One of my daughters is considering School Year Abroad (SYA) for her junior year. She is concerned about not getting full-rigor classes she would typically sign up to take her junior year (in terms of college admissions) and is considering re-classing to repeat her junior year at BS when she gets back from SYA.
Speaking purely about college admissions for a moment – since SYA is targeted at high-rigor boarding school juniors, I would think that the “less rigorous” course load taken abroad would be offset by the independence and life-lessons learned (or else wouldn’t we see most SYA participants repeating junior year?).
Of course, this isn’t a “college application attractiveness” issue only. She is also thinking she wants to reclass simply because she wants 3 full years at her BS (she entered as a sophomore).
Anyone have experience with SYA? (It might be hard to find anyone with experience given covid…)
Thanks!
This is a non-issue for many reasons, least of all that no admissions officer will view SYA as “less rigorous.” That said, SYA is not for all students. In particular, from an academic standpoint, students advanced in STEM are better served, IMO, staying at the home school.
There may be other valid concerns, including rejoining EC’S at the appropriate level upon return, and getting in her graduation requirements (most often an issue with USH abd science). And I’m not sure the BS she attends as a sophomore will allow her to repeat a year at their school. But I guess that’s a school question. A PG year at another school might be an option if the current school does not allow her to repeat
A friend’s kid at one of the NE BS did an SYA year in Spain and ended up at Midd without repeating any years. They did take a gap year to avoid starting during covid.
In this case, with FL as the intended major, SYA was indeed the best prep and no handicap.
Another kid I know, from LPS, did another program and had a heck of a time with college admissions (and arguably college prep). They ended up at a top law school, so definitely “course-corrected” in college.
I think that you would be best served by having this conversation with the CC at your school (which, knowing you, is already scheduled.) 
The reality is that unless one does a program like this and starts with at least faltering fluency, a lot of content will be sacrificed. Indeed, much is gained in terms of language acquisition and all the other things that don’t go on a transcript, but it seems reasonable that an AO would see a lot of this as not comparable to what a student would do at their own school in terms of content alone.
Reclassing is an interesting idea. Many of my contemporaries who did a year abroad did it between high school and college. Doing it during high school feels more enlightened and also a potential edge for college applications.
I know someone who reclassed after SYA (but at a different LDS) and ended up at Georgetown (but I also know they were legacy). Another student at Kent did a SYA, ended up at St Andrew’s. I would guess collèges view it favorably but if your daughter wants another year at school then I don’t think any admissions officer would argue against “the gift of time”.
I concur. When we explored SYA here it seemed pretty clear that the classes abroad would not be at the level of a year of mostly 500 level classes here at the home base. So coming back would be a mixed bag and would likely have involved a mix of repeating individual classes and/or moving on from certain disciplines. Between the apparent academic gap, and the desire to have 3 years at BS (first year was covid lockdown so to our minds didn’t count as such), we did a summer program instead - which was amazing, but I understand that’s not what you’re asking about!
Anyway, I actually found it somewhat odd that despite how much SYA is pushed here (by which I mean “it’s a thing on the menu and they try to facilitate applications”) it’s not such a clear path academically.
I also agree though that “the rest” would be totally amazing, and may completely swamp any of the other issues. It didn’t for us but I totally get that choice.
As always, there is no one program that will fit all students, but in general, juniors taking “mostly 500 level classes” are in the distinct minority.
Concur and that’s been our experience too for better or worse.
Can I ask why the rush to study abroad as a high schooler vs while in college? It’s my impression that chosen carefully many colleges have study abroad programs that are academically rigorous (I had a friend who went to Oxford - definitely rigorous!).
My son is also very interested in study abroad so he’s doing one of his schools summer trips and he is looking at colleges with study abroad option that fit what he wants. That might be an easier way to get a similar experience.
An immersive year in high school can put one much further down the path of cultural and linguisic fluency. And some kids may want to do both.
As someone who grew up outside the US, I definitely see the value of doing this sooner.
Most college programs really create enclaves of American students studying abroad – like extended tourists.
Two different beasts. Imagine the difference in experience between someone coming here to study at a school for a year vs going on a tour around the US with a guide. Both great experiences but not the same.
@gardenstategal @one1ofeach
You both bring up excellent points.
My daughter would ideally like to study abroad twice – once in high school and once in college. (She is even considering an international program in college like the Columbia/Sciences Po dual degree program, but she is 15 so that decision is still a ways away.)
Note that she would NOT be popping over to France and attending a French high school; SYA kind of feels like a college program abroad some ways. (although we considered that option before she decided to join her sisters at BS this past fall as a sophomore. She has dual citizenship so she theoretically “could” just pop over to France and take classes for free at a local high school.)
Of course, if she DOES end up doubling down on French or international studies of some sort in college (whether a truly international program like the Sciences Po/Columbia option or other), then I have no concerns about junior year rigor, as long as her BS creates a graduation path given the loss of a science year. But I don’t want to make a decision now that assumes that she will go that route in college.
Another element that I am considering is that she is NOT the super-high-rigor-intense kid who will be loading up on every tippy top hard class anyway her junior year. So maybe for her, this year abroad is less of a “loss” of rigor, if that makes sense? By comparison, my highly academic DD2 who is a junior now would NEVER want to lose any traction on her path because she feels like she has worked so hard to be in high level classes her whole life. Also: it’s kind of who she is. DD4 (study abroad daughter) is not that. She is a major empath who wants to live abroad, teach abroad, maybe work in film, and one day maybe be a high school math teacher. Again, she is 15, but she is not headed toward becoming some kind of business-mogul or some other highly intensive path. She is an A student, but not the valedictorian type. There is an inner voice inside me that says: let her follow her deeply-felt curiosity. Curiosity is always a wonderful teacher.
(am I answering my own questions here as I type? thanks for letting me work some of this out with you all.)
Is she seeking a language immersion/pursuit or cultural pursuit/life expansion? I would also consider programs in the summer in these countries that would accomplish either/both depending on the goal. Also consider how this might impact her friendships when she returns to school as she will have been gone for a yr or in the other scenario be reclassed. If she has tight friendships - she might not want to lose these. College study abroad programs have those 2 pathways - language and cultural experience and with age/maturity college age students prob get more out of these programs.
It sounds like this could be a good way to differentiate herself and that the risk is low as she’s unlicensed to be on a payh requiring rigor. I enjoyed the expose of your thinking!