<p>If she is just getting a jump on what she was planning to do after graduating next year anyways and does not want to spend this next year in high school, by all means, she should go right on ahead. Congratulations on her accomplishment!</p>
<p>Friends of ours have a son who just did not like high school. He graduated a year early and went on to college, a local school, and loved it. He just was not the high school type but blossomed in a college setting. High school is not for everyone.</p>
<p>I would check, or have your daughter check, whether it’s more difficult to be admitted to the universities she’s most interested in as a transfer student than as a freshman. Also, some of her community college credits may not count at the university, especially courses in her major, so the classes she takes there may not jump her ahead as far as you’re thinking. Not advocating one way or the other, just mentioning additional things to consider.</p>
<p>*If your D goes to a CC first and then transfers, will you all be disappointed that she won’t get the same merit scholarships and financial aid that she would have gotten if she had come in as a freshman? Transfer students don’t often get very good merit or aid.</p>
<p>You may end up LOSING money, instead of saving money if she loses out on big scholarships or aid as a transfer student. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>*That is a very important factor-never thought about the merit aid situation. While she has done well grade-wise, her SAT scores have not been great due to ADHD issues so I am not sure how much she would really get–but this is a very important consideration–</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>If you’ll want merit aid or need-based aid, then it’s probably better for her to spend the next year as a gap year. Maybe working or having some cool experience…and taking her SAT and ACT again to have better scores. </p>
<p>Her current scores are really “junior year” scores, so they probably would be lower than if she took them again next fall after some further studying. Also, perhaps with her ADHD situation, proper medication would result in higher scores. ??? Some ADHD kids end up scoring better when on Adderall or other meds. Is she under a doctor’s care?</p>
<p>However, if you had planned on paying “full freight” then it won’t matter.</p>
<p>If she is a CA student, then there is a well-articulated path from CC to UC, she could pursue that. UC awards are often based on SAT, if her scores are lower than her brain power, she probably won’t get those awards anyway.</p>
<p>If you are attending a CSU or UC there are not the same merit awards that you might see in private schools, so the freshman v transfer would not be as critical. Some small privates do offer a larger annual sum to a freshman than they do to a transfer. If you are not Pell/Cal Grant/Blue & Gold eligible then it likely would save money to be at the CC.</p>
<p>One of my kids graduated from HS at 15, we made her attend CC because we did not feel it was in her best interests to leave home at that time, she was just too young. Her sibling who was a minor in university wholeheartedly agreed. DD did graduate early from HS with the cooperation of the school and it was due to her changing schools, most kids at that school had been together all their lives, it was difficult to find strong friend groups, senior year would not have been that fun.</p>
<p>Our state has an actual program for HS kids to attend CC, we really thought she would be able to connect with other motivated bright HS students at the CC, but that was not the case. CC, as my sister said in 1966 when she attended, was just HS with ashtrays 
My DD found it to be the same. Most of the girls she spent time with between classes were single moms, it was not a highly academic focus, it was a survive and get the classes done focus.</p>
<p>Not that I am saying it was not a valuable experience, she got the GE units she needed, transferred to a private and got to spend two years at a small private on the same we gave her sisters for 4 years at the state school. So, it worked, but have realistic expectations and stay on top of the transferability of the courses taken, not just for credit, but for actual “check the box for a GE requirement” credit. Her social experience was no better at the CC than at the HS, but it was fine. In a perfect world she would not have had to change schools in junior year and her old HS would have been wonderful, but then we probably could not have afforded that private small LAC.</p>
<p>I was young when I graduated from high school and spent a gap year in France learning French. It was well worth it.</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation where after my junior year, I only needed one year of social sciences/history and a semester of English to get my diploma. I decided to take a summer class at the local CC for the history credit and could have easily added an English class. While I originally planned to go back to hs for my senior year, I was encouraged by the instructor of my summer course to spend the year taking a mixture of AP courses and online dual-enrollment courses, all paid for by the state. I later found out that I could have completed all my requirements over the summer, waited to send my hs the transcript until the 3rd day of the school year, and the state would have paid for a year’s worth of tuition at any of the state’s 2 or 4-year colleges/universities except for the state flagship. Either way, I was still a freshman for admission purposes at most universities because I would legally still be a hs student during what would be my senior year. After graduation, I was admitted to the [OOS] university of my choice with a freshman merit scholarship and since all of my credits transferred, I am able to have a double major and get a master’s degree in 4 years.</p>
<p>My advice to the OP is to see what options there are for her D to earn as much transferrable college credit as possible for free. She should then be able to get freshman merit scholarships after she officially graduates from hs. Note that many universities refuse to transfer college credits earned during hs, so this may be an issue depending on the colleges she wishes to attend.</p>
<p>If she can take extra HS courses to be a senior and/or add CC courses to her HS courses next year that would be ideal. It is too late for her to apply to good 4 year colleges by now. If she can take some college courses while still a HS student she can apply next fall for the best colleges and scholarships. </p>
