Because my daughter has done a combined college and high school program she is far ahead of her peers in credits. It appears that she may actually complete all of her graduation requirements this year and graduate a year early. She will be only 16 and we are not in a hurry for her to head off to college next Fall. But we are anticipating that by graduating early she will have more time to focus on college applications, auditions, training and local theatre during what would have been her senior year of high school. She will graduate with high honors and we are hoping her PSAT, SAT and ACT scores will be high. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a student graduating early? I’d be interested in hearing pros and cons.
@soozievt’s daughter graduated early.
@sopranomtmom ,
@lojosmo is correct. My MT daughter graduated high school early. Her story is not quite the same as for your daughter but I will share since you asked about an MT student graduating HS early.
Unlike your daughter, my D did NOT do a combined college and HS program. Also, I should clarify that based on chronological age, my D went to college TWO years early. First, she had an early entrance into kindergarten so was a year ahead of where she would normally be placed by age in our school system. For sixth grade, it was suggested she skip a grade, but we didn’t do it since she was already a year ahead (though skipping would have likely been a positive thing and we had to have lots of academic accommodations made through the years for both our daughters, and the other one was also the youngest in her grade too…they accelerated a lot, did independent studies, took classes with older grades, did a couple of online classes via Johns Hopkins CTY, etc.). Anyway, the MT daughter came to us in tenth grade pleading her case to graduate HS a year early (never was a plan of ours) and for one thing, she was going to have enough academic credits to do that. She articulated her reasons in terms of academics, socially, emotionally, and artistically. Honestly, it was hard to argue with it, plus she was a very strong willed kid. We went along with it.
Once we agreed to let her graduate HS early, she took the SATs twice in tenth grade and the SAT Subject tests in tenth grade and finished all her testing at age 15. Then, her junior year was also her senior year and the year she applied to and auditioned for college. This wasn’t what we originally expected and so when the decision to let her graduate early was made, we were still wrapping up our older D’s college process that year. Her guidance counselor fully supported the plan. He and other rec writers spoke to it in their recommendations to college. My daughter also added a statement as to her rationale for early graduation and readiness for college to her applications (not the regular essay). I forgot to mention, but in tenth grade when she brought her plan up to us, I called each college on her list to ask ANONYMOUSLY if they consider students who attended HS just for 3 years (as I didn’t want to put this plan in motion if it was going to be problematic)…and ALL schools said yes, if she earned a high school diploma, and that was going to be the case. She started her applications at age 15 and turned 16 in the middle of the process. Yes, she had less years to prep or train, though I don’t think that made a difference. She was just developing the legit soprano, during her application year, having always been a strong belter. At the time of auditions, she seemed less confident with soprano and a couple schools did vocalize her to hear it (she developed it much more freshman year in college).
In any case, this was the RIGHT decision for my daughter. I don’t advocate it for every student whatsoever. And I don’t advocate it if the reasons are purely academic. I think the social/emotional development piece needs to be there to go to college early. In my D’s case, despite being younger than her college peers, and even younger still considering many of her close pals were in “grades” above her in college too, and yet, she served in various leadership roles in college. I don’t think people were aware of her young age (didn’t come across as young in personality), though it often arose when it came time for her birthday each year and she was quite a bit younger.
In your D’s case, it sounds like you are contemplating a gap year, which is also a very good option (nothing my D considered, but I am encouraging of such a plan for others where it is appropriate). If your D is OK with taking a gap year and not heading yet to college, then yes, she could use the year for training, college apps/auditions, doing local theater, maybe holding a job, travel, etc. If she feels ready for college, there is no reason to not pursue that option, unless you find reasons where it may not be appropriate or in her best interests. It was wonderful for my D and worked out great. But it is not the only or right way in such cases. So, you may wish to read threads about GAP years if you are looking to go that route. My D’s story is about graduating early but also about applying to college in junior year of HS and going to college at 16, and no gap year considered.
My son is going to graduate high school in 3 years. He will have a heavy load of classes next year for it to happen. He is a bit older than his classmates and has been to 5 summer programs on his own. We decided to let him do it. His decision came just before this summer. His school supports it and will give him his diploma. Since May he has taken his ACT and SATs and visited a few colleges. We think it will work out for him.
Anyone have a homeschooled high school student that went to college for MUsical theater??
I do! I’d be happy to discuss it. Maybe this should be its own thread?
I agree that the homeschool topic should be its own thread as it is unrelated to graduating early.
I advised a homeschool applicant who applied to BA in Theater programs. She got into her first choice, Sarah Lawrence. I’m advising a homeschool applicant in this cycle too, but not for theater or MT. It really is a topic deserving of its own thread.
By the way, CC has a forum for Homeschoolers too.
Soozievt thank you for sharing your story. I think that it will take every ounce of focus for my daughter to finish her high school requirements this year, especially with all of her other performing and training that she does. I don’t think we could possibly do justice to the application and audition process on top of that. And really I’m not ready for her to leave next year and I don’t think she will be either. Her thought is that by finishing her requirements and graduating early she can really focus all of her energy next year on applications and auditions as well as taking a few more local college music classes she hasn’t been able to fit in like ear training and sight singing. We also really want to have the time to visit campuses and since we live on the West Coast that requires the luxury of time that would be more difficult if she was still finishing her high school. After reading these boards the last few years I can see how stressful the process is and I’m hopeful perhaps if she isn’t juggling the entire process along with trying to finish high school at the same time it will make it more manageable.
