Considering sending my oldest to High School in the US for a year, but..

[Rumbas]

We have had somewhat mixed experience in the family historically. Primarily with host families that were not really up to the job and left the exchange student on her own etc.

Heard a lot of good stuff about https://asse.com/become_an_asse_exchange_student/student_exchange_program/
but would like to have my daughter stay with folks we know or have a good reference about. Preferably in NC or SC.

So anybody know anyone, anywhere or have past experiences with Danish exchange students? Her English is on par and pretty good and 2020 she would be 15 turning 16.

[Mackin USA]

TRY:
https://hostfamilies.org/north-carolina.html

[rcjordan]

> High School in the US for a year, but..

>NC or SC

You're aware that public schools in NC|SC are often considered to be inadequate?  IMO, unless you got lucky with a particular school, scholastics would suffer.

[Brad]

I agree with RC.  Scholastically, I would think a Danish high school would be superior to most US public high schools.

A year studying in the US might be better at a University level.

[rcjordan]

>A year studying in the US might be better at a University level.

And **THEN** NC would be a great choice.  Ironically, given the poor secondary schools, we have a well-regarded state university system.

[littleman]

This thread is a little sad.  There are good public high schools in the US, but you have to dive deep into the local level to know which ones.  They mostly correlate to relative property values in the suburbs. 

[DrCool]

We had a number of exchange students while I was growing up. French boy (pretty cool), German girl (pretty cool), Spanish girl (I was in high school at the time and let's just say she was quite attractive and my friends always wanted to hang out at my house for some reason, especially when it was warm enough for people to lay by the pool), German girl (grumpy and horrible), Swedish guy (dick), and Croatian girl (pretty cool).

I have heard awesome stories about host families and horror stories as well so it is really hit and miss on both sides.

[ergophobe]

You're aware that public schools in NC|SC are often considered to be inadequate?  IMO, unless you got lucky with a particular school, scholastics would suffer.

A friend (editor in chief of an academic press) sent his daughter from Switzerland to Mississippi for a year. Not known for the best public education system. She had a great time and made some long-term friends. Given the intellectual resources in her family, falling slightly behind in school was not an issue for her in the long run, but the experience broadened her a lot and of course solidified her already strong English. Or Mississippian.

No question, most US high schools will be sub-par compared to a Swiss (and presumably Danish, though I don't know), high school. My Swiss friends with just a high-school education often feel more like Americans who have been to college.

That cuts both ways though. It means that she's likely going to be ahead of her peers in the US scholastically and will therefore be able to handle the coursework in a foreign language and spend time doing "cultural anthropology."

Then, of course, on the other side, as RC suggests, she might fall a bit behind in some straight academic ways compared to her peers in Denmark. But honestly, a smart 19-year-old could probably do high school in two years. Even at 14, I came from a crappy school to a good school and got thrown into Algebra II having had less than half of the Algebra I course and it basically went fine (I hated the teacher, but so did everyone else, including other teachers at the school, as I learned much later).

Given the household/family Raz's daughter comes from, I'm going to guess that she will have the support to make up any lost ground she incurs by traveling to an de-developing nation for high school.

[Mackin USA]

"They mostly correlate to relative property values in the suburbs."

I think that you may be able to find a good HS "around" Raleigh, NC
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-public-high-schools/m/raleigh-metro-area/

PLUS
https://www.gradepotentialtutoring.com/research-triangle-area/

[ergophobe]

"They mostly correlate to relative property values in the suburbs."

Although there are parts of the country where the wealthy mostly opt out of the public school system, so there's that.