SYA-School Year Abroad program

<p>A lot of BS has SYA program.<br>
Any one please share your experience !</p>

<p>SYA has programs in several countries and is starting one up in India this fall. My D went to SYA in Rennes, France, this year. She had always wanted to go, even at 13, and the number of students who studied abroad, how accomodating the school was to these plans, and the ability to apply for SYA were things she considered when choosing which boarding school to attend. When the time actually arrrived it was a tough decision for her because she really didn't want to miss her junior year at her school (which she loved). In the end she chose to go and was rewarded with a wonderful host family, an eye-opening, life-changing experience, great friends, fluency in French, and a developing appreciation for art and food, Brittany and Paris. My younger children, who visited her there, now all want to go to SYA as well. It's a wonderful program.</p>

<p>From my child's experience at SYA I would say that the picture is not uniformly quite so rosy, at least not when s/he was there several years ago. I don't want to start a firestorm of controversy over SYA on this site but I would say that 1) it can be a VERY fast track for kids who are inclined that way with regard to substances and activities that parents and schools at least attempt to monitor in the states 2) problems with host families are sometimes minimized on the grounds of the need for the student to adapt to the culture. While this is frequently true, the hassle of moving a student can make the administration a little too slow to act. If your child reports what you find to be credible problems with a family, you may need to step in. 3) There is a bit of a sink or swim attitude, which is understandable in a cultural immersion program, but if your child is used to having strong connections to teachers etc., this is much less likely to be the case. My child is a particularly independent, mature, resilient person and these observations are not reflective of personal experience as much as things s/he saw. I wouldn't discourage anyone from going, but I would recommend that you stay in good touch with your child, and act if you feel something is amiss.</p>

<p>Interestedmom5 has some very good points, which I don't disagree with, and our two posts together present a much more balanced picture. In my haste to respond to arling and my delight over my D's experience, I definitely painted a best-case scenario. I would not send a "young" student nor one who is tempted to "push the edges" because of the ready access and acceptance of alcohol and drug use (mostly alcohol, at least in France) among the SYA peer culture. SYA rachets up the independence kids experience at boarding school another notch and your child needs to be ready to handle that. Parents also have veto power over trips; I vetoed a trip to Morocco that my D wanted to take with friends during one of the breaks. Stay involved, (im is wonderful), stay informed, stay close, and go visit!</p>

<p>My DD spent fall semester of 2006 at SYA Beijing. Initially she planned to go for the full year, but found the adjustment to another culture, family, style of school, and new set of friends to be difficult. She came from a large, urban, public HS, and had studied Chinese for 11 years, so the language wasn't too hard to deal with. As much as she didn't want to spend the entire year there, DD felt that she benefited tremendously from the whole experience. She came back expressing the intention to return to China during college and is planning to major in Asian Studies/Chinese. She says that SYA Beijing was both the hardest thing she's ever done as well as the best thing she's ever done.</p>

<p>I have a son in SYA France right now, and can answer your questions if you wish. I can concur that it is a well run program for independent and solid students who can adapt to an increased level of freedom that may not present itself to them at home. </p>

<p>I agree that host family issues can present themselves and can discuss them privately. My son has had his fair share of issues, ranging from the simple to the truly odd with his residence, but his friends have spoken glowingly about the relationships that they have formed with host families. I think there is an element of the luck of the draw in the match process. I can say that the SYA France was willing to move my son, but, in the end, he has stayed at the first residence to which he was assigned. </p>

<p>I would strongly disagree that close relationships do not form between the teachers and the students. My son has dinner with his Math teacher at his home on a weekly basis ! </p>

<p>I would also note that the homesickness, when present, really does ease off tremendously in the second semester, just around the time that true language competency emerges.</p>

<p>Multiple experiences here, not with SYA but with another agency. S spent a month in Morocco in 2006 and in Egypt in 2007. He will spend a full year in Turkey in 2008 as an exchange student. And, we hosted a European exchange student for 8 months this year. </p>

