Junior year of high school abroad?

Applying to College
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I’m currently a sophomore in high school and come my junior year, I will be studying abroad in Israel. For the first semester, I will be attending a school where I have the ability to take AP courses and complete my SAT. For my second semester, I can stay at the school (and take more AP courses and take AP tests) or study abroad and attend a high school in a foreign country other than Israel. I will be able to take 2 honors and 2 APs first semester and complete the courses before second semester or I can take 4 APs and 2 honors by staying in Israel both semesters. I have a huge interest in Sino-Middle Eastern relations and plan to study arabic while in Israel and correlate this to my fluency in Mandarin (that I learned through my 4 years of classes in school) and relate this comparison to my intended major for college; something along the lines of international relations. During the summer of 2017, I plan to study arabic for two months in an immersive environment in order to achieve near-fluency.

With that being said, would it be better to stay in Israel for the two semesters and retain an American-like education or should I study abroad in a new country for my second semester that does not relate to my interest in Sino-Middle Eastern relations directly?

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Finally, it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one moving around a lot. Except it’s not voluntary everytime I move… (family stuff) Anyways, I’d suggest you stay in Israel and finish your APs and get it over with. I don’t think it’s a good idea to move halfway through the course and take the exam somewhere else… I don’t know, it’s just what I would do. :slight_smile: Good luck

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@AliceZ15 thank u! I would be able to complete 3 courses if i stayed for only 1 semester, but risk not taking AP tests in May. I can take 5 courses if i stayed for both semesters and take the AP tests. I’m really stuck tbh

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It is my experience that in,order to feel you are really living in a place (as opposed to just visiting) and to have others accept you as really living there and accept you into their lives you ought to stay for a full year. Otherwise you won’t have the “I lived there” experience for neither place. That it is educationally advisable is just the icing on the cake.
You are young. The rest of the world is not going away. You will learn plenty about international relations by staying in the Middle East for a year. So much culture to learn about!

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