<p>This approach saves taxpayers money, too. I see some issues with applicants for the most selective schools, as this approach could create scheduling difficulties with APs as well as limiting extracurricular participation. Then again, perhaps allowances might be made for those who compressed their HS years in this manner.</p>
<p>There is no hard and fast rule. Some kids are OK accelerating and some kids may need even more than 4 years. </p>
<p>My S took the standard 4 years but was absent 1/2 SR year due to health-related issues (he took so many APs in HS that he exceeded the max 60 credits you could enter college with & ended up with “just” the max); worked out OK for him & he COULD have graduated early from college but we encouraged him to stay there & do research & have some fun–he took sailing & built a receiver, as well as exploring geology for fun with his EE degree. </p>
<p>D was forced to leave HS after 3 years (health-related absences as well), aced the GED & started CC in what would have been her SR year. She ended up with 3 semesters at CC & then 3.5 years at her U. She found CC’s flexible scheduling worked better for her & her health issues than HS, but she still spent most of her socialization time with her HS buddies, many of whom she joined when she transferred to her U & will graduate with in less than a month!</p>
<p>Some kids do not have the maturity for college (socially and/or academically) even when they enroll after 4 years of HS while others are ready to enter sooner. There is a lot of variability among kids.</p>
<p>It depends. I, personally, thought high school was a waste of my time and graduating as soon as possible and applying to college would have been more beneficial for me. Perhaps not applying immediately but after a year of getting involved in a few things I enjoy, such as teaching, comedy and sports, and also learning some more. Perhaps taking a college course or two online on the side. Arguably, students could do that while in high school but I just didn’t like the environment, felt that it was keeping me behind emotionally, socially and academically and I should have left much earlier.</p>
<p>Again, that’s just me. As the poster above said, “there is no hard and fast rule” and I think every person’s situation should be assessed individually.</p>
<p>We know of a freshman at Harvard who was 16. He had everything academically but got into a stressful situation with a class, and ended up taking a leave of absence . I am not an advocate of skipping grades -why is everyone in such a rush ? I feel it will usually show up emotionally ,or socially . Some students who are advanced can usually take a college course for credit if they are so far ahead.</p>
<p>It’s not just about rushing but some students are so far ahead of their peers that’s school is almost a waste of time for them and they really belong in college level classes.</p>
<p>Interesting article, but I’m not sure how many schools would allow this. Both high schools I went to had required classes that were only available to take your senior year.</p>
<p>You can graduate early at my school and looking back on it I had the maturity to enter college a year earlier and if I could go back I would have done it. The only problem is you have to plan for it early so its usually used by athletes so they can attend spring training in college.</p>
<p>Not true. You can either earn for an extra year or retire a year earlier, not both. And if you retire earlier, you are choosing a poorer retirement because you now need your retirement savings to last one year longer.</p>
<p>Personally, high school was a complete waste of time. If I could do it again, I would have dropped out, gotten my GED, spent 3-4 years traveling and starting a business, then applied to colleges.</p>
<p>Indiana tries to encourage this by offering students a financial incentive to graduate in 3 years. Indiana students who graduate in 3 years or fewer receive an automatic $4,000 scholarship for any Indiana institution of higher learning. Personally, I think this is a terrible idea and I wrote to my legislators to explain why. First, it undermines high schools’ efforts to add dual enrollment and AP courses. Second, Indiana already has a problem with students being unprepared for college. Our four year graduation rate at public institutions is terrible! Indiana students would be much better off taking entry level college courses as their local high school where the cost is free or very low to students and their parents and where the classes are small and well supervised. Third, as mentioned above, it is not a bargain for Indiana families. You can save a lot more than $4,000 by taking dual credit or AP courses in high school and applying those credits to a college diploma. Indiana also requires public universities to offer at least elective credit for any AP exam of 3 or better. Finally, the kind of students who might most benefit from extended course options already have a great option in the Indiana Academy of Science, Math and Humanities, a public boarding school for gifted juniors and seniors on the Ball State University campus. There, talented students have unlimited course options because they may take any university course. And seriously, how many truly talented students would want to stay in Indiana and cash in the $4,000 scholarship at a public university. Hmmm…</p>
<p>He says an extra year of pay and a year early retirement? Don’t they just cancel out then? He’ll still work just as long and make the same amount. </p>
