<p>if u go to college at 15 ur missing out on all the good non educational things</p>
<p>As the parent of two d's, one entering her sophomore year at 19 and the other entering her freshman year at 17, I am still uneasy about them being 3000 miles away from us. Not to be redundant but what's the rush with growing up. I do not feel that most young teens have any business living on college campuses, and do not understand parents who wish to miss out on the last few years they will live as a family unit. There are many ways of advancing an inquisitive mind without sending them off to an institution where they certainly will not fit in. I am proud of my daughters' intelligence and quest for a valuable education but I am certainly glad we had them with us during those very formative years. I agree wholeheartedly with Texas 137. Posted by Oldhat, sorry used daughter's sign on.</p>
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<p>What are some examples of some of those things? What are the things you enjoy as a 15-year-old that you would miss out on if you went to college now?</p>
<p>Hi, Oldhat, would it make a difference if the college were in the same town? </p>
<p>I ask, because a lot of people equate "going to college" with "leaving home." But in fact I did my undergraduate degree within ten miles of my family home (on the same campus where I was born, literally), and I didn't have any intense separation from my family until after I was a college graduate--even though I usually didn't live at home while pursuing my college degree, but rather lived in rented places within walking or busing distance to my university. Would that make a difference? I have been told by a researcher on the issue that MOST extremely young college students actually live in the same town, or still in the same home, as their parents while they attend college, although of course there are some exceptions to this statement.</p>
<p>As a homeschooler, I began attending a CC when I was 13, and it's worked out well so far!</p>
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a lot of people equate "going to college" with "leaving home."
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<p>well that's the key, isn't it? Your original question did not adress whether you were considering having your child live at home and take dual-enrollment courses at a local college (has worked perfectly fine for many homeschoolers, as Avalon can attest), vs. shipping them off to some college to live in a dorm with people a lot older and pursue a degree program.</p>
<p>Yep, I asked an open-ended question to get lots of answers. We are NO position to move (my dad, here in town, is a quadriplegic and may need me to take care of him if his second wife becomes incapacitated), so if my child does go to an out-of-town school at any age, it will be as a boarder rather than as a commuter. </p>
<p>I'm still thinking about this, so other replies are welcome. I have a few local friends whose kids are also thinking about this, with different possible schools in mind.</p>
<p>I was 15 when I started my first semester in college. I think it's fine, but I matured early, so it might not be right for everyone.</p>
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<p>You had matriculated there and eventually got your undergraduate degree there? Were you living away from home, or at home?</p>
<p>I would recommend you check out Simon's Rock College of Bard. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.simons-rock.edu%5B/url%5D">www.simons-rock.edu</a></p>
<p>This is a four year LAC that has been around for nearly 30 years, designed specifically for "younger scholars". It is a terrific place, located in Great Barrington, MA. Most students enter at the age of 16, though some are younger (as young as 14 or 15) and some are 17. No high school degree is required to enter. The teachers are terrific and extremely dedicated. Two thirds of the students leave after two years with an AA degree and transfer (with junior status) to some of the best universities in the country. Recent graduates have gone to Brown, Stanford, Swarthmore, Yale, Wesleyan, University of Chicago, Cornell, etc.</p>
<p>How would Simon's Rock compare to Exeter or Andover?</p>
<p>I can speak to Andover. It would seem like a much better choice than a college. There are endless college level classes. If he's completed the basics he can take highly advanced academics or arts like architecture, another language, there's so much. Then he could have a normal social life. There are tons of way advanced kids who took calc and such in 9th grade, he would not stand out at all.</p>
<p>Token: Simon's Rock is a highly respected and fully accredited LAC, which happens to focus on "younger scholars". It is similar in may ways to Swarthmore and other top LAC's in many ways, but it has a smaller student base -- about 150 freshmen are accepted each year. At the end of four years at Simon's Rock a student would graduate with a BA, and most who take this route go on to graduate school after that. Many who saty also spend a year abroad during their junior year as in other top colleges. The difference is that when students graduate, with their BA's, they are usually 19 or 20 years old. However many students stay at SR for only two years, obtain an AA degree, and transfer to other colleges as noted in my previous post. (I should also note that students are guaranteed acceptance at Bard College if they want to transfer there as long as they keep their grades up.) At all of the schools I noted above and countless others, all of their credits are almost always accepted in the transfer process.</p>
