<p>1) Would one year Spanish be enough if he went to a Spanish speaking country?
Answer: Yes. One of the kids I knew said that he went to Germany with "the numbers and two incorrect sentences," and he did fine. It wasn't easy, and the more you prepare the better, but it can be done.</p>
<p>2) Are their programs he should avoid, with his profile?/What are the right programs?
No...But good programs include Rotary, AFS, YFU, Ayusa/Intrax, AIFS, ASSE, and CIEE. There are others, but those are the main ones. The US government supports them (<a href="http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org)%5B/url%5D">http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org)</a>, so I assume they must be fine. But a lot of the time, certain programs are more organized in certain countries, so do your research.</p>
<p>3) How do I enhance his candidacy?
Unless he's going for Rotary or a scholarship, it shouldn't be difficult to be accepted to a program. The programs mainly just want to see that he won't come back home after a week/month in the foreign country, so tell him to emphasize his commitment. For Rotary, it definitely helps to be charismatic, but it depends on the district you're in. Some districts have a lot of open spaces, and even the ones with few spaces often let you piggyback onto another district. Just tell him to be friendly and warm at the interviews, not too serious.</p>
<p>another option is to do an exchange for 11th grade -- and then repeat 11th grade back at home (or do 11th at home, student exchange, then 12th). Many public schools require exchange students to repeat the year abroad because they have not covered the required courses. this can be avoided by planning ahead, doubling up on required courses and doing summer classes -- but repeating the grade is a great option.</p>
<p>I agree that repeating the grade makes logical sense, but I think it would be hard to convince most kids of that. There can be a big adjustment problem when the kid returns from the foreign exchange -- I'd be especially wary of a kid who attended a small Christian school which I would expect might have very conservative values and high expectations for discipline -- not necessarily the best place for an 18 year old 11th grader who has already spent a year living away from home in a foreign country.</p>
<p>I assumed that when my daughter returned from Russia that she would be more sophisticated and mature, and expect a lot more freedom -- and I gave it to her. I'm not sure that all parents would be ready to make that adjustment -- there is a parent/kid culture shock that must be faced with returning students as well as the culture shock the kid faces. If Avuncular were talking about his own kid... that would be fine -- but it might be a recipe for trouble for his nephew and Avuncular's sister. Maybe the Costa Rica summer trip is a better idea to start -- and maybe another summer exchange program later on would be a better fit for that family than a year-long exchange. </p>
<p>I definitely am 100% pro foreign-exchange -- the main point of disagreement I had with my daughter is that I thought she should have gone for a full academic year rather than a semester, but she wanted to be able to graduate on schedule -- but I do think it is important for all family members to be on board and to understand and accept that the experience brings about some big changes.</p>
<p>calmom -- true, I wasn't thinking in terms of this kid and the family/school environment he would be returning to. Maybe a PG year would be a better idea.</p>
<p>I've writen this here before, and I know some consider it less than full immersion, but I think SYA is the best of the programs. The combination of living with a local family and spending time at local schools combined with having a home base school for the Americans on the program really works. You can continue a rigorous high school program with APs and not miss a beat. The travel that's included throughout the country of choice is also amazing. Bad fit with a family and they have a list of new ones waiting. The contrast with other programs is stark. The price, however, is also way beyond the others--about $40K, but aid is available.</p>
<p>I went to China. I thought the program was extremely well run. We knew lots of kids on other programs and we were by far the best supported. The program had fabulous teachers as opposed to just throwing us into a random school. Americans aren't exactly the most beloved foreigners abroad!</p>
<p>My best friend went to France and I visited that program too. They have an amazing experience, great art history, great travel through France. </p>
<p>HSmom, you also mentioned UWC. With that program I think you have to be careful of location. I've known 2 people totally unhappy in Wales and one who loved BC.</p>
<p>our daughter went to France with SYA. Wonderful, very well run program. We also have friends whose children went abroad with other high school programs and were less thanm happy. SYA is really a superb option.</p>
