Highschooler Studying Abroad in France

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter wants to be in Paris which narrows the options considerably. She also wants to do spring semester.

I don’t think our high school will give credit, but it is a good suggestion to ask for their opinions. I know of another student that went to Germany for a semester. I have a call out to his mom to ask how that went for him.

Why not just have her do a gap year.

This is the answer.

If she’s in a public school, it’s not going to fly for her to jest get no credits for half the year, states don’t require just that you get the work done, there are also attendance requirements…plus how would this even work given that most classes are full year? Plus selective colleges want to see 4 full years of English, math, science, etc.

It might be possible- I graduated from my local public school after spending junior and senior years as an exchange student in two different countries- but it was a bureaucratic nightmare that I don't think would be worth it for a semester. I could write a tome about what needed to happen (summer school, getting exemptions to sit for state tests a year in advance without taking that level of coursework for classes with no seat time, advance approval from host schools to have a particular class schedule, translating foreign grades, etc) but I'll just say the first step is to talk to your HS principal (superintendent? I had to) and get a sense of what this might look like.

Having said that, doing a summer or gap year is WAY easier.

[Anonymous]

30 years ago I was an exchange student with Youth For Understanding. I had no problems getting credit for classes. I had to take American History which was a graduation requirement my senior year, but I got credit for everything else (including PE).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter wants to be in Paris which narrows the options considerably. She also wants to do spring semester.

I don’t think our high school will give credit, but it is a good suggestion to ask for their opinions. I know of another student that went to Germany for a semester. I have a call out to his mom to ask how that went for him.

For your DD this could be a wonderful, intercultural experience!

like Emily in Paris!

French PP here. I agree that studying abroad can be a wonderful experience, although personally I would have her wait until she's an adult and can do more things on her own.

But please don't mention that horrible Emily in Paris! It has nothing to do with reality, I hope you know this.

This is pretty subtle, but the PP mentioning Emily in Paris is basically wanting.to say DD is or is at risk of being a putain. I do not agree but thay comment was snide from the get go.

[Anonymous]

Unless your daughter’s high school has their own program, it will be hard to do just one semester versus a year. My siblings and I all did years abroad. We didn’t get credit for most of the classes and had to make it up with summer school and internet courses. It was a great experience and I learned a language and still keep in touch with my host family 20 years later. That said, I wish I had done it as a gap year because it hurt my GPA and college admission stats. Overall a positive but would have been better later.

AFS is probably the best company to do it through. I went through Rotary which was great but at least at that time they didn’t let you choose your country, so France would be tough to get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter wants to be in Paris which narrows the options considerably. She also wants to do spring semester.

I don’t think our high school will give credit, but it is a good suggestion to ask for their opinions. I know of another student that went to Germany for a semester. I have a call out to his mom to ask how that went for him.

Why not just have her do a gap year.

This is the answer.

If she’s in a public school, it’s not going to fly for her to jest get no credits for half the year, states don’t require just that you get the work done, there are also attendance requirements…plus how would this even work given that most classes are full year? Plus selective colleges want to see 4 full years of English, math, science, etc.

It might be possible- I graduated from my local public school after spending junior and senior years as an exchange student in two different countries- but it was a bureaucratic nightmare that I don't think would be worth it for a semester. I could write a tome about what needed to happen (summer school, getting exemptions to sit for state tests a year in advance without taking that level of coursework for classes with no seat time, advance approval from host schools to have a particular class schedule, translating foreign grades, etc) but I'll just say the first step is to talk to your HS principal (superintendent? I had to) and get a sense of what this might look like.

Having said that, doing a summer or gap year is WAY easier.

Agree that for a public school a full calendar year might be easier than a semester. We lived overseas so I’m familiar with the process of having to document that my kid did class X in country X and having to show curriculum to get credits and agree it can be challenging (and my kids were at an accredited international school which is more familiar with having to show that they align with other educational systems around the world.)

But maybe OP’s kid is at a more flexible private school. I’m curious to hear how a half year would be done -and agree it sounds like a great opportunity for the kid.

