Does Reed accept HS juniors?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>I am bored out of my mind at my rural high school, and am looking for other options to challenge me academically. I pretty much have enough credits to graduate after my junior year, if only I took a few classes at the local community college. Reed is my dream college, and in the event that I did graduate early, I would be applying there. But this is sort of a last minute decision (even though it's not really a decision yet), and a lot of things need to be considered:</p>

<p>To meet HS graduation/Reed admission requirements, I would have to take the following college classes over the summer and/or spring semester: English (1A most likely), Political Science or Government, Economics 1A, as well as a vocational education class that my high school requires (I might be able to get it waved in this case).</p>

<p>In addition to the extra classes, I would have to take the SAT and ACT like, this fall. I don't feel very prepared for either of them (I scored a 1910 on my PSAT and was hoping to break 2100 for the real deal). I didn't take the PLAN, and have no previous testing experience with the ACT, but want to break 30, AT LEAST. And if I wanted to take any subject tests, then I would have to do those, too. </p>

<p>AND, I would need to get started on my application essays! And do that whole deal-io.... All by..... let's say, November. </p>

<p>And if I did this, I would enter college as a 17 year old girl, and turn 18 in February, instead of entering as an 18 year old adult if I were to enroll normally. I'm not sure if this even matters at all.....</p>

<p>So there's that. And then there's the Reed part. Does anybody know how often they accept early action juniors? And let's say I apply after junior year, and don't get accepted. Would that hurt my chances when I re-apply? I want to emphasize that Reed is my DREAM SCHOOL. </p>

<p>And if I don't get accepted to Reed, what the heck would I do in the off year? Apply to other colleges? How many colleges accept students after their junior year? I don't want to go the community college route, because I DO NOT want to do the transfer thing. I want the traditional four-year college experience, just a year early. </p>

<p>I'm a straight A student, top of my class, and take community college classes as well as a few scattered ECs. </p>

<p>Basically what I'm asking is, what are the chances of Reed accepting me in this scenario?</p>

<p>And am I completely insane for considering this?</p>

2

<p>As uncommon as early admission is, I don’t think any of us can give you an objective appraisal. As long as you can meet Reed’s stated requirements for early admission, go ahead and apply. :)</p>

3

<p>Basically all I could find is that I must have “exhausted the educational opportunities available to me at my high school,” which I have. I also can’t apply ED, which doesn’t really matter to me. </p>

<p>Does anybody know someone who’s been through this?</p>

4

<p>^You mean you have taken every AP course your school has to offer besides AP Gov/Econ and AP Lang/Lit? You will have to take the college equivalents of those three courses on top of your Spring semester high school classes. Do what you’re comfortable with.</p>

<p>However, I can not speak for Reed’s admissions office. If you want to graduate early and apply to Reed, go for it. You may very well be rejected; so what? If this happens, take the year to work and take college courses (none of which will transfer, but it would still look better than graduating early and doing nothing for a year), or do something a bit more substantial: I have a peer who took a year off to volunteer at an orphanage in Guadalajara after graduating. I know that MIT pretty much never accepts applicants who graduated early from high school as a general rule, but MIT and Reed are not comparable by any means so take that with a grain of salt.</p>