The student must be officially enrolled in the grade level that they will need to get credit for in Spain. In other words, if a student has completed 10th grade in Spain prior to their exchange year, then they must be enrolled as an 11th grade student in the US in order for the year to count. If they have completed 11th grade in Spain prior to their exchange year, then they must be enrolled as a 12th grade student in the US.

The exchange year will not count if — for any reason — the student is not enrolled in the proper grade level. EF Spanish students are guaranteed that they will be enrolled in the grade level that they need to get credit for, so it is very important that EF is alerted right away if it is anticipated that there will be any problem enrolling the student in the necessary grade level.

The student must furthermore take classes appropriate to their grade level that they are convalidating. For example, an 11th grade student cannot get credit for a 9th grade-level English course — they must take the 11th grade version, instead. This is true of all of their classes, although it is fine for them to enroll in classes that are open to students of all levels. They just must take care to not enroll in any classes that are specific to grade levels below their own.

Finally, the student must enroll in four or five full credit classes, depending on the grade level they are enrolled in (more details below). It is recommended (although not mandatory) that the student takes an English, History and Math course to fulfill three of the core credits. For the fourth core credit students convalidating grades 10-11 can take either a Science, Geography, Philosophy, Chemistry, Physics, Latin or Greek course. Students enrolled in 12th grade have a few more options for their fifth credit, and they can take a Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Drafting, Philosophy, Art History, Latin or Greek course.

With curriculum being different at each school, there are quite a few specific class subjects that fulfill each core credit requirement, and these are all outlined below for your reference. Students can either take one full-year class per credit, or they can take two semester (or three trimester) classes from the same core category to the required one full credit (for example, a student can enroll in a half-year Algebra class for the first semester, and a half-year Calculus class for the second semester to fulfill a full-year core credit in Math). Your student will have more information in regard to this process as well, however if you run into any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact EF with any questions that you might have.

The exchange year will not count if — for any reason — the student is not enrolled in the proper grade level. EF Spanish students are guaranteed that they will be enrolled in the grade level that they need to get credit for, so it is very important that EF is alerted right away if it is anticipated that there will be any problem enrolling the student in the necessary grade level.  

List of subjects for grades 10-11   List of subjects for grade 12