<p>Basically I am really sick of high school. By the end of junior year I'll have enough credits to graduate because I've taken some writing classes over the summer that count for english credits. By the end of junior year I will have taken 6 APs and 4 University Classes (some JHU some UDel). I've got all A's in high school classes and college classes but I don't have any standardized test scores yet. Assuming I end up getting at least a 2000 on the SAT would it be worth it to apply to a top tier school junior year? Has anyone else graduated early and if so was it bad socially?</p>
<p>yeah, i wanted to graduate early too, cuz i was kind of in the same situation as you...i am a junior now..but my parents said no..so i'm not..</p>
<p>i think you could if you have think you can compete with high school seniors in the application process and all..</p>
<p>and socially, you really have to see yourself...i have an older sister who is now a senior, we have the same friends who are mostly older than me..so i would have been socially fine...so you really just have to see your own situation..</p>
<p>bump.......</p>
<p>How well you manage the transition from high school to college is mostly up to you whether you do it at age 15 or at age 65. Since you are sick of HS, and you have the credits to graduate, I would suggest that you look into programs that are designed for students like yourself. Here is a list that you may find useful:</p>
<p>Hoagies</a>' Gifted: Early College Entrance Programs</p>
<p>Another option would be to do a year of international exchange (AFS</a> Intercultural Programs or Youth</a> For Understanding ) and then entering college at the same time as your HS friends.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>one of the boys at my school graduated early this year and got into a top tier university. but mostly it is not recommended.</p>
<p>Check with your school system. Do they allow early graduations? We live in Carroll County and they make it perfectly clear that early diplomas are nearly impossible to get. "I hate HS" isn't a good-enough reason.</p>
<p>BTW, I'm a mom and wouldn't allow my kid to graduate early. Concurrent enrollment at the CC, sure. But no way would I allow one of them to head to college a year early. Sorry.</p>
<p>I love happymom's idea about being an exchange student.</p>
<p>A lot of good replies so far ... especially the pointer to the special early admit programs. That said in the regular admissions pool skipping a year of HS will not particularly help you and may indirectly hurt you. By leaving school a year early you will have one less year of ECs, of leadership, etc ... you are being compared to all applicants and will need to compensate for the missing year. There are a bunch of kids on parents who did enter school early ... it can be done and can be done at top schools ... but I'd recommend being very informed of the circumstances of those for whom it does work out.</p>
<p>My D's best friend graduated a year early and just started college last week. It seems to have worked out well for her. She never really found a group to belong to in high school like sports, band, dance, etc. She was, in my opinion, getting into a little trouble and starting to hang out with some troubled kids. Since she just turned 17 her parents required her to apply only to colleges in our city. So she applied to three and got accepted to all with partial scholarships. She is living in a dorm and seems to be adjusting well. My D and her are still spending a lot of time together. We'll see how that changes as the friend makes new friends at school. Texas has so many required credits that she had to take lots of summer school classes in order to graduate early. So it required a lot of work and motivation on her part. </p>
<p>The main argument I usually hear against graduating early is that you miss all the senior events such as prom, graduation, the graduation party, and other special events at your school. My D is sort of compromising by taking two university classes this year along with an independent study class in Latin. So she is participating in the "special' events while having some new experiences.</p>
<p>I just noticed that you said "top tier" universities and I wanted to clarify that my D's friend didn't apply to those due to her parents' requirement to stay close to home due to her age. But she is already talking about trying to transfer in a year or two to UCLA or some other school in California. Socially, the friend seems to fit in well with college students. She has always acted older and spends a lot of time with a step-sister who is a few years older.</p>
<p>So much depends on who you are as a person versus as a student. Assuming you have the academic preparation and gumption to handle college-level classes, you may want to ask yourself:
* Am I independent? Can I handle difficult/frustrating situations by myself?
* Am I outgoing socially?
* Can I deal with comfortably with people outside my own comfort zone? I.e., people who are different, older, more experienced, maybe a bit sceptical or dismissive of your abilities, since you'd be younger?
* Will I miss my friends back in high school?
* Can I handle feeling totally cut off, experience-wise, from my high school friends?
* Can I handle falling off the radar with my high school friends?
* How do I feel about missing those classic senior year rites of passages such as senior prom or senior spring break?</p>
<p>For many teenagers, a year abroad program (if you can afford it) would be the answer. For others, staying at school is the way to go. Others still graduate from high school a year early. And I know several who packed four years of high school classes/pre-reqs into TWO and started college not much past 16 years old. </p>
<p>The success of each choice was linked, I believe, directly to their emotional maturity and their level of independence. My own sister was one who entered UCLA at just over 16 years old. She flunked out; she could never find a social foothold at school, felt alone & friendless, and let her classes slide to the point of no return (turns out, "catching up" is a lot harder in college than in high school.) OTOH, the daughter of a good friend of mine started Berkeley at 16: she's now a junior and THRIVING; few of her friends realize she's two years younger than everyone else simply because she's such a dynamic personality in addition to being a very good student.</p>
<p>Different people, same choice, different results.</p>
<p>I graduated high school a year early. During my high school years, I was dealing with anxiety issues and felt like I didn't want to go to a competitive school, nor go away from home. Since graduating high school in 2007, I have transferred colleges twice. I never felt fitting in socially was a problem, for at this age no one can really tell whether you are 17 or 19. My real issue turned out to be the fact that I didn't know where I wanted to go for college, which ended up being my reasons for the transferring. It never hurts to check out all your options. I ended up at my dream school in the end, so it wasn't all bad.</p>
<p>Thanks so much guys. I'm definitely looking into studying abroad and also CityTerm. College early doesn't sound like quite a good idea now but I am still considering USC a year early since they have a program.</p>