Early graduates are just as important as URMs and legacies.

[cartesianpopcorn]

<p>

Advantages of early graduation: very, very small amount of applicants graduate early so I will be set apart from the crowd; demonstrates dedication to studies and intellectual and emotional maturity; no burnout resulting from senior year; the chances to get into places like HYPSM weren’t high to begin with; nobody is going to ask you your age in college; on the Harvard admission guide, they wrote that it doesn’t matter whether or not you took Calculus, but how well you grasp concepts such as graphs and word problems</p>

<p>Advantages of regular graduation: Will be one of the very few or the only person in my high school to get to German 5; will have open summer(s) to have a job, do internships, volunteer, do summer programs; will have more time to develop ECs; will have more time to raise GPA that was lowered by C+ in first semester Geometry; will have a higher chance of becoming a Tennis recruit; will be able to take all classes most rigorous possible; college application will be less rushed; Yale’s expansion will be complete and will mean a marginally higher chance of getting into Yale</p>

<p>Disadvantages of Early Graduation: If you are not brilliant, you will be rejected; it will be harder to make high grades because of many tough courses at once; no summers will be open for summer programs; will not be able to get a job because of age; not as many AP tests as if you go the regular route; Yale’s expansion will not be complete; rushed college application process</p>

<p>Disadvantages of Regular Graduation: You are no different from everyone else; will burn out after senior year; you are once again on a comparison level with your grade-level peers, reminded of how you are no valedictorian, reminded of your slim chances

</p>

<p>Just a few remarks:

• You sound pretty burned out already, and you’re a freshman. I doubt this accelerated graduation schedule will exactly help your stress situation.
• Of course it matters whether you took Calculus. I get the feeling you’re just grasping at straws here to try to convince yourself that your original plan was optimal - it’s not, believe me. More time is almost always better.
• If you got a C+ in Geometry, what makes you think you can handle your soph/junior courseloads? In addition to your “crazy” ECs?
• Your “disadvantages of regular graduation” are not very substantive. Not one legitimate reason IMO. </p>

<p>Bottom line: I absolutely cannot see how you can possibly go wrong graduating along with the rest of your classmates. It’s very possible, however, that you will end up regretting graduating early.</p>