<p>My son is looking at possibly spending 6 months in Isreal doing a study abroad program in his Senior year of high school. He very much wants to do this, but I have some concerns about how it will work with college applications.</p>
<p>He would have access to internet -- so he could submit necessary materials online or through the mail.</p>
<p>He is looking at some very selective schools -- Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Duke and some match and safeties. He would also be applying to some of the scholarship programs that, I think, require interviews.</p>
<p>If he was to work on his applications in the summer and was able to finish them up while he was in Isreal -- would it work for him to attend school abroad from september to january? are interviews required for admissions? what if he decides to apply EA or ED -- would it still work?</p>
<p>I am just trying to think ahead, before he starts working on arranging this if it will mess up his college apps. I just know that senior year is a busy time. I know that he would need to be in the country in the spring for the scholarship interviews, if he gets any.</p>
<p>I would say that the benefits of doing this program would out weigh the inconvenience. It would require some organization, but could be doable. I don't see any difference between ED/EA and RD as he would most likely be away for both deadlines.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Interviews
My son did most of his interviewing the summer before senior year. Some schools, Brown is one that comes to mind, will not arrange interviews until they have received your application. In that event, he was planning to contact an alumni/ae interviewer in our country. My guess is that your son could find alum interviewers for these elite schools in Israel or plan to interview after he's back in the States.</p></li>
<li><p>Teacher recommendations
He would need to select and request his recommendations prior to leaving -- or impress his teachers in Israel pretty fast!</p></li>
<li><p>SAT/ACT
I'm sure these are offered in Israel, but you might want to get that taken care of before departure.</p></li>
<li><p>The application/essays/resume etc.
I guess this would depend on how self-motivating he is or if the school that he would attend has a college counseling service that is familiar with US schools. Crafting a strong application is not easy. Some kids can handle it independently; some require a lot of parental intervention. </p></li>
<li><p>School profile and counselor's recommendation
Again, this is a bit complicated but if the school regularly sends Israeli kids to the US, they would be familar with the process.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>thanks for the information -- I was thinking it was doable, even if it will be difficult, but I wasn't sure if there was something that I was missing since I haven't been through it before.</p>
<p>Our plan would be to have SATs taken at least once, so that we know where he stands in regards to stats. That way we can finalize the list of reaches/matches/safeties. </p>
<p>He will ask for teacher recommendations at the end of the Junior Year and then he can supplement with an additional recommendation from a teacher in Israel.</p>
<p>He can work on college apps and essays over the summer -- he is good about doing that, especially since he is the one that wants to go to Isreal -- a powerful motivator.</p>
<p>We will see about doing a campus tour in the spring of Junior year to the schools that make the final cut and then set up whatever interviews we can over the summer.</p>
<p>this seems doable -- we will just have to coordinate!</p>
<p>Yesterday I talked to someone whose child is abroad for their senior year and is applying to colleges. He mentioned that she missed out on a scholarship opportunity. It seems that by the time that the notice was mailed to her, the deadline had passed. Also how would he be able to participate in Scholarship weekends.</p>
<p>This is definitely doable if you follow Momrath's advice on the timeline. Also for many elite colleges, there are alum interviews and for RD, these are usually after Jan. 1 so he'd be back plus many have interviewers in most countries. But on campus interviews could happen in summer. This will all require being organized, getting apps done before he leaves preferably, testing done in junior year, recs requested prior to departure. The schools you are mentioning do not have "scholarship weekends".</p>
<p>Also, use the home address for all correspondence. </p>
<p>I know others who have gone abroad in fall of senior year. .</p>