Cons of Graduating at 16 as a Junior?

Applying to College
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My twins are eligible to graduate our Texas public high school as juniors in May 2027. We are waiting to confirm if they can still graduate with Distinguished Level of Acievement rather than Foundation.

The plan would be to enroll in college Spring Semester/Jan. 2028.

They will each have 4 AP’s, sports 3 years anticipate a 3.75 unweighted gpa. Decent EC’s - nothing crazy.

So long as their transcript reflects required high school coursework for the particular college, what do you see as downsides to graduating early. I see some schools require an interview. They would be 17 moving into the dorm.

Thanks.

There do not seem to be any downsides. They would apply between July and October 2027. They would be applying “on their junior record” whether graduating early or not - so senior year results/activities seem moot.

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Here is one downside. Many year long college courses start with the fall term and finish in the spring term. If your student starts in the spring, they could end up out of sequence for some courses.

I guess my question is…why do they need to or want to graduate early, and start college a semester earlier than their HS class?

Check with the colleges regarding age policies. Also, check to see how available dorm rooms typically are in the spring semester.

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What would they be doing between their May 2027 graduation and starting college in January 2028?

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Neither likes the school. They would work and/or maybe take a class. I don’t see any way of rolling right from Jr. Year to college in the fall because the record/transcript needs to eatablish itself for admissions.

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What does this mean? Why would handling of records/transcripts be different for a three year graduate as compared to a typical four year graduate?

In terms of downsides, you don’t say what their college list will look like in terms of selectivity, especially for the reaches. For selective schools, having one year fewer classes, fewer core courses, likely lower rigor, as well as fewer activities with presumably less time to achieve leadership positions and the like, will be a disadvantage. Successful applicants at the more selective schools tend to have greater than the minimum stated courses needed to be considered for admission.

If they aren’t applying to selective schools, an issue could be lower merit money/discounting due to the above issues, something you would have to investigate.

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They wouldn’t graduate with minimum requirements. They would have 4 years English, 3 yrs science (AP Chem)/AP Bio, 3 yrs math. Yes they would get the 4th math and science senior year but college admission decisions are made based on junior transcripts. I don’t know when you would apply to go to college as a 3 yr graduate? Don’t they need the complete jr. Record???

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The plan is to drop jr. Electives and sub with core.

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When seniors apply to college, they also don’t have their last year of high school courses completed…but they do have to list what they are taking in their last year.

Your juniors would be doing the same. @Mwfan1921

You say there are no downsides to them graduating early…but I’m having trouble seeing up sides. If they hate their school, would they be able to take dual enrollment college courses…are there any community colleges or four year colleges nearby that the high school would allow? Does Texas allow online courses?

I don’t know when you would apply to go to college as a 3 yr graduate?

They would apply in fall/early winter of their last year of high school. Just like seniors do, but they would be doing so a year earlier.

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I’m sure there are exceptions, and perhaps those exceptions are the universities they’re targeting, but relatively few 4-year universities offer Spring admissions.

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I agree. Their option might be to take a minimum number of courses as non-matriculated students. At some of our publics here, you can take up to nine credits before matriculation to the college. However, these are colleges with 80% acceptance rates, so students know they would be accepted.

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We are not communicating on application dates. They can’t apply now for college next Fall because all they have to show is freshman/sophomore results. I wouldnt expect them to get in with that even if sharing their junior schedule. The earliest I see they have a chance of getting in is January. Our list of safety reach target is the same either way.

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Texas A and M offers it and they are decently selective.

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I don’t think you’ll find too many issues with 17-year-olds in dorms. I was 17 when I started college, and was far from the only one – different states have different cut-off dates for starting kindergarten, and even though these students would be on the young side, it’s entirely possible to start at that age and live in dorms.

I think dorm availability in the spring is a bigger issue, although that depends entirely on the college.

The bigger issues, I think, are the following:
• Just because you can graduate after junior year, this doesn’t mean you should. There are lots of benefits to staying for senior year, including continuing with advanced coursework to prepare for college and gaining another year of emotional maturity (it’s become more common for kids to start kindergarten late than early, so there will be a lot more 19-year-old freshmen than 17-year-olds – therefore, the younger frosh will seem younger still).

