hello! I’m 16 years old. currently I’m in grade 11 but I’m in Egypt not US, however, my school doesn’t use the Egyptian educational system instead it uses international gcse system. i was thinking about staying my senior year in America and studying there but I don’t know how I’ll mange to do that since the system in America is different, and how this change would affect my chances of going to a good university (in America too).
NP: I didn’t start my A levels yet.
There may be some boarding schools that would be options for you. Check out the Prep School Forum.
There also are one year exchange programs such as YFU.org and AFS.org but those aren’t designed to get you into college.
Colleges and universities in the US know what the GCSEs are. If you do well on your A levels, it is likely that you can be admitted here at some good universities.
What really matters however, is how much your family can afford to pay. Find that out.
Changing high schools senior year can easily turn detrimental for college admissions. Here’s a few considerations.
- College applications are typically completed at the beginning of senior year. The school year typically starts in August and the first application deadlines are in October. You won't yet have American grades to show, and your letters of recommendations will come from teachers who barely know you (unless you have the foresight to arrange for letters of recommendation from your teachers in Egypt before you leave the country).
- American high schools would typically include grades from prior schools on your transcript. It is likely that the high school won't convert your foreign grades appropriately and instead include them at face value. In the US, college-bound students are expected to earn As. Bs are below expectation and Cs are bad. British-style grading is typically stricter, with As reserved for high achievers. (Foreign credential evaluation services often translate British As and Bs to American As, and British Cs to American Bs.)
- If your grades don't get converted properly, your high school GPA and class rank will be unfairly low. That would likely exclude you from consideration for scholarships, and may cause your application to get rejected outright unless someone takes the time to dig into your high school record and notice the grade mis-translation.
- Even if your grades get translated fairly, your class rank would still be unfairly low because you won't have any "honors classes" before senior year, which are typically given extra points in class rank calculations.
In short, you are probably better off completing high school abroad and applying to US colleges from abroad.