Hello, I’m considering switching from a far away, Christian private school to my local public school. I’m very far ahead for my age, but I’m worried that colleges will judge me by the standard academic level rather than giving me a chance. In my current school, I’m taking all honors, and there are only about a dozen people in my grade (9th) who can even handle it. Most of the honors levels classes are equivalent in rigor and difficulty to AP classes in my friends’ public schools. I’d love to take several APs, but at this current school, I would be unable to do much for myself. Also, clubs aren’t available almost at all at this school, and extra-curriculars are very time consuming (2 1/2 Hours + per day along with regular classes and studying). I’m worried that I am trapped in a bubble of white Christians because I live in a upper-middle class neighborhood, I go to a majority white, Christian gated school, and I’m hopeless when it comes to communicating with normal people. Hopeless. The only thing stopping me is convincing my father, who is worried about a few things. He’s worried about potentially throwing this education (over $20k per year) away, and he’s worried that the school is rachet or filled with gangs and drugs. The last thing he would want to do is send his kid to a public school that hardly functions. Thanks for reading, if you even got this far. Hopefully somebody could put in their own input. This is the GreatSchools page for the public high school.
http://www.greatschools.org/georgia/roswell/1037-Centennial-High-School/
According to the report, it sounds pretty good as public schools go. However, public school forces you to learn how to advocate for yourself. You will definitely have more opportunities in terms of clubs and classes. The comments about gangs concern me. If you have talked to people who attend the school and the gang violence is a real threat, I would discourage you from attending. If you know anyone who attends the school, talk to them and get some honest opinions!
I looked at the school my DD went to on great schools and it does not sound great on greatschools!
People who are having issues are the ones who post there.
I would suggest that you and he go visit the school. Set up an appointment to meet with a Guidance Counselor. See what courses they think you would be put in… would you be able to take AP classes as a sophomore?
.i think you want to make sure you are in honors classes otherwise your fellow students may not be as academically oriented as you might like. Talk to them about the gang issues.
Drugs are on you to not take…Can you find clubs/teams/friends that are not into that?
I’m planning on asking some of my friends in the neighborhood some specific questions about violence and such, but I’ve been to public school and I do know how to keep out of fights and all. Also, I do plan to take all honors and AP classes. I might visit the school just in case.