7-12 Month High School Programs Abroad

With up to a whole year to plan, think big! Consider a landscape you’d love to have the time to truly explore, or a language you’ve already studied so that you could take yourself from a proficient to a fluent speaking ability! With a full year, you’ll want to settle somewhere that will challenge you and bring you joy. You know best what that will be, but there are a few destinations that you might want to consider as you make your list:

Senegal. The official language of this West African country is French, but there are numerous national, ethnic languages spoken throughout. Spending a year in Senegal will not only give you the opportunity to experience its rich (and often complicated, colonial) history—you will also eat incredible foods and enjoy the national pastime of gathering to listen to griots tell stories passed down for thousands of years. 

Finland. High scores on quality of life surveys make this an appealing destination for all kinds of visitors. Finland boasts clean, well-organized, and well-supported city structures (like its capital, Helsinki), but it also offers vast areas of pristine lakes and forests. Spending a whole year in a place like Finland might be of greatest interest to students who want to pursue geography, winter sports, or cinema.

Japan. The places available for a whole year in Japan range from busy, modern cities (like Tokyo) to those with a mixture of modern buildings and ancient temples (like Kyoto) to regions with island chains (like Okinawa). Japanese programs place a very high value on practical education, while also offering incredible access to history, cuisine, and culture. The ability to travel freely and easily throughout the country using well-organized and inexpensive modes of transportation makes it easy to plan a year of study and extensive in-country travel.