<p>This may sound silly, but it is out of curiosity. Can someone apply and gain admission to an ivy league or top-tier school without actually getting their high school diploma? Does it say specifically anywhere that a high school diploma is a prerequisite for college?</p>
<p>There are homeschooled kids who get into the top schools every year, so clearly a diploma is not absolutely required. However, the acceptance odds are much tougher. As for younger students who want to skip their last years of high school, that’s also been done, but one needs to both show both absolute brilliance AND explain in detail why staying in high school through completion is not practical.</p>
<p>gotcha, thats what i thought. still, i find it ironic that these top tier schools dont require high school diplomas as prerequisites for admission. they require test scores, transcripts, and they require you to maintain good grades second semester, but you can not graduate and they won’t care. </p>
<p>so why bother taking school requirements like P.E. ? because your school forces you to.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most college students are admitted to a college during, not after, their senior year of high school. They don’t have their high school diplomas until later. Some may even end up taking final graduation requirements during the summer after their senior year. That means that having a diploma doesn’t figure into the admissions decision. Colleges are looking at what academic classes students have taken, so they don’t care about PE or Health etc etc.</p>
<p>It’s still a good idea to actually have a high school diploma, or the tested equivalent. Once you have a college diploma in hand, the high school one won’t matter much. Still, some jobs may actually require you to have a high school diploma. If you want to participate in graduation ceremonies, or if your parents want you to participate, you’ll have to toe the line. :)</p>
<p>My high school senior D1 was having a problem with scheduling a required nonacademic class this year. It got to the point where I did call her ED school admissions office to ask if they would have any issue with her not having a diploma in hand. They said it wasn’t a problem. Not all schools may have the same policy, of course.</p>
<p>@SlitheyTove: exactly my point, you are given admission before you even achieve the diploma. thanks for the info!</p>