my friend wants to drop out of high school.....

Parent Cafe
1

<p>i am only in 10th grade, but i have a friend who is just seems as if she is going nuts. she wants to drop out of high school. i don’t know why. i saw her grades from the last two marking periods and they’re like this:</p>

<p>All regular courses
1st marking period:
3 A+
3 A
2 A-</p>

<p>2nd marking period:
7 A+
1 A</p>

<p>i just saw her grades for her 3rd marking period like yesterday and they were like:
6 A+
1 A
1 A-
she said she went icky on the quizzes in the A class, so she predicts that the grade for that one is now a B.</p>

<p>she has been talking about dropping out since 1st marking period. she has a lot of caring friends at the school. i have every class with her, so she must not have any issues with bullying. however she has a HUGE inferiority complex!!! she kind of finds her life below others. i don’t know how to persuade her to stay.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty much over. Probably a good idea.</p>

3

<p>She needs help with that inferiority complex if she wants to drop out with an A average…I mean, seriously? >.></p>

4

<p>Actually add everything up and she has an A+ average.</p>

<p>all regular, but still…</p>

5

<p>Is there a reason as to why you think the reason she wants to drop out is an inferiority complex? </p>

<p>I knew a guy with great grades (I don’t know exactly what but they were good) who dropped out near the beginning of his sophomore year, and then went to community college. Now he’s 18 and has an Associates Degree and could go to a 4 year University now with something like 60 credits if he wanted to. Dropping out is the right choice for some people.</p>

6

<p>^^ might as well do dual-enrollment and self-study APs </p>

<p>Why drop out?</p>

7

<p>What will she do instead?</p>

8

<p>I don’t really think that she really has a plan after she drops out. She just has something irrational, when it comes to this dropping out thing. I guess she might still have nightmares from the constant bullying in junior high from the same people in some of her high school classes.</p>

<p>And here’s her 3rd marking period grades:
6 A+
2 A</p>

9

<p>I loathed and detested every minute of high school. I had friends, no one was bullying me. I just hated it. I ended up taking a lot of classes and getting out as early as I could – in about 3 years. </p>

<p>My kids were homeschooled, but they went to the high school here for selected classes and extracurriculars they were committed to, so it served a purpose, however they never did like it and didn’t spend any time there that they didn’t have to.</p>

<p>Some people --reasonable, sane people-- just don’t like it. In fact a lot of people don’t like it, they just accept it because they think they have to. There are others who enjoy it largely, and that’s great too… but it’s not for everyone.</p>

<p>I agree with the poster above who suggested looking into self-study APs and dual enrollment. Both my kids took classes at the college at the same time they were taking them at the high school. They both liked the college classes much better.</p>

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<p>Alright. Tons of problems. The current college prep school we go to does not let us take other classes from other schools and use them as credit. My school doesn’t let us self-study APs. So graduating early or whatever is not an option.</p>

<p>And if my friend transfers, she will probably not be able to afford these classes. I guess she’s kind of stuck in her misery. Sometimes she goes nuts just because everyone in her class wants to go Ivy league or a top 30, but she doesn’t.</p>

<p>This school is highly regarded in the area. They are known for having a perfect 100% of all graduates go to four year colleges, for like a dozen years in a row. If you have that at your school, you probably have some GCs who just won’t let you drop out no matter what.</p>

11

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<p>Your school has no right to impose that regulation. Your friend can self-study APs and sign up for the exams if she so damn wishes and no one can stop her from doing that except Collegeboard itself!</p>

<p>(If the gc really doesn’t let you – contact Collegeboard and complain. Your school will be in trouble with them in short order.)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>My school didn’t let me either.</p>

<p>But you know what? I entered college with 43 credits. I now am a second-year with 100+ credits so I have technical fourth-year standing.</p>

<p>She can tell the school to suck it</p>

<p>(depending on your state and local laws, your friend can also get funding for said AP exams and the dual-enrollment)</p>

12

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</p>

<p>No big dreams, huh? She might fit in at an LAC. Can’t let all that potential go to waste.</p>

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<p>She doesn’t think have potential, especially after junior high, when people started to call her a loser with no life.</p>

14

<p>there are so many things outside of high school to do </p>

<p>you don’t have to drop out to do them</p>

<p>contact a prof maybe? do some research?</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>Is she a perfectionist?</p>

<p>Does she have a happy home life? Could she benefit from counseling for the previous bullying, the inferiority complex, the nightmares?</p>

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<p>Yeah, she is a perfectionist. She has a happy home life. She has a counselor that helps her, but she doesn’t like to tell her too much.</p>

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<p>Is she happy with the counselor? Would she be able to discuss the drop out idea with her counselor?</p>

18

<p>She has told her counselor about it, but the counselor just kind of made this “oh we are a college prep school where 100% of graduates who go to four year colleges, so yeah, if you think of dropping out, you don’t belong at this school” thing.</p>

19

<p>So her counselor is her GC?</p>

<p>I am wondering if she would benefit from an outside counselor, a therapist.</p>

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<p>But she can’t afford it. She has no health insurance and her parents’ imcome is so low. Yeah any emotional, counseling problems you have at this school, whether it is personal or school-related, you see your GC.</p>