Thanks @chicalmom - I am obviously hoping it would not come to it. But, do you know (or do you mind finding out) what she did to make sure her admission is not rescinded? Did she reach out to the college or admissions office? Just want to be prepared…thanks for your help.
@CantbelieveNJ Here’s the ironic part. She was so mortified at the thought of being on probation the entire first year, she opted to go to LA instead. She never reached out to admissions specifically but did make them aware, using the on-line update, that she would have a sub-par grade on her final transcript.
Hi, guys and gals. Did any of you encounter a case when an admitted student cannot get a HS diploma, and what happened in this case?
@ElenaParent I think it would depend on the circumstances.
@chicalmom Thanks. Good that she had options!!
@chicalmom Of course it depends on circumstances! I was asking if anyone here encountered something like this or heard of something like this. I really want to know what happened in a case where a n admitted student did not produce a diploma.
We are in danger of ending up a situation like that.
The deal is that the boy was in a community college at age 10-11, talking courses “multivariable calculus”, “differential equations” and “college composition I”. (Yes, actually sitting in classes with the 20 year olds). Then he went to high school, which pretty soon “shipped” him half time to a nearby University to be a non-degree student for 50% of the time, and spend another 50% at HS taking humanities. At the University he did undegraduate research in mathematics, under supervision of his advosor (presented at a math conference, as 14 year old), and took upper division math classes, including senior level math. As a result, he was admitted to Berkeley at age 15, but his HS, at the time of this writing, still does not want to give him a diploma because he is short some humanities courses. We keep working with the school trying to find a solution (like allowing him to pass the missing courses by exam, given that he already has the permission to be “released from compulsory education”). The case has already reached the state senators, state department of education, etc. And he cannot get GED because he is not 16 yet, and by law it is forbidden to administer GED to anyone below 16. However, having a HS diploma or GED is a condition of admission (for every admitted Berkeley student).
Yep
So, @chicalmom, was that “yep” at me? If yes, are you aware of any situation, not necessarily similar to mine, but any kind of a situation where an admitted kid has trouble getting a HS diploma?
Thanks!
Yep was @CantbelieveNJ
@ElenaParent – When will he be 16? What courses did he list on application as his 12th grade classes? Did something change since last November? Can he take a class over the summer?
@Elenaparent Maybe waiting an extra year to send him across the country to a campus like UCB might be a good thing, even if that was not the plan.
@CopperlineX2 He spends every summer at college campuses since he is 11, away from home, living in dormitories. One summer was in Germany, at a math camp there. No parents. He has NOTHING to do at home. Local University has him as a non-degree student, but they will not take him as a degree student because of the wonderful “no underage kids on campus” policy after Pen-State football disaster (sexual harassment case, remember?). Do not ask me for logical explanations, I was not the one to set up the policies. As is, he already is taking classes the material for which he knows. One more year of delays will just shut down much of the desire - because there is an impression that the whole world is resisting against him going forward. The boy did Algebra 2 in second grade (HIS initiative), unofficially. He was “allowed” to take Algebra 1 officially a year later, only after he proved to the teachers that he knows Algebra 2. (One again: he was allowed to take Algebra 1 for credit when he proved he can pass final of Algebra 2 - the course usually taken after Geometry, which, in turn, is taken after Algebra 1!) And things like this are happening to him all his life. He, and we, are very tired of it. Hopefully, Berkeley will put an end to this.
@MomLA2018 He is coming out of 11th grade. He turned 15 at the end of February. In his application, he wrote the courses that he was taking in the 11th grade, which he (and we) consider to be his 12 grade. Also, he gave full explanations. He wrote that he counts that “11th” grade as his “12th” because of the rigor of courses he was taking. He also wrote in the application that the year before he entered his current HS he, himself, counts as his actual 9th grade. The reason being that the year before the HS admitted him, he was in Community College taking “multivariable calculus”, “differential equations” and “college composition I”. At the same time, he SELF-STUDIED for, and took, the following AP tests: AP Statistics, AP Physics 1, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism, and AP Chemistry. He also obviously did home-schooled History and Literature. In anyone’s book this should be enough to count that year as 9th grade. He was 10 years old, turning 11 during the year. And btw, he self-studied for AP Calculus BC and took the test a year before that, the school year when he was 9 in september and turned 10 during the year (also home schooled).
