So, I 15 and home schooled and set to graduate at 16. I want to go to college at 16 when I graduate and I have a couple questions:
Being young is not a bonus for your application, so the first question is are you a highly competitive applicant right now? Do you have equivalent or superior academic achievements as 18 yr olds applying? Do you have the same level of awards (local, regional, state, national, international), leadership, and ECs on your resume that 18 yr olds have? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then yes, it is a disadvantage.
In terms of how individual schools see minors and your ability to fit in socially at 16, that has no single answer. For the first you need to contact schools and ask. For the latter, that is between you and your parents to figure out. It is not an option we allow for our kids. But you and your parents might believe you will fit in fine.
I agree with the above. In addition to actually being ready, you will need to be able to prove that to adcoms. Some schools and states are more accepting of homeschoolers and others are more skeptical. If you are a member of a homeschool group, ask around about college application experiences. Pay most attention to the most recent experiences, because colleges change over time. See if Emory has a section on their website for what they want to see from homeschoolers and make sure you have all that.
College at 16 can make sense if you have outgrown what you can do in your current academic setting. Emory is a highly selective school, so in addition to proving you have outgrown learning at home, you need to show somehow in your application that you need challenge at the level of a very selective college. You also need match and safety schools on your list as well.
My kids have done dual-enrollment at community college at 16, and at times I’ve been very glad that they were able to learn some of how colleges work (especially the bureaucracy part) while still living at home. I think it helped them get opportunities I was not able to provide at home. They were at a school with fellow commuter students. Applying to schools where most freshmen will live on campus will pose more social problems. If you live off campus, you will “miss out” on making friendships that others form by seeing each other all the time in the dorms. If you live on campus, your parents may have concerns about the kinds of behaviors (substance use, etc.) that can happen in dorms.
My academics are:
In your opinion, is this competitive enough? Should I do more?
Emory expects (http://apply.emory.edu/apply/requirements.php):
I have read that, but thank you.
To be completely honest, no. It takes a lot more than that to get admitted to competitive schools. If you had posted that you had taken AP cal BC, AP physics C, AP chem, AP histories,AP Eng lit, etc in 9th or 10th grade plus had high level awards then I would have thought you might be competitive. You need to keep in mind that you are competiting for a spot on a national/international level.
To give you an idea, my current 12th grader has been functioning on a high school level since 7th grade. Her high school transcript has math completed through cal in 11th, 15 foreign language credits, etc. She has national and international awards and represented the US in an international competition and placed 3rd in an event, etc. And she is only nominally competitive for competitive schools. It is intensely competitive to get into top schools. You also need top % SAT or ACT score plus 3 700+ subject test scores. Even with that, it is an unknown. You have to be able to present a competitive applicant picture and your list of courses seem avg.
THink about how you can build your transcript and resume with an extra 2 yrs.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek “Only nominally competitive?” I would call your daughter solidly competitive.
@aroundhere I don’t know, I am part of the class of 2017 parents’ thread and some of the deferrals are rather shocking. We have been posting together in that thread for months. You get a sense of what these kids are doing, and it really is shocking when kids you were pretty positive would be accepted are deferred. They are some super rock star talented kids.
My Dd don’t really apply to any highly competitive lottery type schools. So we will never know. But from a competitive scholarship aspect, the focus of her application reaches, it feels pretty precarious and only nominally competitive right now.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek
The most important thing is – is your DD still sane and grounded? I think kids who are well-grounded and self-motivated will find ways to bloom where they are planted, even if it’s not at their “dream” school. She really does sound like someone special to me. You have a lot to be proud of, no matter where the chips fall later. Good luck to your DD!
@robin_daggers : No, that’s not competitive. Your schedule is typical/competitive for a sophomore, but absolutely not for a senior.
You also need to find what you’re good at outside of school and try to reach a national level in it.
Fortunately, since you are homeschooled, you can adjust your schedule, increase the pace/rigor, work on a special project, etc.
Thanks, you guys for the feedback. I will try and improve
@robin daggers for president
I recommend delaying college application for 2 years, and building up your credentials during that time.
My D started college when she was 16, majoring in CS, graduated when she was 19, and currently in the CS Ph.D program of a top 5 univ.
She was homeschooled since 8 years old. When she applied to college at 16, she had:
She applied to 10 schools, and was admitted to 3.
See. There is no sure thing.
Curious as the where she ended up for undergrad, @Pentaprism.
OP, take a look at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The entire college is predicated on the fact that kids should be able to go to college when they are ready. Average age of entry is 16, I think, and because everyone on campus is younger (most enter after finishing 10th grade), it might be a better fit socially.
She ended up in EECS at UC Berkeley for undergrad, and currently a PhD student there.
@Pentaprism, congratulations to her! Sounds like she is one amazing young lady!
I have to say, though, those are some surprisingly tough admissions results given her stats. I have worked with some young applicants (I’m a private college consultant) with stellar stats who applied two years early, and while some did get into highly selective selective schools like MIT and Harvey Mudd, they didn’t get into Ivies and a few other schools that really don’t like young applicants (Rice is a glaring example).
I have known a few young applicants that got into Ivies, and a couple were even homeschooled, but they were pretty off the charts unusual.
Honors What level math?
Have you taken any AP courses?
Who is grading your work? Mom or CC or virtual class or ? How are you calculating the 3.9 GPA?
A’s in coursework but low PSAT is a red flag.
You need to take the PSAT again, SAT or ACT, SAT Subject Tests, and more coursework.
I’d say you need 1-2 years to bring up your scores and add more coursework, if you want to go to a selective college.
Otherwise it is probably a lower end college that is fine with younger students or weaker applicants. You can gauge this by average SAT or ACT scores.
For homeschooled students PSAT/SAT scores are probably most important, so work on that. Also look up whether you have dual enrollment program in your area.
“The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination based on age in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. The U.S. Department of Education gives financial assistance to schools and colleges.”
https://ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/ageoverview.html
This says it. You cannot be discriminated against for your age. If these kids are 2 years older than you, then there probably not going to be a whole lot of social disadvantage.