Interested in Studying Abroad-- but my school has trimesters!

Question

I'm entering my junior year of high school in the fall, and I'm very interested in potentially spending part of the year abroad. However, my school does not have semesters; we have trimesters. So I don't know if that would work out just right in order for me to get the correct credits for classes taken. Also, if I am enrolled in 2 AP classes, should I forget about the possibility of studying abroad? Are there any programs that offer trimesters abroad or at least short-term stays in other countries?

Answer 1

I would wait until college to study abroad.  That way, you don't have to deal with the trimester/semester situation, but you'll still get the chance to go.  Almost every university has some kind of international programs department that will help you find a study abroad program.  If you wait, you'll also have the chance to take more foreign language classes before you go so that you'll be more comfortable with the language when you get there.  (I don't know where you were planning to go, but I would definitely recommend staying away from English-language programs.  You get so much more out of the experience if you go somewhere where a different language is spoken).

Answer 2

If you really want to go abroad during high school (which I recommend) but your school has trimesters then semesters won't work, then do the whole year! So you don't have weird half credits and stuff. Don't get abroad for a semester do a whole year. Also a year gives you more of chance to enrich yourself into the culture and become fluent in the new language.

Here are some websites for your reference:

http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/home

http://www.yfu-usa.org/

Also Rotary is a good program but they don't have a specific website so try searching your city like "Los Angeles, California Rotary". And then email them from there saying your interested in the Youth Exchange.

Good luck. And if you need any other help feel free to email me or check out this forum with alot of other exchange students and exchange student hopefuls: http://www.cultures-shocked.org/forum/

Answer 3

At my school, students aren't allowed into an AP class unless they plan on taking it for the whole year, and if you want to get credit for an AP test it'll probably be harder if you're not enrolled in the class year-round.

There are some programs where you can take a year off after your senior year of high school to do a semester or a year abroad, and there are others where you can do it as a summer program (one of my friends did a program in Japan for 2 months; the only problem was that it cut into the last week of school and she had to take a couple of her finals in August). I would look into different abroad programs and find out what their different options are.