Math-and-science high schooler with questions

Applying to College
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<p>(First post . . . always a bit nerve-wracking, haha . . .)</p>

<p>So, I'm going into my freshman year of high school pretty soon, and I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do throughout my 4 years there while I'm waiting for school to start. (I'm very much the kind of person who likes everything planned far far ahead of time . . .) I'm interested in studying abroad for a year, maybe sophomore or junior year. I have most of the worries that would come with that kind of thing - worrying about falling behind my peers, worrying that I'll drag down my GPA by a considerable amount - but still, this is something that I'd like to do sometime. The only thing is that, well, I'm looking at what kind of classes these various programs offer, and I'm looking at the colleges that they boast sending people to, and it all seems rather liberal-arts-college-like, doesn't it? I don't really want to tie myself down to any particular college this early in the game, but I really see myself as more of a STEM-field person (in particular math and physics - I took a class this summer on theoretical physics and it was amazing, I've been self-studying since then and right now this is definitely what I most feel like I could for my life). In particular, I was looking at School Year Abroad and it was a little worrying that the classes it was offering had most everything except science.</p>

<p>So what I'm asking is . . . would the studying abroad experience be valuable to me, as a math-and-science type of girl? And, well, would the adcoms at MIT/Caltech/other tech school particularly care about my year abroad in Japan/France/Germany/etc, and/or would they forgive me for a drop in grades within a reasonable amount if I had to adjust, or catch up, or make up classes? </p>

<p>Wait, some more questions. What high school study abroad program would be best for me? I'm looking at Rotary Youth Exchange right now, it certainly has the perk of being affordable . I assume that the degree of academic rigor in this program would vary depending on which country they send you to, but is it generally a good idea for someone who wants to get a good amount of math/science learning done? (The other subjects too, of course.) Or, if you haven't went to Rotary, but you have been to some other high school study abroad program with strong academics, then I'd like to hear about that too.</p>

<p>This is kinda longer than I meant it to be, but two bonus questions and then I'm done. For those who have participated in the NASA INSPIRE program, or who have went to a study abroad program, or both - would it be possible for me to participate in both studying abroad and doing whatever it is you do in the Online Learning Community at the same time? NASA INSPIRE does say that you have to be a US citizen to participate, but ain't no rule saying that you can't be out of the country . . . of course, I admit that I don't know too much about how the INSPIRE program works. Second bonus question: which country should I go to study abroad at? Right now I'm thinking France or Japan, but I'm open for suggestions. Just, whichever country has the best school system, especially in regards to math and science, would be nice . . . a pretty, useful-to-know language would be a plus too. :P (I'm writing this with no language skills other than the bare minimum of two school years worth of Italian. Well, I know Russian, but that kind of feels like cheating, my family is already Russian and I'd like a different culture. I figure I'll find a program and a country, and then I'll take online courses for the language. For the programs that require "1 year of language x" or "2 years of language x", will they take online courses? I'm kinda banking on the idea that they do, but if anyone knows any better, please tell me.)</p>

<p>I'm still pretty new to this idea of studying abroad, and I'm not the best at Google-fu, but thanks in advance for those who reply. :)</p>

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<p>hey Qwinnn, wow I am in like the exact same situation as you…
The whole GPA thing and keeping up with your peers really depends on the school… for example I know somone who travelled abroad a few years ago from my school but they wouldnt take any of her credits from the foriegn school except for language (I’m not sure if you would want those to count for your GPA anyway…) Online school is definently an optoin but you will have to find out from your guidance couselor if those will count for credit. And if they count for credit will they also count to your GPA?
My worry is that since I might be travelling abroad junoir year, I don’t know how effective online classes are for physics and calculus…? this probably worries you too judging by your post lol. I’m thinking about maybe doing summer classes at a local university. And also I think Rotary is the most well known group to travel with. That is who I am looking at.</p>

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<p>Yeah, Rotary is definitely one of the higher positions for me still too, but I’m also looking at AFS and YFU. Rotary has the advantage of price, and I like how you get several host families, but with AFS and YFU I’d have more of a chance to get to the country of my choice, and if I’m going to be aiming for a country with a good math/science curriculum, then I wouldn’t want to be sent to a country with a bad one. I guess right now I’m just going to wait until I’m back in school so I can check in with the school about the various questions I have. My parents aren’t really too thrilled about the idea of me missing a whole year of school to study abroad, so I’ll have to alleviate their worries, too. I’m going to try to be taking classes at the community college throughout the year and summer anyway, so if I could do something there to make up for studying abroad, that would be pretty great.</p>

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<p>With Rotary you are almost garunteed one of your 5 preferences… so i wouldn’t worry too much. and I’m sure where ever you went would have a good school system.
It just seems like you have to make a lot of sacrafices to do a year abroad… i’m not sure if you’re an athlete, but I am. and im not sure if i’m willing to give up my sports.
My parents are pretty cool with it though.</p>

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<p>Re. Rotary country choices, You really can not count on actually learning any science or math while you are abroad. Depending on your language background and ability and your hosting country, you may learn the language of your host country. If you go to South American, you will learn to speak Spanish or Portuguese and have a great experience, however, school is not typically taken seriously by native teenagers (or exchange students), regardless of whether it is a private or public school. It is unlikely that you will learn any academic subject unless you choose to self-study an AP course and arrange to take an AP exam at an American school while you are abroad. My daughter spent the 2009-10 school year in S. America with RYE. She loved it and learned many things, including but not limited to Spanish. However, none of her peers learned science or much math or other subjects at their host schools. Some Rotary countries would be fascinating cultural experiences but would have very difficult languages that could not be mastered in a year (ie. Russia, S. Korea, Japan, Turkey, Finland, Indonesia etc.). If you plan your high school schedule well and take summer school and/or online courses, you should be able to complete hs in 3 years and fit in an exchange OR you can do a gap year at any time. My d took a gap year between sophomore and junior year.</p>

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<p>If it’s true that they don’t take math and science too seriously in study abroad, that’s a little disheartening . . . I really do want to do this sometime, but I also want to keep up/keep ahead in math and science. Also, I’d really prefer a study abroad program that’s a school year long, but it seems like they’re all a full 365-day-year . . . I have a lot of summer programs that I want to go to every year (Ross Mathematics, Mathcamp, PROMYS and HCSSIM for math camps alone, and then definitely RSI if I can get into it, not to mention ISSYP and YESS and TOPS Physics and . . .), and they’re all so long that I’d only be able to go to one each year. I don’t want to miss a summer and therefore miss a chance at a camp. I guess I can just take a gap year between high school and college for this, or something?</p>

<p>I’m not actually sure how finishing high school in 3 years would work for me. I have something to do every day of the week this year (3 clubs on 3 days, 4 hours of math one day, flute and piano lessons, volunteering at the science museum, etc.), and of course I have my summer programs during the summer. I really do have a lot to ask the high school once school starts again.</p>

<p>(Also, would my luck with learning math and science be better if I went to Russia? I may have the vocabulary of a 6-year-old in Russian, but I’m good enough at it that I can understand anything that someone says in Russian. My second-best second language, Italian, is ages away from that stage.)</p>