<p>I did SYA China. </p>
<p>I cant speak for any of the European SYA programs, but my school in China was rigorous. Not as hard as my school in the US, but still pretty tough. However, SYA China is notorious for having a much harder workload than the other programs (Not sure about India). </p>
<p>I took 2 AP exams during my year abroad and scored 5’s on both, took the SAT and PSAT, scored well on those too. Dont fret over any of the academic side of a year abroad, you do all the same stuff as back home. The one drawback though is science. You CANNOT take a science at any of the programs - except for India. </p>
<p>Last year abroad was honestly the best year of my life by far. You learn to take action and responsibility for your own life (I mean being like 7000 miles away from family), become near fluent in the target language, travel to amazing destinations, broaden your cultural and global perspectives, and lets not forget, the great material you have for college essays. </p>
<p>I applied to Stanford EA, and I think honestly a year abroad makes you stand out. I mean, your one of roughly 60 kids who LIVED in a foreign country with another family for an entire year. If that doesn’t separate you from the pack, I don’t know what does. And also, I know for a fact (college admissions officer) that a year abroad - typically PG - is looked highly upon, because colleges believe that it adds to a student’s maturity and development.</p>
<p>Anyway, thats my 2 cents. I am of course biased. PM me if you want to know more. Hope you decide to go, you will regret it if you dont.</p>