<p>Hi Calmom and the rest: Thanks for the thoughts and the points and the debate. Calmom, rest assured I got your point the first time you said it. I can't, nor would I, micromanage him at all. My point is that there is nothing in his world that would make a year abroad seem like a doable option or something he'd think about. I can only raise it, encourage him if he seems basically interested, paint the big picture and provide a basic organizational framework in line with the suggestions here and at about that level of depth. I am skeptical enough myself that he'd be ready for it that I would definitely want to make sure there was a "sink or swim" element to his getting organized for it. If he can't do that, as you pointed out, he probably shouldn't go abroad. If you are Cal mom, though, (as in Cal Berkeley or California?) you make take it for granted that kids will know about the options that you or your children know about. He lives in a different world, really, culturally speaking. I live several states away, and I am not planning on being on the phone with him about this stuff a lot, except as an intermittent voice of support.</p>
<p>SYA is kind of the premium year abroad program. Having an actual school in one place, with classmates split by initial language ability, but with highly qualified educators from the area, and a host family, seems to be the best combination out there for teenagers. It's not an exchange, but there was a program at Exeter that took 5 kids from Rennes every year (where SYA France is). My host family actually came to the US to stay with my family before I went, because they had only come here once before, and we did some of the touristy things in New York. SYA is definitely pricey, though financial aid is available. And though it is selective, it still admits 2/3 of the people who apply (as an alumni, I do interviews for the program). There may be a kind of self-selection process, because not that many people are comfortable or would even consider living in a foreign culture for a year. On top of that, I don't think any faculty at the various affiliated schools or any alumnus/a would prod a "problem kid" into doing a year abroad. So it seems that virtually of the kids I interview would do well abroad for a year; all high grades, get along well with others, no alcohol or drug problems, present well, are polite, hardworking, etc., etc.
I also imagine that parents aren't about to contribute a great deal to a year abroad (I paid for a lot of it myself when I went...working year-round beforehand, and just saving---it was nice in the days before bills) if they aren't convinced that it is high quality, and that their child is mature enough and going to take full advantage of the opportunity.
So, overall, it's not really that hard to be admitted to SYA. And then there are a number of other programs you can take advantage of, too, so if you really want to go abroad for a year, you can do it.</p>
<p>son got the call today -- he has advanced to the next level of the Congress Bundestag Student Exchange program. He is thrilled. They want to do a half-hour phone interview. Does anyone know what happens after that? I was thinking they did in person interviews before making the decisions.</p>
<p>definitely do a lot of research beforehand to see which programs are the most reliable and which will be the best fit for your family member (or encourage him or her to do the research and go over it with you). I have heard a lot of horror stories about certain programs with fewer credentials. I would recommend checking <a href="http://www.csfes.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.csfes.org/</a>, which is the site of an organization that protects exchange students in the US. They should have ranks to other safety sites as well. I believe all exchange programs have to go through an accreditation process and different programs have different grades. I apologize if this has already been posted, but I do think it's important, so if it's posted twice, it can't hurt. :-) Also, whatever you do, don't go through Two Worlds United. Their stuff is all over the place online and from all accounts I have heard, they are a SCAM. There have been cases of many kids who ended up in the country without a host family or school and did not get any money back. Do research and make sure the program is reliable.</p>
<p>Also, I think different programs are good for different people. I am somewhat annoyed by suze's posts that SYA is absolutely the best program out there. There are so many different programs, that it is impossible to make this distinction. SYA sounds fantastic academically and for students who really want to go abroad in HS but need certain requirements, etc. this is probably a good choice. Two of my uncles went through this program and really liked it and they certainly had a good cultural experience as well. However, the high costs are not practical for most people and there are other good study abroad programs for HS students that cost much much less. I am going to Russia on a gap year next year through Rotary's program and for my goals, that was a more practical decision. I wanted to take a gap year to become fluent in Russian and completely immerse myself in Russian culture and Rotary's program is perfect for that. In all likelihood I will be the only American student in my city and I will be attending a Russian hs or university. I like this because of the complete immersion in the culture. Plus, the program is much cheaper and thus more practical for me, as I plan on paying for as much of it as possible. Finally, some programs offer certain countries that students are particularly interested in. So, Suze, SYA is great, but no need to put down other exchange programs...</p>
