1-Year Academic Program Options besides a Boarding School PG Year

Parents Forum
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Yes, she wants to study Engineering and Liberal Arts together (she is a bit of a renaissance person and wants to become a “T-shaped” person) and this is what the Lib Arts School can provide.

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Verto, CIEE (and AFS) – thank you, I will check these out – these are the kind of leads we are looking for.

Good questions above, we have considered, researched and worked through the points you mention. We are in the next stage of trying to find programs / options.

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Has she reached AP level (or level 4…) in any Foreign Language?

There’s also YFU
In the UK, it means she’d be taking Physics, Maths, CS, and Critical thinking or general studies at AS level:

They also have Spanish
In Spain, they might be able to place you in a Natural sciences or technology school but can’t guarantee it.

Ecuador: 13 different classes and students can usually tailor their choices based on interests.

(Chile doesn’t offer any way to choose classes and Argentina is unstable right now).

and French schools
In France, she would have a core curriculum + depending on whether she’s placed in 11th or 12th, either Maths+Physics&Chemistry+CS, or 2 of those (or P&C+CS and a lighter calculus class). The 12th grade only has 2 specialty courses for 6 hours each, whereas the 11th has 3 4-hour specialty courses (+core).

They also have programs in switzerland, both German speaking and French-speaking

Note there are age limits.

A low key boarding school I like for PG years is Gould, in Maine. Their schedule is typical for Fall and Spring but in the Winter they flip the day, with students skiing from 8:30 till 11:30, and class 1:00-5:30pm. Most athletes are snowboarders, skiers, etc., but students also learn how to ski there, and they organize outdoors trips. Not too competitive, offers Calc and Physics C, friendly staff.

Liberal arts& engineering =HarveyMudd

You can also study Math, Applied Math, physics, or CS without Engineering.
Look into Trinity CT, Smith, Lafayette…?
Finally, look into the partners for Dartmouth’s 2+1 (you study away at Dartmouth)+1 (you graduate at your college, with your friends)+1 (you complete your Engineering reqs at Dartmouth).

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Hi @MYOS1634. Thank you so much! Solid ideas here.

We will look into YFU but suspect she will be out of the age range (sigh). It is both academic and abroad so great idea.

Thank you for mentioning Gould; I did not think about this school and I like the fact they have AP classes, an Engineering-lite program, and within a more relaxed atmosphere that includes individually-driven sports.

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Do you mean to say that she is finishing 12th grade approximately now, or will finish 12th grade approximately a year from now?

If she is finishing 12th grade approximately now, does she have any current college or other plans for after high school graduation?

If she will finish 12th grade approximately a year from now, can just add a high school physics course in 12th grade?

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A bit more out of the box…
A " FE college", ie., A Levels + US community college combined.
ALevels are very specialized yet considered high school level so do not infringe on freshman status.

The difficulty is in finding FE colleges with dorms, aka, Halls.

This is ONLY based on what I know and is not a claim that these colleges are better than others. There are lots of FE colleges in England&Wales.

The 4th subject could be…
https://www.escg.ac.uk/courses/humanities/a-level-environmental-science-78816/
Or
https://www.escg.ac.uk/courses/media-film-digital-media/media/media-studies-a-level-76910/

These are 2-year programs but some international students decide to leave after a year and not complete Alevels.

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Hi, 12th grade is next year and it will not fit into unfortunately.

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Hi @MYOS1634, very clever :). I did not know how the A-Levels work so thank you for the education. I have been spying the UK and Irish “Uni’s” in general and saw that several offer what they call a “Foundation year”. Unfortunately the web pages describing a foundation year do not offer much information. Several of them seem oriented toward an ESL year. I will look into these programs. Thank you once again!

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What does the 12th grade schedule contain, and how many class periods does the school have?

It seems like a waste of a year to delay college by a year just for physics.

One option is to see if the student can take physics during this summer, either in a high school or at a community college (community colleges may offer preparatory physics courses for students who have not had high school physics). Taking college courses before high school graduation typically does not disqualify the student from applying to colleges as frosh.

If the student is self-motivated, there are free high school level physics textbooks on the web that can be used to self-study before taking physics in college.

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There are 2 sorts of Foundation years:
1 is for British students who didn’t take the ALevels they need to study their subject of choice or whose results require a redo or whose schools was low-performing. They’re part of a responsibility of the university as common good, widening access to higher education.
(Students can also register at a FE college and try for new ALevels. FE colleges are free up to age 19 for British residents.)
1 is for international students whose academics are okay but English needs improving, so that they take intensive English lessons with 1 or 2 classes. These tend to be cash cows for universities.

Further education colleges have students in the 16 to 21 age range as well as adults, but A Levels are considered “16-19”. (Other typical FE programs include T Levels : advanced vocational qualifications; BTech: advanced in a skill and less academic, can be dance or theater or engineering technology… and apprenticeships with certificates in horticulture, car mechanics etc., which is why I said “ALevels and community college” :slight_smile: )
ALevels are also offered at boarding schools. Expect costs to be 50k a year with boarding and all students would be 16-18 and wear uniforms. There would be school meals, sport teams, etc. It’s a quick solution if she wants to focus on 3 or 4 subjects only in a safe environment.
FE colleges tend to be cheaper for internationals, allow for more independent living (small student apartments), include all ages so aren’t a HS redo, don’t require uniforms. ALevel results tend to be lower than at 6th form colleges and boarding schools but since her goal wouldn’t be to attend a Uk Uni it wouldn’t really matter.

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For a PG year, consider Andover, Exeter, Lawrenceville, & Peddie School.

Check regarding whether financial aid is available for PG students.

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Thank you for your response. We have these on our list. We fear that all will be quite expensive and since it will be a PG year they will be even less likely to give aid. One interesting thing I have found is that some schools have a much more thorough Engineering program/classes (and not just robotics) than others; examples include Kent, Frederick Gunn, Hotchkiss, The Hill (one class specifically) and, we are still looking at the curriculums of others that offer PG years.

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If I’ve understood what you want, it is a) another year to mature, b) certain classes so that she will find out if engineering makes sense for her, and if it does, so that she has a solid foundation for her college classes (which may help her college grades). Is that right?

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@ucbalumnus Thank you for your concern. We will see how this next year goes. There are many reasons for this academic gap year (knowledge and comfort with the material is primary) which is why I am asking for and appreciate everyone’s feedback.

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Exeter and Andover (and possibly others) are need blind regardless of the year to which you’re applying. Most schools have limited PG spots, but I do not think that they are less inclined to offer FA - they may even be more inclined as it is just for 1 year.

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@NYMom139 ”Need blind” means that the schools don’t know your financial need when they review your application for admission.

Are you saying that Andover and Exeter guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students?

@skieurope is that true?

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Not skieurope, but yes it is true. I believe they are the only need blind prep schools in the country.

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I understand they are “need blind”. Need blind is an admissions term. Means only that admissions won’t see the financial need of applicants. But that is not my question. Do they guarantee to “meet full need” for all accepted students.

If so…I’m sure that the need is calculated by these prep schools. Does @findway have financial need? I’m not clear on that at all.

I will say, in our experience, prep schools have a lot of discretion when it comes to awarding financial aid.

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Yes.

But I need to put in the caveat that the school determines need, which may be less than the family wants it what they think they need.

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Then Exeter and Andover surely are worth the application…and they might end up being affordable for this family.

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