Early high school graduation question?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm currently a freshman in high school and because I'm so ahead in my academics (for example, one of the math classes I'm currently in is a junior/senior class) I've been given the opportunity to graduate early. I'm currently seriously considering it, but I want to make sure it won't affect me being accepted into the University of Akron's Honors College, because it has been brought to my understanding that many colleges don't like early graduates. I have two other options: take AP classes, or do post-secondary at Akron. The problem with AP's are that our school mess up the AP schedules really bad, so I would either end up with 3 or 4 classes instead of 7, or I would be so overloaded that I wouldn't have a lunch. The problem with doing post-secondary at Akron is that they aren't the honors classes and a requirement of the honors college is that most of the general ed courses have to be taken as honors classes. Therefore, I feel early graduation is best. I'm not affected by peer pressure at all, and I would NEVER do drugs, so that shouldn't be a problem. I was thinking of taking some CLEP tests to earn some credits. Also, I'm thinking of majoring in computer engineering (by the way, what do you guys think of that major?), and my uncle is a software engineer. When I asked him about it he said that the younger you are in computer engineering the better it is in the work force because more people will be willing to higher you. My last reason is that my dad has cancer and never made it through high school, so it's his dream to see me graduate high school. Because of his cancer, the absolute MAX (unless they find more medicine) that he will live is 2-3 years. I want him to see me graduate, so if I wait until 2016 there's a good chance he might not be with me to see me, and I want him there to see his dream. Also, at our school we're promoted from Junior to Senior so I won't miss out on any Senior year things, and some of my friends are considering doing it with me. Lastly, if there's anything that I'm required to be a Junior but it's during my Sophmore year, they will "promote" me to Junior just for that requirement so I won't miss out. I was hoping on some other people's thoughts on graduating a year early? I'm sorry this was so long, but I wanted to explain the situation as best as I could. Please give me your thoughts and help me make this decision!</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I’m in a similar situation ^_^</p>

<p>Computer engineering is a really lucrative major because it qualifies you for positions in software engineering – a field which is currently starved for qualified employees – or in electrical engineering. Be sure to take lots of programming classes, though, which you may have to anyway depending on the program.</p>

<p>Don’t be afraid to drop lunch if you need to – I have, and I actually like it better this way. It will definitely be helpful if you can fit in a study hall somewhere. Of course, don’t overstretch yourself if you don’t feel like you can handle that much work during the day. Self-studying is always an option.</p>

<p>Why are you fixated on Akron, just out of curiosity? There are a lot of schools that would be happy to take an early grad with good stats without such seemingly stringent honors college requirements. Again, since I’m in the same situation, I can’t really provide much help here… But if you have a competitive course load compared to others in your HS, and you have high standardized test scores, then I would think that you should be able to get in.</p>

3

<p>Honestly, I don’t care too much about going to Akron, but that’s what my parents want. They forced my sister into going there and they will force me too, unfortunately. Do you know of any colleges in specific that would like early graduates, maybe also give any scholarships?</p>

<p>And thanks, by the way for the information about computer engineering!</p>

4

<p>I myself am a Senior and will be graduating at 16. I don’t feel like I’m going to be missing out or anything like that. I’ve asked different colleges whether my age will have an impact, and they all said that it would neither help nor hinder me. So I would go for it, because it’s basically an extra year of your life that you won’t have to spend in school.</p>