<p>Everything expressed above is true. The quality of the agencies vary. The one that brought the exchange student to us was terrible and provided no support at all. They did not send a representative to greet her at the airport when she arrived, and the same hands-off attitude prevailed for the duration of her trip. We had an exceptional experience with her in our home, but not due to anything the organization did. We were just mutually lucky. PM if you need to know the name of the agency.</p>

<p>S's two voyages to Africa were outstanding experiences despite the bumps - such as intestinal bugs from Morocco (he shared a room with a goat) and a stint in a Cairo hospital with a dehydrating flu. In both cases there was ample support and he was treated well. He is still very close to his family in Cairo. </p>

<p>We are of course concerned about the year in Turkey. But the two month-long African voyages gave us insight into how he will likely fare in a much longer stay. He gained maturity and insight that should prepare him well. I'm not sure how we would have felt about a year-long exchange language immersion program had he not had shorter 'trial runs' that involved hardship, with which he dealt successfully.</p>

<p>None of this was his idea, of course. We have forced these experiences on him solely to distinguish him from the crowd so he can get into an Ivy League college.*</p>

<p>*SARCASM. But we have actually had parents imply that, as in "you guys are really pushing this international bit pretty far, aren't you"? Yeah. Just what we had in mind when he was born. "Hey, honey, isn't he cute? Let's send him to a third-world country to eat bugs so he can get into college."</p>

<p>haha. EAT BUGS!!!
that reminds me of lion king.
I probably wouldn't want to spend a whole school year abroad...I would miss out on a lot of things that the schools would have to offer and stuff. But on the other hand, I think that I'd really be able to enjoy a summer abroad. there won't be that many sacrifices as the whole school year, and I won't miss any school or sports.
but that's just my opinion.
:)</p>

<p>None of this was his idea, of course. We have forced these experiences on him solely to distinguish him from the crowd so he can get into an Ivy League college.*</p>

<p>I LOVE THIS! We have heard the same thing before - my oldest has a passion for anything to do with religion (and I mean an overwhelming, I am not interested in anything else, my idea of a great vacation in London is to spend 8 hours discussing the evolution of the Episcopalian church with the priest at the church across from the hostel, kind of passion). And we still have people think that we encouraged him to have this passion to get him into an ivy league -- like I really want him to spend his life meditating in some remote monastery in Tibet (I guess if it makes him happy).</p>

<p>laxtaxi -- I pm'd you!</p>

<p>Lax.
You must be with my dad. He has been condemned (publicly) for forcing me off to boarding school for an IVY league school. When he tries to tell them it is my idea.....Thanks for your post.</p>

<p>I'm applying to SYA next year for 11th grade. I will probably apply to the French program, but am also considering Spain. I'll will either be taking French III or AP French Language next year (10th) and Spanish II or III, depending on if I self study a year over the summer.</p>

<p>Jonathan -- the French and Spanish programs are the hardest to get into, so you might even tell them that you would go to either one.</p>

<p>Yeah, I was thinking about that. Do you think it's allowed? I could also consider the China program since I'm probably adding Chinese next year.</p>

<p>I would really like to, but I don't think I can apply for it</p>

<p>1) 3 consecutive applications will give my school the vibe that I really want out even though I love it here
2) my parents insist on driving 9 hours to maine every summer, so they can meet the counsellors, even though it's the same camp. I don't know what they'd do if they couldn't see me for a year</p>

<p>Jonathan1, </p>

<p>My DS2 will be applying to SYA France and China next year as well. If you PM me, I will provide you with his e-mail</p>

<p>Moewb</p>

<p>D just got back from SYA Italy. She wanted to stay for another year because she felt she was finally truly understanding the language and the culture.</p>

<p>We communicated by email every day so easy to be in the loop.</p>

<p>She had already attended boarding school for two years so being away was not an issue. </p>

<p>A larger percentage than I expected attended as seniors. </p>

<p>Great experience.</p>