<p>I would be concerned if she gives up the top schools available to her for 2 years of CC with her academic stats. Not all college courses are the same- the amount of material covered can vary radically, as does the discussion level among students. She will miss her academic peer group- I doubt many top HS students attend any CC. Six months ago she could have applied to colleges with students like her. It’s no big deal to be a 16 year old on any campus- my son did fine at a large, liberal flagship U, so age is not the issue.</p>
<p>Don’t try to save a year and save money- the educational cost will be too great. The rewards of being a freshman at a rigorous school will makeup for being with her age cohort for college. She needs to fill her senior year with electives from her HS or the CC and retain her ability to apply for freshman spots and money.</p>
<p>Slightly OT because of the timing, but parents with kids who want out of hs after junior year should be aware that USC has a program (Resident Honors Program) that accepts students as freshmen after their junior year of high school. Sometimes the hs will count the freshman year of college as the senior year of hs and allows the students to graduate hs with their class; sometimes the students get GED’s or decide they don’t care about a hs diploma. The students are eligible for USC’s small humanities honors program and have special cultural and social activities if they choose to participate. They can also be housed in the honors dorm if they like. The trick is to take SAT’s early enough in junior year to be able to apply to USC by Dec. 1, which is the deadline to be considered for merit scholarships. All of the students in the RHP automatically receive a 25% four year tuition scholarship, but many are eligible for more. (NMF’s receive a 50% scholarship, but because they don’t become official NMF’s until some point during their freshman year, this doesn’t kick in until they’re sophs.) Excellent program, but from a practical standpoint, it’s a lot easier to negotiate if the student figures out he or she wants out at the beginning of junior year or before.</p>
<p>Whether or not your D graduates early, make sure to check out SAT optional colleges. You’ll find plenty, do a search here on CC.</p>
<p>My biggest advice is to not rush into any decision. Talk to the transfer department at the CC, talk to the HS counselor. From our inquiry we discovered that most merit awards at private colleges are awarded to freshmen not to transfers. If she does attend a CC for two years what you save might make that a moot point if your D does not want the 4 yr college experience.
Make sure she is aware that if she makes this choice she is pretty much stuck at the CC for 60 units. The CSU’s and UC’s have made transferring much more difficult. Most CSU’s and all the UC’s are pretty much limiting transfers to the fall. If you don’t have your 60 transferable units completed by June you will have to wait another year to apply. Also make sure she has good guidance as to what classes to take for the major she intends to transfer into.
From what I have observed the transfer from CC to UC in two years happens rarely. Most kids I have observed seem to take longer unless they are a highly motivated student from the start. The type of student who would have gone to a 4 yr school right out of HS but due to whatever reasons started out at the CC.</p>
<p>From the responses, I am getting the idea that with her HS GPA, is would be best for her to apply as a freshman, rather than a transfer student. </p>
<p>I have a few questions:</p>
<p>The school where she can finish up is considered a Continuation School, it is run by the school district and is accredited. The program will allow her to finish her classes on her own time, so if she does not complete the two courses over the summer…but as SEA-tide indicates, after the regular fall semester starts…would she still be considered a senior during that year and be able to apply as a freshman? If this is the case, she could preserve her freshman status and take CC classes–just not graduate from HS–is this correct?</p>
<p>As previously indicated, if she did do this, her diploma would be from a Continuation School, do colleges look at this type of diploma differently than a regular HS–or is a diploma a diploma for college purposes. Would it even make a difference if the the majority of her classes were from a regular HS?</p>
<p>What are the maximum amount of college credits that are generally transferable if entering as a freshman? Do colleges differentiate between classes taken at a CC versus a State College? The reason why I ask, she could continue to take classes at the State College, through the HS program she is currently doing–and take classes at the CC–can you do that? She would then be enrolled in State college, CC and high school at the same time-hum?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the information, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it, there are so many different factors that we will really need to evaluate all the possibilities.</p>
<p>Does the district have an online school of some kind? Might that be another possibility for finishing up? And would that appeal to your daughter at all?</p>
<p>Would the HS or Continuation School allow college courses to count for high school credit? If they do, I really see no reason to take the HS courses and would take college courses instead. Nothing is preventing her from taking the AP (or CLEP) exams at the end of the year despite not having not taken the AP course.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, your D will be a HS student until she gets a diploma. California’s laws may differ, but there is nothing wrong with having completed all the requirements for a diploma and waiting to graduate with ones class and/or complete college entrance requirements. Some colleges consider any student with X number of college credits to be a transfer student, but many only require incoming freshmen to have not taken any college courses after graduation (excluding the summer between HS graduation and college entrance).</p>
<p>While being enrolled and taking classes at/through multiple educational institutions may seem odd, in reality the only difference is a couple of extra forms and a line or two on ones resum</p>
