Hey I’m 13 in 7th grade and in hoping to be able to graduate highschool by 16. I don’t know how farfetched this is but I’m asking for advice. I want to be certified in anaesthesiology by the time im 30. I currently am taking all Pre-AP courses in my middle school but I screwed up this year so I couldnt jump ahead in algebra 1 in 8th and now am stuck in pre algebra for 8th. I want to know how I could go ahead with my middle and highschool years and how I could get ahead to graduate by 16. Your advice is really apreciated as I am really lost. Thanks in advanced.
What is the rush??
You’re 13. Why not just be 13?
First you would need to talk to the high school and find out what middle school credits you can even receive that count as high school credits. I’ve never heard of a school giving that many. In my city nothing taken before high school counts as a credit no matter what level your at. So even starting high school with geometry just means you need 4 years of math and end at a higher level not that you would finish high school faster.
Second you probably can’t get ahead. Not sure about your school but here you would need 4 years of English starting in 9th grade, 4 years of math starting in 9th grade, 3 years of lab science also starting in 9th grade etc. Also the graduation requirements are a minimum, many colleges especially top schools may want 4 years of all core subjects taken in high school and some electives. Colleges are also looking at things beyond academics such as involvement in activities, some continuity, leadership etc.
Third - why? You haven’t even started high school which you may love
Fourth - you need to talk to your own high school to see what they say about graduating early
- Ok I'm dumb im in going in eight grade in August not seventh thats my bad wording. So I'd split yrs between two it between two.
- I didn't know top colleges.wanted four years and I know about Extra Curriculars , community service and the like. I'm pretty sure that our PreAP classes in middle school count for some hughschoil credits not sure how many though.
- Why? Highschool kinda seems like it would be boring if I can get out faster with good grades and get into a good college (many even ivy leauge) I could hopefully get a head start on my career.
Bjkmom aside from what I said on my post above my time right now mostly consists of playing video games. Even during school days thats what I do and besides getting in shape it seems like getting a head start on my career would be the best thing ai could do with my time.
The only thing that I could recommend is Dual Enrollment… I have a friend who easily finished high school in 3 years, thanks to taking a lot of DE classes. Additionally, since he had over 60 college credits from DE, he started college as a junior. He graduated high school with an Associate’s Degree at 17 years of age.
It is true that DE credits generally are not accepted by top 20 schools. However, there are many amazing colleges (such as UNC Chapel Hill, Northeastern, University of Miami, and numerous others) that accept the vast majority of DE credits.
As a Dual Enrolled student, you can participate in extracurricular activities in high school as well as college. My friend even was a president of one of college clubs. He was also a member of a college Honors group.
Agree that graduating early is a horrible idea. It sounds like the problem is not your school (you haven’t even set foot in your HS) but is your inability to turn off the video games and get involved. Here are a few comments:
–You are so young – you need to understand that life is a marathon, not a sprint. You will have plenty of time to reach your goals.
–The best use of your time would not be graduating early, instead it would be turning off (or limiting) video games and getting involved in your school and your community. There is so much more to life than going to class and playing video games.
–It is good to be a serious student and understand that college and perhaps even med school are in your future. I don’t discourage that. However, it seems to me that you are looking too far ahead and are unable to recognize and take advantages of the opportunities you currently have. Keep an eye in the present. You are not even in HS. Middle and high school should be a time of growth and change in many ways – academically, socially, better understanding your interests etc. While you look to the future be sure to also keep an eye on making the most of your present situation.
–Most colleges do not consider younger graduates to be a positive in an application. In general they will assume that a younger graduate will be less mature/less prepared and many schools are not very eager to have a 16 year old freshman on campus. There is so much more to college life than being able to handle the academic aspect. Take your time in HS to not only learn, but to mature and to learn how to become an involved and engaged member of your school and community.
–If your only activity is video games, you will not be an attractive candidate as most colleges look for students who have strong extracurricular activities – they want students on campus who will be engaged in college life. Once you get to HS you may find many more opportunities to get involved.
–Many many people could technically graduate HS early but instead choose to get involved and make the most of their time there. This makes them much stronger individuals and much stronger candidates for college. Things that can be done include (but are not limited to) taking the most rigorous curriculum available for all four years of HS, developing strong friendships, getting involved in extracurricular activities in the HS and/or in the community (if you have a particular interest you can develop it – for example if you are interested in medicine/science you may consider the Siemens competition for science, volunteering at a local hospital or things along those lines).
How did you come to the idea that I’m stuck to videogames all I said is that I have nothing better to do. I take every chance I get to go out it just happens to be that I’m stuck at home most if the time.
