Ah, I was really unclear in stating that. If I don’t graduate early, I’ll have to stick with my home uni, and they would let me graduate with just one semester in college (hence financial aid would be less important, since I’d only be attending in-state for one semester while living at home). They would grant me the degree after one semester in college (and I’d probably need to attend a year anyway). I am not a fan of college, especially undergrad, and don’t buy into that I need to stay longer as an undergrad. Once I pass several actuarial exams, I should have many internship (with stipend)/job opportunities provided I am willing to move anywhere.
I have many summer plans, and classes may or may not be among them. My parents will absolutely not consider me a junior next year (and hence allow me to take the PSAT) unless I do well enough on the SAT (on Saturday, which I haven’t studied significantly for due to my other classes, but my writing class should help the English section) to indicate that I would pass the NMSF cutoff for my state.
Thanks for the advice 
A college that would let you graduate after only 1 or 2 semesters mustn’t be a very strong college, since most of them want 2 years before they deliver a degree that will bear their seal and name. (Am actually curious as to which college this might be. Due to the srong math curriculum, I assume it’s non-profit and accredited, but I’m really curious because the lowest I’ve heard of is 1 year, at directionals.)
Unfortunately, for professional development and opportunities, yes you do need to stay longer than a year in college as an undergrad, and you wouldn’t get “many internships” if you were too young (some firms even frown on hiring kids who are too young - being 19-20 is perfectly fine for an internship but for a full-time job as an actuary - which is what you’ll be looking at after you graduate - they’ll want an adult. You may well find yourself in limbo, which would be too bad, especially if you have a 4-year scholarship that allows you to learn and prepare for the rest of your career.
Note that whether you accelerate yourself or not, no firm will hire an 18 1/2 or 19 year old actuary.
DO NOT graduate college until you know for sure how you’re going to handle your future - because once you graduate college, you forfeit your right to financial aid. Most colleges wouldn’t admit you for a 2nd BA and all would require you to be full-pay. So, apply as a freshman to the schools that offer the best deals (both for value and academics) and make the best of it. For instance, at UAlabama, with a CR+M1400, you get 8 semesters of full-tuition scholarships. If you come in with a lot of AP/DE credits, you can use the money to earn a Master’s degree.
Why do you want to be considered a Junior next year?
Yeeesh! I’ll have taken ALL of my higher-level classes at the college. It’s not like I’m transferring in from university of nowhere to Carnegie Melon; about 75% of my degree will be from classes at this university if I don’t graduate high school early. (The other 25% would be the local community college.) It’s the state U, and it doesn’t have a particularly strong curriculum in anything.
I do not particularly enjoy college - I’d rather learn the same stuff on my own. Sadly, job prospects from only doing that are skim. If I can graduate in a semester or a year past HS graduation, I am not going to willingly sign on for another several. (Sorry, I realize this is CC, where college is super important. To me it’s a tool, not the goal.) I’d also like a break between undergrad and grad, unless I’m going overseas for grad school (as an Rhodes or Mitchell scholar).
If I end up going to UAH, I’d better get the top scholarship (which is why I probably won’t apply; SAT score too low).
If I’m considered a Sophomore next year I will just end up going to the local university (it saves time, and I will get at least a small scholarship). If I’m considered a Junior next year, it’s possible I could go somewhere else for freshman and sophomore years of college (on full ride). Going to a different university for two years makes sense, but all that hassle for only one semester or one year would be ridiculous. I’m not interested in repeating classes, either (1 or 2 is fine, but, say, 6 is excessive).
Do you honestly think that a student who doesn’t even like college and graduates in a single year without fully taking advantage of the opportunities there is going to get a Rhodes scholarship? Also, if you just want to get a job as an actuary ASAP, why bother with England?
You might like college a little better if you weren’t so very much younger than the other students.
I’m being rather dismissive, and for that I’m sorry.
I enjoy college, but I would not like to waste time in college, especially as an undergrad. I don’t know about the Rhodes scholarship. I think my chance is slim at best, but that has to do with my mediocre interpersonal skills as opposed to my distaste for chewing up time while learning nothing new.
Touche - it also has to do with the fact that I’m not living on campus, which directly correlates. I also act fairly antisocial, so not clicking with people is my fault due to actions and not only age. However, I do have friends in my classes.
I think you are taking too narrow view of things. Your career is going to depend not just on grades, degrees and professional qualifications, but also on your interpersonal skills and your communication skills. I’m not sure why you would consider college a waste of your time. Singlemindedly rushing to the professional certification is probably not in your long term best career/financial interest. A dismissive attitude won’t get you very far in the professional world.
