<p>I am planning to graduate after my junior year to go on an exchange program during my senior year. So I am going to apply to colleges at the beginning of the junior year and defer my enrollment 1 year.</p>
<p>Will this put me at a big disadvantage? I don't have the greatest extracurricular activities but I really want to do this exchange program and this is the only way I can go about doing it. I want to go to a liberal arts college, some specific Ivy Leagues, and some specific "public Ivys". Will I have a low chance of getting into any of these schools (especially Ivy Leagues)? Will colleges understand that I'm applying early and therefore they shouldn't compare me to seniors who are applying?</p>
<p>Not every school does this. I did basically the same thing, except I’m not deferring. The most important thing to do is make sure that a school is okay with it and that your own high school supports your decision. Look up the Common Data Set of every school you are interested in and look for question C19.</p>
<p>By the way, I am NOT one of those really smart people who has exhausted their high school’s courses. I have a high GPA and a rigorous courseload, though. I hope colleges don’t see it that way, that I think I’m too smart for high school, because that’s not why I’m applying junior year. I’m applying so I can study abroad, of course.</p>
<p>Many of my friends are orthodox jews, and it is not uncommon for them to take a year after HS and study in Israel. One of my friends Ds was accepted with a deferred admittance to Barnard. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes. However, if your study abroad is just substituting for your senior year of high school, then you probably shouldn’t apply in your junior year. You should get all your recs and test scores ready but fill out the applications later.</p>
<p>anenchkakith: Thanks! So if my high school refused to accept credits from the overseas school, would it technically count as “Not a senior year” even though I’m having a senior year with a courseload and everything in the foreign country?<br>
It’s kind of unfair, because other American high schools might accept credits from the overseas school and let their kids have a senior year when applying to colleges. For me, it’d just look as if I slacked off… do you think colleges would cut me a little slack and count my senior year overseas even if my high school was being difficult about the credits transferring over and only my grades up to junior year showed up on the transcript?
I’m totally up for applying to liberal arts colleges if they accept my situation. </p>
<p>Sorry if my questions don’t make any sense. If you want me to rephrase them, just let me know and I’ll try.</p>
<p>Many LACs universities don’t actually require a diploma (generally speaking, publics are more likely to require, but even many of them don’t care). Depending on the school’s application, there may be a place where you can explain your situation. On the Common App there are several options where you can say you didn’t graduate and then explain why.</p>
<p>I don’t know how your overseas school works, but you might also be able to just graduate from there. I think you’d be best off calling the counseling office of your overseas school and ask them how other students in your situation have handled the college admissions process.</p>
<p>Ohhh, LAC=liberal arts college! Wow, I just realized that.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s totally my fault because of poor phrasing, but I’m not sure if you understood my question correctly. And if you did, I apologize.
Remember how you told me to look at C19 in Common Data Sets of colleges I am applying to? (very helpful tip by the way, thank you!) A lot of colleges that I am interested in applying to say that 11th graders are not allowed to apply. So if I applied from abroad, the time when I would be having my senior year (even though my “senior year” wouldn’t show up on my transcript because my school wouldn’t let me transfer over credits), would that YES/NO distinction on C19 no longer be applicable to me?<br>
I mean I wouldn’t have a senior year because on my transcript it would seem like I only completed 3 years of high school, but I <em>would</em> still be applying on time to college and also starting college on time.<br>
Would colleges understand that my high school was being difficult in regards to letting me transfer credits over from the overseas school that I will be attending senior year (don’t know what school yet), and actually count my “senior year” for something even though I didn’t earn any credits for them? I mean I still took classes and had a full courseload my senior year, just in a different country and consequently the credits for those courses wouldn’t transfer over, making it seem as if I didn’t have a senior year at all. I hope this wouldn’t put me at a disadvantage. So my main concern is how lenient colleges will be in recognizing that my situation is unique in that I studied abroad yet worked just as hard as my senior classmates back in the U.S.A.</p>
<p>You can have more than one transcript. I doubt most colleges would care if your high school accepts the credits, and they probably won’t look into that. Instead you’ll just have the overseas school send a transcript of your senior year instead of your original high school.</p>
<p>The C19 thing probably won’t apply, since I’m pretty sure you should just apply as a senior.</p>
<p>edit: The exception would be if your overseas school isn’t a high school. It seems like it is, so that shouldn’t be an issue.</p>
<p>That’s a great idea! Having a high school transcript from my American high school and one from my overseas high school sounds genius. Yeah, my overseas high school will most likely be a high school from what I know about the foreign country and its education system.</p>
<p>That’s a relief that C19 will probably not apply to me then, but maybe I’ll just check with the undergrad admissions at a college or two to make sure. </p>
<p>Thank you, you’ve been tremendously helpful with this! I would’ve NEVER thought of these things at all without your advice.</p>
<p>Have you gone through a similar situation, are you just a wise parent, are you an admissions officer/have experience working at an admissions office?</p>
<p>You can be a senior in your third year of high school… I know plenty of people in that situation. It had to do with the required credits, NOT years in school.</p>
<p>Oh, so you’re only a year older than me, that’s funny. How has the college admissions process been for you as a high school junior?</p>
<p>One last question, too if anyone can answer: Can you apply anywhere as long as you have a high school diploma and it doesn’t matter what grade you are in?</p>
<p>It’s been pretty easy, actually. Well, as easy as it can be. I’ve had to call a few to straighten my files out because my class year is 2010, so a few colleges accidentally made two separate files for me, but in general people have been very understanding and nice. I’ve gotten into three schools so far, two of which are public schools (despite what most people think, many are understanding of odd situations) so I’d say it’s been pretty successful.</p>
<p>If you have the diploma, you <em>should</em> be good to go, but your school’s requirements to get a diploma may not be the same as a college’s requirements for matriculation. Some colleges are more lenient on this, but some are very strict about it. If you do have a diploma though, you can’t be enrolled as a high school student anymore, which may or may not matter to your overseas school.</p>
<p>i didn’t actually read all of this thread, but i’ve got a basic idea of what’s going on and i think i may be of some assistance based on my own experiences.</p>
<p>i graduated high school at the end of my junior year. not because i’d run out of courses or anything like that, my hs had a huge set of courses and i believe they offer the most ap/ib courses in the state, but because of personal reasons. however, i was first in my class and was thus able to graduate with the same diploma that i would have graduated with had i stayed a fourth year and essentially every academic course i had taken was honors or ap. during my first semester i took a semester long course with NOLS (the national outdoor leadership school) that involved 3 mo of backpacking, climbing, winter camping, etc. basically 3 mo outdoors doing outdoorsy stuff. i’m currently working as an intern in Washington DC for five mo, with a public policy firm for 3 and for one of my IN senators in april and may. i applied to college in august before leaving for my first semester and thus am a part of the whole application process for the class of '09 as if i were in hs this year and it has been very straightforward. i will certainly be glad to let you know how it all goes if you’d like. i’m already into Indiana since they do rolling admissions but i don’t hear til april for the rest (princeton, penn, duke, emory, virginia, harvard)</p>