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The U.S. offers a wide variety of lifestyles, cultures, cuisines, cities, historic sites, and more. To help you and your students learn more about the different areas of the U.S., each month we will be featuring a different U.S. state where students are placed, and tell you what life in each state is like! This month's feature is Michigan - the "Great Lakes" state!  Quick facts about Michigan
Featured school: Clarkston High School  Clarkston High School has a large variety of activities - something for everyone! Throughout the year, there are 28 sports teams that play, a 10,000 seat football stadium, full-featured television broadcast studio, 700 computers, 1,000 seat auditorium for plays and more. Christina, a world languages teacher at the school, says, "Clarkston High School embraces the culture that international students bring to the academic environment. International student experiences are highlighted throughout the school year with special events and celebrations of the diversity that they bring. Additionally, students in Clarkston High go above and beyond to include these international students in their day to day activities, helping them to feel like a regular part of our community. As an ESL teacher, I love learning from the exchange students and hearing about their different perspectives on the world, especially education. Plus, seeing excited international students watch snow fall from the sky for the first time NEVER gets old!" CIEE students feel the same way!
Download our fact sheet about Michigan to share with your students & families!
AP Capstone is a new diploma program that encourages students to push themselves in multiple areas and tie together concepts from each of these classes through research. In this program, students consider and evaluate multiple points of view to develop their own perspectives on complex issues and topics through inquiry and investigation. Where AP courses were lacking the inquiry and investigation aspects of learning, this program forces students to ask questions that spark their own curiosity. This leads to an investigation that challenges and expands the boundaries of one's current knowledge. According to College Board, the AP Capstone program is supported by top universities such as Harvard, NYU, MIT, Yale, Princeton, and many others. The diploma has six parts: AP Seminar, AP Research, as well as four other AP courses of the student’s choice. Students typically take AP Seminar in grades 10 or 11 followed by AP Research. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.  Students enrolled in AP Seminar explore two to four relevant issues chosen by the student and/or teacher. For example, students might explore the question of whether national security is more important than a citizen’s right to privacy, or whether genetic engineering is a benefit to society. The grading for this class is based on three things: a team project, a presentation, and one end-of-course exam.
Once a student completes their AP Seminar coursework, they may enroll in AP Research. AP Research allows students to design, plan, and conduct a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of individual interest, documenting their process with a portfolio. This class is graded in two ways: an academic paper of 4,000 to 5,000 words and a presentation with an oral defense. Schools still enrolling that have the AP Capstone Program:
 Alex Tolischus, Senior Manager of Institutional Relations Sometimes the high price tag of private schools can deter budget-conscious families from considering them as an option for their student.
In addition to having higher tuition rates they often are located within more affluent suburbs where the cost of living can be greater therefore contributing to higher host family stipends. However, there are two reasons why you should strongly consider independent schools. Many private schools have been enrolling international students for many years and are now realizing that the market is shifting. To maintain a strong pipeline of international students, we encourage private schools to look at tuition discounting to attract international students. However, rather than setting a standard tuition discount amount, private schools may choose to negotiate a tuition discount package based on an individual student’s academic or extracurricular strengths. Private schools have selective admissions processes therefore have the ability to build their student body based on the mission and needs of the school. If you have a particularly strong student or a student whom you think will fit a particular school exceptionally, well please reach out to your CIEE International Sales Consultant to discuss the possibility. CIEE can work directly with many of the independent schools on our list to negotiate a lower tuition rate on a case-by-case basis. Yarmouth High School |
 Marian High School, Framingham, MA |  Hopkinton High School, Hopkinton, MA |
We want to create public and private school enrollment plans for students so that students can stay with the same host family even if they change schools, and CIEE will work with you to find host families in areas that can accommodate this type of plan.
At public schools, CIEE must place students within a specific school district. At private day schools, there are no rules regarding the cities or towns students must live in. If we know in advance that a student wants to stay in a certain area, we can be strategic in where we pull families from.
For example, in Florida, a student can start at a Miami-Dade County public school, and finish at Divine Savior Academy (private day). In this example, starting at a public high school would be advantageous to the student if they wanted to improve their English to be more successful at a private day or boarding school.
At public schools, CIEE must place students within a specific school district. At private day schools, there are no rules regarding the cities or towns students must live in. If we know in advance that a student wants to stay in a certain area, we can be strategic in where we pull families from.
For example, in Florida, a student can start at a Miami-Dade County public school, and finish at Divine Savior Academy (private day). In this example, starting at a public high school would be advantageous to the student if they wanted to improve their English to be more successful at a private day or boarding school.
 Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL |  Divine Savior Academy, Doral, FL |
Please contact your International Sales Consultant with any questions about multi-year enrollments!
24 CIEE schools and districts were recently recognized in the 2017 Best School List published by U.S. News & World Report. This week, we’re going to teach you more about the public high school ranking system and what U.S. News & World Report uses to measure performance at schools. There are dozens of state and nationally ranked public high schools in our catalog, so please contact CIEE to learn more about these prestigious options for your students!
