Graduate early?????

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

So I have a major dilemma. I am a junior in highschool currently and am a part time dualenrollment student. I moved from North Carolina, to Georgia a year ago. Transfering school systems, I was ahead of most of the students in my class credit wide. However, I didn’t know graduating early would be an option. My counselor called me into her office and told me I could graduate this May. My immediate thought was : oh my gosh im not ready. I just started junior year. I’ve taken the SAT once but only to get into my local community college for dual enrollment. I’ve only toured 2 schools.

My first thought of an option was that I could just do full time dual enrollment at the local college next year. However, my counselor informed me that if I don’t have any required credits left, I can’t be considered a dual enrollment student. It makes sense, since it is free and wouldnt be fair. However, that means my options are much tougher.

Right now I’m take American government, Physics, Jewelry, and Forensic Science at my highschool. Then I’m taking Pre-Calc and English 1102 at the college.

My counselor said my options are

  1. Graduate in May, and take ACT in October, quickly start touring and applying to colleges.
  2. Graduate in May, take a gap year, travel, work, or even study abroad.
  3. Drop out of one of my required highschool classes so that I can get another free year of college next year and still be considered a high school student.

This is definitely stressing me out. I wish I knew about it early so I could have prepared. My parents are obviously voting for the 3rd option, free college appeals to them.

I’m obviously super excited about college, and love school and learning, but this all hit me very suddenly.

Anyway, I would really appreciate suggestions. My GPA is a sturdy 3.8 (Which I expected to go up since I thought I had 2 years of highschool left). I got a 1260 on the SAT but I didn’t study because it was only to get into the community college.

2

I would drop a required high school class.

3

Can you elaborate?? I know it’s one of my options but I need to know the reasoning behind it or I can’t make the decision!!

4

You will miss an opportunity to try for National Merit Scholars, you don’t know which colleges you want to apply to, but the Common App is already open for Fall 2018 and your competition has been preparing all year for this writing essays, meeting faculty, having college interviews, securing letters of recommendation and developing their strategies as far as which colleges to apply to EA, ED, RD, etc and their parents have given them budgets so they know which colleges they have the best shot at merit aid, financial aid, etc. You have an opportunity to try a college for free, prove your competency at the college level, have reference letters from professors rather than hs teachers, all things that can make you an outstanding candidate in next year’s applicant pool. Right now, you will just be an average applicant rushing the process. Listen to your folks, graduate hs next academic year by dropping a hs class.

5

My perspective as an adult:

Don’t be in a hurry.
If you graduate HS early, you will always be the youngest until you get through college.

I have had friends kids who could graduate young…one of them had their student do a study abroad program before they went to college so they wouldn’t be 16 and at college

I think I would suggest to you to drop a required HS college so you ahve to come back, and take DE classes for free. Do all the HS senior stuff…prom, leadership, etc. etc. Then when you go to college, you will have 2 years done!