I’m currently in my sophomore year of high school and my guidance counselor is pushing me to graduate early and my dad firmly supports this idea. I’m taking the most challenging classes available (in AP classes), and as I completed freshman year high school requirements in middle school, I will be graduating with the same requirements that the seniors need. I have nearly no friends in my grade level (most of my friends are first year college students) and I feel as if my peers are so immature its almost untolerable. I live in a Southern town with a poor education system, and to be honest I’m itching to get out. I’m a science oriented student and I’ve nearly exhausted all my science course options.
However, I’m just worried that early graduating may hinder my chances of getting into good schools, or make me seem too young to enter college. Will early graduation make my application seem subpar?
I’m in mostly AP classes, with a 4.68 GPA and extracurriculars that include two sports, a political club, an honors society and a community service club.
You will be able to get into good schools. Don’t worry about that (though don’t just load up on the Ivies and other reaches). Make sure you find some affordable schools and a safety or two.
What about applying to a boarding school for Junior and Senior year? Many will provide scholarships for top students. Despite it being late, if your record is truly stellar I would think some would be interested. Perhaps someone in your school or community has connections or suggestions. If you have any standardized tests to show that may be helpful.
Not trying to be snarky but I think you may want to spend some time working on your writing skills if you decide to stay in high school. They are fine for a sophomore but are not yet at the senior level, for example, “untolerable.” If your writing skills are not at the college level this will hold you back.
You also could look at this list: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/early_college.htm
All of those programs have a lot of experience with early entry students. You might be happier starting college at a place where you aren’t the only young freshman.
My apologies for the typo, “intolerable.”
@sofiaspruill
my son felt the same way beginning junior year. we talked about the possibility of early graduation. in the end we decided not to b/c we were not prepared to get the most benefit out of the college search process and maximize merit scholarship opportunities.
we opted for dual enrollment at community college and it has been great. he is taking one HS class this semester online, and next year only AP English 4 online. that’s it for high school. he never has to set foot there again and could not be happier.
he is thriving in his CC classes and is on track to get an Associates in Engineering while finishing HS. he has had the opportunity to take Calc 3, Differential Equations, Calculus-Based Physics 1+2, and engineering courses – classes he could not dream about taking in HS. he is racking up free college credits (well, free except for the books) – 40 so far and probably 90 or so by the end of HS. plus he will have time to retake ACT/SAT and become a stronger candidate for scholarships and reach schools.
if you have dual enrollment available that lets you earn college credit for free, i don’t know why you would not want to take advantage of that.
It is too late for boarding school applications for this coming fall – I think that would have been a good option. The dual enrollment option seems like the next best choice.
My D is graduating early, and got into every college to which she applied, but her situation is a little different. She applied to all but one HBCU, the other being Temple. All of those HBCU’s have a long history of admitting students early as well as offering dual enrollment. D also goes to a non-traditional HS that is project-based and which offers what most would call honors college-prep classes to ALL students. There are very few electives.
Her original plan was duel enrollment at one of her list schools rather than at a local CC because she plans to teach, and most of the colleges have very specific courses required for a teaching degree not offered at a CC. But her principal said that with a couple of summer classes, she would be on track to graduate early, so that’s what she chose. Her school has been fully supportive of her as she has often had to be in two places at once, what with her senior project and internship as well as what are still considered junior year classes. It was especially stressful in the fall when she was also doing applications.
Investigate the colleges you want to apply to. I don’t know that your apps will be considered “subpar” but for the lottery schools, you probably won’t have what it takes. D didn’t apply to any such schools, so for us it didn’t matter. She does have a long list of accomplishments and EC’s, so that probably helped her, along with top grades. She is happily preparing to graduate in a little more than a month.
There IS a downside, however. D has never really gelled with the senior class-how could she, since they’ve been together since 6th grade and she’s just joining them. It’s a small school, so she KNOWS them, but they’re not really friends. Meanwhile her best buds in her own former class are all very upset that she’s leaving them early and she’s feeling the loss as well. It’s all social-not academic, but it does matter to some students, so think about that.
Another student from her school did go to the early college program at Bard-that’s another option you can consider. And quite a few take the CC dual enrollment option. Spend the summer researching so that when fall comes along you can dive right into your plan. Good luck!
In NYS, students who homeschool can take classes at a local college. After they complete the state’s requirements for high school completion they can apply to colleges as freshmen (which makes them eligible for scholarships). Check with your state’s education department to find out what their regulations allow.
If it is just a year, it depends.
If it is more than a year…Don’t do it. I graduated three years early and I hated it.
You are out of sync with your peers and it is all a mess. Good luck!
I’m graduating a year early this year (supposed to be class of 2018, now class of 2017). It was more of my choice because my school is pretty awful, so since November I’ve been taking all of my junior and senior credits online. I’m not sure how your school works, but my school promotes early grads by January at the very latest, so I won’t miss out on my senior year. I definitely recommend it; it’s very stress relieving
As an earlier poster mentioned, there are early college programs where you will meet peers like yourself.
Maybe the most famous is Bard Simon’s Rock. I’ve known people who have attended and they’ve enjoyed their experience. Some pretty cool people have graduated from there, like the woman who wrote Fun Home, the graphic novel that launched the Tony-award winning Broadway play, and the Coen Brothers filmmakers.
https://simons-rock.edu/