Can I attend a american high school when I'm not american?

Is is safe for an American to attend a public school in Mexico City, Mexico?

• I'm an American and I have light, tan skin and brown curly hair and brown eyes (don't know if this matters) and I'm a girl. My friend's family is moving to Mexico City and they invited me to come live with them for the 2nd semester. I'm in High School. Originally I'm supposed to be going to the private school that the rest of the family is going too, but it may just be too expensive for my parents :-/. So my question is, is it safe for me to attend a public school in Mexico City? And do the schools have fairly high education?

• Answer:

  Your appearance makes no difference...Mexicans come in all skin, hair and eye color combinations. I believe you would be perfectly safe in public school. I believe you may not be able to attend public school if you only have a tourist card. You may need an Fm3 visa, and that requires proof of income. You would also most likely have to pay a tuition to the public school since you are not a resident there. schools are often full, and not able to take students from outside the district. Also, there is a stiff entrance exam for entering high school in mexico. Many kids who go to private school, do so because they did not pass the entrance exam at the public school..not all, but many. These are factors I was told when I checked into my grandson attending public school in my part of Mexico. The family you will be staying with needs to make inquiries about these things at the school they may send you to. Public schools in many places have very high standards and the kids who graduate from them are at the level of having had one or two years of jr. college in the U.S. Are you fluent in Spanish? That will be a big concern.