<p>Exeter and Andover are top prep schools, but they are high schools, not colleges. Students may do very high level work there and take many AP classes, but they are not in college and at the most will have the maximum 10 or 15 credits accepted towards their degrees when they enter college as freshmen. </p>
<p>By the way, SR also has a full "merit" scholarship program where about 20 students each year receive full tuition regardless of financial need. That can be a huge incentive for some of the best students in the country to attend.</p>
<p>One more thing: "Early college" can be a difficult concept for a lot of people to grasp. Since it is not a "traditional" approach to education, come people frown on it. The top prep schools will try to convince you that they are the best path, and they certainly are for some students. But if your child is ready for college, why send him to high school no matter how many college level classes the high school offers? Particularly if he can attend college with students his own age, thus negating the argument that he will not fit in socially?</p>
<p>One caveat though -- SR is definitely a college and not a high school. The academic level is higher, and the students aqre also given more freedom than in any high school (although less than in most other colleges, as the administration does recognize that they are dealing with younger students). My belief is that students can get into trouble wherever they are, in high school or college, if they want to pursue that path. But a certain maturity and trust is required to send your child away to school anywhere, and probably more so at SR than at Andover.</p>
<p>SR has some "Discover Days" scheduled throughout the year. I would urge you to attend one if you are at all curious and interested.</p>
<p>I started college at 16 (residential, seven hours away). It went OK, but in retrospect I'd have liked to try it again with some additional maturity for the first couple years. I can't imagine a good reason to start college at 14.</p>
<p>I think that the pros and cons of sending a child off, whether to college or to a residential high school, can only be addressed in the context of the resources available in the local community. Token, your son is not confined by the limitations of a high school, and there is a local college where he can take courses, right? When we faced this decision, the fact that a huge university is a 5 minute bus ride away from our house was definitely part of the equation. There was no question that are son could be challenged and stimulated while living at home, and go off to the elite college of his dreams at age 18. Our thinking might have been different if we lived in the boonies. What exactly are you looking for that is not available as part of your current arrangement?</p>
<p>Hi, Texas, </p>
<p>Well, one issue is that the transportation to the local flagship university is much less convenient for us. That's a twenty-five-minute car ride, one way, on a good day without rush hour traffic, and there are only two bus trips in (involving transfers downtown) in the morning, and two trips out (same) in the afternoon. But if our kindly state legislature authorized THREE years of dual enrollment rather than two, I think we would consider it a "no-brainer" to stay here until normal matriculation age for each child, at which point each child can apply to the superselective schools for matriculation, with State U. as the obvious "safety" school. </p>
<p>The library issues weigh heavily on my mind. Even now, as alumni of State U, my wife and I have limited circulation privileges at State U's HUGE library, and that makes for a lot of savings on buying books over the years. I read a very naysaying</a> book about Exeter as of 1990, by Alan Levy, over last weekend, which has provided many tough questions to ask about any boarding school. But I'm still stirring the pot. I think now that my son has been back in town for a couple weeks, and has resumed his regular study routine, we have some more context for discussing these trade-offs with him, which I hope to do this weekend while my mom watches the younger kids, the better to discuss without interruption. </p>
<p>I think what I am STILL looking for is stronger support for foreign-language learning (even the naysaying book said that is excellent at Exeter), writing and literature discussion, and other ancillary subjects that we haven't rolled our own solutions for here. Often the other parents in my support group surprise me with their resourcefulness, so we may have local means to pump up those subjects by next year.</p>
<p>The replies make me feel sick.
Don’t waste that student’s time.
Let him achieve!
refer to Terence Tao’s life
[Advice</a> on gifted education What’s new](<a href=“http://terrytao.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/career-advice/advice-on-gifted-education/]Advice”>Advice on gifted education | What's new)
click on the links he provides to his own education
as a parent, you should push your child to success like terence taos parents
I hate peoples attitude who take the childs wasting 5 years of life as ‘oh, he’s just enjoying his childhood!’</p>
<p>let him become mature
don’t spoil him
he can do it
so what if the others are older?
let him handle it
if he can’t handle it too bad
tell him in the face politely</p>
<p>*tell him politely
sorry
I can’t edit my other post sorry</p>
<p>raindrop…this thread is more than seven years old!</p>