Most programs require participants to be between 15 and 18 years of age, so your child could (conceivably) study abroad his/her freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year. Some students could still qualify after high school and do a "gap year." There are pros and cons for all of these options, and everyone's child is different.
Freshman year - - I don't know about your child, but my daughter was not ready to go abroad for a year as a freshman. We did encourage multiple short-term independent experiences for her, but they did not exceed a week in duration. If your child's maturity level is high enough, the freshman year could be a great option.
Sophomore year - For our daughter, the sophomore year could have been reasonable, and there would have been some advantages to going this year. The sophomore year is lighter on college prep courses, and there would not have been any college entrance tests during this year. However, she would have had to apply during her freshman year to go her sophomore year, and she just wasn't ready as a 14-year-old to commit to a year abroad.
Junior year - My daughter chose her junior year to go to Germany for a few reasons. The most important is that wants to experience her senior year with her classmates and friends. Also, she did not want to be applying to colleges from Germany. The disadvantages are that she had to take her ACT in June immediately following her sophomore year (almost a year early than her peers would be taking it).
On a side note - - the ACT and SAT can be taken in many foreign countries; however, the locations and dates are limited. There was no way for us to know if she could have taken the ACT in Germany or not. As it turns out, traveling to the nearest testing center from her rural location would have caused significant problems. If you know your child's location, you can check available test centers and dates on the ACT website or on the SAT website. One other thing to consider -- after forcing her brain to function in German for 2-9 months, we didn't think she would be at her best on a 3.5 hour test in English. It worked well for our daughter to take it early; she could always re-test during her senior year if necessary.
The PSAT/NMSQT is also given during the junior year in the USA. The appeal to taking this test is that it is practice for the SAT and an initial qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship competition. Taking this test internationally is dependent on if you can find a local school administering the test. They have some suggestions for finding a testing center on the PSAT website. They also suggest you start looking 4 months in advance of the test time. The PSAT/NMSQT cannot be taken before the junior year to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. I think about 0.5% of each state's seniors qualify for a National Merit scholarship, so if you think this could be your child, taking the PSAT could be worth a lot of scholarship money. (Don't mistakenly take the PSAT-10, which does not qualify them for the National Merit scholarship!)
One final consideration about the junior year - - the college search. Most college-bound students get serious about picking a college during their junior year. My daughter left in mid-August and will return in mid-July. There will be limited time for her tour colleges, so we did all of that before she left. She is now seriously considering attending college in Germany, so I am glad that she had the experience of touring colleges in the USA for a reference point. Wherever she decides to attend, she will be ready to apply for colleges when she returns the summer after her junior year.
Senior year - As alluded to, this is a big year for memories and college decisions. If your child is not really into the whole "senior year thing," then this could be a good solution to senior-itis. College applications typically open in late August, so your child will have to be ready to go with choices and application procedures. It will be a significant commitment made more difficult by the completely absorbing experience that is study abroad.
Gap year - The main appeal to doing a "gap year" (a common concept in many countries, but not the USA) is that your child will not have to worry about transferring grades or taking tests. However, if it is your child's intention to go to college, he/she may have to apply to colleges while abroad. If your child is already accepted to a college, he/she should contact the Admissions office of that college and discuss delaying their start date. Unless your child is going to an extremely competitive college, colleges are typically happy to delay admittance. Some programs (in particular, Rotary Youth Exchange) have limited destinations for gap year students. Finally, students still have to attend school and demonstrate effort; a gap year is not a "year off."
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