This discussion was created from comments split from: Does High School Study Abroad hurt or help?.
I am currently abroad in Spain for the Fall Semester of my Junior year. I originally did this because I love traveling and absolutely love the spanish language and everything about Spain. As I come to the half-way point in this exchange, I am getting more and more concerned about how this will affect my college admissions. I wouldnt trade this experience for anything. I have learned so much about myself and about the world around me. I definitely recommend studying abroad for anyone who is thinking about it. However, My grades that I recieve here will transfer back to my home highschool therefore affecting my GPA and class rank. I knew choosing to study abroad meant that I wouldnt be able to take any AP classes during “the most important year in high school” and the one most looked at my colleges. I plan to take several Ap’s next year and I will still be able to graduate on time. I only hope that colleges will look further into my application past my GPA and class rank and understand that I did something and learn so much more than I could have in a classroom.
We hosted a German student who was in the Gymnasium (equivelent of honors HS). She did her exchange year with us but did not get credit for the year (she knew this). When she went back she was a year behind her class but there was no grade effect. This allowed her to take courses of interest. She did not take any math class which may be an issue as you have not taken math for an entire year.
I agree with you…HS should be about expanding your horizons, not just GPA and who took the most APs. Do not worry, there are many schools out there. Make sure to do well first semester senior year so you can share those grades with colleges.