Graduating a year early from high school?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello. I would really appreciate any input or opinions, preferably if you have experienced it first hand. But if you know someone that's done it before or if you just have some knowledge on this topic, I would love to know your opinion on this as well. </p>

<p>I've recently decided that I'd like to graduate a year early from high school, however I've read somewhere that colleges may look down upon this and I would like to know if this is true. I am looking towards college in California, such as Stanford, Berkley, or UCLA. I also aspire a career in the medical field, specifically as a pediatrician. I have yet to take my SATs but I will have met my high school credit requirement of 27.5 (a trimester equals .5 credits) by the end of this year.</p>

<p>I received high school credits in Algebra I, Geometry, and Earth Science when I was in middle school. That makes up three credits. </p>

<p>Here is a little bit of information about my high school years.</p>

<p>Freshman year: involved in school musical, thespians club, community choir
Algebra II
English 9 Honors
Biology Honors
US History Honors
Spanish I
Drawing
PE
Symphony Orchestra
Gold Jazz Band (zero hour)</p>

<p>Total: 8.5</p>

<p>Sophomore year: school musical, key club, community musical, tennis team
Trig/Pre-Calc
English 10 Honors
Honors Chemistry
AP World History
Advanced Drawing
Spanish II
Philharmonic Orchestra (top)
Green Jazz Band (top) (zero hour)</p>

<p>Total: 8.25</p>

<p>And here is how I've planned my junior year so far..
Junior year (subject to change): key club, National Honors Society, freshman mentor, tennis team, musical?
BC Calculus
AP Language and Composition
Honors Physics
Civics
ACT Prep
Spanish III
Online Anatomy and Physiology (as a zero hour)
Philharmonic Orchestra (top)
Creative Writing or Contemporary Literature and Composition I</p>

<p>Total: 8.5
If I did Jazz Band again it would be 9.25 but I'm afraid it would be too much for me. </p>

<p>I will also be working a part-time job this year.</p>

<p>As for what I plan on doing with my senior year if I do happen to graduate early, I had a few options in mind, one being that I go to the college, however I am not sure how well my SAT scores would turn out but I plan on preparing and studying my butt off until I take them in a couple of months. Another option was that I attended my local community college (Northwestern Michigan College) and take college courses there, while preparing my SATs and taking an internship at our hospital and then transferring/applying to college in California. And my last option was to do the same thing as the second option except to do it in California and apply for citizenship so that college would be cheaper. </p>

<p>Now I realized I've wrote a lot but I hope that all this information will provide a better idea of what my experience has been like. I have always been a strong student; I have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout middle school and high school. I would love your input. Would graduating a year early be detrimental or beneficial? Would I even stand a chance at a good college?</p>

2

<p>I will talk as a parent here.</p>

<p>Rumor has it that some (perhaps many) colleges frown on this, meaning that you MIGHT not get into as good a school as if you do senior year.</p>

<p>More important – I would not recommend it in almost any case. Going away to college is a social as well as an educational experience. If you go early, you will be the youngest person by a year – this difference can be significant (at the risk of stereotyping, especially if you’re a male).</p>

3

<p>What are your HS distribution requirements? You need 27.5 credits, but most states require 4 years of English, and your Creative Writing or Contemporary Lit classes might not qualify (I know in our schools, you must take the English 9-English 12 sequence, and the AP classes slot into that sequence. There are English department electives, and some are pretty strong classes, but they cannot be substituted for the regular sequence.</p>

<p>There are colleges with programs designed for students who either finish HS early, or even choose to skip part (or all) of HS. But those who enter places like Stanford or Berkeley often do so because they skipped grades or accelerated through HS. They are often identified as highly gifted before they enter middle school.</p>

<p>Stay in High School, and finish what you started. You can probably dual-enroll in a community college, if your HS no longer has classes to offer you (but I doubt that is likely if they allowed you to get credit for 2 math classes in middle school). If you do that, you will still be able to apply as a freshman for Stanford and Berkeley and anywhere else you want, but may be able to enter with sophomore standing. Don’t rush the HS experience.</p>

4

<p>A girl in D’s school did this, but did her first college year as a dual-enrollment year as her senior year of HS as well. She went to Bard College. Next year she will be at a different college, as a pre-med major. She spoke at the graduation in June. What you want to do is entirely doable. This girl is extremely bright, very focused and had a lot of support at both her 6-12 school and Bard to pull it off. Bard has a history of admitting non-traditional students, so they knew what was needed. </p>

<p>I also know someone whose D entered a selective college as a junior after completing 2 years at a CC with a feeder program into that school-WHILE STILL in HS. She will graduate with her undergrad at 20 and go right into her master’s program. She is also highly gifted and doing a double course load probably wouldn’t be something most could manage. But doing Running Start or something like it might also work for you.</p>