also, what would be the best time to go? i live in california if that helps.. i don't want to miss much of my high school years, especially graduation of high school. i'm a freshmen right now though. also... do i get credit for becoming an exchange student and would that help me get into a university once i get back into my home country? thanks for helping me out ^_^
Studying Abroad - 3 Answers
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1 :
HI, The three best programs are AFS, YFU and Rotary. Rotary is the cheapest, but most competitive. YFU has some nice scholarship opportunities to Japan. I recommend staying away from AYUSA/Intrax and Two Worlds United. The best time to go is your junior year. Since you are just a freshman now, that will allow you time to work on a good class schedule so you can graduate with your class, raise some money and study some Japanese. You may have to take some classes earlier (i.e. American HIstory as a sophomore instead of a junior.) Credit is up to your high school, but usually you will get AT LEAST foreign language, social studies and independent studies. Some schools will also grant math and science credit. Sit down with your counselor to figure this all out -- then get it in writing! Colleges and universities LOVE exchange students and often offer preferred admissions and/or scholarship opportunities. Here are the web sites for the programs I mentioned. http://www.yfu.org/ http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/youthprograms/RotaryYouthExchange/Pages/ridefault.aspx This site also has lots of info on becoming an exchange student: http://www.exchangestudentworld.com/
2 :
Actually, a lot of people say that sophmore year is the best time to go. SOME people say that 15 year olds are not "mature" enough, but it is all a personal thing, and if you are taking the initiative to find out about the exchange and make it happen, then you are probably good. The reason for this is that there are few graduation requirements your sophmore year, there is no SAT to take, there are no college visits do, and this is supposed to be an "easy" yr. compared to Junior yr. I am hopefully going as a sophmore next year. Also, I would go for a whole year, because people who go for a semester always (often) regret it. They don't have time to totally get used to life there or master the language as they would. You should get credit for your time there. As AFS says, there is no reason for your credits not to transfer. You need to go to your counselor now and make a plan of what classes you will take here, what classes you may take there, and if there will be any work in order to graduate. This is another reason sophmore year is the best, because then you have time to complete any credits you missed when you return and can still graduate on time. Check out this website about transfering credits: http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/view/5342 . This will help you get into a good university. The colleges like to know that your independent and have world experience. It is a great way to make you stand out! http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/view/5341 Some good prorams that you could check out are Rotary, AFS, and YFU. Rotary is the cheapest, but also the hardest to get into. The main difference of Rotary is that you may not get to pick your country and you stay with multiple host families. Unfortuantely, it is too late to apply for Rotary for next year. http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/youthprograms/RotaryYouthExchange/Pages/ridefault.aspx AFS is also one of the best. They have a great reputation. I am going with them and they are super helpful. It is a bit expensive (mayb 11,000 dollars) but there are lots of scholarships. Also, it is easier to get in, and it is more likely that you will get your first choice country (Japan). Especially if you apply early! http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/home YFU is similar to AFS and they have a lot of scholarships to Japan. It is also a bit cheaper to begin with and a tiny bit easier to get in. They also have a pretty good repuatation. These are all the many scholarships of YFU: http://www.yfu-usa.org/ao/scholarships.htm Good luck, I'm sure your exchange will be.... awesome
3 :
Yeah, I really agree with Zadrii that sophmore year is the best time to go. I am not sure why Feisty thinks that Junior year is the best time to go. I went to Japan as a sophmore and I LOOOOOVVEDDD it. If you won't to go now, that I wouldn't wait... I know I was too impatient.
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