I just started my senior year today and I’m trying to fill out my Common App. In about 3 weeks, I’m leaving on an exchange trip to Spain. I’ll be there from about September 8th to January 29th. I’ll be attending a secondary school there. I’m just confused on how to properly show this on my common app.
So first of all, my school refuses to give me credits for classes I do over there because they “don’t know if they can trust the other school”. So the classes won’t be showing up on my regular American transcripts. I can’t get official transcripts from my Spanish school because I’m only there for a semester, but they might be able to give me an unofficial paper with my grades. That’s not even guaranteed. How can I show the fact that I took these classes and passed them without having an official transcript? I don’t really want half of my senior year empty, even if my study abroad will be listed on the activities page.
Secondly, I’ll be at my American school for about 3 weeks before I leave, so I’ll be taking classes for 3 weeks. Should I even put these classes on my class list? They will technically be on my transcript, but I’m not sure how the grading will work. I’m the first exchange student in the history of my school, so the counselor has no idea what to do and hasn’t really tried solving it with me. No one I’ve ever known has done an exchange trip their senior year, so I feel so confused. I’m not even sure if anyone here can give me answers, but I’m looking everywhere for some type of help. Anyone who has been on exchange their senior year, I would really appreciate some advice.
Are you sure you will be able to graduate high school under these circumstances? Have you already met or will you be able to meet all the requirements for graduation?
I don’t have experience with an exchange program in senior year of high school but in senior year of college. I had to delay my graduation by a semester because I did not have the prerequisites for timely graduation (and this was through a program sanctioned by my university). It worked well in my case but I’m not as sure for you. Hopefully others with more experience can chime in. Good luck! It sounds fun but stressful!
you will be attending a college prep school and likely be in bachillerato prep classes - this is like being in a Full IB program taught in Spanish. There shouldn’t even be a question about rigor.
Ask your school’GC what kind of information they need to transfer the classes: % that go to college, syllabi, curriculum ?
Then provide it to them.
If need be, have your parents ready to escalate.
Your school should be PROUD you’re doing something so difficult. Frankly they should be trumpeting your willingness to take on such a huge academic challenge (and how “it speaks well of how well prepared the school made you”) and ability to step out of your comfort zone, with intws in the school paper and directing local papers toward you (for their benefit).
the Spanish school will be able to list your courses, indicate if you passed or failed (this can be explained in more detail if the Spanish school isn’t used to this) along with a 2 line comment from your head teacher about your time there.
on common app, you can list the courses you’ll take in Spain. Even if you don’t know for sure, you can list your school in Spain. You also need to fill out the part about interrupted HS by specifying you were enrolled in a Spanish HS.
You can pm me with more specific details. But basically there’s a fixed provincial/state curriculum based on a national curriculum so if you know what year, province, and school you’d be in you can know what classes youwill be in.
Aww, thanks, @skieurope, but I don’t deserve it . Even with regional variations, national systems aren’t very hard.
(Universities on the other hand are much much harder because often anything goes in terms of curriculum, credits, etc, even within the EU. )
Yes! I got all necessary credits to graduate by the end of my junior year and I’ll be taking my last two required classes when I get back second semester. So credits are good for graduation, I just wondered how I could show that on Common App.
Yes, I totally agree about the rigor. I’ll be attending an English and French bilingual school that has a very good reputation. I’ve tried to explain this, but my school just doesn’t want me to go in the first place. I live in a very rural area and wanting to leave the united states isn’t something that’s very encouraged here. When I told them I was doing this, the first thing my school administrators said was “why?”. I’m going to try to have one last talk with her before I go, but I think them giving me credit is hopeless. The only class they said they might give me credit for is for Spanish. Even then, they didn’t technically agree.
I don’t know what year I’ll be in, unfortunately my program hasn’t specified yet. I only know the school and the city and province I’m going to.
Does this fixed curriculum have some kind of syllabus that each school has to follow? If I can show that the classes will be more advanced than they are here (which I’m almost certain they are), then maybe that might help convince my principal.
Also, thank you for the encouraging reply!! Everyone has been really doubting that I should do this and it’s nice to see someone so supportive of it!
. Even with regional variations, national systems aren’t very hard.
)