Hello : My husband has a job offer in Basel Switzerland that he wishes to accept. WE have a 16yr old son in Grade 11 in USA. What optiosn do we have to transfer him to Basel, and what are the pros/cons/watchouts ? None of us speak German. Helpful hints about such a move will be higly appreciated .

I know its English speaking at the ISB - International School Basel but also expensive - without German though you are going to be limited for options, and his education is pretty important at this age. I am sure there are many ppl on this forum that know a lot more about this though! Good luck!

Being honest you are going to have to pay for private school where he can do his
Baccalaureate



Try to negotiate the school fees as part of the job contract plus any moving /settling costs. Otherwise leave him in Wisconsin? with relatives to finish his education. He may be able to do his final two years in Wisconsin, get his GED/APs etc. and then transfer to a Swiss Higher Ed establishment.

I definitely agree with Hoppy. Make sure that the company includes your son's tuition and the assurance of an actual SPACE in the school with the contract.

I have a friend who works in the Enrollment Office at Zurich International School and this is standard practice for corporations. They reserve the spots ahead of time so that families can accept jobs knowing their children's schooling is lined up.

ZIS has waiting lists on average of 30 students per grade, so arranging schooling when you arrive is *not advisable* for a 16 year old.

I know he's excited about the job, but your husband should not sign any dotted lines unless international schooling is part of the package. That said, it should be pretty straightforward. Best of luck!!

What they said... plus I think I can add for all of us who live in or near Basel, that it's a nice place to live!

the ISB is a good school and there's usually not an issue getting kids in, particularly if you work for one of the big pharma companies who are shareholders of the school. It is expensive (28k p/a or there abouts for grade 11/12). The IB is a widely accepted qualification I think the school can arrange for American students to sit SATs if they wish.

Hi Midwestlady,
For a non german speaking 16 year old you have a couple of options in Basel. The most popular choice by far is the International School Basel, negotiate hard for school fees to be included ! Other options include the Swiss International school which offers a bilingual education (German & English), I have been told that they have recently expanded to include your sons age group but you need to check this out. There is also Academia which offers education based on the English school system.
Your relocation agent will be able to arrange for you to visit all three schools but in reality most people relocating with non German speaking teenagers will opt for the International School.

welcome to Ef

hope all of this will work out for the best. It's a very trick year for your son getting real close to becoming a senior.

Changing schools mid-year can be a little bit difficult for the kid to adjust to new methods and expectations but all of this also depends on what kind of schooling he's previously had.


Whereabouts of Ohio are you from?

I lived in North Canton/Akron for a few years and also up in Cleveland. Need to go back and visit soon.

We moved from US to Switzerland with our two daughters when they were 15 and 16 years old. We had lived in the US since they were 7 and 8 years old. I've been told that a relocation at that age is usually easier on a boy than on a girl. However, please think very hard about other options before moving a teenager away from their home and friends. We are now more than 2 years later and we still regret our decision.
On the positive side, I hear only good things about the International School of Basel and living around Basel. Good luck!

On the flip side. I moved my 17 year-old from a regular Swiss school after graduation to a no-fee paying US High School. It was an excellent experience. they bent over backwards to accommodate him and never having felt so valued by a school before, he reciprocated by working his butt off. They actually gave him peer mentors, whose job it was to check on him constantly, include him in social engagements, clubs societies etc. So he graduated both and went straight to Uni, despite changing languages. He had previously moved from the UK at age 7 to Switzerland. he had a very tough transition, but quickly adjusted.
My friend moved at the age of 15 from a Swiss school to a UK school,the school made little effort to integrate her, she did not do well and so returned to Switzerland staying with relatives.
Basically I find that even though teenagers, may say they are OK, this is a difficult period ( academic pressure, hormones, body image, cliques, gangs) and they need constant vigilance to see that they are really on the right track, happy and coping.

My daughter on the other hand moved to the US when she was seven, she seemed to fit in and was thought to be American by her peers from the second day. I only recently realized how bitter she was about leaving Switzerland, she kept hidden how she fought with a multiple cultural identity, and hated her life.
It wasn't that she didn't fit in she just hated the US, cars, food, scenery and romanticized everything Swiss. Swiss families offered to adopt her to keep her there.
Now at 18 she is finally happy at Uni.

Thank you everyone, for the helpful inputs. Truly appreciate them. We plan to visit Basel in about a week, and will look up both International Schools to get a first hand look. Any inputs on specific aspects we should check out, during school visits ?

