<p>I have a friend who did this, but he got the equivalent of a GED (except that it was for people who were under 16), which he thinks was helpful. Could you do something like that? </p>
<p>Anyway, from what I recall, the places he go into (and therefore obviously accept some Early Graduates) included: Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Reed, and Hampshire. Harvey Mudd esp. is a great place if you’re interested in science and research.</p>
<p>I find classes at my high school to be very easy, and so I don’t feel motivated to work hard. I’ve also taken several classes through CTY online and at Lehigh University, all of which I excelled at. I took 4 AP classes last year, 5 this year, and will have a very limited selection of courses to choose from senior year. My high school does offer dual enrollment, but only through a community college, which I’d rather not do. Plus, they have a very limited number of classes that I can take. Attending college early would be a good idea for me because I would actually be challenged in my classes. Additionally, I am hoping to eventually do a md-phd program which are generally 8 years long, so getting a head start on my college education is definitely a good thing.</p>
<p>
This is a very problematic sentiment. It better not show up in your explanation to colleges like Columbia.
Kids who are in the situation that warrants early admission to a top university are self-motivated, and by the end of junior year just have exhausted all the resources available to them.</p>
<p>I am self-motivated in that I want to learn more, however that is just not happening at my current high school. Very limited course selection, only dual enrollment with community college. Also, classes here are a joke. All I have learned this year is to not drink on school grounds (a couple of the smart kids got caught drinking and were suspended).</p>
<p>Are you a rising junior? Why not look into graduating early and what you would need to do to accomplish that. If you are gonna run out of courses, you may have enough credits to graduate at the end of the year. It is a little late to put that into motion but may still be possible. My D easily did it because even before she ever planned to graduate early, she just had enough credits due to acceleration (for example, took many HS classes in middle school to accommodate the need for appropriate level of challenge even though the intent at the time was not to graduate HS early). If you are running out of courses, might you be able to attain what you need in order to graduate at the end of this coming year?</p>
<p>I’ve taken many summer classes at CTY Online and Lehigh University in the past. Unfortunately, these classes do not count toward credit for graduation at my high school.</p>
<p>Forget the CTY courses and Lehigh ones in terms of credits to graduate (though glad you took them for the challenge for your learning needs!). I’m talking about the fact that you said you are gonna run out of courses to take at your high school. If that is the case, I would think it implies that you might have the requisite courses by the end of junior year in order to meet the school graduation requirements (which are not really that hard to meet). Without your mentioning what you are running out of taking, I can’t tell what you still need in order to graduate. My D graduated with JUST using her own high school’s credits and NO college credits and while she took one CTY course in 8th grade (college level writing course) she did not use that for credits to graduate.</p>
<p>S just graduated from Harvard; he skipped senior year, but graduated with a diploma.</p>
<p>He knew going into high school that there was a very high chance he would want to graduate early as he was already taking college classes.
By the middle of sophomore year, he’d worked out a schedule with his GC and petitioned to be allowed to graduate in three years. He fulfilled all the graduation requirements by doubling up on English (last year of PE was waived) and using some of his college classes to fulfill the math/science requirements. He was able to fulfill the foreign language requirement because of middle school.
Harvard in fact does not really encourage students to enter early, mostly for reasons of maturity. Many others similarly prefer students to stay in high school unless they have exhausted the opportunities there (and not just because they are bored).
If you are not sufficiently challenged in high school, you will need to construct a transcript that shows that you are working at a college level. Many schools are leery of community college courses because they do not know enough about the quality of these courses (they look more favorably on AP classes because the curriculum is known and the exam scores allow them to compare the applicant with other students).
