program. The exchange program does mean you have to
make all the arrangements on your own, registration,
housing, air, etc. but in reality it was about what it would
have cost us if he stayed here for that semester. We
actually got lucky and sublet his apt all the way through
the summer, saving us 3 mos of rent we had expected to have
to pay that covered his airfare and even expense money.
Because he had to do everything on his own, it was a much
greater challenge for him (and for us) but he gained much
more. He also wasn't with a group of US students as you are
in a study abroad program. The school he went to did have a
large international program and did a lot of support and
orientation when he got there, but he was pretty much on his
own.
Big savings tip - check with the local banks to see which
one has collaboration with a bank in the country your child
is going to. We discovered that Bof A had a partner bank in
Australia that was just as prevalent everywhere in Australia
- it meant that our son could use his BofA ATM card at their
atm machines for no cost!!! I could deposit money here, and
he could get it there at an optimum exchange rate and no
fees. Huge savings! (you just can't shop with it, just use
it to get cash, there are big fees to use it outside of the
atm). You can likely find a similar set up for most European
banks, just call around here.
been there
Feb 2007
Has anyone had experience with high school programs in France for either a
semester or a year? I have a teen who would like to spend their junior year in
France. We are looking into SYA, a clear frontrunner and amazing program. Just
hoping someone has some input for us. Thank you.
parent of a francophile
I went to Rennes, France with School Year Abroad 25 years ago (yikes!). I
wholeheartedly recommend it. I went my senior year of high school, was able
to get all the credits I needed to graduate since SYA brings their own English
and Math teachers from the U.S., and arrived back in time for graduation and
parties with my American class. I encourage you and your daughter to
consider going her senior year. My classmates and I found that it's a much
easier transition to college than back to high school. I don't have any regrets
about missing my senior year, and feel my experience with SYA helped me to
get into an Ivy League college. Feel free to contact me directly if you have
any questions. SYA is an excellent, well-run program abroad that will have a
lifetime impact on your daughter.
Susan
SYA programs ARE amazing - my son did SYA China in 2004-5
I'm sure they can put you in touch with France alum
families who can confirm this. (I can connect you with
two whose children did BOTH France and China).
AFS also has semester and year long programs in France, in
which students live with a French family and attend a
French high school.
http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/focus_on/high_school/30
AFS is much less costly than SYA (although SYA has need-
based scholarships) but I believe it is not nearly as
comprehensive in terms of organization, supervision and
issues like transferring credits to your child's high
school, and helping with the college planning and
application process. (Recommendations from junior year
teachers are often quite significant in college
applications).
optimoms
March 2006
My Berkeely High School freshman will be spending her
sophmore year in Italy. We have to decide whether to send
her to a local Italian school (she hasn't studied the
language much) or send her to a private English-speaking
school. If you have a teen who has spent a year abroad, did
they attend a local school or a private school? How hard
was it for them to adjust? Did not knowing the language
create a social barrier with other students? Did they learn
anything? How hard was it coming back into high school?
I'd like to hear about your experience.
I had previously posted a query about my Berkeley High
School freshman who will be spending her sophmore year
abroad. I wanted to clarify that it will be in Milan,Italy;
that the family is going; and that I would like to hear
about the following issue. Is the difficulty and social
isolation of adjusting to high school in a foreign language
(my daughter knows very little Italian) worth it?
Although less language learned, it is also a less painful
adjustment to attend a private English-speaking
internations high school which is culturally not that
different from high schools here. Does the easier route
make more sense? If you or your teen have had any personal
experience on the subject, I'd enjoy hearing about it.
I spent a year in Rome with my three sons and we sent them
to a British-American school. Most of the other students
were Italian (wanting to learn English), so they made
Italian friends, learned plenty of Roman slang, and still
kept up their schooling so it was no problem to return to
American schools the following year. Conversely, a good
friend had a different experience during a year in Florence
with her three children. She sent them to an Italian
school. They had a very hard time adjusting, due to
language difficulties, though all eventually became fluent.
The big problem was when they returned to the American
system because their Italian grades of ''sufficiente'' --
which means good and is a passing grade in the Italian
system -- were translated as ''C's'' here, not at all what
''sufficiente'' means over there. If you can at all afford
the American/British option, it would mean the least
disruption for your student, both over there and once back
here. Or make sure before you go that your high school
regards ''sufficiente'' as at least a B when translated into
American grades.
marissa
I think one thing to consider is what you want from the year
for your daughter. Do you want her to keep up with her
schooling (is repeating a year here a desirable option at
all?) or do you want her to become a fluent Italian speaker?
