Bard College @ Simon's Rock vs. The Clarkson School (early college programs)

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been looking into early college programs (I am done with high school; it provides me no stimulation and I feel like I don’t belong. I’ve been itching to take more challenging coursework but my GC won’t let me), and there are two that really interest me: Bard College at Simon’s Rock Early College and Clarkson University’s The Clarkson School. I’m going into 10th grade, so I need to start making decisions now depending on my plan; apparently, you can apply at Bard College in 10th grade or 11th, and TCS in 11th. If I applied to either program in 11th grade I would just get my diploma early as I would be able to get all the credits. 10th I’m not so sure of. This is also important b/c I would need federal aid to attend and no federal aid if you’re in HS.
A short profile (yes, I have all my grad reqs. I chose to omit PE/health for brevity):
***8th:
Spanish I (98)
*FRESHMAN:
Algebra 1 (98; Regents 95)
Earth Science (96; Regents 92 but I’m retaking and hoping for at least 95)
Global 9 (99)
English 9 (98)
Spanish II (99)
Chorus (98)
TA in 4th-grade class (K-12 school) (pass on P/F)
**SOPHOMORE:
Geometry
Living environment
Global 10; self-study APWH
English 10
Spanish III and IV(DE) (1 semester each)
Select vocal
DE intro. to sociology
DE public speaking
Intro. to Computer Science
**JUNIOR:
Algebra II/Trig; DE stats
Chemistry or possibly DE chem
APUSH
English 11
DE Spanish IV/V
Select Vocal
DE intro. to environmental studies
DE career and financial mgmt.
most likely DE computer science
**AWARDS:
High Honor Roll every quarter; class-specific academic awards
1st place state level AMVETS essay contest (Valley Forge Leadership Conference)
Current rank: either 1st or 2nd (GPA is ~98 or roughly 4.0)
course rigor:100%
*ECs:
Soccer (captain 9), Softball
Class president
Speech and debate (full state bids; coach does not “believe” in states though so no possibility of higher competition.)
Introductory class on exercise science; no credit
Horizons (STEM camp) 2 yrs
Clarkson Young Scholars 9
Member of school board grading committee
Tobacco prevention group
****WORK/VOLUNTEERISM:
Local library
Town tourism and beautification dept.
Camp Invention Leadership Intern
Babysitting and housekeeping

So TCS is kind of a better choice b/c I’ve been to camps at CU for 3 yrs now and they know and respect me, also the * for the YSP: I get $4000 off tuition to TCS (is ~ 63,000 sticker price) for going to the camp, and I live way closer. So like I said I would have to graduate early or get my GED so I could get fed. fin. aid to supplement any merit. If I apply to Simon’s Rock I would prob. do it next year, but I’m worried that my lackluster classes will poorly represent me (see above GC note). I Kind of like Simon’s Rock b/c you can go there in 10th grade and get an AA by the time you would be graduating, and I really want to except for I look weak on paper. I mean, I’d probably apply to both my junior year, though. If I went to either I would be a transfer, but only for some U’s. Like, for Columbia I would still be a freshman unless I do Simon’ Rock in 10th.
Any Pros/cons/questions/comments? I really want to know which program would be better for my interests (pre medical focus). Sorry for the long post. Here’s a Potato:
POTATO.

2

I’m bumping this.

3

It looks like you are able to take some dual enrollment classes. Can you increase the number of college classes you take and be a high school student in name only? Or might you consider a home school or online high school program that would allow you to work at your own level?

If you end up in an early college program that gives you an AA degree, when you apply to colleges, you will not be eligible for scholarships that are only available to freshman students. In some programs, like USC’s Residential Honors program, you skip your senior year of HS and begin a regular 4-year degree.

SImon’s Rock and TCS are are not the only two choices for residential early college high school programs. Here are a few more:

(Bard College at Simon’s Rock (MA) and Clarkson School (NY) - these you know about.

Georgia Academy of Mathematics, Engineering, and Science (GAMES) (GA)
Mary Baldwin College Early College (VA; for females only)
Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Computing (MO)
Shimer College, the Great Books College of Chicago (IL)
University of Iowa National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (IA)
University of Southern California Resident Honors Program (RHP) (CA)

These two are for Texas residents only:
Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) (Texas residents only)
Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) (Texas residents only)

Here’s another list (some are repeats from above):