<p>SEAtide-Her college courses do count for high school credit buy the ones she took are considered elective courses. they do not allow “core courses” to be taken elsewhere. For instance, she wanted to take Chemistry over the summer of her 10th grade at the CC but the principal would not let her because it is a “core corse”…again every attempt to move ahead they would not allow, not sure if it is a $$ issue. She also asked to take Government/Economics from National University High School On-line, because it was core, it was not allowed but she was allowed to take Psychology which is considered an elective. </p>
<p>Her college Philosophy 101 course is a one semester college course but she received two high school semesters of credit. This is part of the reason she is so far ahead HS credit wise.</p>
<p>Have you or your daughter looked into Bard College at Simon’s Rock? </p>
<p>All of our students have made the unusual choice to leave high school after the 10th or 11th grade to start college at 16 or 17 years old. </p>
<p>These young college students thrive on the intellectual and academic challenge that their Simon’s Rock peers and professors provide. Most entering students have not finished a high school curriculum, but begin their undergraduate degrees a year or two early because they are ready for the challenge. The liberal arts curriculum teaches students to think and with an average class size of 10, the discussion-based classes are very participatory. </p>
<p>Just thought that this would be a good option for you to know about.</p>
<p>Give the admission office a call if you have questions (800.235.7186).</p>
<p>Yes, we have previously looked into Bard College and it does look like a great option but the cost was a barrier for us. Do they offer scholarships and if so, what is the criteria?</p>
<p>Anybody? Does anyone know the maximum number of college credits you can have and still be considered a “freshman” college applicant? Does it matter if the all classes are completed while in HS? How about the maximum amount of credits a college will accept if accepted as a freshman, it there a limit?</p>
<p>From what we have been told as long as your D takes the college classes while still enrolled in HS she will be considered a freshman. If she graduates early and takes more classes in what would have been her senior year she is no longer considered a freshman. My D took and passed the CHSPE. She had the option of attending the CC as a dual enrolled student or as a full fledged college student since the CHSPE is the equivalent of a Ca HS diploma. We had her go the dual enrolled route since that will give her the most options when she reaches age 18.
Some colleges will accept credits earned as a HS students other will not. In Ca the CC label the courses if they are transferable for UC or CSU.
The CC should have an employee who deals with dual enrolled students. They will also have a transfer center. Call them. They should be able to give you the info you need especially if your D plans to transfer to a Ca public.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, but I have first-hand experience with this issue myself. I absolutely hated going to high school. I even threatened to drop out to my parents. I took the CHSPE, but actually wasn’t able to pass because I barely missed a few points on the math portion. Instead, I wound up at a charter school (finished freshman year at the local high school all the people I knew from elementary and middle school went to) and finished all of the courses required in just a year. People always thought I was two or three years older than I actually was; the guesses have jumped even higher now that I’m actually in college. I was able to turn seventeen and I’m going to turn eighteen and the next few all in college. I always knew I would be a nursing major since freshman year of high school, and I’m now at Mount St. Mary’s College for a BSN. I’ve always been the youngest in both my family and at school, so that was not a problem for me. I was still able to be taken seriously.</p>
<p>People always ask me, “Wow, that’s kinda young. Did you really graduate early, or did you just skip a grade or two?” I really did finish everything in just a few months time. And yeah, a couple of the teachers told me the same thing when I was at that age: “You might miss out on senior year fun.” I’m enjoying the maturity and maturing with it, even if adult life is much more troublesome and straightforward than teenage/high school life ever was. I didn’t have any friends in high school, and while it’s difficult to make some in community college, I can’t say I miss the high school for its social aspects alone. </p>
<p>However, I do know of one girl who went to my same high school, although she was four years my senior. She took and passed the CHSPE in her sophomore year of high school and did two years at the community college; she managed to earn her BS in Music from UCLA shortly after her twentieth birthday. She graduated two years ago, and she still can’t really find work, except random gigs a few times a year here and there. When I asked her, she said, “Commute was a bit of pain [and we’re both born and raised in Los Angeles, #1 Traffic Hellhole of the Nation], but I started driving at sixteen. As for the emotional, social, and financial support, I had my family, which I’m very close to.” She just shrugged when I told her in person, “Nursing is easy with many job openings nationwide, but most jobs today are really hard to get hired even if you have a degree. I kind of regret having graduated during the Recession, but I don’t think it’s going to get better for those people I went to school with who graduated normally. So many jobs have permanently moved overseas already.”</p>
<p>So yeah… I think it really does depend on what she wants to do, as the first user who responded said. Business, I don’t really know, and you can’t even tell us if that’s really what she’ll declare her major in.</p>
<p>Mom60-Thanks for the suggestion to contact the CC counselor, you are correct…they should be able to let us know if that is the way she decides to go. The courses she tool last semester and the one she is taking now are actually from Cal State Domiguez Hills and the course descriptions did indicate the courses are transferable, so she should be OK.</p>
<p>At this point we are leaning toward “concurrent enrollment” for her first semester of her senior year, we think she will be able to complete her two required courses by then, take two courses from CSUDH, and then go to the CC for second semester …we are still looking into this and hope it will work. </p>
<p>alwaysesther-You are a very bright and insightful individual!! You have made great choices and your maturity shines through. I only hope one day to have a nurse like you, take care of me…and that my daughter have the same success!</p>