Should I attend early college?

Parents Forum
1

Really wanted a parent’s perspective on this, as my parents have both told me that they feel unqualified to discuss this with me.

I currently attend a nationally ranked private school in Canada with superb teachers and some fantastic students as a new junior this year. Though I love the staff at this school, I am really dissatisfied with the social atmosphere, which is extremely cliquey and classist – cliques are split not by interest, but by race and social class. As an upper-middle-class Asian girl, I often feel like a second-class citizen because I don’t possess the $50 Chanel lipstick everyone else is talking about. Moreover, the student body by and large seems more concerned with the shape of their bodies, the attractiveness of their boyfriends, and whether they wield a superiority to other girls in these regards. Obviously this doesn’t apply to every social group, but in cases where it doesn’t, students are already a part of the “loner” crowd.

As I’ve mentioned, the teachers are phenomenal and have done lots to encourage the cultivation of my talents in many areas. However, I do not ever feel as if I am challenged intellectually in school. It’s not as if the class material is inherently boring – to the contrary, teachers deliver them quite well – but I feel as though teachers put more of an emphasis on development of foundational skills than on the content area itself. This is very progressive for secondary education (and I commend this ideology!), but I feel that I am ready for something more. I have attended college classes offered at some of the most prestigious universities in the US and have received phenomenal recommendations from all of my professors. I have established intellectual interests – economics, literature, and political science – and wish desperately to explore them in school with other students who are equally passionate about them as I am, but these options aren’t available at my high school.

I also feel as though staying in high school will not benefit me, STEM-wise. My school’s STEM education puts a very large emphasis on regurgitating procedures for certain types of problems without building an intuitive understanding of advanced concepts in algebra and calculus. I feel as though I am missing out by not pursuing a college education.

However, I am held back by certain things. I’ve emailed multiple established colleges that do not require high school diplomas and am told that though it is possible for me to apply, the chances of me getting in are low as I will be measured against seniors. My guidance counsellor told me that I am terribly unprepared for fall 2016 admissions (I won’t be taking the SAT until December and haven’t taken any SAT IIs), but that if I finish my senior year, I will be an incredibly strong applicant to some of the best universities in the US. The best bet I have for this year is Simon’s Rock, which I’m sure I will be admitted to given their high admit rate, but I’m scared that it will not provide me with the intellectual vitality and rigour I am yearning for. Furthermore (I don’t know if this is true or not), it has a reputation for being a ‘socially awkward’ school, and as someone who is reasonably sociable/popular I’m scared that I will be unable to fit in socially, which is something I’m hoping to escape from my current school. Additionally, if I attend Simon’s Rock, I will most likely be transferring to another institution after my first/second year, and I’m afraid of not being able to build the right connections there – that’s a primary reason why I want to attend a well-established institution!

Freshman admissions , however, almost seems like a rat’s race of who can get into the most prestigious summer programs, the most internships, or the best GPA. I’ve been in this rat race for 2 years and counting, and I’m so tired of it. I feel as though life won’t truly start for me until college begins, which is a terrible attitude to have, but it really does seem as if everything I’ve been doing up until now is to just prepare me for that common application.

Essentially, either I put the brakes on my personal development to go to some place better for all 4 years of university, or take a chance, drop out of high school, and go to college early. I feel like I am emotionally and intellectually prepared. I just don’t know if I am making the correct choice or if I am approaching the problem from an escapist mentality.

2

I know a student who attended Mary Baldwin and graduated from there. Honestly, both she and her parents are sorry they did it. I have a profoundly gifted kid who stuck out a high school environment that wasn’t as challenging as she would have liked, but we supplemented with some summer and outside activities that were challenging and interesting to her. She was very competitive in the college applicant pool as a senior, and had really great college acceptances to choose from. She is a really happy student at a very challenging school now. I say stick it out and be a very strong senior candidate. As an aside, can you afford US schools, or are you a US citizen?

3

pay attention to what your guidance counselor has said and stick it out.
you will be a MUCH stronger candidate by your Sr yr.

4

@intparent Out of curiosity, why are they sorry they did it?

I’m not a US citizen, but my parents can afford the (full) tuition.

5

Is there a way in Canada to take university or college courses while you are a high school student?

In the US, the following sometimes are done:

  • Student takes a few courses at a college along with mostly high school courses.
  • Student takes mostly college courses and few or no high school courses while still technically a high school student.
  • Student is home schooled for high school, but is really taking mostly college courses.

