<p>I decided to graduate early from high school, and I got mixed opinions from various teachers/guidance counsellors/admission reps.</p>
<p>Several people said that it showed drive and intellect- that honors senior courses/AP classes/CC credits as a graduating junior would look good on an application.</p>
<p>However, two admission reps at selective colleges I visited said that it was a negative aspect of my application...suprise suprise- i got rejected at my two reaches, and waitlisted at the third.</p>
<p>So help me out here- is graduating early a good or bad thing? Any personal experiences you would like to share?</p>
<p>Well you didn't provide GPA, SATs, ECs, or essays which are the determining factors for getting into college. You could have stayed for senior year and just taken more classes which can never hurt.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.79 UW
ACT: 30 (took it first part of soph year)
Course work: Most demanding availible to graduating seniors...including as many AP's as I could, and classes at the local CC
Rank: 33 out of 279
ECs: Band, 100+ hours volunteering at hospital (I'm looking at premed), 500+ hours playing for regional paintball team (we were ranked 3rd in midwest last year), and ecommerce business
Essays: All the places that admitted me commented that they were very original- I used the common app and talked about how my political views developed, using Mencken as a comparison.
Teacher Recs: One phenominal, one not so great
Guidance Counselor Rec: Very good, but pretty bland</p>
<p>So help me out here- is there some glaring hole in my app, or did graduating early hurt my chances of admission?</p>
<p>When you graduate early, you're not given any allowances. You're essentially expected to show that you're as strong a candidate as others who graduated at the regular time both in terms of academics and maturity. It definitely doesn't help your chances of admission.</p>
<p>Well, you were outside of the top 10%, and at a certain small subset of schools that is a big deal. Your not so great rec <em>might</em> have had a negative effect, but probably not a hugely so. </p>
<p>However, I have heard that some kids who graduated early/were really young talked to certain colleges that really weren't interested. That could have happened to you...or you could have just been shut out of a tough admissions season :(.</p>
<p>You sound like a really ambitious student and you seem to have taken a very rigerous course load as a junior but your class rank and test scores don't line up with your early graduation. A 30 ACT is great but not outstanding and not being in the top 10% of your class likely hurt your chances.</p>
<p>I was rejected at Macalester and Carleton, waitlisted at Grinnell.</p>
<p>My matches and safeties went pretty well though- I got into Lawrence, Coe, Bradley, Beloit, and Cornell (Iowa) all with substantial academic scholarships and offers for positions on writing center staff, tutoring, etc.</p>
<p>So true...lol- I have a few friends who went there and everybody always freaks out when they say they are going to Cornell. Its not a bad college, and they give tons of aid (I got a merit scholarship for most of their tuition). I'm not considering it as a possibility at the moment though.</p>
<p>I'd say bad. If it were good, more people would be doing it. Most people take the full track, anyway. It seems as though the person is trying to rush things. I know someone who felt so good about herself to be graduating early and really expected to get into Columbia (planned to go into medicine or something) -- needless to say, she was rejected.</p>
<p>I think with graduating early (which I am), it works in your favor if you can use it in your application... for instance, talk about WHY you're graduating early (specifically), how you took advantage of your high school's opportunities to the fullest (as in, graduating early to move BEYOND high school as opposed to trying to ESCAPE high school)...things like that.</p>
<p>however, colleges aren't going to look at you differently (in a positive way) just for being younger. there is no "her SAT/GPA is a little low, her writing skills are sub-par, but she's graduating early... her stats are great for a would-be junior". you're expected to be just as competitive as every senior with 4 years high school experience. </p>
<p>sorry, this is a bit jumbled, i'm exhausted.</p>
<p>i got into my top choice school a year early, by the way. it was my dream school, but by my high school's standards, a "low match/safety" school (i have a 4.0 UW GPA, top of my class, great test scores, ECs, etc). it was the only school in the country with solid programs in both of the fields i was interested in, though. so i can't say if graduating early would have been a detriment to me had i applied to more competitive schools... but those are my 2 cents.</p>
<p>invision sales, I really like your college list. I live in the upper midwest and all of the schools you chose are very good. My favorites of the ones that accepted you are Lawrence and Beloit, two excellent LAC's that don't get nearly enough attention nationally. I visited Beloit and it seems like a really great place, the atmosphere is very academic, friendly, and welcoming.</p>
<p>
[quote]
However, two admission reps at selective colleges I visited said that it was a negative aspect of my application...suprise suprise- i got rejected at my two reaches, and waitlisted at the third.</p>
<p>So help me out here- is graduating early a good or bad thing?
[/quote]
Is being told the answer directly by 2 admission reps at selective colleges not clear enough?</p>