I’ve been considering switching high schools and need some advice.
I’m currently a high school freshman, but the school I am at is 6-12, thus I have been there since the start of middle school. Beginning in seventh grade, I started to realize that my current school was an incorrect fit for me. I expressed this to my mother, but she dismissed it and told me to wait until high school to switch. In eighth grade, I enjoyed school and I had no problem with classes and classmates, etc, but I began to research colleges and hear opinions on the high school years from upperclassmen. Now that I’m in ninth grade, I truly do want out.
I’m at an arts school, and while I enjoy my major there, I do not see myself pursuing it as a career or going to college for my art form. I have a nice group of friends at my school, and I will miss them, but they can seem two-faced and as if they don’t care about me. I still feel like I’m in sixth grade, all that has changed is the classes and the teachers. I’m in the gifted program and scored in the 99th percentile on the first ever ACT practice test I took, and the classes I’m offered bore me. I take all honors courses, and I had a 4.0 last year (I was taking high school French and algebra I). I have a small class size (100-ish people) and we all take the same class. Everyone takes the same geometry, everyone takes the same physics class, etc. I’ve had problems with the administration there, also, from them following me around the school and school dances, to them threatening a larger punishment or calling me out more than other students, as a friend of mine was suspended last year. I have never done anything wrong or been issued detention/work orders, so I don’t see why they target me, other than one of my close friends getting into big trouble.
The new high school is a STEM school, offering a greater focus on math and science, along with almost all AP or dual enrollment classes, as it is on a college campus. The class size is smaller than mine currently (only 300 students in the entire high school), but there are a variety of courses offered. The administration and teachers are laxer and seem to develop actual relationships with students (platonic). My cousin is a senior there and has been there since 10th grade, the grade I will switch to the school in, and has told me a lot about the school as he has gone. The social life is better there, more parties and a diverse student body, and there are dozens of clubs and extracurriculars. My school does not have sports, but the STEM school does, partnering with a different school in close proximity. There is a lax phone policy, and I am fond of the dress code. I feel that if I switch there, I will have a better high school experience. I will have the education I desire to challenge me and to have on my transcript, and I’ll have the social life that high school is known for. My cousin is going to the college on campus next fall, so he will be able to drive me until I obtain my license.
Should I switch schools? I’ll miss a few of my friends and teachers, but I can always remain in contact via email and phone messages. Will switching high schools weaken my chances of getting into a good college? (Ex: them not believing I can handle commitment.) My current school doesn’t have weighted schools whilst the other school does, will having a GPA above a 4.0 help? Will taking dual-enrollment classes with the community college on campus hurt my chances of getting into an elite college? I understand that this is a long post with many questions, but I don’t know what to do and thought this website could help 