Any GED success stories?

ICargirl
Tue, 11 May 2010 15:00:23 +0000

Whether or not the GED will hurt you depends on why you left high school. I knew a student at an Ivy who had left HS to pursue a career as a professional musician. Though she didn’t receive traditional home schooling, she continued studying on her own and took a number of SAT IIs in addition to the SAT to prove her skills. In fact, I don’t think this student even got a GED - she mentioned to me that while the elite privates wanted her, she couldn’t rely on safeties because state schools wouldn’t waive the diploma or GED requirement!

I would imagine admissions would also be sympathetic to someone who left HS to care for an ailing parent or sibling or to get a job while the family was in dire financial straits, assuming this was really necessary and not just an excuse to leave school.

I think colleges would be more suspicious of someone who simply didn’t feel well served in a traditional high school or who was rebelling against banal requirements or petty administrators. Leaving high school is an extreme step, and so colleges will expect the reason that warranted it to be a very good one.