[Anonymous]

I took my last semester of high school in France (Grenoble). I did pick up a lot of French--but I missed a lot of high school, too, including end-of-year celebrations. It was a bit lonely and I didn't know how to deal with the attention from men sometimes if I walked alone.

If your daughter can wait until after high school, I'd do a gap year or summer in Paris. She'll be freer and more mature.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a waste of money for a high schooler, OP. She will get a lot more out of it as a college student, plus colleges facilitate such things, whereas here it's going to be a whole lot of administrative hassle.

[Anonymous]

You and your daughter seemed super bored with your life and willing to waste money on this. Maybe instead you should look for challenging opportunities closer to you. Just because your kid's school is not rigorous, doesn't mean you can't find something challenging outside of school that doesn't involve sending your kid away across an ocean. She can do that in college and she'll learn a lot more.

[Anonymous]

Does she speak and write French fluently? High school in France, where French is the language of instruction, is intense, extremely competitive and demanding. I know, I did it and survived. It's not a place for some half baked adventure. It's also not on a semester system, it's not on a pick your classes system (you get a few electives but you have to pick a track first) and it's not a system you can parachute into for an experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP and I agree this is probably not helpful for college admissions. She most likely will not get credits and have to compress her academic load. But, she wants to achieve fluency and have the experience. We also live in a rural area where the academics offered are not very challenging and I think it would be a good experience to be in a more rigorous environment.

look into rotary club scholarship study abroad. my cousin graduated a year early from her rural high school and won a rotary club scholarship to spend senior year studying in France at a high school there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless your daughter’s high school has their own program, it will be hard to do just one semester versus a year. My siblings and I all did years abroad. We didn’t get credit for most of the classes and had to make it up with summer school and internet courses. It was a great experience and I learned a language and still keep in touch with my host family 20 years later. That said, I wish I had done it as a gap year because it hurt my GPA and college admission stats. Overall a positive but would have been better later.

AFS is probably the best company to do it through. I went through Rotary which was great but at least at that time they didn’t let you choose your country, so France would be tough to get.

OP here. Thanks for the specific recommendation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You and your daughter seemed super bored with your life and willing to waste money on this. Maybe instead you should look for challenging opportunities closer to you. Just because your kid's school is not rigorous, doesn't mean you can't find something challenging outside of school that doesn't involve sending your kid away across an ocean. She can do that in college and she'll learn a lot more.

OP. Maybe you should not be so judgy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD would like to study abroad for a semester of high school. Looking for experiences specific to France. What agency did you use? Did they let you specify a city? Were grades given? She would also like to specify Paris area because she has an Aunt that travels there for work. We’re thinking one semester most likely spring. Any input on that would be helpful as well.

I find it puzzling that some people are fine sending their send kids to live overseas by themselves at 15 without considering how many things can go wrong but otherwise don't consider them adults until their prefrontal cortex develops fully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she speak and write French fluently? High school in France, where French is the language of instruction, is intense, extremely competitive and demanding. I know, I did it and survived. It's not a place for some half baked adventure. It's also not on a semester system, it's not on a pick your classes system (you get a few electives but you have to pick a track first) and it's not a system you can parachute into for an experience.

I'm the French PP from upthread and I never imagined that she'd be parachuted into a French public school all by herself: that would be very bad for her! As a high schooler, she absolutely needs the support of a specialized exchange program which deals primarily with American students. French instructional methods are very different from American instructional methods, and kids are expected to be proficient in long-form essay writing at an earlier age. And yes, it's not à la carte courses like here: students pick a common core, and then have areas of specialty (science, literature, economics, etc). The classes are year-long, not based on semesters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You and your daughter seemed super bored with your life and willing to waste money on this. Maybe instead you should look for challenging opportunities closer to you. Just because your kid's school is not rigorous, doesn't mean you can't find something challenging outside of school that doesn't involve sending your kid away across an ocean. She can do that in college and she'll learn a lot more.

OP. Maybe you should not be so judgy.

I speak from experience. Maybe you should pull your head out of the starry world you envision, and think about practicalities.