• Lots of bonding happens during freshman orientation and in freshman dorms, and unless a college has special programming for spring starts, your kids will miss that. Combined with the younger age and perhaps not living in a freshman dorm/hallway (because spring starts are housed where there are rooms available), it may make it harder to fit in and find their people. Lots of other benefits to starting in the fall, including a more complete orientation program, club fairs, etc.

• If their academics are solid, a strong performance in fall senior year course work can open up more opportunities for admissions and merit aid. Also, they’ll have more chances to get to know their teachers better, which is a good thing overall, including for getting quality rec letters.

In general, four years of high school are better than three, for academic, psychological, and social reasons, but families’ needs vary.

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Great detail - thanks! I do see one school that does not admit Freshman in the Spring but it was a huge reach. The target university says Spring Freshman are allowed on a case by case basis. So on the opportunity for merit aid with a strong senior year, are you saying that a college that already accepted them will potentially increase their aid package after accepting them and providing the aid package?

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No, I’m saying that a college that would accept them after junior year will think they’re stronger candidates with more coursework and a longer academic record – thus making bigger merit awards more likely.

And I’m also saying that college that would not accept them after junior year would consider them more seriously after senior year (because they’d be more prepared), again making merit aid more likely.

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Students who want to start college after high school apply their last year of high school. So, your juniors would apply this fall for next fall.

The reason you want to wait highlights the disadvantage…they will only be applying with two full years of high school courses with grades and ECs. They will report their third year/last year courses on their app. No different than seniors do.

I obviously don’t know all the issues, but if it’s possible to stay in high school a fourth year by taking DE courses, that could be something to consider. If they have to graduate after three years because that’s what’s best for them, then do that. I don’t know how TAMU admissions works for three year grads and their class rank…I would make sure you understand that. Are they applying to Mays or engineering or other selective programs?

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Understood but they are just going to take the core classes they were going to take senior year and do it jr year. I like how you are thinking about it.

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More negatives than positives IMO.

–Most students start college in the fall semester and many friendships form quickly. By starting in the spring they will be at a disadvantage–everything will be new to them while their peers would have established friendships, routines, understanding of expectations, etc.

– Not having 4 years of all core classes will be a negative for many competitive colleges.

–Being young is not a plus for admissions or overall college experience.

-As noted above some majors require sequential coursework and starting in the spring may make it difficult.

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According to their own website, Texas A&M spring admits are typically at the Galveston campus. They are much more rare at College Station.

I agree with others that there are many more disadvantages than advantages for graduating so early. So far the reason you’ve given is that they don’t like high school. Which is probably a popular opinion among 16 year olds.

Choosing to have them apply to colleges with only three years of high school will limit which colleges they can realistically be admitted to. Why limit them?

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A couple of logistical questions:

  1. Most schools accept applications for the following academic year. Students applying in 2027 would be applying for the 2028-2029 year, not yhe second half of the 2026-2027 year. For the schools you are considering, have you confirmed that there is a summer/early fall application cycle for a January 2028 start?
  2. How will your high school counselor support the application process for someone who has already graduated?
  3. It sounds like you aren’t interested in the more selective schools which typically would favor the kid who has done as much as possible before going to college. Many of the less selective schools will give credit for AP and DE classes – sometimes enough to allow a degree to be finished in 3 years. Getting those credits prior to college is often a much cheaper alternative than getting them at uni. Having the credits might also allow a student to more easily double major or complete a masters degree in 4 years. All of that points to finding a way of doing higher level work as a high school senior rather than as a tuition-paying freshman.
  4. Spring starts, if available, can be tricky. For some students, they’re fine, especially if there is a large cohort of them. Lots of things, from orientation, academic offerings, etc are set up to run with a fall start, and for some students, this can make the transition to college quite difficult.

I understand wanting to leave a school they hate, but I would encourage them to see if they can find another way to have a better senior year, whether remote, enrolled at CC, etc. These are smart kids, and this plan creates limitations that may not serve them well..

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