If the social environment of the high school is the problem, then the latter two, if possible, would be preferable.

Also, are there other high schools you can switch to with comparable or better academics but a less problematic social environment?

Or are there Canadian universities that will admit you now?

6

@ucbalumnus Unfortunately, no. I live in Toronto, and the only way to take college classes here is to sneak in to the occasional University of Toronto lecture – there are no established programs. Not for early admit, either.

Homeschooling is not an option either as I live in a single-parent family and my mom has to work.

This high school is already the best high school I can go to as a female student in Canada. The best Canadian high school is all-boys.

I want to attend a university that has the academic caliber of, say, the University of Chicago. I’ve attended classes at Stanford, Brown, and Carleton, and have found that even among top-ranked universities there is a strong disparity in academic rigour between schools with high grade inflation and schools with no grade inflation.

Bard College at Simon’s Rock has an academic score of 99 according to Princeton Review (higher than Yale’s and same as Harvard’s), and some of their grads do go on to very prestigious grad/bachelor’s programs, but I want to ensure that I will be in that minority if I do go and that I’m not wasting my time if I could have gotten something better at, say, Stanford if I finished my senior year and applied for fall 2017 admission.

7

This student struggled socially – not sure that SHE wasn’t mature enough for early college, but a lot of her classmates weren’t. Then she was out in the adult world at 18 looking for a job with a bachelor’s degree, but without the maturity & poise of her 22 year old competition, and without the extra years of internships and research experience they had. She is in her early 20s now and finding her feet, but I think they all wished she had stuck with high school and gone to a regular 4 year college.

Don’t expect early college to be a panacea for your current issues. And you very likely rob yourself of the chance to attend a higher quality 4 year college.

You mention UChicago as a target school. My kid got in there – but she had a 2380 super scored SAT, SAT subject tests of 800 Math II and 800 Lit, very solid state level academic and athletic competition ECs, a national level academic EC accomplishment, and great recommendations and essays. That is what you are competing with, and they don’t cut you slack for being young.

8

A rather lengthy post. So, new to a private school as a junior and not fitting in socially it seems. Critiquing the school and complaining about “development of foundation skills” instead of just content.

I do not understand how your “personal development” would suffer by going to college instead of finishing all of HS. People continue to mature as young adults, in school or working.

Let’s assume you have top grades and have taken the required courses for most colleges. You should be looking at top colleges, not just ones you can get into without having the HS diploma. Assume you fit the “gifted” category. This means your intellectual/academic skills are top notch. However this does not mean you are ready for college yet.

There is more than one way to approach things. Some will have skipped/compressed grades and so graduate from HS at an early age. Is it likely you will meet HS graduation/college admission course requirements by the end of the school year? If not, you do need to get those completed to be on par with the college students you will be joining.

It seems as though you have taken some college classes while a HS student. You can continue to supplement/replace HS classes with more college level classes. You need to realize not all colleges are the same, however. Taking classes at an average or community college level will not put you with intellectual peers. The professors may praise you and you may have done well. But- this does not mean you are used to being in a rapid paced situation you would find at an elite college.

From what you posted and knowing various gifted kids (including my own) I do not think you are ready for college yet. I think you have too much to learn about humanities and other nonSTEM aspects of life. There is a lot more to life than just the field of your career. Take time to expand your horizons. Spend time with smart but not rich kids. Get out of your stereotyped life. Explore extracurriculars. You want to go to a better school than you would apply to now. For that you need to round out your experiences more.

Based on what you have written- the content and style- I would say you still have much HS can teach you. There is more to life than just knowing content. There are writing skills, critical thinking skills, social skills…

A lengthy post from me, I’ll quit now.

9

@wis75 Hey wis, I believe you’ve made some problematic assumptions regarding what I’ve mentioned in my post. Your attacking my academic credentials based on the very limited info you know about me contributes absolutely nothing to the discussion, and the lack of evidence you use to support your claims only serves to undermine your credibility in the post you’ve written. Is there some underlying reason that you find it necessary to attack my academic credentials so as to say that I am not academically ready for college, despite assurances from Brown professors, AP teachers, guidance counsellors, and admissions counsellors?