<p>hsmomstef--My son is a Congress-Bundestag student right now in Germany--if I recall, after the phone interview, they will do personal interviews. They do it differently in the different regions. I know on the east coast, they just did group interviews at different locations. We live in the midwest and they flew my son out to New Mexico to a retreat somewhere (can't remember exactly) where he had a weekend of interviews. It was all very exciting and now he is now having the time of his life. I know it will be very difficult for him to come back. Anyway--good luck to your son.</p>
<p>Good post, devushka. When I researched semester abroad programs for my high-schooler, I was shocked at how expensive many of them were, particularly the established American programs. They were insistent the costs weren't excessive, yet most of the time these organizations did not offer more than their much less expensive competitors. In the end we turned to <a href="http://www.goabroad.com%5B/url%5D">www.goabroad.com</a>, a huge (maybe the largest) clearing house of information on the subject. We ended up going with a Buenos Aires-based program that cost half the price of the major US programs - with local staff on hand in case of emergencies (we didn't need it) placement in a small private school, and included a cell phone for the kid to boot. Study abroad is big business these days -- and a competitive business at that, with many good companies offering a variety of services at a variety of prices.</p>
<p>You are in the western region as we are. My sophomore son applied for CBYX last year and made it to the phone interview, but not beyond. About 150 kids apply to this region each year. About 100 are phone interviewed; about 70 last year were invited to New Mexico - of those 50 went to Germany. I corresponded with a Mom from Kansas whose son made it to Germany - he said most of those who were sent were older students - mostly seniors in H.S. Not many of the younger kids made it. </p>
<p>This year my son accepted a placement with Rotary to go to Germany next year. He is relieved to already know for sure he is going. Last year it was around March 1 when he found out he wasn't accepted by CBYX. The New Mexico trip was in May and kids that went didn't find out for sure they were going until around June 1.</p>
<p>2sonmama and onemoreyear -- thanks for the info!! It will be interesting to see how it all works out! The letter he got from AYUSA says that after the telephone interview, he will be notified if he was selected in early April -- no mention of an in person interview or weekend in New Mexico. I thought that was strange, since I was under the understanding that an in person interview was the last step -- maybe it isn't mentioned until after you pass the telephone interview.</p>
<p>My son is older -- so that is in his favor -- and he has already done a summer exchange. he is very interested in Germany, but has not studied the language yet -- so that is probably working against him.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes! I will keep you posted.</p>
<p>devushka, I post about SYA as I so believe in it. In China I met sooo many kids having not great experiences on different programs. Families who were just in it for the money not feeding them or caring for them well, bad local schools with no support, no chance to see more of the country, feeling lost and alone. They couldn't believe the difference in our program. Also, I would guess that about half of those on our program got financial aid.</p>
<p>I also want to note the response from adcoms was always "we love SYA kids."</p>
<p>suze -- it is always nice to hear about programs where students had good experiences. I think it is especially important that parents and students research study abroad programs due to their expense, length of time and distance from home. A poorly run program can make what can be an already difficult situation absolutely horrible.</p>
<p>I certainly didn't read anything in your post where you were bashing other programs and you are not the only person who continually praises the SYA program. It is well regarded, both by participants and colleges. </p>
<p>Their are many, many exchange programs out there -- and each has something unique to offer. The key is to do the research and determine what works best for your student.</p>
<p>I spent 10 months last year in Japan with YFU on a scholarship from the James Bradley Peace Foundation. It was an amazing an experience and the best decision I ever made. I highly recommend an exchange to anyone out there considering one. YFU is expensive and the scholarships they do have are usually specific to certain countries, but it's a very good program. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me.</p>