| Why rule out SYA? My best friend did their year in Rennes and loved it. I visited and loved it!! It's the only program I know of where you can keep up rigorous academics.
While some think total immersion is necessary, I have to say everyone who went to SYA Rennes I know came back fluent. I went to SYA China with no background in the language and came back fairly fluent.
The thing that I think separates SYA is quality. All the kids in other programs were envious of the quality of our program and especially the quality of the families selected. Simply, the program has more money than the others and they takes students travelling throughout the country, have agreements with good local schools for activities and meals and hire university profs to teach many classes. All while keeping up with AP classes. And there's a ton of financial aid. |