I will address the first question, though. It hurts my personal development because I believe I have acquired most, if not all, academic skills needed to succeed in college. I’m not satisfied with my high school’s academic offering. I am on the Debate Team and MUN, but what I really want to explore is theory – in development economics, in comparative government. I’m unsatisfied with the STEM education at my school not because I’m Asian and too smart for it, but because I don’t think I have enough exposure to proof-based mathematics and what my high school offers does not encourage mathematical reasoning. There are some smart but not rich kids at my school and yes, I am friends with them, but my school still lacks the intellectual community that I am looking for in very academic research universities and in top-ranked liberal arts colleges.

Also, those colleges that don’t require HS diplomas? They’re Swarthmore, Williams, Pomona, Harvard, and Yale. Third-tier, eh?

It’s a lengthy post because there were many factors I wanted to address in making this decision and it’s not something that I believe can be delivered both concisely and sophisticatedly. Sorry for not writing out a Fitzgerald novel when creating this post, though.

10

My son decided to apply as a junior. He had only reaches with 2 safeties. I figure that in the months to follow, he would know better if he wanted to leave HS early. So, I say go for it. If you don’t get an acceptance where you want, then make a very good concerted effort the next 6 months.

11

" My guidance counsellor told me that I am terribly unprepared for fall 2016 admissions". This is true. Applications are due in a month and you don’t even have any test scores or essays written.

My advice, if you don’t like the social cliques at your school, ignore them, and join the “loner crowd”. It sounds like your school has a lot to offer and I suggest you take advantage of it. I think colleges would look more favorably on your application if it was evident you had exhausted all the resources available at the high school level but it sounds like you just don’t like your classmates much. Colleges do say they look for students who make the most of what they have available to them.

Is there a reason you can’t go back to your old high school?

I understand that you want to go to a rigorous college where you will find many serious students as peers. But your chances of getting into such a program will be much greater if you complete high school rather than rushing in with a last-minute barely-complete application. It’s hard enough to get into these schools, much less to transfer.

12

I am not sure what your qualifications are for eventual admission to top schools. Grades and scores aren’t the whole story. I wonder if you have been at any school long enough for recommendations that reflect on your character. Character, ability to overcome obstacles, helping others, creative endeavors, things like that help a lot with admissions.

Honestly, your post makes it seem as if your main problem is one of adjustment to your current environment, which is a whole lot better than what many kids have access to. Maybe you could stay at your school and do supplementary work outside: that’s what one of mine did. You can also use your talents in the community as a volunteer, that kind of thing, if you are feeling bored. There are many new experiences available in every town or city.

That said, you can leave high school and have many options. You can apply early. You can get a GED and apply. You can take college classes as a non-matriculated student and prove your ability. You can take classes in person or online. Noone is trapped in high school. One of mine left early to dance, and did fine with admissions two years later after getting a GED.

Be aware that there is a difference between homeschoolers who go to Harvard and those who leave high school early. There are various ways to certify your knowledge, as homeschoolers do. For instance, there are schools that will give you a diploma if you meet certain requirements. You can take CLEP exams. Community or other college courses. Or perhaps, as you say, you have faculty and others who can validate your readiness.

One more thing: we are adults and mostly parents on here, and some of us have quite a bit of experience. I hope you will respond to posts from people trying to help you with more courtesy than you afforded wis75.

13

Have you ever visited Simons Rock? If not, don’t apply there until you do. The school is not your typical college experience…at all. I’ve been there. It is a very quirky place that works well for some of its students. If the on’y reason you are applying there is that you are not prepared enough to apply to other colleges…wait…and get yourself prepared,

You haven’t taken the SAt or ACT yet. There are plenty of courses available to you at your school.

I would suggest that you seek some activities that are of interest to you, whether in our out of school.

Then get your ducks lined up a little better in terms of doing a college search and selection process.

14

If you will receive your high school diploma at the end of your junior year, go ahead to college. My son is going to graduate early as well. He isn’t challenged enough at his school and doesn’t fit in either. He made his decision of graduating early in May and got approval from his school. He got all standardized tests done in June.

He doesn’t even apply for Simons Rock. He will apply as a senior to the reaches and safety like other seniors.

Good luck

15

Your GC and other posters who have responded to you are right. Take a quick look at the “Class of 2017” parents group-some of their kids have taken the SAT AND the ACT several times, along with multiple SAT 2, before even starting their junior year. So yes, you are already behind in the test department for college applications to top schools. I understand from friends that in Canada, that getting into top colleges is all about grades. In the US, other things matter, sometimes quite a lot, including outside activities, internships, leadership, etc. Since you haven’t had the chance to do much of these, it will hurt you in applying to US top schools. So yes, your GC is correct.