@sopranomtmom That sounds like a great plan to me! It sure was a full final year of HS for my kid (like for many others) juggling school, her training in voice and dance (which involved a lot of travel in our rural state), being in productions near and far, creating and producing her own show, being in a dance troupe, piano lessons, guitar lessons, applications, college visits, and auditions (all done on campus, so a lot of trips). And she was away in the summers. My daughter did not only want to graduate early but also wanted to head off to college early and so that is a different situation than your daughter. This worked for her but would not for everyone.
Since you said you’re not in a hurry for her to go to college, it sounds like using next year to focus on preparation, applications and auditions will be ideal! I’m envious. It would have made it a lot less stressful for us not trying to audition between exams, school shows , etc…
Definitely continue voice and dance - as much dance as you can. You might want to also work with someone who specialized in college auditions to help with things like audition material. We worked with Mary Anna Dennard and highly recommend her but there are many out there to choose from. Some offer master classes with various college programs . Some offer mock auditions to prepare. All of theses things cost $ but could be a good use of your time.
I would not enroll in a college and take classes as often that then makes you a transfer student rather than a regular freshman and the rules for admission for transfers are different . (This will not be an issue with credits earned in high school)
Participating in community or regional productions is good. I would highly recommend allotting time for community service/leadership opportunities also.
I think a key to a happy home will be having a clear understanding of expectations and a daily routine that makes sense . Eating well and exercise will be important. A reasonable sleep schedule. Maybe a part-time job. I think it could all add up to a really lovely year prior to her going to college. What a terrific opportunity for quality time with your D. There is no rush to get to college early. If all of you are on board for a gap year, I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to really focus on college and audition prep without a lot iot of other distractions. Good luck!
@DVCmember There are two homeschooled students in my MT program at Viterbo University. PM me and I can see if I can put you in touch.
My kid graduated a year early, did a gap year, and it was the best decision ever! We didn’t decide this until late April of junior year (about 3 weeks before graduation!), so it was too late to audition for fall. Like your kid, mine was also a dual enrollment student with a few APs, so started college this year with almost 60 hours of gen eds in things like chemistry, physics, calculus, psychology, political science, German, Italian, English Comp, etc. Unfortunately, most of that was not required at many of the schools, but will come in handy in the event my kid ever decides to go back to school for another degree.
The summer after graduation was already jammed full with Classical Singer Convention, 2 weeks at OCU, Mpulse, and ArtsBridge, and we also added a weeklong Betty Buckley workshop and a trip to Mary Anna Dennard. While my kid was away, I organized everything, filled out the apps and had things ready for my kid to get busy upon return in the fall. Not having to deal with school in the fall gave us more time to get apps, essays and videos done by mid-September. In September and October we attended masterclasses (through Mary Anna) at CMU, Point Park, Texas State, Michigan, CCM, and a masterclass with Dave Clemmons. When we weren’t traveling to masterclasses, my kid was at home doing lessons in voice, acting and dance.
My kid did not do any shows until after auditions were done. We chose to focus on training and auditions during this time to keep things as stressfree as possible. This made scheduling much easier. And because we didn’t have to worry about missing too much school, we often flew to auditions a day early to give us time to relax or to leave a “cushion” for flight cancellations/delays.
Because my kid was not in school and not doing shows, we were able to schedule several auditions plus Moonifieds before Christmas. Getting a few acceptances by early December (some to schools high up on our list) was definitely a stress reliever and helped make this a much more enjoyable process.
Another advantage of not being in school is that you can limit your time around sick people. My kid was very cautious about going around anyone with coughs and colds throughout the audition season, and managed to go the entire season without getting sick. That would have been very difficult if still in school.
My kid and I both had a great time this past year. It was really an enjoyable year. we have both commented numerous times that it would have been impossible to do what we did without early graduation and a gap year. Now, my kid tells everyone the best thing they can do is take a gap year!
However, should you decide to skip the gap year and go straight to college, that would not be terribly unusual either. There is a 16 year old and a few 17 year olds in the freshman class with my kid. And I know several 16 year olds and even a 15 year old in college with my non-MT kid.
My S was also homeschooled; he is currently at LAMDA. You can pm me with any questions.
As Soozievt rightly points out, this is a very personal decision and really dependent on the child. I think the most important qualities - besides academic readiness - are emotional maturity/stability and the ability to multitask independently with no one reminding them or nagging them. As everyone knows, college is full of temptations and social drama, and many courses can be very difficult academically or emotionally or both.
My younger D at Northwestern is very happy she took a gap year and entered college at nearly 20. When she was younger, she had a much harder time multitasking and did lots of normal teen things like epic procrastination. In part because she was a bit more mature, her grades are very strong and she doesn’t pull all nighters etc.
But for someone like Soozievt’s D, it was obviously the right decision to go to college early. The key is to know your own kid and for them to know themselves as well.
Sorry, yes I will start a new thread about homeschooling, didn’t mean to hijack this thread. My D is not homeschooled, but wants to be, and I am trying to get some input! Thanks!
Thanks for all of the helpful feedback. I am actually really looking forward to having the luxury of time next year to visit campuses together and spend lots of quality time before she does leave the following year. She is so young that even though she likely has the maturity level to start college at 16, especially considering she has already really been attending college for the past two years, I just hate to let her go so far away at that tender age! Even without graduating early she still will be only 17 when she heads off to college. So I am going to cherish next year and really try to enjoy this crazy process without having to worry about her missing school or the stress of senior year requirements!