Hi, I’m a sophomore and was wondering if I could somehow graduate from high school junior year or something. I wouldn’t do it if it hurt my chances of getting accepted to college, but would it be possible?
On the 9th of September you were a Senior, today you are a Sophomore. Which is it?
It is of course possible to graduate from HS early. You have to check the rules in your state / school, and balance them against the application requirements for the schools that you are interested in applying to. For example, most states have a rule that you have to have taken US history, and many colleges want 4 years each of the core academic subjects, and some have specific requirements (such as foreign language).
Whether you are a sophomore or a senior, your focus seems to be on getting out of schooling as fast as possible, which makes me wonder just how suited you are to theoretical physics: it is not really a path for people in a rush.
By the end of sophomore-level classes physics majors are usually really engaged in their coursework and in research ( physics PhD applicants typically have at least 1- and usually 2-3 summers of (paid) research work by the time that they apply to grad school). A physics PhD is 4-6 years, with 1-2 years of coursework woven through.
If you are in a rush b/c you want to get past the HS thing & get into the heart of physics work: hang on a little longer- college is both different and much, much better. But short-cuts pretty much never work out in the long run.
You have asked about graduating from high school in 3 years and graduating from Harvard in 1.5 years. Unless you are truly gifted wunderkind that will not happen. it will not happen at Harvard regardless.
If you are in a hurry, then talk to your counselor about Dual Enrollment. Take college classes for free while in HS. Transfer to your State U and graduate in 2 years.
There are also early colleges available.
Bard Simon’s Rock is a college for 16 year olds. It happens to also produce a lot of Ph.D. candidates FWIW.
There’s an early college at Clarkson too –
https://www.clarkson.edu/clarkson-school
It’s possible to attend an early college and then transfer to another college.
Bard also runs several early colleges in high school programs throughout the country. – http://www.bard.edu/earlycollege/programs/
I think that Guildord also runs an early college program – https://www.gcsnc.com/early_college_at_guilford
Here is the wikipedia entry on early colleges – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_entrance_to_college
Can you graduate early from HS? Probably. At most high schools it isn’t that hard to do (I think if I took one additional English course junior year I could have graduated early).
Should you? Probably not – IMO you would need a compelling reason to consider it. In general graduating a year early will hurt your chances at top colleges. A few reasons include:
–It is unlikely that you would have exhausted all of the most rigorous courses in your HS by junior year.
–It is unlikely that you can have the same depth of involvement in ECs if you are not at the HS for your senior year.
–Many colleges are not excited about having younger students on campus as it can in certain cases lead to some social issues.
–You may not meet all the recommended courses at each college (some look for 4 years of core subjects).
–You will not have as much time as other applicants to prepare for and take standardized tests.
You also asked about graduating Harvard in 1.5-2 years which isn’t going to happen.
Please take a deep breath. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. There is no reason to rush your education – it should be a time of learning and personal growth. I recommend you slow down a bit and figure out how to take full advantage of the opportunities during HS and that you will find in college.
I wouldn’t recommend graduating early unless you have an important reason to, such as bullying or whatever. Graduating early lessens your chances at college.
Also, graduating early robs you of what you can experience in high school- no fun senior year. It’s harder to build activities and meaningful connections in 3 years opposed to 4 (and for applications, you’d only really have 2 years to build everything up). If you’re frustrated or bored in your high school environment, maybe try and find things to do while in high schools- dual enrollment, half-day internships, etc. I’m applying to boarding schools because of discomfort in my school environment, so if you really don’t like it, you could pursue something like that.
Why not graduate early if he/she can and wants to. There are colleges that accept the student early, why not?
To my mind college is more about fit.
OP – There is clearly a path if you want to take it to leave HS early and go to college early. If you decide that’s best for you, I say go for it. People on this forum while they mean well, don’t know your personal circumstances. If you don’t love your early college, then transfer to a “better” college, whatever that may mean for you.
No harm done – except perhaps in terms of costs. Just be sure that whatever you’re feeling about what’s best for you academically ALSO seems good in terms of not accruing a lot of debt for college. Some debt isn’t terrible but beware of too much.
@Dustyfeathers The OP is aiming to fast track it through Harvard or MIT in 1.5 to 2 years. That won’t happen.
It’s not clear that is the OP’s aim from the above question. This is an assumption based on OP’s other posts, possibly, but perhaps in this post OP is simply weighing other options.
Well, a little more than an assumption…
(MIT Chris just lol’d)
@Dustyfeathers I agree it was not clear from the post here, but my reply (and I’m guessing the replies of others) did take into account information from other posts indicating that the OP is looking at top tier colleges and is asking about speeding through both HS and college.
Hopefully that is cleared up. Now, back to the OP’s question…
OP asked if it would affect their college chances- from everything I’ve heard on this website and on other sites, yes, it definitely will.
Well you CAN graduate early from high school, but I don’t know that you SHOULD.
OP seems to be going for top colleges, and those require you make the most of your time in high school, they require you to show exceptional skill and growth, not just academics, but in personal growth, character growth, and social growth and maturity. There are many talented kids who can pass Calculus B/C as a sophomore - and that is a heck of an accomplishment. But even that is different than demonstrating to a college that you have the right stuff to make a positive change in the world, or that you have the potential to change lives for the better.
So you may have all the right grades, all the right AP classes and all the right test scores, but can you demonstrate you’re “not just in it for yourself”? Can you show you’d be a great roommate? That you can discourse in a way that will enhance class discussions? That you will contribute positively to campus life and the larger community? Will you somehow give back later, to help others get the same opportunity that was given to you?
And what’s the rush to get out into the working world? Does anyone really want to hire a desperately intense showoff that graduated from Harvard in 1.5 years only so he thinks he can run the place before learning the ropes and putting in his time? No. No HR wants responsibility for that loose cannon.
If you’ve already finished your high school graduation requirements AND courses required by college admissions, I genuinely say, “Congratulations to you!” Now take some dual enrollment classes, or work as a teachers aid/assistant (if your high school offers that program) or arrange to leave campus early on a work-study job. Take some more electives, explore a subject you haven’t before. Any of those things can be the subject of a fantastic essay. Colleges DO and WILL notice these things, and will appreciate those efforts far more than they will a rush to the imaginary finish line.
I usually don’t recommend graduating early. There isn’t any real benefit to it. What ends up happening is you get stuck as a minor hanging around college adults. Mentally, you might be ready for it, as with a lot of high school kids. Emotionally and socially, you’re likely not. There’s a very big maturity difference between a 16 yr old and an 18 yr old.