Early Graduation and Higher Education

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>What stance do American colleges/universities have on early graduation?</p>

<p>A short summary of my circumstances:
Grade 1 completed in .
Immigrate to United States and enter grade 2. Within several days, an aptitude test is given to me and I am advanced to grade 3.
Advance through elementary and middle school (grades 3-8) with high marks.
Enter high school. 4.0 in 9th grade, decide to enter an independent studies program for grade 10.
Perfect grades again in grade 10. Worked at an accelerated pace and have just 50 high school credits remaining.</p>

<p>So, as I enter grade 11 (present moment, awaiting the start of school in September), I will graduate somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of the school year, at the age of 16, having spent ~10.5 years instead of the normal 12. How would these circumstances be viewed by the colleges/universities, and where could I expect to get a generous (not interested in wasting too much of my parents' money or taking a student loan) scholarship? My fields of interest include biology, psychology, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and my current major choice would be cognitive neuroscience.</p>

<p>Thanks for any help, and feel free to ask for more relevant information. I have not taken the ACT or the SAT yet.</p>

2

<p>What scholarship or financial aid you’ll be available for won’t have anything to do with your age. It will be based either on merit (grades, scores, extracurriculars) or finanacial need, or both depending on the colleges’ own policies.</p>

<p>To get better merit-based aid, look for colleges where your grades and test scores put you in a high bracket of their general admitted students.</p>

<p>Your age shouldn’t have too much bearing at most schools. My daughter started college at 16 too. You may be at a disadvantage at some very selective schools just because you won’t have had the time to develop extracurricular committments to the same degree as typical aged students – many of whom have done rather amazing things outside of school.</p>

<p>But this isn’t something you can control. Apply to a wide range of colleges. You will have some excellent options to choose from when the time comes to accept an offer.</p>