Should I study abroad senior year? What would look better for college?

Question

I am interested in studying abroad next year (senior year). I absolutely love Spanish and the opportunity to become fluent in a language and have the experience sounds incredible. I am a very strong student and next year I would be taking 4 or 5 AP courses. Would it look better for college to complete my AP's in high school or study abroad for an entire year?

Answer 1

That can be tricky. It is definitely never BAD to study abroad. It always looks good on your transcript (I know it's what got me into college and got me a full scholarship). There are, however, things to consider here. a) your high school may not accept any of the credits from studying abroad, hence, you will have to repeat a year. b) if your high school DOES accept your credits, if you don't do well in your foreign classes (it's completely common for exchange students to pull Cs in their classes, which is good for not being fluent and horrible for your transcripts) and this can seriously compromise your GPA c) it can be a PITA to take your SATs and other qualifying exams and complete your college applications from abroad.

Another option might be to do your senior year in the States and then take a gap year after high school to study abroad (and not have to worry about earning credit or not graduating on time).

I would recommend discussing this with your guidance counselor, and you may possibly need to take it higher up, to the school board (in terms of accepting credits). I would also simultaneously consult with some foreign exchange organizations to see how viable the above options are for you, in terms of timing (some organizations have age limits, so the gap year one might not work).

Good luck!

(oh and an alternative to having a Spanish language experience and having something nifty to talk about on college applications is to HOST a student from a Spanish speaking country)