My daughter is a junior in high school and is finishing by taking all her courses through dual enrollment. She’s taking the equivalent of English III this semester, but presumably will take the English IV equivalent in the spring. So she will become a senior in January.
At this point we’re not certain we want her to graduate early. But another year of taking college classes but not being in the social world of either high school or college doesn’t seem like a good idea either, so we’re going to play it by ear.
But assuming early graduation, how would that affect merit scholarship eligibility? Would they just look at the ninth and tenth grade g.p.a., or would they go back another year, or would they wait and look at this semester’s grades?
Also, I’ve heard of college freshmen being named National Merit Finalists when they’ve taken the test as a junior but graduated early. Has anybody ever heard of a student doing this at Alabama, and if so, how was it handled? My daughter made a 209 on the PSAT last year, which is probably about four points shy of our state’s cutoff, so it’s reasonable that she could pull it up enough this year to make NMSF. I’d hate for her to miss out completely on that.
I noticed no one answered you, probably because no one really knows. Is she thinking of graduating after the end of this year in May, or in early December of her 4th year? I would contact the scholarship office at UA to get answers.
In my honest opinion, I wouldn’t rush her through high school. First of all she has a great chance to be a NMF (and everything that comes with that) and I am not sure how early graduation would affect this. (If she becomes a NMF, she would then have many school options financially. UA is great for NMFs but she might want to go somewhere else in a year or two.) Second senior year is usually the most fun for any high school student, I would hate to see her miss out on that experience. Third, UA is very generous in accepting AP, clep and dual credit classes (check out their website.) Taking these courses in high school financially make sense so it wouldn’t be a waste of time. You can check out the websites of other colleges she might be considering to see how they handle these credits. Fourth, sending a just 17 year old to college is done all the time but may not be the best thing for every student. Would your daughter be able to handle being away from you, social expectations, college coursework and being on her own? Only you know, although I have been surprised that some students who I thought were very independent ended up having a hard time freshman year. Finally, what is the rush. I know my son graduated at 21 last December from UA and now is in the corporate world…he likes his job, but he will tell you he misses being a college student too.
Contact UA with your questions. Good luck to your daughter. Tell her to study for the PSAT test!
@kjcphmom Thanks for your response. I emailed both Alabama and Auburn. If I understood their responses, they said they would consider grades through this December if my daughter applies for admission for 2017. Alabama said they would honor the National Merit scholarship if she were named a Finalist in her freshman year. Auburn said they would not.
My daughter’s high school was not a very good fit for her. I had sought to enroll her in a couple of high school classes and three university dual enrollment classes, but the school said she was required to take a minimum of five classes at the high school as a junior. This simply was not an option. As her parent, I did not feel it was in her best interests, and neither did my wife. So she enrolled in an online program and is taking the remaining five credits that she needs through dual enrollment, and not online.
I am certainly not happy with the looming decisions we have to make. Her current situation really doesn’t allow her to make any college-aged friends, but being completely out of high school is going to isolate her as well. Having pulled out of the high school this year, I don’t think she will want to go back next year (when she would be allowed to take two classes and three dual enrollment). So that’s where we are.
I should note that she only has a 30 on the ACT at this point. If she fails to make a 32 by the December administration that might settle the issue.
Good luck to your daughter. My youngest son got a 30 his first time, 31 his second and the magic 32 his third. He is a happy junior at UA now.
@kjcphmom I have little doubt she can do it if she buckles down and works on the math. Everyone on this board save me has children who respond to a snap of the fingers and do exactly what they are told. Everyone but me.
