Question Regarding High School Study Abroad and College Admissions?

Applying to College
1

Hello, all. I’m new to CC and I have a few questions.

I’m currently a sophomore in high school and will be studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan next year (a full year) as part of a student exchange program. By the end of this year, I’ll have 6 AP classes under my belt and, assuming everything goes to plan, higher than a 3.9 unweighted GPA. I’ll also be taking a dual enrollment engineering class at a nearby college this summer.

My questions are as follows:

  1. How do study abroad programs/student exchanges of the sort I’ll be in look to college admissions officers? Particularly those admissions officers at top-tier schools (Ivies and the like)? Will my exchange hurt or help my chances at gaining entry to these institutions?
  2. I unfortunately don’t really have many extracurricular activities. That is to say, I’m only a participant in my school’s philosophy club this year and wasn’t involved in any extracurricular activity last year. Could my simply going on exchange potentially make up, at least to some extent, this lack of involvement?
    2.5) If I was very involved in my hosting community in Japan and gained many community service hours/involvement/what have you, would I be redeemed in the eyes of admissions officers for my (to be quite blunt) general apathy during the first two years of high school?
  3. I’ll be taking five AP courses online this summer to make up for my year in Japan (I’m assuming that few to no credits will be transferred back to my US school). Do Ivies like/dislike/are neutral towards AP classes taken online?
  4. Do any of you have any recommendations to me in general? Either regarding my exchange or admissions?

Thank you for taking the time to answer some or all of my questions. It is greatly appreciated.

– TeenPhilosopher

2
  1. Your exchange will neither hurt nor help your app. It will just show that your family has money.
  2. No
    2.5) What kind of community service hours do you think you’ll get in Japan? How fluent is your Japanese?
  3. It depends on how you do on the AP test to prove you learned something.
  4. Have fun.

Make sure you have a safety school you are assured of admission, can definitely afford, and would be happy to attend.

3

I agree with above, but would add for 4:
Take notes/photos; your experience could make for a good essay.

4

@“Erin’s Dad” @skieurope , thank you both for responding so quickly. :slight_smile:

I’ve heard the “It will just show that your family has money” regarding summer-length study abroad programs before, but was under the impression that year-long programs focused more on cultural immersion as opposed to tourism showed independence and global awareness… or something… Anywho, was I mistaken?

@“Erin’s Dad” , my Japanese is… not fluent. I know much more than most exchange students do when they go to Japan, or so I’ve heard, but it’s not fantastic, either. My exchange will be through Rotary, a service-oriented organization, so I’ll not only have the opportunity, but be encouraged, to perform community service (of exactly what type, I am not sure).