Boarding schools in USA: California.

Borja Pérez-Mínguez | Travel blog

For those students who prefer a warm weather all year long or passionated by marine sciences, sailing, and surf programs, or spending time at the beach, the academic year program at the boarding schools in United Sates has spectacular options in the following destinations: California, Florida and Hawaii.

In this trip we were able to visit the best private boarding schools in California. Some of them where located in rural environments, some in the country side, others in medium size towns right by the ocean and a few in urban environments like Los Angeles or Santa Barbara.

The centers we selected for academic year programs are very different: small ones, big ones, mixed schools, single sex schools, with military background, specialized in different arts or specific academics or sports, etc.  One of them is currently considered one of the best in the entire country in performing arts like theater, drama, singing, musical or even dancing programs.

The last day of the week we were lucky enough to attend a spectacular show prepared entirely by the students at the worlwide recognized Roxy Thatre in Beberly Hills and most of the students who performed there will become soon authentic stars in their respective disciplines. Therefore this option is idyllic for candidates who want to pursuit their passions and learn from the best teachers and directors of every field: classical music, drama, dancing, painting, photography, ceramics, ballet, etc.

Regarding academics every school we promote at International Academic Programs in California offers as well all kind of different specialties such as engineering, environmental science, astronomy, or everything related with new technologies like app development, virtual reality, 3D printers, laser cuts, graphic design or web coding with internship options thanks to the proximity to Silicon Valley, the most prestigious technology area of the world, home base of the top cutting edege companies in the world like Google or Apple.

At the following link you will find all the details of the program: https://www.internationalacademicprograms.es/en/usa-boarding/

Boarding schools: Sailboat across the world.

Borja Pérez-Mínguez | Travel blog

Undoubtedly the most special academic year program at boarding schools we promote at International Academic Programs. Due to it’s unique features and the maturity level needed to participate in the program, the directors only consider students of 17-19 years old for their 11th, 12th grade and PG (Post Graduated) programs.

This incredible academic year experience on a sailboat allows students to study, live and work as proffesional sailors since they will learn to do every single task on board like cleaning and maintenance of the ship, lookouts every two hours (even at night), and all kinds of navigation responsabilities. It’s essential for the candidates thinking about joining this program to understand they will work very very hard during the entire length of the program since it’s not a cruise ship experience at all and they will have to consider themselves as crewmembers with daily chores. At the end f the academic year the results will be outstanding for every student since they will learn ledership skills, experience an exponential personal growth and greatly improve their self confidence.

The academic method is the most practical and experimental available on the market since the students sail on high seas for 3 consecutive weeks without internet connection and they are taught classes at the own ship. Once they dock at the 20 assigned harbours, the sailors will spend one week at each destination doing all kinds of field work activities: in History class they will visit cities such as Rome or Athens, in Marine Biology they will study whales at Barbados, in Politc Sciences they will visit Cuba, for volunteering works they will travel to African countries, etc.

During the entire length of the program, as we have just mentioned, the sailboat will visit and spend one week each time at 20 different exciting countries and locations: Norway, Netherlands, France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco, South Africa, Namibia, Azores, Cape Verde, Cuba, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Bermudas, United States (Florida), Argentina and Brazil.

It’s important to keep in mind the students won’t return to their own countries for any vacation periods like Christmas or Spring Break. The program is one entire academic year without breaks. A couple times a year, parents visits to specific ports will be allowed and those will be the only times to meet their families in person.

Besides the field works at each destination, during the navigation periods on high sea, the students follow a rigurous College Prep academic system with challenging AP classes (Advanced Placement) that prepare them to get acceptances at the best universities of the world.

As you can see this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for very mature students who want to live and incredible adventure, with a very practical academic system. After completing the program all students always mentioned it has meant a true turning point in their lives and an experience they will never forget.

The cost of the academic program is 62.900€ + our fees (4.000€ + VAT). For families with limited budgets, the program offers up to 20% financial aid for very academic students, but we must provide as always financial proof.

Boarding schools in USA: Hawaii.

Borja Pérez-Mínguez | Travel blog

Undoubtedly one of the most spectacular destinations we promote for academic year programs in the United States. An ideal choice for students who prefer a familiar environment and a warm weather all year long instead of the cold winters of the east coast.

The boarding schools in Hawaii we promote at International Academic Programs are located in an incomparable environment for scuba diving fans and all kind of water related sports thanks to the proximity to the ocean, around 15 minutes drive. The island also offers incredible opportunities for geology lovers since it has it’s own volcano for research projects.  

Academically is one of the strongest options since it offers all kind of challenging programs like STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), astronomy (with one of the biggest telescopes in the United States) or even agreements with NASA for students with aerospace interests and field works that simulate the life conditions in Mars.  They also offer a wide range of technologies like robotics, drone design, virtual reality, web programming, coding and even one of the strongest marine biology programs with years of experience preserving local turtles in extintion risk.

In our school visits we were able to verify first hand the friendly environment where students live (80% American students) and the spectacular facilities and setting the schools offer.

