CHSPE - what to write in the application?

<p>I never graduated from high school, instead I left high school by taking the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam) in order to start college early. In the application it says this:</p>

<p>"Then, using the Additional Comments box in the personal statement section (Step 7), explain why you did not graduate from high school."</p>

<p>I don't know what I am supposed to write about it, especially because I don't want to make myself look bad. There wasn't one big reason that made me do what I did. High school wasn't working for me for a multitude of reasons, and as I was already taking college classes, I knew that college would be a better fit (and would prevent the complete nervous breakdown that high school was leading to).</p>

<p>One of the biggest reasons was that all but one of my teachers that year were really bad, and it was preventing me from learning and/or getting a passing grade in each class (my grades for the first semester that year were: A B C D F) Even in the one class with a good teacher I wasn't learning much, because the students were idiots and she was forced to dumb down the class because of them (that year the class only covered about 5 chapters out of the 12 they were supposed to cover). However I don't think it's a good idea to tell them this excuse, because I work at a school now and I know that while most everyone knows it to be a valid excuse in many circumstances, for some reason you just aren't allowed to accept it as one. I work with some really incompetent teachers, that I know are directly to blame for some of their students failing grades, but if the students tried to use that excuse with me I would be forced to reject it, despite knowing that it's the truth. I'm assuming it would be the same with whoever is reading my application.</p>

<p>So does anybody have any ideas on how I should handle this? I don't even know if they are looking for a long detailed explanation or just a few sentences, or if they really even care that much. Thanks for all your help.</p>

<p>I did the same thing as you. No worries.</p>

<p>Just explain exactly what you did here. You believed that you had a better opportunity to academically excel by passing the CHSPE and taking (I assume) community college classes. The fact that you've then been able to successfully handle college-level work will say it all.</p>

<p>UC Adcoms, I'm sure, have seen many CHSPE transfer applicants.</p>

<p>So you think it is OK to be exactly as vague as what you just said in your post, and not give away any specifics about what was troubling me in high school?</p>

<p>You just need to state that you completed the CHSPE mm/dd/yyyy and started College immediately after. Be sure to cover any gaps in education in the personal statement or in the additional comments section.</p>