First of all, if you haven’t taken any high school classes during middle school, there’s no way you’ll be able to graduate by the end of sophomore year - plain and simple. Most states require somewhere around 24 credits to graduate high school. That’s 12 classes per year! Even if you take advantage of dual enrollment and have already taken a high school class or two during middle school, that’d still be around 9-10 classes per year, which is utterly nonviable even if you do nothing but eat, sleep, and do homework. You might be able to graduate junior year if your HS allows it and if you squeeze in classes, but tbh if you haven’t even started eighth grade yet you probably aren’t well informed enough to decide that - give it a year or two.
Second of all, high school is only as boring as you make it. I’m assuming based on your career aspirations that you’re aiming for a good college, maybe even Ivy tier? Then you’re going to have to be super involved in extracurriculars. Nobody’s roasting you for playing a lot of video games; we’re just saying that you won’t have anything better to do unless you give yourself something better to do. Join some clubs that sound interesting to you (if you’re into medicine I’d recommend Biology Olympiad, Science Olympiad, and/or HOSA), and if there aren’t any that interest you, then start your own! Do volunteer work (for example, if you really are into anesthesiology, then your local hospital probably has some openings for high school interns/shadows if you look into it)! Play a sport, if you have the means! Learn how to code and make your own video games! Start a business, or (when you turn 14 or 15, depending on your state’s labor laws) get a part-time job!
Why do you want to graduate early? If it’s because you think it will look good to colleges, the other posters in this thread are right in that colleges don’t even factor in your age. If it’s because you think HS is going to be boring, then you should wait to decide that after you’ve had a year of HS to see for yourself - but I suggest that once you get to HS, try out a bunch of clubs and then narrow it down to the ones that interest you most by the end of freshman year (maybe even join a club or two in 8th grade to get yourself started). If it’s because your parents want you to, maybe take a step back and ask yourself if that’s what you really want.
Just wanted to add… Generally, one semester of a DE class equals to a year of high school. Thus, if you take 3-4 DE classes each semester, I’d think you have a good chance of graduating at least a year early. Also, keep in mind, that most colleges offer 3 semesters per year. So, in this case, you could take around 30 college credits per year.
Also, if graduating early is extremely important to you, you could try switching to homeschool. I’m not sure how it works in other states, but in Florida there is an awesome online school - Florida Virtual School (FLVS). Maybe your state has something similar? There, you could take classes at your own pace, potentially finishing them in half of the time given.
Several of my friends did homeschool/FLVS along with Dual Enrollment. This way, they were able to graduate early without missing out on the social aspect of school - they still joined clubs, made friends, gotten internships, but at their community college rather than regular high school.
One thing I just thought of for dual enrollment is finding out from your school what the requirements are to be allowed to take classes that they will count as high school credit. Some places have a grade requirement. Where I live (all cities that use the same college) you need to be junior in order to take even one dual enrollment class. They are only free and hey will only count as high school credits if you do it officially through the school.
Why do you think high school is boring? Yes there are required classes but there are also electives. You’ll have a chance to meet new people (assuming that several schools combine into 1 high school) and have new extra curricular to choose from. Teachers may teach in different styles than what you have had previously. The school may have some fun traditions. Basically you need to go to high school before you can say how boring it will be.
Yes it is true that top schools are looking for 4 years of all core subjects with an exception being completed ap language vs four years if applicable. You can apply with less but will be competing with the vast majority who do have that. They will also have 4 years of high school extra curricular and leadership.
Colleges are fully aware that high school students can get enough credits to go less than 4 years. However it doesn’t mean they are impressed by it. Instead they will most likely wonder why. They will not be impressed with you saying it is boring.
Another option is to do research and find out what colleges your interested in will accept and utilize dual enrollment and ap classes so that rather than graduating high school early you start college as a freshman with advanced credit standing. My oldest daughter opted for two years of dual enrollment. This still allowed her to participate in all high school activities she chose it and was helped by guidance with things like applying to college. She graduated with her high school class and received scholarships from the high school for college plus merit from the college. She didn’t get an associates but has enough credits that her college says she is officially a junior. It provides her options such as internships or coops, study abroad, dual majors, graduating early etc. She never tried to graduate high school early. She did some extra curricular at the high school and some at the college. She joined a college national honor society and wore the stole at her high school graduation etc.
Your ambition is great, young padawan! You’re getting WAY ahead of yourself. At your age, 13 to 15 is pretty much an eternity, and a lot of things can change in that time. Be happy and do teenager stuff, just don’t blow anything up!
You’re gonna miss some crazy highschool parties.