<p>DS skipped a grade and is still 16 as a HS senior. Would love for him to do a gap year for a variety of reasons. Has an uncle in LA area that he adores and would love to live with. Just found out about these 13th year programs and it might just be perfect for him. Does anyone know of any programs in the LA area that might fit? He’s a strong math/science student. I assume these would be private schools only. TIA.</p>
<p>I graduated as a youngish 17, and my parents insisted I go to cc and then transfer to a four-year school. Just mentioning it as an option.</p>
<p>A friend of my son’s did a gap year for the same reason…young for his grade. I don’t think most kids want to go to a 5th year of high school (another year of senioritis??? Yuck!!! LOL). My son’s friend spent some time in Europe and took a class there. When she applied for college, she never mentioned taking that European class because she didn’t want to “mess up” any chances for merit $$.</p>
<p>If you want your child to qualify for any “incoming freshman” merit scholarships, then I don’t recommend spending a year at a CC…the best scholarships are for “incoming freshmen”…they aren’t for kids who first go to a CC.</p>
<p>My older son was young for his grade, but also kind of “behind” when it came to taking care of himself. However, I wasn’t going to keep him from going to college…so, we spent the last year of high school really working on his “life skills” and his “problem solving skills”. He did his own laundry, managed his money, etc. </p>
<p>This is his 3rd year in college and he’s done very well.</p>
<p>Well USC has a great on campus program for about 30 advanced HS’ seniors who are ready to go to college- I don’t know if your S would qualify. [Resident</a> Honors Program > USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://college.usc.edu/resident-honors-program/The]Resident”>http://college.usc.edu/resident-honors-program/The)
from the site:
"My parents are worried about my being ready to go off to college early. What can I tell them?</p>
<p>The decision to enter college early should be a family decision. Ideally everyone in your family will support you in your efforts to begin your future now. In addition, the campus offers many resources that help students adjust to college life and deal with problems that may arise. Your primary resource will be the Resident Honors staff, who will work with you throughout the year."</p>
<p>2 top private boarding schools[ which to my knowledge are the only kind of schools that offer post graduate programs??] in the LA area, are Thatcher in OJAI, and Cate in Santa Barbara.</p>
<p>MPM: Looks like the USC program is for early entrance. We would actually be looking for late entrance. Something like </p>
<p>[Phillips</a> Exeter Academy | Grade 12 and Post-Graduate Students](<a href=“http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/147_268.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/147_268.aspx)</p>
<p>but in LA. Part of fun of this would be to live with the cool bachelor uncle in LA.</p>
<p>mom2: Yes, I think CC would complicate things as a transfer. I think he would likely do fine at college but I don’t think there’s any hurry to get there.</p>
<p>I don’t know about you…but I might be a bit concerned about what my 17 year old would get exposed to living with a “cool bachelor uncle” for a year. Cool bachelor uncles can be “bad moral examples” in regards to sex, drinking, pornography, language, etc. Living with a “cool bachelor uncle” may end up meaning that “now I live with someone who can buy booze for me.”</p>
<p>I don’t really see the advantage…neither the “cool uncle” nor a college is really going to monitor what a 17 year old is doing… I think I’d rather take my chances having my 17yo live with 18yo college roomies.</p>
<p>The vast majority of PG programs are at boarding schools, don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a program outside of one. In that area you could check Thacher, Webb and Cate to see if they do PG years. They would be fairly close, but he’d board there.</p>
<p>I know quite a few boys who did a PG year…and it worked out very well for them. </p>
<p>However typically the PG year is done at a boarding school. I know there are some good programs at East Coast boarding schools.</p>
<p>I did a quick google search and there is a PG program at a school in San Marino. (I know nothing about the school’s reputation, it is near Pasadena.) </p>
<p>If you do decide to go with a PG year, I would look at what school would be a good fit for your son. </p>
<p>You might look into someplace that he could board during the week–and go to his Uncle’s house on the weekends if he wanted to.</p>
