A year in Japan....is it worth it to a High School Student?

<p>I'm a rising junior in high school and one of my foreign exchange friends notified me of 2 scholarships offered through AFS to study abroad in Japan. It covers full tuition and it would be for one academic year. I understand that these scholarships are very competitive, but I would still like to try to apply. When I talked to my parents about it, they thought that it might interfere with my school. (I am taking advanced classes next year, such as AP stats, Euro History, Physics B, and Enviro Sci) The study abroad is from Spring 2012 to Spring 2013, so will I be able to take my AP exams over there?(Also will I be able to take SATs over there as well?). I am planning on applying to selective colleges, and I am wondering if this will put me at a disadvantage in admissions. I should also mention that I am pretty advanced in Chinese, since I've taken it at school for a while (considering taking the AP Chinese test next year), but have little experience in Japanese. I am very interested in Japanese though and have been teaching myself for the past year. Should I just wait until college to study abroad? Is one year too long? Will studying abroad really benefit me? Thanks for all your comments!</p>

<p>my 2 cents:</p>

<p>yes, probably worth it if you’re actually enrolled in a public high school, not some bull***** international program</p>

<p>it might hurt you academically, but the boasting on your college apps will probably outweigh that.</p>

<p>@keepittoyourself Yes i’m enrolled in a very small public high school. thanks for your input!</p>

<p>nono I mean would be enrolled in a public high school in japan</p>

<p>woops, i guess i misunderstood. Yah ill have to ask what kind of school I would be enrolled in over there. I get ur point</p>