I am a high school Junior and am trying to apply to college this year because I have taken all of my school's available STEM classes and don't have any left for my Senior year. I intend on applying to fairly selective colleges as a long shot, and if I don't get in then I will stay at high school another year and then try again (albeit, with a wider range of targets and safeties).
Will applying as a Junior be a significant detriment to my application? I planning on applying to Harvey Mudd, Cal Tech, Northwestern (legacy) , Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, and possibly Carnegie Mellon. My stats are listed below
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1540/1600
ACT (breakdown): Composite: 35; Reading: 36; Math:35; Eng: 33; Science:34; Essay: 27
SAT II: Math 2: 800 Physics: 800 World History: 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA:4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1
AP (place score in parenthesis): 9 Tests, all 5’s. Five of them were self-studied
Freshman Year: Calculus BC, Computer Science, Statistics, Human Geography
Sophomore Year: Physcis C: Mech, Physics C: E and M, Psychology, World History, Macroeconomics
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP National Scholar by Sophomore Year; First Place in CSTEM Robotics State Competition; So basically, nothing much
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Volunteer/Community service:Started A Non-Profit Organization focused on setting up after school programs at Elementary Schools with high school volunteers to help teach students how to code.
Summer Activities: Heavily involved with my school sailing team year round. We were ranked first place on the West Coast last year
Note: I have taken a few college courses at a UC including: Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, and a Physics course.
Are you able to graduate at the end of this year? Colleges will want you with a high school diploma.
My counselor told me that I should I just take my GED and leave school early. So I will not be leaving with a diploma due to a lack of 4 years of English and an insufficient number of credits (they wouldn’t grant me any form of credit or requirement fulfillment through my self studied AP’s, otherwise I would have been set).
I don’t think that’s a good idea at all, especially considering your GPA and rank. These highly selective colleges will not want to accept an applicant who doesn’t have a high school diploma. Just stick it out for another year and apply as a senior. It’s okay if you don’t have any STEM classes left to take, just take as many rigourous classes as you can next year. Your coursework will be evaluated in the context of what your school offers, so if you’ve really taken every STEM class and can’t take any more next year, that’s fine.
I agree with the above. And even if you do get in, the age gap will be awkward.
Just check with each university. It is absolutely untrue that some of these colleges will not want or accept you without a HS diploma.
I remember two university view books which explicitly stated that students who have exhausted all of the coursework that their high school has to offer (not just STEM, but all that is considered rigorous) may apply for admission during junior year, bypassing their senior year of high school. They made clear that it is rare that such students who truly qualify present themselves, but they have a process for determining eligibility and do not summarily require the HS diploma before admission.
I believe Carnegie Mellon was one of them. Wellesley has a specific track for this. I think those were the two which stood out for me. Call the schools.
I agree that applying as a Senior would probably yield better results. However, I am very passionate about engaging in STEM learning which is usually best facilitated through classroom evironments. One of the key factors motivating me to apply early is that my outside UC classes will most likely not work with my senior year schedule because higher level classes are typically inflexible with timings. While I agree that the age difference might be a concern, I’m not particularlly worried since I’ve already had plenty of experiences with older students through shared classes and interests, and there haven’t been too many issues since everyone is fairly mature and respectable. That’s just my two pence. I guess I’m primarily concerned with how applying as a junior will be viewed by admissions
I think it is a detriment. Can you take a couple more courses at a UC? If you want to get into selective colleges, that would be a better idea – your ECs seem very light for the colleges you want to attend. Focus this summer and next fall in beefing those up.
I think it’ll be a lot better if you get a diploma. Your rigorous classes will mean a lot more if you do, and you barely have any extracurriculars while other applicants will have a very wide variety that they are heavily involved in.
Did you take any English in hs? Do you know what the colleges expect in terms of hs prep? And have you looked at the GED requirements in CA? Beyond that, what do you know about what those colleges look for? You may need more time to position yourself.
I was in the same position you were in last year.
I had taken every single Science AP (and non-AP) class at my school. (I’ll graduate this year with over 17 APs total). It’s impressive to gotten Nat’l AP scholar by sophmore year, I got it as a Junior.
There are some more similarities: I was also rank 1 and participated in widely STEM ecs.
though I’ll admit if that’s the only extracirculars you have (is the nonprofit 501c3?), then I had better ecs than you.
And probably the most important: I also looked for ways to challenge myself. I went the path of applying to boarding schools. After getting waitlisted almost everywhere, I gave up and stuck with my current public school.
This was the best decision I ever made. I spent the lat year revolutionizing my application and discovering my passions. I’m applying this year and we’ll see how I do.
Here’s my advice: stay with it one more year. You want a chance at a top school, get your hs diploma. Focus this following year less on your grades and pointless AP’s and more on how you can flesh out you application through enjoying yourself and discovering your passions outside of school. Trust me, I learned that basically anything is possible. Make those extracirculars speak about who you are, because right now I see an intelligent applicant, but I see no direction. Fix that.
Best of Luck!
(I’m a high school senior so take my advice with a grain of salt :))
^I’m not a HS senior, and have shepherded 2 kids through this process – one is at Mudd, one of the OP’s target schools. And I think @usastudent101 has very good advice.
