<p>Honestly, I would have him attend all 4 years and earn 24 credits (preferably more!). Below is the link to the UF freshman class profile. It gives you acceptance rates for SAT scores, GPA, and the number of credits taken.
As you can see, University of Florida only accepts 23% of students that apply with less than 21 credits.
And as you probably know since you, I’m assuming, live in Florida, UF is competitive and has around a 43% acceptance rate overall. </p>
<p><a href=“Freshman - How To Apply - University of Florida”>http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/ugrad/frprofile.html</a></p>
<p>The link you provided showed that the number of students taking any of the 18 credit options has dropped considerably over the years, even though the data is now 5 years old. That’s probably a sign that the 18 credit option is not the best for the vast majority of students. There are a few cases where I could see it being worthwhile, but for most kids, taking the standard length course is probably the best option, not to mention the additional year of maturity they’ll gain and that most of them need, particularly boys.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. The deciding factor could be that he also plays football and baseball. I think the option of taking the 18 credit college prep is ideal otherwise. He will go into HS with 7 credits as a freshman. For those interested in a fast track to college, you could easily graduate after your sophmore year under this program.</p>
<p>Yes you can graduate at a young age but then… what…? ESPECIALLY for an athlete this is a bad position, since there’s no way a 15 year old can compete physically with a 17 to 18 year old.
In Florida, students who are that advanced can attend community college for free through dual enrollment - even the cost of books is paid for. So there’s no reason to “accelerate” through high school to finish at age 15-16… Instead, the student should stay in HS and take some community college classes, continue working on EC’s, and prepare for college (especially if the student wants to be academically competitive for top schools, where advanced classes and state-level/ national-level classes are essential).</p>
<p>Yes you can graduate at a young age but then… what…? ESPECIALLY for an athlete this is a bad position, since there’s no way a 15 year old can compete physically with a 17 to 18 year old.
In Florida, students who are that advanced can attend community college for free through dual enrollment - even the cost of books is paid for. So there’s no reason to “accelerate” through high school to finish at age 15-16… Instead, the student should stay in HS and take some community college classes, continue working on EC’s, and prepare for college (especially if the student wants to be academically competitive for top schools, where advanced classes and state-level/ national-level classes are essential).</p>
<p>I agree with what you say. If he is going to play beyond HS then this wouldn’t be a great option. He will most likely be finished(24 credits) by the end of his junior year anyway. He will have many college choices based on his grades and ACT scores but athletics is something he wants to pursue beyond HS. That said, IF he didn’t want to play beyond HS or was a student who had no interest in sports, then the 18 credit option would be ideal. AS I said previosly he could graduate HS after his sophomore year under this program and have a huge head start towards college…it’s actually called the college prep 18 credit option. My only hesitation was how colleges feel about this program when looking at acceptance.</p>
<p>You don’t know his high school grades or ACT/SAT scores yet. He hasn’t even entered high school yet.
I have given you a link above showing UF acceptance rates of students with less than 21 credits (so the plan you want to do falls under this category) which is 23%. This makes Notre Dame and Rice only slightly more difficult to get into compared to UF. It’s not a good situation to be in especially when you don’t know if your son will be recruited or even want to play after HS.
Similarly, he won’t have the extracurricular experience or character growth at the end of Sophomore year that other students will and it will show in his essays and interviews when he applies. Give him the best advantage possible and sit down with him. Talk to him about what he wants to do.
Plus, is it really good for him to be thrown out into the real world at 16 while all his friends and peers are still in high school? </p>
<p>xFirefirex
I stated in the post above that because he is so involved in sports and wants to play beyond high school that it wouldn’t be the best program for him. However IF he didn’t play sports or want to after HS then it would be a very good option for some parents. The link you show doesn’t decipher between kids that had less then 21 credits(in the 24 program) vs less then 21 who were specifically in the 18 credit college program. You’re right I can’t KNOW his grades for sure but he has all 100’s in his advanced classes now plus 2 A’s in high school honors classes to this point. His ACT cumulative score was a 29 in 7th grade. I can only go on past performance as an indicator of future grades.</p>