I did not realize that space may be an issue ( our son attends a great public school in Ohio - so everyone gets in) - thanks for pointing that out. I dread the thought of moving him mid-year . I might consider just staying here in Ohio until he finishes Grade 11, while my husband moves on ahead. Then we might have an option of moving him into Grade 11 or into Grade 12 in the IB School ...... wondering about pros/cons of holding him back a year by getting him into Grade 11 in the IB program, vs getting him into Grade 12 in IB program from Grade 11 in US standard program. Son's education seems to be the toughest part of our decision making process.

We moved our daughter who had completed 11th grade from California to the Lake Geneva area a year ago August, and I agree that her education was the one issue that we agonized over the most. But, she had a totally amazing - though very challenging - senior year and is very thankful that the opportunity came along. She is now attending university in the US (in Cincinnati, BTW) and only wishes she could somehow move the dance program she is in to a university in this area. If there had been the option of majoring in dance at the university level in Europe, she would have jumped at it.

What we found out is that she could not really enter an IB program in 12th grade unless she had already been in an IB program at her previous school, though this was not totally clear to us after talking to the schools here. Our daughter had been taking AP classes in the US, and some of the IB schools here offered her a spot, but any IB classes she took would have been with 11th grade students. IB courses are two years long - students take the same courses both in 11th and 12th grade, so students cannot join half way through. The curriculum is ordered differently than in standard US high school classes so some material that might be covered in 12th grade in the US (especially in math), would already have been covered in 11th grade. There was no possibility of her getting an IB diploma, and it was not clear how US colleges would react to her spending her senior year starting an IB program. There are more international schools in this area, one of which offered AP classes, so she ended up going there.

I have talked to one person who moved part way through her junior year and started the IB program then, completed it with excellent scores, and ended up going to Harvard, so apparently that is possible but this was awhile ago and the international school may not agree to it. My daughter turned 18 soon after her senior year started and was not at all willing to retake 11th grade, but if your son would consider that, it may be the best option. US colleges think very highly of IB diplomas and they can also give students options in Europe. However, the IB program is very rigorous so your son needs to be up for it and able to handle the workload.

My impression, and my daughter's experience, is that the student community in international schools tends to be very welcoming and non-cliquish since most of the students have had multiple experiences being a new kid and know what that is like. As a result, moving in the middle of the year may not be as traumatic as you might normally expect.

Best of luck making your decisions! I'm happy to answer any additional questions if I can.

Great post- I agree that I would try to push to redo a year. personally I prefer AP's to the Bacc, probably because they are more similar to the UK A level system. Is there any chance that you (or anyone) could explain the differences between the IB programs?

Hi Hoppy, I'm not sure I understand your question. Do you mean IB programs at different schools, or possibly the differences between baccalaureate programs?

Well my daughter didn't do the IB she got 9 AP's mostly top grades, ( which was a but over the top and unnecessary, but she enjoyed it) So I was trying to translate how that matched up against the IB. I googled the exam results of the international schools in Switzerland and got very confused about the grading, as some discussed the IB diploma where others discussed the certificate. I think this has cleared it up for me

http://www.ibo.org/diploma/recognition/guide/slidef.cfm

But still it would be nice to hear from someone who has had personal experience.

I would especially like to hear from anyone who has taken the IB and what their experiences were.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. We visited Basel last week, and met with principals in both ISB and SIS. Both of them recommended that our son complete Grade 11 in USA, then join the IB program , repeating Grade 11. They would not accept him into Grade 11 IB program now, in mid-year, even though he has 90% + in all his subjects in the US school, because they still think that he and the IB teachers would struggle to have him cover the material in IB that he missed during the first 5-6 months. He is a young 16 - so repeating Grade 11 would not do him harm . However, he does not want to do that at all, as he sees himself falling behind his US peers, as far as startign college is concerned. So, we are in a fix. Getting your opinions have been very helpful in raising our own awareness of how important it is to understand the feelings of a teenager about leaving friends and known circles, and to ensure that a teenager is agreeable to any changes we propose to make.

The thing that struck me about your original post - that I never got round to posting myself - is what does your son plan on doing.

By UK standards - so appologies if this doesn't apply to you - he would have another 2 years before going off to Uni at 18 yrs.

This being the case for your son, what are his plans?

He can't go (IMO) to the German/Swiss system, as he is too old and it would damage his academic performance. That leaves the international schools, and I've heard more bad than good about the ones in Basel. They are fine for temporary moves, but that is in itself their inherent weakness.

If he plans on going to University in the US, is there an option for him to stay with family in the US and finish his schooling? It may seem like a long way, but many people go to boarding school, and this wouldn't be much different.