@usastudent101 the organization is a 501c3. In the last few months, I’ve probably averaged about 10 hours a week working on this project, and also participate in my school’s First Robotics Team (we’re ok, placed low at worlds). But I definitely agree that my EC’s look a little weak in comparison to others. Right now I’ve been studying Physics intensively to make team for USAPHO which I think is fairly high possibility (maybe this would show direction?), however I wouldn’t be able to show that to colleges if I apply this year.
I just don’t want to be bored or waste potentially useful time sticking around and taking uninteresting classes at HS if I have an opportunity to attend a prestigious school, and pursue my passions.
@lookingforward I’ve taken the regular advanced courses in English for my grade level. So 9th Grade Comp Lit, 10th Grade Comp Lit, and currently in AP Lang
So far I’ve emailed some of the regional admissions representatives and they’ve replied to me stating that they are not extremely strict about meeting the 4 year requirements or Diploma if I make it clear about my intentions regarding early graduation.
Schools like students who show they are interested enough and an aged enough to pursue their passions even when the structure isn’t there. A senior year where you are will allow you to do thst, although not by choice.
@usastudent101 is a great example of that. ALso, explore outside STEM a bit. THE ability to connect ideas as disciplines is often cited as the key to groundbreaking discoveries. YOU could work on rounding out your interests to show you are capable of that.
If a school has a specific Early Admission program, I’d say definitely apply! Go into their FAQs and see what comes up.
Harvey Mudd:
"Can students apply for Early Admission to Harvey Mudd College?
Yes. Early Admission (as opposed to Early Decision or Early Action or Early Notification) allows students to leave high school before senior year to attend college. It’s designed for students who have exhausted their high school curriculum and are prepared to move on to college.
If you’re considering Early Admission, consult with your school counselor. Your application will probably be stronger if your school supports your decision. A diploma is not required for consideration for Early Admission, but we strongly encourage any enrolling student to provide a high school diploma or equivalent.
In considering your application, we will hold you to the same standard of academic preparation, extracurricular accomplishment and social maturity as your fellow candidates who will have had more time to prepare. That said, we’ve had success in enrolling younger students, including one of our Rhodes Scholars."
Caltech: Couldn’t find anything, you should call the admissions office
Just search the colleges and see what you can find. Colleges that acknowledge early admission will probably be more likely to admit you. I’m a senior this year and I have a friend who went the Early Admission route and is now at Mary Baldwin. I’m not sure what she did though because she said she’ll be graduating with us in the spring.
Thanks @skicanada for showing those. I guess now that I know these colleges allow it, do you guys think I have decent chance at the Universities on my list?
I’d think the amount of students they let in as juniors has to be less than 5 in the entire incoming class. Colleges would prefer you stay another year. You can amp up your ECs and most importantly take dual credit courses. Your high school may have ran out of courses for you to take but I can guarantee you a local CC/Uni would save you money and show colleges you’re capable in handling rigorous course work.
Besides why throw away your spot as Valedictorian:P Many colleges like to brag about how many Valedictorians/Salutatorians they have.
Any school that doesn’t directly say that they accept Juniors would be even harder to get into.
The only schools I can confirm offer Juniors spots are Harvey Mudd and Carnegie Mellon.
“Through the process of Early Admission, the university admits certain highly qualified applicants at the end of their junior year in high school. In general, Early Admission candidates are highly mature and responsible students who have usually exhausted the courses offered at their high schools without receiving a high school diploma. We expect students who apply Early Admission to follow the same procedures as regular freshman applicants. We also strongly encourage applicants to have a personal interview with a member of the Office of Admission staff. It’s important to note that the College of Fine Arts very rarely accepts Early Admission applicants.”
-Carnegie Mellon
Honestly. I also think you’d benefit from another hs year, time to understand, learn what this is about and what those colleges want to see, in full, then hone your app to meet that. You seem to be taking the position that you’ve got your course list, stats, some robotics, started some NP (which we now next to nothing about,) and sail in summer. You don’t seem to realize they need more from you, in personal terms.
The principle is “show, not just tell.” what you “show” in your full app (not only the transcript of courses and the line(s) for scores and what seems to be 3 ECs.) Saying “engaging in STEM learning which is usually best facilitated through classroom environments” misses how kids show their interest and awareness of opportunities, pursue them (including outside high school,) get more hands-on experience, grow from that. And what that represents to these uber selectives, how vital that “rest of the story” is.
You will compete against kids who did more, the full pool.
If you were applying to second tier schools, happy to attend one of those, my thoughts wold be different.
But I do respect that this will be your decision. Just know what you’re truly up against, the “whole” that matters.
Thank you for that feedback @LookingFoward , I definitely agree with a lot of those points. I definitely know that resumes, scores, and on paper accomplishments aren’t everything and I really hope that my application refrains from projecting me as a shallow, but qualified applicant like so many others. Hopefully my essays can help with that, and develop a cohesive story…
At this point, it’s a fine balance between valuing the benefits of leaving early and getting a head start, or staying another year without as much structure but with an opportunity to get into better schools. It’s been quite the dilemma
I think that out of the schools I mentioned, Harvey Mudd is most likely has the best chance for me, especially considering their open policies toward Junior applicants. If I got in there I would happily attend.
You’re probably right, all of these are reaches for everyone, but I’d rather try and shoot for the starts. And if I don’t get in, then I can always stay another year and try to expand my horizons as @usastudent101 mentioned
Georgia Tech also has an early admission plan for high school juniors. They waive the 4th year English requirement for these candidates.
http://admission.gatech.edu/dualenrollment/early-admission