<p>Has anyone ever done (or knows a lot about) one of those School Year Abroad programs? If so, how was it? Does it affect the college applications process? Did you like your host family? How did you apply to college from abroad? Did you study the language of the country you went to, and was that a necessity? (I want to go to France, but my parents have made me take Spanish, and the only french I know is Bonjour and Merci!) Please post!</p>
<p>My daughter is an exchange student in the Czech Republic. She's travelling there right now, and won't have access to the Internet until Monday. I'll e-mail her and ask her to respond to your question.</p>
<p>I'll try to give you a little more information later tonight. I need to get a child to piano lessons.</p>
<p>~ Travelin</p>
<p>It would help a great deal to know the language because it would be quite akward to arrive and not be able to communicate with your host family or any other people while you are there. Obviously, you would learn the lanuguage there as you would hear the language 24/7. I don't know how long it would take though to learn the language. Personally, I don't think it would be a good idea to go and study for grades and credit in a country where you have no prior knowledge at all of the language.</p>
<p>princessbell,</p>
<p>My daughter borrowed tapes and books about the Czech language from our small public library, and started studying on her own. Also, she found info on the internet. Once she arrived in the Czech Republic, she learned the language fast.</p>
<p>She found out that she was accepted to the exchange student program in Feb. 2004. She took the Sat 1 in March, a Sat 2 in May, and 2 Sat 2's in June. She did well in the tests, but said later she would have liked to take the Sat 1 again, to see if she could get a higher score. </p>
<p>Our summer vacation was spent visiting colleges. The rest of summer she spent working on her college applications. She had the basics finished on the apps before she left (especially signatures) and some of the essays written. As she finished other parts of the apps, she mailed or e-mailed them to me, and I sent them in. </p>
<p>Applying to colleges and for scholarships has required a little extra effort, but the exchange program has been a great experience for her. I'll let my daughter tell you about it. I'm sure that it's an experience that she will value the rest of her life. She has become very independent this year, and has had a lot of fun. Her grade at her Czech school spent 2 weeks in Germany with a German school and a French school. the program was related to learning more about the European Union. </p>
<p>My daughter's host family is very nice. We first got to know them through e-mail--fortunately, the host father knows English. The host mother and the 2 children always speak to my daughter in Czech.</p>
<p>We have an exchange student from Italy living with us this year and it's been a good experience for us. My middle school son is interested in becoming an exchange student when he's old enough.</p>
<p>I suggest looking into an exchange program--it's a great experience!</p>
<p>~ travelin</p>