<p>Uncle is good. He’s cool to a math/science nerd, not necessarily cool to an average kid. I would not even consider sending my darling off if I wasn’t very comfortable with the situation. Interestingly, cool uncle lived with me (older sister) as a HS student attending Lab School in Chicago while I attended college there. May be pay back time :)</p>
<p>Didn’t see anything on Thatcher and Cate. Will check Webb. The Exeter one above would suggest Day students were OK.</p>
<p>meredesfilles: do you have the name for the one in San Marino? I couldn’t find on Google. Thanks. Never mind, found it.</p>
<p>well, you have an uncle who lives in LA, but the only west coast schools that offer PG programs are boarding schools 50 miles away. If actually going to a PG program is more important than where it is, you will have many more possibilities back east. sometime you have to make choices.</p>
<p>Just looking into an option that looked interesting. If we find something that fills the bill well, great. If not, nothing lost.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Southwestern Academy](<a href=“http://www.southwesternacademy.edu/index.html]Welcome”>http://www.southwesternacademy.edu/index.html)</p>
<p>found by meredesfilles. Day school option, in san marino (next to pasadena), international students (good for us who live in the very homogeneous part of the country), individualize PG program. Doesn’t look all that rigorous but may be able to do a lot of individualized instruction?</p>
<p>Would he be at all interested in being an exchange student? With AFS you can do a semester or a year. Additionally the have gap year programs.
[AFS</a> USA - Student Exchange Program](<a href=“http://usa.afs.org/usa_en/home]AFS”>http://usa.afs.org/usa_en/home)</p>
<p>Unfortunately no. I did in my time and thought it was good. But no interest in his part.</p>
<p>Well, cool uncle looked at the website and thinks its a finishing school for int’l students. Oh well.</p>
<p>in looking at the list of 2008 graduates at SWA it seems 75% of the class is asian. and the inclusion of English as a second language suggest that many are foreign born and are here as part of an attempt by wealthy Asian parents to get their children accepted into US colleges. A lot of west coast boarding schools are filled with rich asian kids from the far east. if that is fine with you then proceed.</p>
<p>oooops. cool uncle beat me to it.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d recommend a gap year abroad. It’s what I did after graduating from high school at 16 and learning a foreign language fluently was very useful for me. I haven’t been able to see the idea to either of my kids. :)</p>
<p>Do you think he might have any interest in an Americorps program? The minimum age is 17. I would think in a market the size of LA he could find a program that would be a good fit for his interests and he would be earning money for college while serving. I’ve worked with some great young (and old) Americorps members and think the program is really wonderful. Just another option…</p>
<p>How about taking classes at a tech school in the LA area where he learned to do something non-academic that interests him? Computer repair? Drafting or CAD design? Or maybe he could learn to be a gourmet chef. Good to have a gourmet chef in the family. ;)</p>
<p>Does your S not want to go to college next year? I have an 18 y.o. soph, and it’s working out great both academically and socially. Unless you have specific concerns about your S not being ready, I’m wondering why you’d want to keep him in hs for an additional year.</p>
<p>Also, would an LA internship or working on scienctific research at an LA university, medical center, or museum be a possibility? If you can tell us what interests your son, maybe we can come up with some suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone,</p>
<p>He is interested in going to college in the fall and likely that is what he will end up doing. I had just never heard of a PG year until yesterday and thought it was interesting. It would potentially allow him time to take some advanced math/sci courses not available locally (wants to be a theoretical physicist), work on his individual sport that he is rapidly improving at (with no coaching currently ) and give access to good coaching available in LA, give time for further maturity (never a bad thing) and give him something a bit different to do from the straight and narrow. I’m in no hurry for him to start college. Oh yea, another year for 529 to recover further 
Working in a physics lab at a U would be great although what a HS student with minimal calculus could do there in a meaningful way is not clear. </p>
<p>Just looking to see what’s out there, not desperately seeking something.</p>