Your best bet now is to talk to your GC and develop a strategy.</p>
<p>I’m also wondering if you’ll have the depth of activities and leadership roles top colleges look for leaving before senior year when most get these opportunities. </p>
<p>I hated lots about high school too. Many smart kids do. But I found ways to keep myself engaged outside of the high school because my goal was a top college.</p>
<p>I’m very confused. It doesn’t sound like the OP has enough credits to GRADUATE…just wants to leave high school a year early. Did I miss the other parts of this story…GPA, SAT scores, etc. OP mentions a very aggressive courseload, but I didn’t see what the outcome of those courses was.</p>
<p>I would say that this student should find a way to actually GET a high school diploma a year early. I think the options would be best if that were the case.</p>
<p>hmom, I know very little about the OP but agree that graduating early or going to college early should often be for reasons beyond topping out of the high school curriculum (though that should surely be ONE of the reasons…academics!). I know for my kid, she was able to demonstrate a rationale for early graduation in terms of academics, socially, artistically, and emotionally. While I agree that the depth of activities and leadership roles should also be maxed out, I don’t believe that that can only be accomplished in senior year. For my kid at least, she had truly accomplished the various goals in her endeavors outside the classroom in terms of achievements and leadership that she felt one could do both on the school level and in our region and there was nowhere else to go with these activities if she stayed another year. She had accomplished these opportunities that you refer to prior to the fourth year of high school. This was part of her reasons for graduating early in fact. Some accelerate in extracurricular activities, not just academics, in high school as well and have already led and achieved as high as one can go in high school prior to senior year. That was the case with my D who graduated early. Like with the academic coursework, she was running out of options to progress any further in her extracurriculars. She had topped out.</p>
<p>thumper, you’re so right. One of the things S discussed with GC was board scores and APs. He had all the SAT and SAT-IIs done by the end of sophomore year, as well as several APs and college classes.</p>
<p>That’s another thing with the OP…have no idea what testing she has gotten out of the way. When my D decided to graduate early, she got all her testing done by the end of tenth grade. She had the scores she needed to get into every school on her list by that point. Don’t have enough info. on the OP’s situation.</p>
<p>Soozie, I agree it can makes sense if the OP has been able to do what your DD did.</p>
<p>Diplomas are very rarely required. If I was you, I’d just go ahead and apply to the colleges you’re interested in. You’d be applying mid-year and have decisions by the spring for the following fall. If you don’t get admitted anywhere that you want to go, then you could just figure out how to best get through a traditional “senior year” and apply again the next year. I have a feeling you’ll get accepted to some good colleges though. If you really, really want to be done with high school, then apply to a range of colleges (not all tippy-top super-selective schools) and I bet you’ll at least have some options. Whether you decide to follow them up will be your decision.</p>
<p>My kids were homeschooled. No diplomas. No problem.</p>
<p>I graduated high school after three years. It was definitely a good decision–had I stayed for a fourth year, there would have only been 2 classes left for me to take (at a school where the normal load was full year courses in 9 mandatory subjects) unless I wanted to go back and take the 9th grade classes I’d placed out of in the first place or take non-AP versions of classes I’d already taken APs in. My high school wasn’t supportive, but eventually gave in and coughed up the diploma, which I’m very glad for–working in the developmental disabilities field, there have been jobs I couldn’t have qualified for without a high school diploma due to some strict state regulations, even with years of college coursework under my belt. I ended up at a university I loved with a wealth of challenging academic and extracurricular opportunities. And when I took a 5th year to graduate because of a double major with no overlap and some personal issues, I didn’t feel like I was behind (not that this is uncommon anyway, but it was nice to feel like I’d “earned” the extra year of breathing room!).</p>
<p>One of my close friends left high school after three years without a diploma, which was also a good decision for her. Her high school was an extremely hostile place with limited academic opportunities, so it was worth it to her to leave regardless of what happened afterward. She went to a CUNY college she probably wouldn’t have considered had she done a more traditional application process, but got a great education and had a wonderful experience there–for a lot less than the price of the schools she would have applied to otherwise, so I’d call that a big win! In her field, her lack of high school diploma has never mattered, and will never matter now that she has a BA with honors.</p>