The courses he wrote on his application (as the courses for the last year of high school), together with all explanations, were the ones he was taking at his University as a non-degree student (these were two senior level bachelor courses in math), plus Honors English, APUSH, AP Latin, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and may be something else I am forgetting at the moment. (For good measure, he self-studied and took the AP test for AP Music Theory). In his application he said that he will get GED. Little did we know that the LAW prohibits him from getting GED. We learned that after he fact… And ever since, we are going through all channels possible, including senators and such, to find a way to either allow him to take GED exam or get a HS diploma.
Baking this boy for one more year in an environment where he is restrained by administrations of all sorts to sit and add 2 + 2 when he already wrote a single author mathematical paper (finishing it up, to be ready to submit to a peer-reviewed scientific journal) - no, this is not the solution, and this is not the plan. He has to be among other scientists, doing research. That’s why he chose to go to the biggest Math Department in the World - the one at Berkeley.
So, yeah, I am looking for someone who has experience in a case when an admitted student doesn’t have HS diploma…
@ElenaParent – Have you spoken to Berkeley admissions office? Can he get a GED in some less fussy foreign country? Did he apply to any private schools? Top kids in our high school skip 12th grade and go to U Chicago/Harvard/Columbia. They are very flexible. Also, if he has to take some time, why doesn’t he go work for a professor at NYU Courant Institute? Would be an interesting year for him I bet. Also, can he get course credit online over the summer? Lots of places offer that.
@ElenaParent – Just curious: Did he consider taking the California High School Proficiency Examination? According to its website, he does not need to be 16. Also, it is given in June. Doesn’t the U Cal website say this counts for HS?
@ElenaParent – My friend’s son took the California High School Proficiency Examination to qualify for a U Cal before finishing HS. I think it was quite straight forward.
@ViolaMom12 @MomLA2018 I think @ElenaParent situation is a little different and not as straightforward.
@MomLA2018 and @ViolaMom12
a) Berkeley admission office is telling to wait till Advisors are assigned and talk to him/her. But in general they refer to the scary “change form” which has scary words like “your admission will be re-evaluated”. Also, they say that “hypothetical scenarios should not be entered into the change form”. Since we are still working on this issue, the scenario is still hypothetical, after all.
b) These private schools that you listed do not want to deal with a 15 year old who writes science papers. Too much trouble I guess. They did not admit him. He is still on wait list for Caltech, but probability of getting off any wait list are slim to none.
c) “NYU Courant Institute” is great, but he is either living at home or at a college dorm, at Berkeley. Where is he gonna live in NY? Again, he has Research advisor here at home, and more than one. All these things are great but… He has to get his BS degree, so he can go ahead and get Ph.D. and start his real science carrier. Postponing all that is not an option. He is sick of waiting for the real thing. And to get BS degree you have to get courses at one institution, and fulfill all requirements. As is, he has many courses to transfer from his CC and his U. Just a bit more - and they will not fit in - because Berkeley, as any institution, has unique requirements that has to be fulfilled at Berkeley and not elsewhere.
d) yes, for California High School Proficiency Examination you do not need to be 16. But you have to be a resident of California. We checked that option… It would have counted for HS, I am sure, but I am not sure how to achieve California residency without dropping current employment by at least one parent and moving to CA right now, from the east coast. Sorta too much, isn’t it? We have three more kids to think about. Unless anyone here knows how to get California High School Proficiency Examination without being California Resident… Anyone?
@ElenaParent – How many courses does he need? I know places like CTY have self-paced, online courses for HS credit. Perhaps he could quickly complete the one he needs to fill the gap?
@MomLA2018 For regular diploma he actually doesn’t need any. But his HS gives out only Advanced Diplomas. He needs three. We checked all possibilities. Courses are on-line, in CTY, at the local CC etc. The school doesn’t want to accept anything form CC (he passed College Composition I - and the school doesn’t want to count it as "English course!). He has numerous courses at CTY - the school doesn’t want to take a single credit from there!
He has official Release From Compulsory Education, given by a body higher than his HS. Thus, he actually doesn’t need to sit in class. He can simply take the exams to pass the missing courses. The thing is - the HS is stubborn and doesn’t want to allow that to happen. As of right now, at least.
So, I repeat: @ViolaMom12 - do you know how to get California High School Proficiency Examination without being California Resident?
Will there be more good news coming for waitlist students this Friday?