We were all happily suprised by the student’s projects motivations since they were all following their passions and the main goal of every research was improving the lives of others: as an example we saw the student’s design of a low cost prosthetic robotic hand for injured people with low income or the design of big size drones for rescue works in natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis or flood control .

Other students were involved in the amazing school’s gardens and specialized orchards in order to develop renawable energies and a waste disposal system.

After discussing with a group of academic year students we realized they all mentioned their experience in Hawaii had become a turning point in their lives since they had been able to pursuit all their passions in a challenging and practical academic environment.

At the following link you will find all the details of the program: https://www.internationalacademicprograms.es/en/usa-boarding/

Public schools with host family in Canada: Calgary, Alberta.

Borja Pérez-Mínguez | Travel blog

The city of Calgary is the capital of Alberta  and it’s considered one of the best cities in the world to live in. Currently is also considered the cleanest city on the planet so it’s a perfect destination for students who want to study for an academic year program close to an urban environment, and surrounded by spectacular nature options like mountains or top class ski resorts. Calgary hosted the Olympic Games on 1988 and has some of the best ski facilities a resorts on earth, perfect for ski or snowbarding enthusiastics.

Alberta is also one of the most Canadian provinces since most of their students are domestic and their international population at schools is significantly lower than any other area in the country like British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario or Newfoundland so it’s undoubtedly one of the best options available for students who want a real Canadian immersion and focus the entire length of the program improving their English skills.

All the schools we selected at International Academic Programs are really modern and with state of the art facilities, some of them with millionaire renovations in every aspect of the campus: academic buildings, labs, 3D printers, laser cuts, cutting edge technology programs, and amazing sport fields like soccer, rugby, tennis, basketball or volleyball among many other specialties.  The same goes for art programs since students get to join theater, drama, movie and tv production, dancing, ballet and all kinds of music specialties.

About the environment, spectacular nature surroundings are just miles away from the city and allow all kind of activities like hiking, fishing, camping, kayaking, and many more students get to experience with their host families.  

The city is very safe and offers many easy transportation options like public buses or the Sky Train so students get to travel to movie theaters, shopping malls, museums, bowling centers or sport events on their own in a very fast, cheap, safe and comfortable transport system.  This way they don’t need the host family to drive them around and is undoubtedly an amazing destination for students used to live in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Munich, etc and want to study an academic year abroad with all the amenities of a big city.  

At the following link you will find all the details of the program: https://www.internationalacademicprograms.es/en/canada/

Public schools with host family in Canada: Newfoundland.

Borja Pérez-Mínguez | Travel blog

St. John’s is the most urban city and capital of the Newfoundland province with 110.000 people and thanks to it’s location, about 5 hours flight from London, the closest area of Canada to fly from any European country.

The city was founded by Spanish fishermen on the XVI century (that’s the reason of it’s name and it’s considered the oldest city in North America) and offers one of the warmest climates in all Canada with very mild winters (they never usually go below -5º) compared with the cold provinces of Manitoba, Ontario or Alberta with winters up to -35º. For these reasons Newfoundland is undoubtedly one of the best options to study academic year programs in Canada, specially for students that don’t like extremely cold environments.

In one of our latest trips we got to visit the entire area, located in a spectacular nature environmet surrounded by water that allows students to experience the amenities of a medium sized city (movie theaters, malls, water parks, bowling, shopping, restaurants, etc) with many nature related activities like hiking, mountain biking, climbing, camping, kayaking or fishing just to mention a few.

Among the many schools we selected at International Academic Programs, the ones with the best facilities were located at the own St. John’s city, and all of them offered a wide range of programs and academic opportunities like smart boards, 3D printers, laser cuts and many sport and extracurricular activies like music and art related subjects.

For these reasons and being one of the fewest urban options in the provice, it’s essential to keep in mind the city schools are the ones with the highest demand so in order to be able to secure a place, we need to apply with plenty of time since most of the spots are gone by Christmas of the year before the program starts.

The city also offers many opportunities for sport enthusiastics and allows students to practice at local clubs the ones they like the most during the entire length of the program: soccer, hockey, swimming, tennis, basketball, etc. There are many options both at the schools and at the cummunity (extra cost, but very affordable) so like in all the academic programs and destinations we promote, in order to select the best possible school for each candidate, we must establish the student’s main areas of interest.

It’s important to keep in mind the city of St. John’s is located in a flat area and therefore doesn’t have any mountains so students who want to ski must travel to farther areas outside of the city. For ski and snowbarding enthusiastics the province of Newfoundland also offers mid sized towns located in rural environments and surrounded by all kinds of nature opportunities like mountains or spectacular ski resorts that allow students to practically ski every day for most part of the academic year, so this would be one of the main parameters we should keep in mind in order to select the best possible school and area for each candidate.

The Newfoundland province offers an optional adventure program with monthly activities like whale and iceberg sightings, zip lining, ski weekends and all kinds of field trips so it’s a great opportunity for students who want to be involved in all kinds of nature and adventure activities.

At the following link you will find all the details of the program: https://www.internationalacademicprograms.es/en/canada/