Study Abroad during High School Question

<p>So I plan to study abroad during my junior year and I had some question.
By the way, I'm a freshman with a 3.6 GPA and the place I want to study abroad is Japan for business/technology. (Haven't decided yet)</p>

<p>1) If you didn't take foreign language during freshman and took it next year (my school offer only Spanish and Hmong) and took it senior year, what are my chances of getting in a CSU or UC with two years of Spanish?
2) Can I catch up by going to a community college to cover my junior year classes?
3) Is it true that you can take the SAT foreign language test to convert it credits? (Someone said you can ask to take a test and they'll convert it for college I guess; also not sure if it was the SAT)
4) Does the cost depends on how long you study abroad; if so, how much would it be for a year compare to the summer?
5) Do you move around to different host family? (Some people said they would move at least 3 times or more)
6) Are cheaper program similar to the regular program that offer study abroad?
7) Is there a risk going abroad like reverse cultural shock? (I know it was something like that and I know what is)
8) Depending on the program, do you get to give them some idea of where you want to be at and what kind of environment you want? (City, country, etc., not a anime or manga freak although I do read/watch them once a while)
9) When going, how much do you need to pack? (I think some people said you can ship them there instead of carrying them, might be wrong)
10) Do I have to do something when I get back from study abroad? (Essay I guess, I know it's for college students but does it go to highschool students)</p>

<p>Might have more question later but for now just these, thanks for reading. Sorry if I make some mistake or wasn't clear enough, still suck at writing. If you could please post some great program you think I should take when I'm older. I will revise this when I got time or wasn't clear enough.</p>

<p>Your questions are too vague and general. The answers depend on what program you choose and hence cannot be addressed in the way you have asked them. </p>

<p>These are questions you must ask your coordinator. I disagree with @alcibiade, these questions are in fact too specific, but yes, answers do depend on the program. Your best option is to ask former exchange students and the teacher in charge. All programs are different in some way.</p>

<p>Thanks I’ll try that</p>

<p>Skizzy, here’s a sample study abroad program for Japan <a href=“High School in Japan | Programs | Greenheart Travel”>High School in Japan | Programs | Greenheart Travel; . I personally went on the program for France, and I only have good things to say on their end of the deal. Your main problem is going to be your highschool; how will they recognize your credits and even if so, do they know how to advise you properly for eventual UC education? I had to learn this the hard way, and fortunately I still got into UC Santa Barbara/UC Santa Cruz, though I think I could of have better success if I didn’t have the most complicated and conflicted transcript on the planet.I HIGHLY recommend becoming best friends (not literally of course) with your high school counselor so that you guys are always on the same page. I would even recommend too contacting one of advisors at the UCs your senior year as well about what classes they will recognize as well. You will also likely need to take an ACT/SAT while abroad.</p>

<p>If you want to have a hint of what your experience would be like, try reading up some blogs about students who wrote about their studies in Japan just set the categories to high school - japan and click search.</p>

<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Links to blogs are not permitted.</p>

<p>@XxSkizzyxX, my 16-year-old daughter is a HS sophomore and is currently studying in Cadiz, Spain. She went through the CIEE organization. I have been very impressed with them. Not cheap, but everything, including airfare from Boston, is included in the cost.</p>

<p>My daughter thought she wanted to study in Barcelona, but the program director asked if she would be willing to go where they thought best. She is staying with ONE host family. They are a couple with grown children. The children and grandchildren eat with them at least once a week. My daughter is having a wonderful time. She left on January 28 and will be done with the program on June 26. Her dad is flying over, and the two of them will travel around Spain for 10 days.</p>

<p>Each high school is different. irockster9 is absolutely correct - talk to your GC a lot! My daughter is going to have to make up American History and health, probably online.</p>

<p>One thing that CIEE has started doing is testing the students in fluency before they leave, and again when they return. It will give my daughter quantitative proof on how much she improved her language skills.</p>

<p>She has been surprised how friendly everyone is. They want to know all about America and enjoy helping her out. She had a little bit of culture shock, but she got over it fairly quickly. CIEE does an excellent job of explaining the challenges. They give each student a laminated card with a 24/7 hotline, in case something comes up the student doesn’t know how to deal with it.</p>

<p>If you have any specific questions, feel free to send me a PM. Good luck! </p>

<p>Thank you for your respond, it helped out a bit. I’ll try my best to see how it turns out. </p>