U.S. News & World Report surveys high schools constantly and provides consumers with a snap shot of all of the public high schools in the U.S. They collect extensive amounts of data and rank high schools in four tiers:
In addition to these distinctions, they also provide a numerical rank:
Earning any of these three distinctions is an enormous honor for a high school, as there are thousands of schools in the U.S. vying for a spot on this list. Looking at the distribution of these honors, U.S. News & World Report recently released a survey showing that only 2.4% of all high schools in the U.S. earned a Gold Medal distinction, 10.3% earned the Silver Medal distinction and 16.8% for the Bronze Medal distinction. Schools that did not earn a medal accounted for 70.5%.
U.S. News & World Report also disclosed further information about how they determine these annual awards, based on four unique steps:
We are proud to carry some of the best high schools in the U.S. and offer top notch experiences for your students. We carry several Gold Medal schools which rank at the top 2.4% in the country. Some examples of our top Medal schools include:
To learn more about rank and searching for public high schools, you can visit U.S. News &World Reports website or read the full article announcing the 2017 rankings.
U.S. News & World Report surveys high schools constantly and provides consumers with a snap shot of all of the public high schools in the U.S. They collect extensive amounts of data and rank high schools in four tiers:
- Gold Medal
- Silver Medal
- Bronze Medal
- National Recognition
In addition to these distinctions, they also provide a numerical rank:
- A Gold Medal school is one that is a top 500 school in the U.S. in terms of preparing students for college and meeting other criteria.
- A Silver Medal school is what they call a “high performing” school falling just below the Gold Medal line.
- A Bronze Medal school is a high performing school based on how students perform on state exams.
Earning any of these three distinctions is an enormous honor for a high school, as there are thousands of schools in the U.S. vying for a spot on this list. Looking at the distribution of these honors, U.S. News & World Report recently released a survey showing that only 2.4% of all high schools in the U.S. earned a Gold Medal distinction, 10.3% earned the Silver Medal distinction and 16.8% for the Bronze Medal distinction. Schools that did not earn a medal accounted for 70.5%.
U.S. News & World Report also disclosed further information about how they determine these annual awards, based on four unique steps:
- Step One looks at the reading and math results for each state, but also considers what factor of students are attending the school that are economically disadvantaged (and may score lower).
- Step Two looks at how disadvantaged students perform at the school as compared to state wide results.
- Step Three assesses graduation rates at schools compared to country wide graduation rates. Schools that had graduation rates of 75% or lower were not considered for these top distinctions.
- Step Four accounts for the rigor of the curriculum (for example, how many AP classes are offered and pass rates on exams). At CIEE, when we ask high schools to work with us to enroll international students, we consider all of these factors!
We are proud to carry some of the best high schools in the U.S. and offer top notch experiences for your students. We carry several Gold Medal schools which rank at the top 2.4% in the country. Some examples of our top Medal schools include:
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Falmouth High School
- Hopkinton High School
- Montpelier High School
- Concord Carlisle High School
- Paradise Valley Unified District
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Scottsdale Unified School District
To learn more about rank and searching for public high schools, you can visit U.S. News &World Reports website or read the full article announcing the 2017 rankings.
Applying to an American university can be a difficult process for any student. CIEE is here to help guide your students through the process and educate you on valuable, free resources, all students should take advantage of while they’re studying here in the U.S.
One of the most valuable, free resources available to your students are the guidance counselors at their school. Here are a few facts about guidance counselors that will help your student take advantage of all the services they have to offer.
At CIEE, we work with some of the top-ranked high schools in the country. Many of these schools place students at Ivy League colleges and have strong connections. Guidance counselors can provide students with a list of recent college acceptances to help show them what colleges they might have the strongest connections with. In this competitive market, any advantages help!
One of the most valuable, free resources available to your students are the guidance counselors at their school. Here are a few facts about guidance counselors that will help your student take advantage of all the services they have to offer.
- Most high schools have designated guidance office or department focused on college preparation. This office or department is staffed by guidance counselors whose primary goal is to assist students with writing resumes, practicing mock interviews, and applying to college. These services can greatly improve the quality of a college application.
- Guidance counselors help students to select colleges and universities that align with both interests and academics, and proofread college applications.
- Often, guidance counselors will invite admissions counselors from colleges to conduct mock interviews or provide free information sessions to students. Students should stop by the guidance office regularly to see when colleges that they’re interested in will be visiting. Any connections that students can make with a school before they apply can have major payoffs.
- If a school regularly sends students to a particular college, such as Harvard, the college will recognize the high school name. This may provide another “in” for students, helping their applications rise to the top of the review list.
At CIEE, we work with some of the top-ranked high schools in the country. Many of these schools place students at Ivy League colleges and have strong connections. Guidance counselors can provide students with a list of recent college acceptances to help show them what colleges they might have the strongest connections with. In this competitive market, any advantages help!