Is Applying in Junior Year to College a Bad Idea?

Applying to College
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Why?

Have you spoken with your HS counselor about graduating after 11th grade?

Your courses and ECs look good, but we still don’t know your grades nor test scores. Is it enough to get in to these four schools you listed? Maybe, but probably not even if you have straight A’s and a 1500 SAT score.

If there are reasons you need to graduate early I trust that you, your parents and your counselor can make that call. But you must have a college list that includes at least one affordable safety and a handful of target schools. Have you identified those?

Generally I would encourage you to stay in school another year outside of certain reasons such as safety, mental health, etc. As wayoutwestmom said, wanting to graduate med school early is not a valid reason.

Asking again, is early college a potential option? All DE courses in 12th grade?

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22

Your rushing ahead in math was not a positive. Your rushing to apply early will be much more of the same.

Please understand that the normal progression is the best for all but a very few unusual/outstanding individuals. While a strong student, I do not believe you fall in that category.

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One of my kids was going to do this but we are so glad they didn’t. That last year brought a lot of experiences and maturity that would have been missed.

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24

Obviously a joke.

I suggested OP schedule an appointment with a counselor at the four schools mentioned. They will get a lot better and accurate advice from the schools themselves than they will here.

While most think it’s not a good idea, another poster noted her kid graduated from USC at 19 so it’s not impossible - but speaking to someone at the schools of interest will yield them better info.

They might also make an appointment with a med school admissions counselor - to find out issues from that end.

I think talking to admissions professionals will get OP a lot more accurate info than they can from here. I agree with a lot of what was said - but then I read someone graduating from a like school to what OP is seeking at 19 - so misguided or not, it’s obviously possible (maybe not for this student but for some students).

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Others have covered the reasons this is likely to be a bad idea, not least of which is that it will significantly reduce your odds of getting into the kind of college you want.

Don’t conflate wanting to be done at your high school with wanting to go to college early. How about looking into doing your senior year abroad? Then you could be done with your current high school experience early, but have a once-in-a-lifetime growth experience before college. Given your level of proficiency in Spanish, you could spend a year in a Spanish-speaking country and become truly fluent, which would be a huge plus for an aspiring physician. Meanwhile, colleges would see a full four years worth of high school coursework (plenty of AP-level classes are offered in high schools overseas), and your having taken on the challenge of the year abroad would be noted as something that would add maturity and a global perspective, making you more of an asset to their incoming class.

It would take planning to submit your college apps from outside the US, but it can absolutely be done as long as you’re organized and proactive. (And if you’re not, then rushing to college at 16-17 is an even worse idea.)

In terms of Spanish-speaking destinations, AFS has full-year programs in Spain, and also in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru. (And many more options if Spanish-speaking isn’t what you’d want.) Rotary programs are also worth a look.

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For those schools I would stick it out.

However some schools such as StJohns and Shimer encourage those who have outgrown their HS to attend. Of course there is Simons Rock designed for those who want to go to college after year 10. It evidently is a good school, but that many, after two years use it as a stepping stone to more selective colleges gives me pause.

Schools like Shimer and StJohns are different. They are great books schools that teach you to think rather than prepare you for a carear. You likely will need to do a masters or some other postgraduate education for that (in your case a medical school preparation program). However you likely still will graduate medical school earlier than normal. Plus, by reputation, those schools really do make you think, they truly develop you as a person.

I am a math guy, and was really bored at HS, but stuck it out. I actually didnt go to university after HS, I worked in an entry level government job until I felt mature enough. I was glad I did. But in hinsight those great book programs where you sit around what I assume is similar to a Harkness Table (look it up if you do not kmow what one is) has a lot of appeal. Especially since some dont even have grades (you must request them and have a good reason).

Bottom line is I would think carefully. If truly bored there are options that will prepare you well for you medical career (or whatever you want to do if you change your mind).

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Can you spend senior year doing full time dual enrollment? This would give you the flexibility to either finish university early (by going to a school that accepts your credits) or not (by spending a full four years at university, or a gap year after university), without you having to make the decision right now.

Are you currently a sophomore? If so, could you apply in your junior year and choose to continue with your senior year if you’re unhappy with your results, or would having finished all the grad requirements by the end of junior year force you to graduate?

Here’s one student who got admitted to med school at 18/19: Reddit - Please wait for verification

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Socially, you could be toast. Especially with dorm mates. Even though the freshman are only two years older than you, they’ve had time to mature. The difference between age 16 and 18 is huge!

Its been mentioned several times, on this website, by people who experienced college early, that the roommates and dorm mates did not want to “hang around a little kid”. I think one said that their job was not to be a “babysitter”. They’re not intentionally doing it to be mean but 18 year-olds want to feel independent.

When you’re 16, you’re not considered an adult; you can’t be legally responsible for signing anything as a minor.
Mommy and Daddy will have to sign for everything.

According to your previous post, you’re in a class of 50 seniors. You’re targeting some schools with big classes. Guess what? At a university/college it’s sink or swim.

My daughter attended a math class at her UC that had 500 students. The trick for the students was to network.

For our daughter, it was easy because she had a lot of experience with people; she worked several jobs in high school, and had a lab job on campus. (I forget how many applicants they had for that lab job, but I guess it was less than 100 applicants.)

Later her PI told her that the reason she was selected was because she had “people experience” and “lab experience” so they knew that her training in the lab would be familiar especially with the centrifuge and autoclave.

The point is that she worked summers in high school at an amusement park and cleaned hotel rooms and was a volunteer in a vet hospital and food bank. She was trained and learned to operate lab equipment and to refill syringes and medications at the vet job. She learned how to drive a forklift at the Food Bank.

She eventually went onto medical school, with a lot of volunteer clinical experiences. She was fluent in Spanish, which was a big plus for her UC hospital. (It helped that I am a native speaker.). Her interview for an internship in Spain was held completely in Spanish. She had to read and write well in patient charts in Spanish.
The point is she completed-in person-high school for four years. She wouldn’t have had the experiences and opportunities that she later received if she had cut high school at 16.

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