<p>I had an earlier post asking questions related to my relocation and my DD transferring to the new school as a senior. My DD was pretty open to the idea of moving. Time is getting closer for my family to move. I took her to the new school and talked to the counselor yesterday. After that DD became pretty irritated because she would not be able to take many AP classes she was planning to take due to the differences in pre-requisite between the two schools, and she started saying she would rather stay in the current school if so much troubles transferring. I would really hate to stop the process of moving. In earlier post, there were some suggestions about her applying college directly without graduation from high school. DD has outstanding academic GPA, SAT and ACT scores. I started to think it might not be a bad idea to let her applying for college directly. My questions are
1. What colleges accept kids without high school diploma? I am interested in schools in the higher rankings, like top 50.
2. Are there any colleges that still will allow her to apply this year?</p>
<p>I know the chance of her applying for colleges this year is remote. But Id like to have this option.</p>
<p>Lots of the really top highly selective colleges admit some students each year without high school diplomas, and indicate that they don't require high school diplomas in their Common Data Set filings. </p>
<p>"High school diploma or equivalent is not required" </p>
<p>Older D's school says this (I suspect that it's fairly typical):</p>
<p>The Committee on Admission will consider applications from unusually qualified high school students who wish to enter Reed after the junior year. Students interested in early admission should have outstanding high school records and have exhausted the educational opportunities available to them at their high schools. An early admission candidate follows the standard freshman application process, with two exceptions: early admission candidates may not apply under the early decision options, and the application must be accompanied by a letter from a high school counselor or principal supporting the student's plan to enter college after the junior year. Early admission candidates are required to take either the SAT I or the ACT. In addition, the student should be sure to address in the application why he or she is seeking early admission to Reed. Early admission applicants who intend to apply for financial aid should note that federal regulations require that the student receive either a high school diploma or a GED in order to be eligible to receive federal financial aid funds.</p>
<p>Many of the deadlines may be passed but if you contact them immediately you may have some luck. Mary Baldwin for example only lists a suggested deadline.</p>
<p>USC has a program called the Resident Honors Program that admits students after their junior year. Resident</a> Honors Program
The deadline for this year has passed however.</p>
<p>I'm not sure you'll find much in the way of top tier schools still accepting applications for next fall, but the other part of your question -- applying without a high school transcript, absolutely yes. Most if not all of them will consider applicants without a high school diploma. Maybe your daughter can use next year to do some self-directed study, distance learning classes, and/or take classes at a local community college or public 4-year. She would call that her senior year of high school and apply to college for Fall '09.</p>
<p>My S applied 12/31 of his junior year, with no preplanning to get HS degree, and did very well at the tech schools. He did not do as well at other top schools. There were a few top schools that made suggestions about atttending local colleges or gap years.</p>
<p>As posted above, several very top schools accept kids without HS diploma but all the deadlines for those schools had passed. It would also usually take a truly exceptional credentials to get into one of those without graduating from HS - usually those are the students taking advanced college-level classes who can't graduate from HS because of some silly PE or industrial tech/etc. requirement.</p>
<p>What would it take for your daughter to graduate from her HS this year? (Could she take some classes by correspondence, etc. to fulfill the requirements?) If she could do that, maybe she could take a gap year next year, and then apply to the colleges she originally considered?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What colleges accept kids without high school diploma? I am interested in schools in the higher rankings, like top 50.>></p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>I have a comment and a question.</p>
<p>First the question...Why only schools in the top 50?</p>
<p>Second...my guess is that in those top 50 schools, the deadlines for applications has long past for this coming fall. Ditto the financial aid process at those schools...deadlines long since past.</p>
<p>I know of a local student here who was caught in a job relocation his senior year. His parents had very close friends who offered to have this kiddo live with them so he could complete his senior year of high school. The parents DID have to pay tuition to the school (as the family no longer resided in the community) but this worked out well for the family and student and did not disrupt his education. Any chance your daughter could do something like this?</p>
<p>Another option would be to homeschool her for he last year -- there are numerous opportunities for her to take AP classes online (there may even be local options, depending on the area) and dual enrollment community college classes. I would consider homeschooling to be a very viable option.</p>
<p>You can take true high school level AP classes or on line by correspondence from Indiana University. Could she take a few classes at the new school and some AP classes on her own, I mean, independent study from Indiana University or another place that offers this ? Or, look at the policies for taking college classes while in HS in your new state - at least in Minnesota and Ohio, it is very easy to take college classes (for free) as a high school student. A lot of hs seniors don't like to most of their whole senior year away from their HS at a local college but since she has no real ties to the local HS this might work. Easier on the family than home schooling and lets her meet some HS kids in the new town and lets her have some hard classes senior year.</p>
<p>If she wanted to avoid the new HS maybe she could do everything she needs to graduate through Indiana University's program. But that sounds like no fun. There might be some great friends, teachers, extra curriculars just waiting for her at the new HS.</p>
<p>Or look into any and all private high schools near the new house. It's just one year. You might find a private school with some good flexibility.</p>
<p>I would second the recommendation of private schools. There is probably at least a Catholic high school nearby. You don't have to be Catholic to go to a Catholic high school, and they usually have a good selection of AP courses. The Catholic schools I have known have also been understanding and flexible with situations such as yours. Plus, their tuition is downright cheap for a private school.</p>
<p>The problem with the IU option is that she will have to be a full-time student at the public school. Public schools will allow students to replace regular classes with distance classes if the AP class is not available at the school. However, that does not seem to be the case here, and public schools aren't usually flexible. But, if she wants to homeschool for a year, IU is an option. Homeschooling, though, is not an option to be considered lightly. You have to take into consideration your resources, the laws of your state, and the policies of the colleges in which she is interested. You have to develop a curriculum and portfolio for the year. It's a wonderful experience for those who commit to it, but it's not for the faint of heart.</p>
<p>Homeschooling for a single year of highschool can be a simple matter of online AP classes and dual enrollment at the local CC -- which isn't overwhelming by any means. Every top school that I know of (with the exception of Dickinson) is very accepting of homeschoolers -- and in her particular case, she will have a standard transcript for 3 years of high school and can obtain standard recommendations. She may be required to take an additional SAT II for several schools -- but perhaps not, with the 3 years of standard classes.</p>
<p>for the most part, what top colleges are looking for (rigor of curriculum, grades, recs) has already been done at her current high school. You want to continue to show rigor, high grades, great essays and great recs.</p>
<p>I am not saying that homeschooling is the perfect option -- just that it is a viable one.</p>
<p>Homeschooling offers the real advantage of taking whatever AP classes she wants to. We've done classes with <a href="http://pahomeschoolers.com%5B/url%5D">http://pahomeschoolers.com</a> as well as doing them ourselves with the help of texts recommended by college board and the tremendous resources at apcentral. Be aware, though, that if you do the classes on your own, you'll have to do the AP Course Audit to call it an AP class on the transcript (it's not that hard).</p>
<p>If you consider this at all - you can find a connection to your state homeschool org at <a href="http://hslda.org%5B/url%5D">http://hslda.org</a> as well as find out about the laws in your new state. Also google the town you are moving to or the county and homeschool. Joining a local homeschool support group can provide EC opportunities, friends, and sometimes coops for high school classes.</p>