<p>That said, your reasons for wanting to leave high school early really aren’t coming off well to me. You sound more like you’re saying “I’m better than this” than “I’ve gotten all I can out of this.” It’s a fine but important distinction. The way you’re pooh-poohing the dual-enrollment program your school has available and the fact that “[you] don’t feel motivated to work hard” because the classes are “very easy” make you sound like a snot rather than someone mature enough to be starting college early. I understand what it’s like to feel stifled and frustrated where you are, truly I do–starting college early was a breath of fresh air that might have saved my life, since it got me out of an insular, closed-minded, homophobic environment and allowed me to come out as queer and stop hating that part of myself a year earlier than I could have otherwise. I got even more benefits than I expected to out of graduating early, since it was much easier to get to know myself once I had more personal and academic freedom. But please, do some soul-searching about your options and motivations before you make any decisions. I know people who did not do as well (at least initially) as they could have because they weren’t mature enough to deal with the huge amount of freedom and responsibility, some of whom graduated or left high school early without fully thinking the situation through. Find out if there’s any chance of getting a diploma early, because it can make things easier. Take another look at the dual enrollment program; lots of CCs offer a solid education and it could be a great experience. What does your high school guidance counselor say? What do your parents say? Is your high school a truly terrible place, or could you be shortchanging it a bit?</p>
<p>Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t leave high school without a diploma.</p>
<p>Consider the possibility that you might have to leave college and work for a while at some point – say, because of a family financial crisis. Your job options would be limited because you are a high school dropout. </p>
<p>It is possible, though, that if you are starting your junior year in high school now, it may be too late for you to graduate early. Whether you can do it usually depends on how your school views its English course sequence. Some schools will let you take English 11 and English 12 simultaneously. If you can do that and fulfill the other graduation requirements, you can probably graduate early. But in other school systems, English 11 is a prerequisite for English 12 – you cannot take them at the same time. In this case, you would have had to take English 11 in the summer that is now ending in order to graduate early. If you didn’t do that, early graduation is not a possibility.</p>
<p>I know MIT definitely accepts students without high school diplomat. Sometimes it is difficult for the avdanced students to just waste one year doing little thing in high school. I don’t even know this exists when my son in high school. There is really not much science and Math classes he can take in senior year. He took Statistic class and he hates it. But I think he becomes more mature and outgoing in his senior year. It helps him to transit to leave far away from home and makes fridends in University.<br>
I found most of the students who can graduate in three years will not have any problem in acedamic in college. It just how mature they are in group of classmate who is all older than you.</p>
<p>First, it would be great if you could clarify what grade you will be in this fall (fall 2009).</p>
<p>Second, students can make classes satisfactory for themselves, by going deeper and wider on their own, if they are really motivated to learn. My kids had to do that, because their school was not a good school at all, and the other students, even in AP classes, often did not even read the books. With good extracurriculars (research for instance), the last year can be bearable, for some. But for others, continuing in that situation truly is courting disaster, academically and emotionally. It sounds like you might be in the latter group.</p>
<p>Other options, which you have sampled, include online courses (I would suggest programs if he/she wants to PM me: Virtual High School is one), getting a GED, and also, there is an online program that has an affiliation with a private school that grants diplomas (and you do not have to be taking any of the online courses; this is just how I found out about it; this school will tally up credits and grant a degree if the student has taken a total of 17 1/2 full year courses, as long as there are 4 English, 2 science, 2 math, 2 arts etc.etc.). Dual enrollment is not limited to CC’s either. Or, you can do a year of college somewhere as a high school student (not living on campus, but through continuing ed. or extension) and then use that to graduate from high school.</p>
<p>You can also homeschool, keep a portfolio, and make sure to have good SAT’s. That school I mentioned above will credit your homeschooling towards a diploma.</p>
<p>Your high school SHOULD give credit for online courses. In fact, many public schools are using online courses as part of their programs, particularly small schools without resources. You should meet with your principal, superintendent, or, if needed, School Board, about this.</p>
<p>There are many reasons to want to “get out” of where you are. Are you also in a hurry to leave home and be on your own? Is it just academics that you feel “topped out on”? </p>
<p>One of my kids is moving across the country to dance, for the fall. She has not finished high school. The dance training that she needs is not available anywhere near home. She is not planning on skipping her senior year of high school, however, and, as it happens, despite the differences in your situation, we are pursuing some of the same options that I just mentioned.</p>
<p>Keep calling schools to see if they take people early. Was BU on your list? I believe they do. I know UMass does too. Many will welcome you. However, I decided, for my kids, to encourage them to enter college when they were ready for it in every way, and being academically ready is not the only piece.</p>
<p>There are a couple places, like USC’s Resident Honors program, that are specifically for students who wish to leave high school after 3 years without graduating.</p>
<p>USC’s program, in particular, is for high achievers - every student gets some form of merit scholarship, and you usually have to be somewhat competitive for elite schools (ivy, stanford, etc)</p>
<p>There are other alternatives to graduating or GED, for example in CA there’s a high school proficiency exam which gives you a HS diploma equivalent without having to drop out of HS</p>