It boils down a little to what your plans are. Is the move to CH temporary or premanent?

__________________
Never let right or wrong get in the way of a good opinion

You might want to ask for copies of some of the worksheets that they use in the 11th grade IB programs. See how far they are from what he knows. Depending on the quality of his current high school, the IB might open up college opportunities that he wouldn't otherwise have. Certainly it doesn't sound like he'll lose ground in the college rat race by doing it.

If he is worried about being bored "repeating" grade 11, you might point out that he'll also be spending time getting used to a new country and so on.

I went to a small, not so great, high school in Ohio. AP courses weren't an option there. I ended up taking advantage of the Ohio program which allows students to take courses at any state university and have them count as both college and high school credit. I ended up doing most of my Junior and Senior year at a university.

It is always possible to move faster. The real question is where how he'll be happy. You might point out that some people take a year off between high school in college to, say, wander Europe or otherwise visit, y'know, foreign places with scenic countryside. Maybe that is more of a hoity-toity east and west coast thing than a midwest thing, but it certainly happens.

My reaction is that he should probably come over, do the IB and take advantage of the opportunity to see Europe. But at the same time, if he can't be convinced of that, I'd look for a way for him to finish in the US.

Soon he will have to judge himself not by US standards but by international standards and his own standards. Many students take a year in 'study abroad' . Senior year in the US is a bit of a joke, most of the students have been accepted into the university of their choice by the end of 11th year, so they party in the last year, that's why they call 'Senioritis'.

He probably won't miss much! However he must burn his bridges,

Has your son not yet applied or been accepted into a US university?

He could have received an acceptance get the Swiss school to work to the requirements of the Bacc and to meet requirements for US graduation.
I think that the university will be further impressed that he is taking a year abroad while meeting grad requirements. It adds to his resume.

I tried to take both of my kids out of school for senior year and put them in a local college. I tried to advise them that it was time to get on with thinking like a university student, soon high school and most of the friends that they made there would be a distant memory, but neither of them would have it. Both were affected by the attitude of other students who just wanted to party, In hindsight both wished that they had been able to go straight from Junior(11th) year to University.

If he does very well with his Bacc, the High School may still want to claim his as their own ( looks good for on their rating) he may still be able to attend graduation if he has completed basic grad requirements. This would make it much easier for application to US universities.

That would not be my worry, my worry would be-if he wishes to attend a US university for his first degree how will he fund this? Will he have to pay overseas fees? Will he still be entitled to scholarships? Will he be entitled ot government loans? If he returns to the US in less than 2 years, can he keep the US as his tax base?

I would talk to his High School counselor and the university of his choice. Some people employ a private counselor, but this can be very costly.

Dear Hoppy, ThomasSSS, Carlos R, Recently Arrived, and all the other responders to my query : first, I would like to thank each adn every one of you for your very useful thoughts, comments, suggestions. I don't know yet, how to use the system in the forum to convey my thanks ( can someone help me ? ) - but I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate your sharing your thoughts and wisdom re: my son's transfer of schools. Personally, I think if he repeated Grade 11, did the IB program, and spent 2 years outside the USA, he would be better off in the long run. I doubt if he would miss any time, overall, since he might be able to finish his UG in less than 4 years if he did very well in the IB program - which he can, if he puts his mind to it. This last phrase is the key : his own determination. I am collecting all your inputs into a series of logical arguments that I will place before him, and then give him the time to think and decide. But, since he cannot move until he completes this school year , anyway, I will wait until he is done with his mid-semester exams in January. I will also take him to Switzerland in the summer. so he has a first hand experience of the place. If he wants to stay there - great ! If he doesn't, my husband and I are mentally prepared that I stay back with him so he finishes HS in the US, before I join my husband. It will wreck our finances - but well, there are other priorities in life !

Having said that, I did have a couple concerns after our short visit to Basel last week. I saw young teens loitering in the streets in small groups , in the evenings, with beer cans in hand. Many were smoking very openly. Clearly , the society appears to be much more permissive than I am used to, in Ohio. Those of you who are living there now : please share your own experiences and thoughts about raising teens in that environment. What are your challenges and how do you cope ? Secondly, I noticed that the price of things were 3X - 4X what we are used to in Ohio. And the Swiss people appear somewhat reserved in interacting with foreigners. Again : those of you who have moved there from other countries : how do you find life outside of work ? If you have teenage kids, do they make friends easily or do they feel lonely ? If they are attendign ISB, is the expat community the only social life they see ? Please share your experiences to the extent possible. Thank you , again, for your very helpful inputs.