My daughter is Interested in spending a year at a German school before attending college (she has been accepted into her first choice) to (1) learn German, (2) absorb the culture, (3) take classes in courses to help prepare her for college (Calculus, Physics, Comp Sci) and give confidence to her intended major and direction (Physics, Engineering).
Can you please share your knowledge of what the top (most-selective) boarding schools are in Germany, Switzerland and Austria? A Non-IB program is preferred (great if they offer AP classes). A higher grade-level school is preferred (9-12 +PG). If you happen to know if they accept a PG that would be great. A STEM-capable school would be great but I just need the names of the schools and can do the research.
There are web sites listing schools but I do not find info proving which schools are top tier. She has a 98 GPA this year, 34 ACT, can read 1000 pages a day, takes advanced classes, etc.
Please avoid second guessing the idea we (she) have here. On prior posts I received many opinions on what my daughter should do, we are really just asking this very surface level question. I tried to get her to apply to the top US boarding schools but she is not interested in the US.
Just to clarify, this student wants an actual boarding school, not a situation attending a public school while living with a host family (i.e. foreign exchange student status), correct?
Good question in that students can live with host families so it is of interest and we have applied to one program – and hope she gets in but it is competitive. Alot of these types of programs cannot guarantee what school she would go to so I see it as a risk – since she wants to be in an academically challenging school with serious students and hopefully mature ones as well.
She will be in Year 13 of Gymnasium in Germany or in the year leading to the gymnasiale Maturität in Switzerland so she would only be with top tier students (there are very few comprehensive high schools). Academics are strong and she likely will need to choose a stream or broad “major” (in her case, STEM).
Thank you, we spoke with her college and they approve language + culture exploration as valid. They will not allow taking college classes (college credit). Thank you
I read about the school types and thank you for mentioning this. Is it safe to say that as long as it is a Gymnasium, the school should be suitable? There is at least one organizing (for profit) entity I found for placing students at boarding schools but I would like to formulate a list.
If you go for a public school you want it to be a Gymnasium. Gesamtschule also offers upper grades but are usually of lower quality (of course there are exceptions but you would need to be a local to know those).
Gymnasium used to go up to grade 13 but most states changed that a few years ago to just going to grade 12. Parents and students complained and so some states have changed back to 13. I believe those states are Bavaria (considered to have the toughest public school system in the country as they have the strictest criteria as to whom they allow to go to Gymnasium),Northrhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Grade 13 is probably more appropriate for a PG year. Please double check this info as it seems to be a situation in flux.
I am not an expert on boarding schools. But these are some of the top and most well known boarding schools in Germany (don’t know about Austria or Switzerland):
Schloss Salem (probably the most famous of German boarding schools)
Louisenlund
Schloss Torgelow
Schloss Neubeuern
Birklehof
Hi, She is just beginning German. I realize the German boarding schools are unlikely but she is willing to go into full immersion if they would take her.
She could go to American International School— Salzburg, Austria but since it would be in English, her German might not advance (but they do have the classes she would want to take). However will pass on this one at $51k because I don’t think the experience would be enough for her at that price.
What language has she studied and what level did she reach? Most upper level secondary schools in Europe are college-prep so there shouldn’t be a problem with academics being too easy, however she must go to a country where she’s studied the language.