Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?
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In around 2 years my daughter will be 15, and one of her dreams is to spend half a year or so at an American high school. She'll be in 10th grade. She is very clever and is easily the best in her class without much effort. Her English is excellent.
I think it would be great to find a place that truly broadens her horizon, both with respect to the highschool but also with regard to the host family and the environment.
Thoughts?
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I’m sure it will be a very fulfilling experience for the young man.
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@Axtremus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
Great, my area has very good public high schools and I will be happy to host your child.
Public would give her the most social exposure, but on the average, would a private high school be more academically suitable?
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@Axtremus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
Great, my area has very good public high schools and I will be happy to host your child.
That’s a very generous offer. Srsly.
Jolly raises a good question regarding where she is academically and would the school’s curriculum be compatible.
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@Axtremus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
Great, my area has very good public high schools and I will be happy to host your child.
Wow, that's an extremely generous offer! I'll think about it!
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@Jolly said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
@Axtremus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
Great, my area has very good public high schools and I will be happy to host your child.
Public would give her the most social exposure, but on the average, would a private high school be more academically suitable?
I don't know. How would a private high school be different? I assume there would be more kids with rich parents. What are other regards in which private highschools are different?
Also, I don't know how open American high schools are with regard to hosting "guests" .
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She doesn't think about it on that level of detail yet. She doesn't really understand yet that there is a difference between Boston and rural bible belt.
I think it would be nice if it would be in or close to a bigger city. A place that would be interesting to a teenager looking for inspiration.
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@Jolly said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
... would a private high school be more academically suitable?
More suitable for what? If you mean "academically challenging," the local high schools here have AP ("advanced placement") classes galore; this is the sort of public school district where even if you want your kids to go to elite Ivy League universities, you still send them to the local public high schools. Families move here for the public school district.
If you're crossing the Atlantic for just a semester and not pursuing a specific course of study or a specific academic/technical program, I suspect your priority would be on getting the different cultural experience rather that getting somewhat better academic instruction. A public school would give you the more "normal" American high school experience.
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Klaus, I think most are quite open to it. The enrichment goes both ways.
We had two exchange students, one from Sweden who ended up an ambassador in the diplomatic corps. Klauss made it back for our 50 year reunion.
The other was Japanese and I’m pretty sure by the time he got back his only option was the Yakuza.
The other
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@Klaus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
I think it would be nice if it would be in or close to a bigger city. A place that would be interesting to a teenager looking for inspiration.
Yeap, my school district checks all those boxes.
Anyway, it's still early and you and your daughter are just starting to look into possibilities. Quite likely your perspectives will change over the next year or two. Will be happy to engage again when the time gets closer.
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@Axtremus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
@Jolly said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
... would a private high school be more academically suitable?
More suitable for what? If you mean "academically challenging," the local high schools here have AP ("advanced placement") classes galore; this is the sort of public school district where even if you want your kids to go to elite Ivy League universities, you still send them to the local public high schools. Families move here for the public school district.
If you're crossing the Atlantic for just a semester and not pursuing a specific course of study or a specific academic/technical program, I suspect your priority would be on getting the different cultural experience rather that getting somewhat better academic instruction. A public school would give you the more "normal" American high school experience.
I understand good public high schools. My niece and nephew went to one of the top five in the country (at the time). I went to a pretty decent one, even if it was rural.
Sadly, good public high schools are not as easy to find as they used to be.
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I think what she'll actually learn at that highschool is not of the highest importance. The environment, the people, the novelty, the inspiration - that's what counts. But I think it would still be good if it is a decent or good high school, because that correlates with many other important things.
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@Klaus said in Daughter wants to spend 6 months at an American highschool - thoughts?:
She doesn't really understand yet that there is a difference between Boston and rural bible belt.
Jesus.
You've knocked around the States some. What part did you like (people, climate, topography, etc)?
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I've been to the coasts much more than to the "inner" states, but I found likeable things basically everywhere (with the exception of Winnemucca, NV). With regard to nature, I'd say the North-West is my favorite region. I'd be happy to talk about that more, but that's not so relevant for what's a good place for my daughter.
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LuFins is more current than me, but I thought Fairfax County, Virginia was a great place to send my daughter to high school. Large new schools with lot of programs including AP courses, sports and activities. The suburbs are safe places to live and work.
It would also be a good place for a visitor to visit with the Capital right next door, and most of the east coast within driving range.
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Is she thinking of a foreign exchange student program? How much choice is one given in those programs?
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By the way, I was only joking with my earlier post. The local schools only make ~ 5% of girls into boys, so odds are she’ll be fine.
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based on our experience with foreign exchange programs, the host families generally do it for the money rather than for the opportunity to give an enriching home to a young student. I would take Ax up on his offer rather than get placed with a random host family.
