Need Help for where to study in USA!
 

Hello! We are 2 guys, me from Norway, and another from France. We would like to do a Trip to USA to visit diferent schools for where to study on 11th Grade. California, Miami, etc. We would like the recomendations for best schools outhere without any economic issues. and we would naturally live at the campus. How is the relation for American with Europeans and at school with the foreigners? probably we will have 14 days in the USA using Air transport probably.

Thank you very much in advance ^

PS: We would like to have main subjects as Business/economics. Thanks again ;)

Your post is a bit confusing.

The 11th grade in America is considered High School and the student age would be 16-17 years old. Is this what you are looking for? If so then you would need to be looking at boarding schools.

Most American High Schools follow a broad general curriculum but you can do advanced courses in certain areas. It depends on the school.

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Let me caveat off the last post as well...

High Schoolers in the US, unless it is a boarding school, don't live on campus. You would need to find a family to sponser you and house you.

Relations between American students and foreign exchange students are almost always very good, as the American students will be very curious about your way of life. You should have no trouble making friends, and they will help you brush up on your conversational English.

If you are coming over to look at schools, I'm wondering how you are going to get out to them. You are probably too young to rent or drive a car, and the public transport system in the USA is not quite near those in France or Norway. You will be more or less restricted to the areas around bigger towns, unless you are going to meet someone over here that is going to take you around.

Good luck, though, and enjoy your visit.

Finding a high school on a road trip may be difficult. It may be a better idea to do some planning ahead and then visit selected schools. I'd recommend visiting the websites of some organizations that specialize in international student exchanges, like Council. Keep in mind that the school you end up attending will face some bureaucratic burdens (visa and reporting requirements), so it's a good idea to use a school that has some experience with these things. You (and your parents, I assume) will also want a good host family and a responsible sponsoring organization.

Also, as posters have pointed out above, keep in mind that travelling to (and in) the US can be a bit difficult if you're under 18 and travelling without your parents. But your general goal, spending a year abroad, is certainly a good idea and deserves a ^ .

If you ever get a visa with such a vague plan... good luck!

Thank you so much for you all for showing great interest and lots of info that is necessary for me! Yes its 11th Grade.. so its high school ^ Doesnt it exist a school where you live in it? Strange. I, since i was 13 (i went from Spain to Caribean on my own without parents and first time on Jumbo!) i always like to travel and exploring countries.. I can 5 Languages: English, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian, French, learning Japanese now, so i need to say thanks to my parents. In Europe you have no problems if you are 13 and above (hotels, restaurants, discos, air travel, etc.) but you americans have a bit of advantage that i really am jealous: driving car from 16, drinking beer also, etc.! I really cant wait to visit USA, but i have been traveling to 26 countries, not bad ehh? Take care everybody and i hope you all have a really nice weekend, again take care :)

Wouldn't you be better off doing a student exchange? You spend two weeks with a US family and their kid spends two weeks with your family perhaps? I did three as a kid, two of which were a lot of fun.

And the age for alcohol consumption in the US is generally 21. Don't be fooled by what the movies portray, most middle class American kids are quite conservative in their behaviour.

Depending upon what state you are in, the driving laws vary. Most car rental agencies won't rent to those under 25 years old.

Gentlemen,
Your plans sound exciting and the benefits of spending a semester or year studying abroad are meaningful. You are right to be planning ahead and collecting information, as a lot is involved. Three points to consider:

1. Especially at the high school level, these arrangements are difficult to put in place acting as an individual, especially for housing. Have you checked with your school at home to see what arrangements or organizations they may work with or know of that handle exchanges? Also, community based programs such as churchs or sister city programs may be good leads for established programs that you can step into. Try to find out how others at your school have organized exchanges in the past.
2. Think about defering your exchange experience until you are in university. That time may arrive sooner than you think and University level exchanges are so much easier to organize and thousands do it every year, so information is easily available in Norway. By all means check out the sources of government assistance available to Norwegian students who study for a time at a foreign university. These programs are among the most well organized and financially generous anywhere, so it may be very worthwhile to do this in Uni instead of high school.
3. Please take to heart the comments of other posters about the difficulty of traveling in the US at your age without your parents. Given your language skills, motivation, and previous travel, you most likely have the personal traits necessary. However, the systems and structure of the travel industry will strongly work against you for credit cards, car rentals (a necessity in all except large cities) visas, etc. as an independent young traveler.
Please do not take these comments as negative. What you are doing is great, but some more information and planning at home seems useful at this stage. Flyertalk is just a start.

Best of luck in your endeavors

I know one FTer that has actually hosted some exchange students in the U.S. Hopefully she will be along shortly to offer some comments on how these programs work.

ahh thank you so much everyone, especially "rems" for his valuable time to use it on explaining me and lots of great info ^ What is the best state for an foreigner to live in? I would like to exclude New York, nothing personal, but its just too big lol! I heard that there is much more population of norwegians than living in Norway.. wow. Im from Norway but im living in Spain, Madrid. just for if someone asks ;)

Take care and have a nice weekend everyone :)

Borat?

If that's the case, you need to avoid California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Texas...

Perhaps Wyoming will be your calling.

I certainly don't have knowledge of all the states, but I would recommend, based on my travels---

West Coast: Oregan. Nice, fairly progressive people, nice towns, climate probably more similar to what you are used to. Also, it is fairly close to several larger cities.

East Coast: If cost is not an issue, like you earlier stated, I'd say any of the New England states, to include New York (outside the city). This is a very pretty region and is also home to lots and lots of cultural diversity.

You have some unusual ideas of the U.S. my young friend!

No one is likely to rent 2 17 year-olds a car and you most certainly cannot drink beer (legally) here. You might even have difficulty renting rooms.

I suspect for your plan to work you need to find an adult sponsor of some sort.