I’m a high school freshman, taking a pretty advanced course load that would allow me to graduate at the end of next year if I felt like it.
My UWGPA is a 4.0, and my WGPA is 4.88/6.0 right now (I have a lot of foreign language credits, which are unweighted) but will be ~5.3/6.0 by the end of this year.
My class rank is #10/927.
If you look in my post history, I list the classes I’m taking this year. Next year would be just a natural progression of these, but I would take like 3 DE history classes also.
I live in FL, and we have a program called Bright Futures. It pays for 100% tuition at any public Florida school that you get in to. It just requires a 3.5 WGPA and a 1330 (or around there, they just changed it and I can’t really remember) SAT score- I’d be basically guaranteed it.
I’m also pretty much guaranteed to get into UF as well, so my question is:
Should I graduate next year and then go to UF for free, or graduate end of junior or senior year and then go to an Ivy or T20?
I’d like to go into law or banking or something with a lot of math, idk yet.
Also it I hate my high school and I would like to ■■■■ of this disgusting place as soon as I can.
If you plan on graduating early, I recommend you stay in Florida and go to UF for free.
Ivies/T20s are SO competitive, and there’s no guarantee you would be admitted. Besides having the GPA/test scores, they are looking for outstanding ECs, and having fewer years in HS would likely be a disadvantage there.
Make sure - sure- you complete all the BF requirements. Courses (including foreign language), community service, application. If you can graduate after 2 years of high school because you took a lot of required classes in middle school, make sure those classes count for BF.
If you are graduating early, you can use your sophomore PSAT to qualify for national merit and thus the Benacquisto full COA.
Going to college at 15-16 years old is difficult. You could also do DE and complete an associates degree (should also be free) and live at home
How about doing a high school exchange year abroad? (Look into AFS, Rotary, and other options…) You sound like you’re fairly advanced in your foreign language. This could solidify your fluency, buy you a year away from your high school without rushing straight to college, and secure a once-in-a-lifetime growth experience where you could make lifelong friends and truly enjoy a year of your youth that you’ll otherwise never get back.
The kids I know who have gone to UF on Bright Futures have not ended up going abroad while there, even though they had hoped to beforehand. Gaining this experience while you’re still in high school could be much better than a college semester abroad, as you’d be with a consistent group of peers your own age in a high school rather than the much-less-structured experience of being a college exchange student. Often, college students mainly bond with their US peers; whereas high school exchange students truly bond with their overseas classmates and host families.
If you do want to apply to elite schools out of state, having more time, maturity, and broadening life experiences under your belt will expand your options considerably. And you’ll still have the free in-state option.
I had a friend go to college a year early (Back in Ye Olden Days) and it was pretty hard. College is much more than academics, and being ready to handle the social challenges is a huge part of succeeding. I really like the idea of getting an extra year of something between HS and university to close the gap between you and your cohort.
If you consider the 18-20 hours per day that you aren’t in class, many will be spent doing normal human overhead (eat, sleep, work.) But the part that’s unique to college life is what makes the experience so powerful for most people: making friends in the dorms, finding jobs, experimenting with sex, drugs, religion, gender, and everything else that makes up your own identity. The gap from 16 to 18 is vast for some people, and the distaste you are showing for high school leads me to believe you might not like everything college has to offer either.
Be cautious about rushing to the next stage, take some time to grow up and mature, step back and see your entire self in the mirror and make sure it’s all moving ahead at the same pace. Your advanced academics have bought you the gift of time to pause and consolidate your life. Consider taking advantage of it.