My year in Sweden at age 17 living with a host family and
attending public school was one of the hardest but most
rewarding years of my life. Getting over the language
barrier was difficult but by Christmas (I had arrived in
August) I had my first dream in Swedish and was pretty
fluent when I left a year later. Language was a bit of a
social barrier. I did not make any lasting friends and if I
hadn't had my host sister I think it would have been a
pretty lonely year. I did enjoy doing things with
acquaintances--often other foreigners--so I wasn't an
outcast by any means.
I did learn some things in school, even in Swedish. Math
was not a strong subject for me and even more difficult in a
foreign language. I enjoyed science--still know the
endocrine glands in Swedish. :-) I enjoyed their English
class and learned a lot just from seeing language and
literature from a different perspective. History was a
little difficult but I enjoyed learning a bit about Swedish
history. PE was a welcome respite.
From the many people I know who have spent a high school
year abroad (both with exchange programs and their families)
it is a really difficult experience (I don't know anyone who
has just sailed through) but an amazing year of personal
growth. It does make going back to American high school an
equally difficult transition--I don't think you can get
around that. It's such an eye opening, maturing experience
and it sets you apart from the ''silliness'' of American high
school.
Sally
Oct 2001
My HS junior wants to go to Japan for a year as an exchange student.
We visited Japan last year and he is obsessed with going back. He is
doing very well in a college-level Japanese class this year but
is otherwise a rather poor student. I want to encourage him to follow
this one interest he has besides video games, but I am worried about 3
things:
1) can he hack Japanese schools when he can only manage Cs here?
2) the Japanese school year apparently runs March-Nov which means
half his senior year and part of college would be missed
3) I don't know if I can bear for him to be gone for a whole year
Anyone have experience sending a highschooler off to a faraway
country for a year? Or just general advice?
Thanks
The criterion for acceptance to exchange programs when I was in high
school (25 years ago) included being PASSING in all courses. No more
than that. One year the committee had to decide whether to recommend a
boy in the situation of being an unmotivated student, nice kid but not
much academically... They approved him. Going away for a year
completely changed his life -- for the better. Having previously never
been out of town, he suddenly discovered a whole new world, and
decided to become a part of it. On return he attended the State
University, and did well enough to get into Wharton (U Penn) Business
School. He might have been happy on the farm...but his impact on the
world has been bigger since he left.
Everyone I knew who did an exchange program benefited from the
experience -- ASSUMING IT WAS A REPUTABLE, WELL RUN PROGRAM. The
boy I
knew who went to Japan had the hardship of doing Senior year
afterwards, due to scheduling problems...he then went to college and
became a pediatrician, married and had a family. It certainly worked
for him -- and his mom got through the year without him ok, too. Good
luck.
Heather
It is very difficult to send an American student to Japan. I doubt he'd be
able to graduate from high school missing a year of American education. My
friend and her son spent a year in Japan and upon their return, her son is
now repeating 5th grade--this is making his adjustment, academically and
socially, back home very difficult. There are programs in Tokyo where you
can attend an American school and take Japanese courses (I can't remember
the name of the school, but I think there may be more than one, and I could
find out for you through some Japanese friends). However, beware, they're
extremely expensive. If your child will put it off for awhile, my advice
is that he should raise his grades, get into a college that offers a good
Education Abroad Program (UC's all offer them) and find the one that's best
for study in Japan. He should continue his Japanese language studies.
They're the most challenging and grueling courses to take in college (you
must learn to write in three different styles--Kanji, Hiragana and
Katagana). EAP studies are offered in the Sophomore or Junior year of
college, and if he's really good at his studies and still has a driving
interest to learn more Japanese, he could even be offered some sort of
scholarship to study in Japan.
--jahlee
My daughter went to Japan for a summer exchange through an excellent program
called Youth for Understanding International Exchange. They also have
year-long study options available. Their website address is
http://www.youthforunderstanding.org/us
The deadline to apply for next summer is very soon AND there are some
scholarships available. (Some are sponsored by the US government and some
are paid for by the Japanese Ministry of Education.) The program volunteers
do extensive interviews of candidates and the orientation before departure
and in Japan was excellent.
Rosemary
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