Indeed. I’m constantly trying to improve my interpersonal and communication skills.
I do not consider college a waste of time. I consider spending extra time (and, as far as I have looked into, repeating many classes) as an undergraduate to get a more full young adult college experience to be a waste of time. College is absolutely not the only place to “transform” into an adult. I’m not expecting to rush off after college graduation into a great-paying job immediately.
Anyway, thanks for the advice @mathyone @MYOS1634 - I’ll keep under consideration. (I really need to bring that SAT score up in order to hope for any good scholarships to OOS.)
(Hey @albert69 am I being unreasonable? :D)
I don’t see why you keep saying you would “have” to repeat classes. You’ve taken some very advanced math for a hs student. Everything else you list is nothing other than what many high school students are taking. Less in some aspects. You don’t have classes yet in economics/business which you’ve expressed interest in.
I mean repeating classes in the major.
Well, we’re going around in circles. Still don’t see why you think you would be repeating math classes.
If you think you might like to study economics at the graduate level your program is lacking in economics classes. I think it would be helpful for you to sit down and map out your remaining years of high school and the various options you are considering, looking at graduation requirements of your local college and of your most likely free ride college.
I’ve already drafted a four year plan. It’s 5-6 (at most) year including college graduation and my freshman year of high school. It includes macro and micro. I don’t think that at 15, I must absolutely commit to a graduate program. Heck, I’m not even completely sure on undergraduate. What’s wrong with me taking classes that I think I’m interested in, and applying them to a degree later on?
My primary reason for creating this thread was for advice on determining my most likely free ride college. I should have waited until May, when I’ll have my new SAT score.
You don’t have to commit to anything. But if you leave college with a very minimal and narrowly focused program and little time for EC’s, internships, or developing relationships with professors who can write you recommendations, you may regret that later.
If you want scholarship advice, post in the scholarship forum or perhaps the parents
I plan to utilize my electives efficiently once I have a broader scope. So far I have three or four professors who share mutual respect and would write recommendations (IIRC two of them already have, and I’ve only had 7 different professors so far).
Aye, I’ll post there once I have actual stats Thanks
You would need to be at a university that offers sufficient math classes to offer you upper level classes. Attending college doesn’t mean you’d have to take calc1 as a freshman. At harveymudd or northwestern, where kids with advanced math are far from unusual, you’d be in a peer group taking classes appropriate for your level, while taking other classes.
You don’t transform into an adult - living on campus, interacting with many people different from you, thinking about things you’ve never considered and getting new perspectives, you learn and grow. An essential part of college is also leadership development, internships, and taking advantage of opportunities. All of this take time. Accelerating may well accelerate you into a wall.
Finding merit scholarships will depend on your sat score but also on the adequation between the University 's offerings and your current standing. Living at home as a 16 or 17 year old, commuting to take a few classes, graduating in a year, will NOT prepare you for… Anything, actually. You’ll be looked at as a high school kid, who hasn’t lived on her own and can’t be hired because she’s too young, and who’s ineligible for scholarships or any form of financial aid because she’s graduated.
College should mean you’ll take all kinds of new classes, by the way. Just because your local university doesn’t offer more, doesn’t mean they’re all like that.
@mathyone @MYOS1634 Thanks for the advice, I’ve been considering it!
P.S. Think I have 100 on the first midterm for linear algebra, the class I’m struggling with.
Congratulations. That underscored that the driving criteria for your college search will HAVE TO include the depth of graduate math offerings.
The OP says she isn’t particularly interested in graduate level math. Personally, I think it’s a mistake to close off that option before even matriculating at college. Students change their minds all the time.
I don’t care to lock myself into graduate level math (by which I mean pure math) - I certainly haven’t decided what I wish to study in grad school (yet). Heck, I’ll only have around 30 credits by the end of this semester… AT LEAST 90 for undergrad to go!
Oh, I didn’t mean pure math… I meant classes in the areas of math that YOU find interesting, up to the graduate level. Since you’re quit advanced, if you find that you love, say, cryptology, you want to attend a university where there’s more than one course in cryptology. And since you may love so many different areas of applied math, computational math, statistics, etc, etc, etc, you need to make sure the department offers many classes… which often requires de grad dept.
Ah, sorry… Well, I could graduate college at a non-top tier in the field and go on to actual graduate school in the field I’m looking for advanced classes in (if I don’t find a way to make ends meet at a stellar school).