But you DO have many options, as other parents above have said. Simon’s Rock is one, of course. It is very expensive-can your parents pay for that school or the other’s on your wish list? My D has a mentor who went the Simon’s route, and she did transfer to another school, to graduate there early too, She’s now in med school. She appears to have made good enough connections. What Simon’s does well is work with younger students who are bright enough to go to college for the academics, but are still young enough that they need to mature a bit.

I agree with the other parents that it sounds like you’re simply not happy in your environment. I suggest looking outside of HS to find your people, or at least some of your people. My D is very active in social justice and education-based activities and has found like-minded peers that way. She also has friends in her other outside activities. She has a few serious student peers at school, but it’s through other ventures that many of her intellectual peers are found. While she considered Simon’s Rock like her mentor, she instead opted to graduate early and take summer courses LAST summer, plus an added course this year to do so. But she had already started things rolling with testing and her activities, and she is not applying to the kinds of schools you want. However, so far, she has several acceptances.She has friends who are doing dual enrollment at local community colleges. There is no one answer.

One last thing. There are parents here with years and years of experience and helping both students and parents find the right college or college plan. These strangers have offered you some helpful advice and you’ve been rather snotty to them, One sign of maturity and being ready for college has nothing to do with academics or being the smartest person in the room-it’s knowing when and how to take advice and thank the giver. Out in the real world, you’ll need to work with and go to classes with people of all abilities. Knowing how to interact with them is as important as knowing the job/material.

16

If you haven’t taken SAT’s or ACT, there is a great list here of colleges that are test-optional, including many top colleges (Bowdoin, Bates, Bennington, Bryn Mawr, Brandeis just in B’s alone): http://fairtest.org/university/optional However, if you need merit scholarships, some require test scores for that. And many schools will take late tests (after application) but since you have one shot, you would have to be pretty confident of results.

17

You have multiple threads with the same question going…

18

Why didn’t you give facts in the first place??? A wordy essay that gives little concrete information indicates more preparation before college is needed.

Short, blunt answer. Finish HS.

19

Going to be blunt. None of these colleges are going to let you in. You don’t even have any test scores yet. I mentioned in your other thread my kid’s stats who got into UChicago & Swat. You have no test scores at all yet, and I don’t see evidence a very high level of EC accomplishment. Bottom line - you can’t compete against the high school seniors who have better credentials. The students those schools would consider who don’t have a HS diploma might be students from a war zone where school records aren’t available, or who earned a GED in the US and also had some amazing accomplishment at a national or international level. You are just a kid who is bored socially and academically in high school.

20

Sorry about my tone in the previous posts. I should not have taken some comments so personally. Additionally, thank you to all parents who have given advice!

I will be visiting the Rock in December to check out what they have to offer.

I mean, if this changes anything, here is a brief CV written at the end of my sophomore year:

Education
GPA: 3.90 cumulative unweighted, 4.35 weighted
Course Load: most competitive; took all advanced classes available to underclassmen

Extra-curricular activities (School-affiliated)
National Art Honours Society: 2013-2014, member
Future Business Leaders of America: 2013-2015, committee leader, Business Relations Development Committee member (selective), community service project member
Model United Nations: 2014-15 (new club; one of the first members) community service committee leader, Outstanding Delegate at first conference
Advanced Treble Choir: 2014-2015, Soprano 1
A Cappella: 2013-15, Soprano 1, advisor to club development

Personal projects, interests, and activities
The Independent Project: 2013-14, unsuccessful attempt at starting an independent study program at school due to poor organization and program development; general interest in public education and the development of online education
Internship at —: 2014, interned to improve apartment waste policies; stopped mid-way due to sudden move back to Canada
Economics, other social sciences, and Sustainable Development: took many Coursera courses and have read many texts and academic papers on the matter (starting spring 2014); have also taken a course on — at Brown University (summer 2014), passed with high honours from the prof. Am currently self-studying micro/macro basics and game theory.
Art: have been taking a pre-professional art class since 2009; I work with primarily dry mediums, though I also have experience working with watercolour and with Chinese calligraphy; several awards
SYNC: 2014-15; SYNC is a student-led committee which promotes the principles of journalism among youths of the — community. I helped with the marketing and promotion of the organization.

What’s changed since then: research program over the summer at Carleton, financial intern in China over the summer, research assistantship (current)