<p>In concept, I agree with all the “family comes first” statement but in reality, changing schools for senior year can really impact the college application process.</p>
<p>My husband is a high school teacher and has seen real problems with these kinds of moves. He has a student who moved to a different state over the summer. Her new high school calculates GPA on a totally different basis than her old school which means her class rank in the new school looks quite different. The new school also weights some courses and not others based on whether the student has taken the whole sequence over four years - which, obviously, a new transfer can’t qualify for.</p>
<p>The parents have been in to see both the guidance counselor and principal and came away with the feeling that their daughter is seen as “a threat.” She is a very strong student and it was implied that the school didn’t want to help her get a spot at a top college that might otherwise go to one of their established students.</p>
<p>Her old school is doing everything it can to help. The guidance office is sending an annotated transcript. Lots of additional recs from the principal and teachers. But this requires the admissions staff to take the time to sift through a large volume of material and be interested enough in this student to do the extra reading.</p>
<p>It might be worthwhile to have the head of guidance at your daughter’s current school speak to the guidance department in the new school and find out how they handle senior year transfers. Your daughter sounds like a great kid (good for her for being so upbeat and resilient about the move.) She’s obviously going to do her part to make the move successful. It would be a pity to have her disadvantaged along the way.</p>