What are the best country's for a gap year?

How do i do a 13 year (gap year) in germany?

• I just came back from Germany with 16 other students in my German class through GAPP. (german american partnership program). we went to a stadtgymnasium with our partners for 3 weeks and it was amazing, my german speaking skills is off the charts right now. Next year is my senior year in american high school and im going to keep taking german and in the past i have heard that some students from my high school, who have done this gapp program like me, choose to go to the stadtgymnasium after their senior year, as a gap year, or a 13th year. I would like to do this. many many months ago, I was considering finishing up high school in germany for my senior year. However, I will not because a lot of problems with being able to be eligible for college and having the transcripts transcribed over is a big problem. So, that is why im staying to finish high school. My real question is how do I, get to go to the same school i went to for 3 weeks for a whole year and how would i find a host family for a year? I have many german friends who could and want to host me for fall2012-summer2013 but I dont think that is excatly how it works... maybe it is. i dont know. do i find a program or what do i do? haha, im kinda of lost about this one. help me out?

• Answer:

  I have a friend who graduated from an American high school this year and will do a 13th year with the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program before starting college in the states (she applied to colleges but deferred attendance for a year). You can find more information about the program at http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/. It's federally funded and completely free. The drawback is that you wouldn't get to select the specific German high school you would attend. This is just one program. I'm sure there are many others out there. Do some research and apply broadly. Good luck!