<p>My thread is similar in subject matter:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/593898-reapplying-one-year-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/593898-reapplying-one-year-later.html</a></p>
<p>I’m doing a gap year with Rotary, so it will be a yearlong exchange for me. If you’re shooting for the big leagues like Stanford or the Ivies, a gap year is the way to go, assuming you will still meet the age requirements for your exchange program once you’ve graduated from high school. That way you can have a pretty normal, uninterrupted high school record in America AND get to go on exchange. A couple Rotary countries won’t take you if you’ve graduated (depending on your district/area where you live), but as long as you’re reasonably young, you’ll still have almost all the countries open for ranking. So don’t just take powerbomb at his/her word; going on exchange means something to colleges, especially in my case because of my intended major(s).</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re looking into European countries (CBYX and SYA Italy). CBYX is a competitive program, but if you’re really into Germany and you’re good enough to be competitive as a Stanford applicant, then I guess you have a good shot at getting it.</p>