<p>He’s also giving up the best year of high school.</p>
<p>See the thing about AP credits and dual enrollment is some colleges flat out don’t accept dual enrollment and most colleges you either need a 4 or a 5 to receive credit. On top of that some graduate and professional schools don’t like to see AP credits so the whole AP thing is a big scam. Most people don’t have enough AP credit to skip a year or semester so pretty much all that it amounts to is one less class a semester maybe. I would much rather have one more year that one more semester.</p>
<p>I mean everyone is different. 3 years ago my brother was a junior in high school, and i was a freshman in high school. Some kid in my brothers grade who was as an absolute genius graduated and went to princeton. So if your all about excelling and moving on idk why you shouldnt graduate in 3 years.</p>
<p>It all comes back to the individual, really. Anything that relates to the idea of disrupting the educational norms always depends on the individual when it comes to is plausibility. Some people have the demeanor that can carry them through high school in three years with no problems, but there are others who’d rather not miss out on everything. Sure, it’s plausible. Just not for everyone.</p>
<p>As a high school senior, I really wish I would’ve planned to graduate a year earlier. I know I could’ve easily fit junior/senior classes into one year: US History, Precalc, Gov/Econ, English Lang, English lit, gym/lab, physics, and then still have two free periods. The problem I can imagine is for college admissions, they would be judging me based on only two years of grades. </p>
<p>We actually had a very good student graduate a year early a few years ago. He had a very high GPA, and when he was figured into his new graduating class, he became the new valedictorian. However, the old valedictorian had a scholarship that was dependent on her rank, and there ended up being a lawsuit over whether the student graduating a year earlier was indeed the valedictorian. Interesting stuff.</p>
<p>I think high school dragged me back. I’m a senior, I was a good student, but not the very best. I will probably graduate top ~7%. Truth is, my high school is a large urban high school with an appalling retention rate. My class started with 942 students, but now it’s down to 683. I feel like the school’s real purpose for half of its students is crowd control, and the rest are simply apathetic, or somehow ambitious with no idea what they’re doing, such as a friend of mine who wants to be a doctor, but last time I checked, he was complaining to me about how he was in danger of failing his anatomy class. </p>
<p>There are many AP classes, which was pretty nice. Truly motivated students, however, are few and far between. I am fortunate enough to have a few friends that inspire me, but I don’t think I was a good fit for the school as a whole or that I lived up to what I should have been (and very easily could have been) in the last four years. Before high school I was home schooled and my father had the ambition of letting me skip high school and take a couple years of CC before transferring into a 4 year college, but somehow they decided that it would be better for me to go through the typical high. It probably would have also been a hassle to get me ready in 7th and 8th grade, taking all the required standardized exams and GED and otherwise have to prove to the state and myself that I’m ready. Regardless, for a period of time, I really wanted to do that and looking back, I could have done well on the AP European history and AP US exams as an 8th grader, and then gone on to focus on mostly just taking science and math classes to truly be prepared. </p>
<p>The typical high school student is ignorant and apathetic and I don’t want to have anything to do with most of my high school peers (I’m usually not a prick in person, but unfortunately, I can be like that in my head). So I agree, those who want to excel and have proven themselves should be given the opportunity to graduate early. I’m not saying I was necessarily truly mature enough to skip high school, but high school has mostly just taught me what NOT to be rather than what to strive for.</p>
<p>It makes more sense to me to accelerate College rather than High School because of the cost. College will run about 20K/yr for an average public school and 40K/yr for the average private. High School on the other hand is free.</p>
<p>In High School I took a ****ton of AP tests, some of which I didnt even take a formal classes for. It doesnt matter even if you go to a rural school that does not offer APs. Theres nothing stopping you from learning on your own. </p>
<p>When I entered College I had 46 credit. I was able to graduate in 2 years, saving about $80K. Thats pretty huge for a 20 year old.</p>
<p>I don’t know about high school in 3 years, but I was given the opportunity, based on testing scores, to skip 3rd grade and go right to 4th, but my mother said no because she didn’t think I was emotionally mature enough to make the jump. Although I don’t think that’s a problem in this case because someone with the drive to go through high school in 3 years is probably has the skills needed for college.</p>
<p>At my school, 4 years of English, Math, and Science, as well as 3 years of Social Studies, are required, along with 2-3 electives a year. Combine those requirements with a lack of online courses and it’s pretty unlikely it’ll happen here.</p>