Academy for Young Scholars University of Washington Seattle, Washington
Accelerated Scholars Program Wentworth Military Academy Lexington, Missouri
Advanced Academy of Georgia University of West Georgia Carrollton, Georgia
Accelerated Collegiate Experience Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, Florida
Boston University Academy Boston University Boston, Massachusetts
College Academy @ BC Broward College Davie, Florida
Early College at Northwestern University of Northwestern – St. Paul Roseville, Minnesota
Early College Program at Robert E. Lee High School[40] Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
Early Entrance Program California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California
Early Entrant Program Shimer College Chicago, Illinois
Early Honors Program Alaska Pacific University Anchorage, Alaska
Georgia Academy of Mathematics, Engineering and Science Middle Georgia College Cochran, Georgia
Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science Fort Hays State University Hays, Kansas
Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri
National Academy of Arts, Sciences and Engineering University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa
Program for the Exceptionally Gifted Mary Baldwin College (women only) Staunton, Virginia
Resident Honors Program University of Southern California Los Angeles, California
Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science University of North Texas Denton, Texas
The Clarkson School Clarkson University Potsdam, New York
The Early College at Guilford Guilford College Greensboro, North Carolina
The Early College of Forsyth Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Transition School and Early Entrance Program University of Washington Seattle, Washington
The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY
The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Morehead State University Morehead, Kentucky
Early College Program College of Central Florida Ocala, Florida

Depending on where you live, there are some commuter programs as well:

Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) (NYC)
Boston University Academy
Cal State - Los Angeles EEP
University of Washington EEP (Seattle)

4

Aren’t you thinking STEM?Where are the bio and physics? Earth sci and CS aren’t the sort of lab sci top colleges expect.

5

Bio and physics are sr. year. I omitted that because if I went to one of those programs, that’s all that I would have. Earth Sci was a dumb requirement, no weaseling my way out of that one. My other thread explains the whole situation with the math and science. I may not do CS, but I know that it is a valuable skill to have as the world becomes more computerized. But then again, I could just take it in college. Yes. Please don’t say that to me because I just did, ok? Yes, I’ll ask GC if I can take those earlier. I know my courses are a bit on the strange side. It’s also a matter of credits because if I do graduate early I need 22 to graduate, so, yeah.

The in-state ones I probably couldn’t do because of the resident preference and lack of financial aid. I’m definitely considering doing up through my junior year stronger than through soph year. I don’t live anywhere near the commuter ones. I don’t live in FL or TX so that rules some out automatically. Some regions of the US I dislike personally, so I would not be happier there than in HS here. Also, I specifically want to go to college early to get out from underneath my parents (strained family dynamics is an understatement), but paradoxically, I want to stay close to home because I have a little sister (11 yrs. younger than me), and I want to be able to be there for her.

6

I checked out the programs. I think the only ones I would be eligible for are U of Iowa, Mary Baldwin, and RHP at USC.

7

But the RHP one I’m not so sure of because I don’t particularly want to go to USC, and typically you’re supposed to stay on after RHP.

8

What did you decide?

9

I’m still banner waving the Clarkson School, I think it’s a great program.

10

Also you can apply to TCS in the 10th grade, you have better chances in 11th grade but there are students here that are (were) 15.

11

I’m sure this discussion is probably solved, but for any future questions that might lead people here, here’s my experience as a Simon’s Rock student (who attended after the 11th grade):

-There are two distinct types of Simon’s Rock students-- those who go to Simon’s Rock because they truly feel like they’ve accelerated beyond high school and want a greater intellectual challenge and those whose home/ personal lives and educational paths have been disrupted or untraditional and want an escape from those things. Both can fit in and do really well, but it’s important to know that exists.

-Simon’s Rock is very generous with financial aid. The school offers federal aid, but also automatically considers every student for merit aid, too. I ended up getting around $7,000 in merit aid despite having a junior year GPA of 2.5 (my guess was that it came from my art portfolio and essay writing rather than my resumé).

-Simon’s Rock freshman also transfer out. Most who transfer out after their first year at SR came after their 11th grade year. Some apply to schools as freshmen, others apply as transfers. I ended up applying to transfer out after freshman year as a transfer student and have gotten into Kenyon, Skidmore, and Connecticut College despite a pretty mediocre college GPA because of professor connections and the reputation of the school among other things.

-The school also offers a number of dual degree programs with prestigious universities for STEM students. The first ones that come to my mind are 3-2 BA/ MA (spend 3 years at Simon’s Rock and 2 at another school and receive a bachelors and masters) engineering programs with Columbia and Dartmouth.

-The best thing about Simon’s Rock is the classes. They’re really amazing, and I tend to be a critic of a lot of parts of the school, but the consensus among almost every student is that they’re great. Small class sizes and lots of discussions make for a lot of learning. I studied mostly social studies/ history and art and loved it. My STEM friends have also all said amazing things.

Simon’s Rock has a lot of pros and cons, but most relevant to you I think are the opportunities for growth outside the school, the amazing classes, the great selection of special programs, and the really good financial aid they offer.

Feel free to follow up with any questions!

12

My neighbor went to Clarkson School. Loved the experience. Stayed at Clarkson to finish and graduated early even with co-ops. Gainfully employed in a great career.