13th year programs

Parents Forum
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<p>My D told me that she is interested in doing a Post Grad (HS grad) program for one year to help her develop better study skills, get into a better college than she can now, and says that she doesn't feel ready for college, basically maturity-wise. </p>

<p>I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm worried that we can afford something like this (she wants a residential boarding program), and I don't know about options. If anyone know if others who have done this I would love to hear about it. We live in Maine, but anywhere in New England would be okay. </p>

<p>I did talk to her about other options -- i.e., community college, etc. but she isn't so interested right now.</p>

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<p>Try to google U. of Maine at Farmingham. What I read sounded just amazing, and it's a small school 2,000 students-and sounded super supportive. it offers a program not that different from what she wants to find.
<a href="http://www.farmington.edu/campuslife/aboutstudents.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.farmington.edu/campuslife/aboutstudents.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>another 4 year college- my sense of St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vt. is that it is a place to grow into maturity, with a strong support system and small classes. <a href="http://www.smcvt.edu/accolades/default.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.smcvt.edu/accolades/default.asp&lt;/a>
See if she'll glace through Colleges That Change Lives. When you read about the programs at these colleges you can see that lots of programs at lots of colleges will offer her what she needs right now.
my husband had the best educational experience of his life at Pickering College in Newmarket Ontario. He went there only for grade 13. I think a lot of the high-end boarding schools have grade 13. I just checked, it's 36,000 plus some expenses. There are scholarships for these programs but not sure for just that grade 13 experience..a whole lot of $$.</p>

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<p>Honestly, that much money for a year of non-college courses sounds a bit extreme for me. If she is truly against going to college right now, see if she will rethink the idea of boarding. Why not have her be a part time student at a local community college and get some of the intro courses out of the way? </p>

<p>It will certainly make her a stronger applicant, and the price is right. What better preparation for college is there than college itself? I say keep pushing the idea of community college, maybe you can get her to bend a bit.</p>

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<p>Many of my D's friends felt the same way as your daughter regarding readiness for college. They all went to community college, and did very well. One spent 2 years at CC and didn't want to leave, she loved it so much. She transferred to Monmouth University and graduated with honors. One said that at CC, many students are striving to better their study skills and grades. The professors and advisors know this and really work to help.</p>

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<p>Check into the PG programs at Blair, Cushing and some of the other northeast boarding schools. There may be financial aid available, and it would be a great transition for your daughter.</p>

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<p>My S is just finishing a PG year at Trinity-Pawling School, partially for athletics, partially to improve his academics. The former is more common, but we have been pleased with his academic progress. There is a whole raft of these places, particularly in New England. They are generally very expensive, but some are significantly less (Marianapolis Prep and Lee Academy come to mind). I'm not sure what the financial aid situation is for non-athlete PG's, but I suspect it is not so good.</p>

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<p>Many of these schools are profiled on boardingschoolreview.com.</p>