During the sophomore year, Palmer Trinity offers students the opportunity to study abroad in Sydney, Australia, Salamanca, Spain, or Aix en Provence, France. PT has three schools in Sydney: Abbotsleigh, Knox and Trinity as part of our exchange network. In 2007, we added the prestigious Colegio Marista Champagnat, in Salamanca, Spain into our partnership.
The curriculum of these four schools matches well with our academic program. U.S. colleges and universities have looked favorably upon our students who have studied abroad. Palmer Trinity is one of a hand full of schools in the nation that offer semester long study abroad programs during a student’s sophomore year. The experience has been life changing for many of our students. It has produced lifelong friendships and a greater global perspective on many issues. Students selected for the Spain and France program are away from Palmer Trinity during the first semester of Year 10 and students in the Australia program are away the second semester of Year 10.
The only cost of the program is the airline ticket to Spain, France, or Australia. Students will live with a family chosen by the international school. The schools have an intense interview process to make sure the families are acceptable. The family will have children of the same age attending the international school your child will attend. By paying Palmer Trinity’s tuition you have paid the tuition at the school in Australia, France, or Spain, so there are no extra tuition costs. Of course, incidentals must be paid by PT parents such as normal spending money for weekends.
The programs are competitive as we may only send a maximum of six students to Australia, four students to Spain and two students to France each year. Selections are made for the program in Spain and France during the spring of the freshman year and selections for Australia are made in the fall of the sophomore year. In order to apply students must submit the following to the director of admission:
- A letter from parents indicating that they will allow their student to apply to be an exchange student and if selected they will allow their student to go. In addition, parents must agree to host an exchange student the following semester. (Typically, this is a student from the family where their student has resided.)
- An unofficial copy of their transcript.
- A one page essay indicating why they want to study in Spain, France or Australia. Students applying to the Salamanca program must write their essay in Spanish. (The instruction in Salamanca is in Spanish and students must be fluent in written and spoken Spanish in order to attend the program.) Students applying to the French program must write their essay in French as a large portion of their course work will be done in French.
- A letter of recommendation from a Palmer Trinity professor.
The exact deadlines dates for the programs are set during the current year. If you would like further information on the programs, please contact Danny Reynolds at
dreynolds@palmertrinity.org.
Among our other opportunities, are City Term
http://www.cityterm.org/, Alzar School
http://www.alzarschool.com, and the Island School
http://www.islandschool.org/. Please visit their websites to learn more about these programs.