<p>DS spent two years at our local public, was being a bit of a knucklehead academically, so transferred to a private hs and repeated 10th grade. He is just finishing up his junior year there. He's raised the idea of doing what several of his buds at the public have done for their senior year--stay enrolled at the public hs but take all of their classes at the local cc. His hs diploma would be from the public.</p>
<p>My first thought is that it would make for a fairly messy transcript when he applies to colleges in the fall with credits from three different schools. However, he's already almost 18-1/2, and I wonder if maybe he's just had enough of hs. Also, it would help us a bit financially <em>not</em> to send him back to the private hs--DH's company went out of business last summer and he's still unemployed, although we had always planned to send him back there for his senior year.</p>
<p>I'm really not sure how I feel about this issue. Anybody have any thoughts/experiences/recommendations?</p>
<p>Are you sure he can be “trusted” to keep his nose to the grind stone at CC? If so I think that would be fine. I would just be concerned about a return of knuckleheadedness.</p>
<p>If he can be sure that he will keep his nose to the grindstone, then I think it is a great solution. He can still keep freshman status for merit aid when applying to schools, he may be able to transfer several credits (saving money and opening up opportunities like study abroad or double major) and he will demonstrate a rigorous schedule.</p>
<p>DS has definitely matured this past year (one of his older brothers repeated a year too and it worked out very well for him). Also, he was diagnosed with ADD just a few months ago–the difference on and off the meds has been AMAZING. Honestly, I think he would take his classes seriously, and that was the first issue I raised with him.</p>
<p>I really do wonder, though, if it looks completely wacky on the college apps. Or maybe it’s not that uncommon to have credits from three different schools? And I guess the two teachers he was going to ask for recommendations from his current school would go ahead and write them?</p>
<p>(And if some credits transfer to wherever he ends up, that would be some pretty nice icing on the cake.)</p>
<p>There are “Running Start” programs at many HS/CCs throughout the country. I don’t think colleges would have problems with the transcript. Our D essentially did something similar, tho she was kicked out of college after JR year & started CC. She was accepted to enroll after completing 3 semesters of CC. It worked well for her & us.</p>
<p>She got her recs from her CC instructors, who LOVED her & wrote lavishly about her.</p>
Lotsa people do it. I don’t think it’s a problem, and it does show a rigorous schedule. You could have his current teachers write the recs, and the public school would incorporate the CC classes into the transcript.</p>
<p>Our S had to get the transcript of the college where he had taken a course, even though he wasn’t using it for credit at the U where he was going to matriculate as a freshman. He just sent that U transcript with only one grade on it to the U he had decided he would be attending & didn’t bother to send it to the other Us he applied to.</p>
<p>It is a good way to show that your child is taking the more challenging courses possible. Probably if the student has an entire semester/year of courses, that transcript will be need to be sent by the CC to each of the Us where the student is applying, UNLESS the HS GC says it will be incorporated into the HS transcript. The HS GC & CC GC should be familiar with what to do, as other students have done this.</p>
<p>I have been in touch with the GC at our old public. There’s some paperwork to be filled out, and of course meetings at the hs and the cc to determine the appropriate courses, but this idea is definitely growing on me. I think recommendations would have to come from his current (private school) teachers–applications will have to go out before he really gets to know any of his cc profs. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that they’d still be willing to do that for him even though he’s not a student there.</p>
<p>Anybody with any admissions office experience out there? I really am curious how this would be viewed–as a kid who’s matured and is trying to challenge himself vs. a kid who keeps bailing out on his school.</p>
<p>Colleges like to see kids that didn’t do so hot as a freshman really soar as a junior and senior. That is a BIG hook for admissions. A lot of kids in our state take all college level classes junior and senior year, especially kids that are not “into” the high school stuff (sports, activities, etc.). College admissions know about these dual enrollment programs and are just fine with them. Our kids will have 2 college classes next year, as seniors, and most of their college bound classmates will as well.</p>
<p>You need to sit down with the public high school guidance counselor with a list of questions about how this works and how it has worked in the past with kids who have gone this route, IF you feel this is the way to go with your son. Have a list of options that you think you want your son to have for colleges and find out how colleges, and which colleges view this type of high school education.</p>
<p>We’ll definitely meet with the public hs guidance counselor this summer. A good friend of my son’s (senior at the public) is doing this this year and I believe it’s worked out very well for him. In terms of colleges, the preliminary list we have is largely schools that he should do fine with based on his GPA and SATs (according to the private school’s Naviance). It didn’t really occur to me that a full schedule of college classes at the CC might actually look better than what he had planned to take at the private hs next year.</p>