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Oh. Somehow I was under impression that you were considering state schools, too (probably because somebody mentioned establishing the residence)… </p>
<p>Well, she still could technically apply to top schools this year: her ACT is already high enough, and she could take SAT II-s in December (and ACT alone will be enough for many top unis, including Yale, UPenn, Brown and UChicago). But you stated that she is not ready for graduation at the end of junior year, so I guess we should forgo the discussion of this option altogether. Just keep in mind that the HS diploma is not necessary in most cases, so DD can just take senior classes at her new school with no intention to graduate (but she should explicitly note this somewhere in her application).</p>
<p>I think it’s impossible to choose the best solution before you find out the exact requirements in each school. Both schools are in Midwest (maybe even in the same state) - so it’s possible that the class selection and graduation requirements will be pretty similar. In fact, if the AP classes in the new school are all the same and easy-to-get-into - you might be better off moving in the middle of the junior year. If, on the other hand, the new school has some strict two-year additional requirements and no summer-school option - you may have to look for alternative educational options… </p>
<p>What I would not worry about - that’s the recommendations. Many students get them from the teachers they only met in their senior year; and there’s nothing wrong with asking the teachers from the “old” school to write some of the recommendations.</p>
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That’s the other question you should ask at school A (preferably in writing). I am pretty sure that if DD matriculates to a high school at the new city, you’ll lose the option of getting the diploma from school A. On the other hand, if she takes classes at a CC, or distance classes, I don’t know… maybe school A will be accommodating in some cases.</p>
<p>Oh, btw, did you consider the [EPGY</a> Online High School](<a href=“http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/index.html]EPGY”>http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/index.html)? It’s a school for gifted; EPGY is well-known to the top universities; and DD can start taking EPGY classes right away (not being enrolled to the school) if she wants to check whether she would like to do it. Of course, it’s quite expensive, but I think less expensive than a family living in two cities.</p>