Our Presentation to the High School English Classes

This was a very fun day Because Max got to come to Folkungaskolan with me! A couple of the Gymnasium (High School) teachers asked if we could come speak to their students about what it’s like to be a high schooler in the United States. It is very different in Sweden so the students were curious about the worries and dreams of American students, getting accepted to college, paying for college, etc.
Below is the outline Max and I developed for our presentation to the high school students.


The two most important things to US highschoolers: College and Social life.

I.                     College

a.                 Choosing a college

                                            i.     What do you want to do?

b.                 Getiing accepted

                                            i.     ACT and SAT

                                         ii.     Grade Point Average (GPA)

                                       iii.     Resume/ extracurricular involvement

c.                  Paying for college

                                            i.     Cost

                                         ii.     Scholarships (Acheivement based and Need based)

                                       iii.     Student Loans

                                      iv.     Parents/You pay

II.                  Social Life

a.                 School Sports Teams

b.                 Clubs and Organizations

c.                  Proms, Homecoming, etc.

d.                 Outside of School

III.               Private (Trinity) vs. Public (YPAS)

a.                 Dresscode

b.                 How strict teachers are

c.                  School rules/Punishment

It was interesting to see their reactions when we told them how much money it costs to attend our University for one year. In Sweden, education is covered by taxes (even college). Another topic that really fascinated the students was school sports teams. In Sweden they don’t have school sports teams like we do. People can get a club together to play basketball or soccer, but they don’t compete with other schools. Sweden also doesn’t have school mascots or colors. They were very surprised that American schools put such an emphasis on school spirit and school pride.

I think the students really enjoyed the discussion. They were very engaged and asked lots of great questions. Many students expressed an interest in traveling to America as part of an exchange program to finish their high school career.