Hello !!
I am currently a Junior in high school. I am considering graduating early, meaning I would graduate this year as a junior, instead of next year. According to my school’s policy, I am eligible and I have the GPA and amount of credits to apply for early graduation.
The reason I want to graduate early is because I would only need 15 credits for senior year, and my parents and I feel its silly for me to go to high-school for another year just for that. As of now, I am aspiring to become a veterinarian, and as I’m sure most of you know that the path from undergrad to vet school can be a very long process. If I have the chance to shave a year off of school by graduating early, I would love to do so.
However, I am not familiar with this process, and I would like some honest feedback if this would hurt my chances of getting accepted into a college. I am planning on applying to Washington State University, because they have an amazing veterinary program. I’m not sure if graduating early is 100% the right path yet, and I would like to know if I would be automatically rejected if they see I graduated early, or something like that.
Please be honest about if graduating early is a bad idea, or If I should just stay for the last year, and please give any advice if you are familiar with this process.
Thank you!!
For students applying to top schools, it isn’t usually a good idea. If you have the test scores and stats, and get organized enough to get your app into Washington State, then I think it is okay to go ahead. You should be sure you have taken the full/hardest science offerings your HS has before you graduate, though. This will help you perform better when you get to college and your grades matter for graduate school. You may also want to check and see if Washington State has any restrictions on 17 year olds living in the dorms there (assuming you will be only 17 when you go to college).
Also to become a vet you need a great deal of shadowing and animal experience hours. They can be hard to get while you are in college. If you do decide to stay in hs another year try to shadow in a vet clinic and if your state has certification for vet assistants or vet techs see about getting one. That can help you in the long run. The most important thing for a pre vet is grades. Go where you can have the highest GPA and the most number of animal and vet hours undergrad.
@kutekula Have you taken AP Lang, AP Lit, AP Calc, AP Bio, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, and AP Comp Science?
The more of those you can take in high school, the better you will be positioned to be a successful pre-vet student. If you are missing several of those, I would consider taking the time to fill them in. It isn’t a race, you want to learn this information well.
If you have covered all that material, then you may want to consider their accelerated Vet program.
Try taking some dual enrollment credits instead of graduating early. It will look better on your application and you may finish your bachelor degree earlier too.
Another option would be to graduate early, then take a gap year to do specific career exploration and rest up for the long haul through pre-vet and vet school.