I went to sem both in America and Israel. I also went right after high school, during college, and after college/sem I went back to Israel to learn. Going right after high school has a unique experience to offer in that you will be together with girls you know or those your own age/grade. Being in Israel is unique in the sense that you have the opportunity to experience living in Eretz YISRAEL for a full year. You can travel the country, visit places you learned about in the tanach (you can do much more in a year than in a two week visit), and get to know and experience Yiddishkeit in eretz YISRAEL, which is unique and special in and of itself. Many girls I know chose to move to eretz YISRAEL to live because they learned there, and learned to love living there. The learning is also very special. They have some of the most amazing teachers there.
We also have great teachers here too, who once lived there. Rebbetzin Vital Kalmanovitch…. What can I say….such a bracha to learn from her. Going to sem is different than being in high school. Your own maturity
lends itself to a deeper level of learning and internalizing the information.