Help! D wants to change horses midstream!

Applying to College
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<p>D1 is finishing her junior year at an average public HS. Not great, not terrible -- listed in USNWR at around #1000 for US as I recall. She takes her learning very seriously, and starting this past winter basically developed senioritis. Maybe senioritis isn't the right term -- it's not that she's a slacker, at all, just that her approach to school is appropriate for college students, but not really HS. Every course she is taking is AP, so you would think the classes would be challenging, the teachers excellent, and her fellow students lively. But what she sees is that most of her peers are swallowing and regurgitating facts without thinking or caring about any of it. This has affected her grades a bit, mainly in attendance and rote homework assignments. She points out -- correctly, i believe -- that she will get more learning done at home than sitting in a classroom with students who don't care and teachers (some of them, anyway) who aren't so hot or doing exercises that reinforce conformity. So she'll stay home from school, with our reluctant blessing, or not turn in laborious but relatively pointless projects. (She strongly suspects that there is some "sharing" going on among her peers, eg in math exercises, which she refuses to do.) Again, we're not keen on this approach, but do understand that it stems not from laziness but rather caring too much.</p>

<p>In short, she has announced, repeatedly, that she does not intend to return to this particular HS -- or any, if she can help it -- for her senior year. She has not really proposed a serious alternative (we think, for example, that finding a foreign exchange program that would take her starting this fall is unlikely), but even if she did come up with something that seems workable (home schooling, classes at a CC or nearby U for example) I worry that the very selective LACs that she is wanting to apply to would take a dim view of such a change as a senior. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Real life experiences? I know that families move, situations change, so this sort of thing must come up all the time, but I worry that her leaving this school without good cause will be perceived as "I gave up on HS," rather than "I took charge of my learning."</p>

<p>Stats: UW GPA 4.0, Weighted 4.35; SATs 2100 or so; a 5 on her sophomore AP exam. A lot of depth in one outside activity, a couple of after-school jobs...she's a pretty competitive applicant so far.</p>

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<p>I think that this question will get a lot more thoughtful and helpful answers if posted on the Parents Forum. I’ve taken the liberty of re-posting your question there.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1342183-help-d-wants-change-horses-midstream.html#post14406581[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1342183-help-d-wants-change-horses-midstream.html#post14406581&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>

Are you the parent or a buddy? Who’s in charge here?</p>

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<p>^^^ #wrecked</p>

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<p>Curious: detaching from the classes but still has a 4.0 uw? And, that’s despite not turning in “pointless projects?” Btw, that’s not an attitude that’s appropriate, at selective colleges.</p>

<p>There’s nothing essentially wrong with changing to a tougher hs, but at this point, you don’t really know what’s going to better suit her. She may find there are grad requirements to fulfill or pre-reqs for certain classes- or her class desires could be filled, at this point. She won’t have a history with the new GC, won’t have the benfit of LoRs from teachers who know her well. It’s not changing horses in mid-stream that’s the issue; it’s not knowing what the plan is, not having looked into other school choices. Your die may already be cast.</p>

<p>As for adcoms at selective LACs: they will want to see that her motivation is unflagging. At a less competitive hs, the expectation is she is on top of her game. There is no equation that states, caring too much is an excuse for not doing the work to her utmost.</p>

<p>One important qualification for selective schools is maturity, judgment and the ability to tackle the challenges laid in front of her. There will be thousands of kids applying from lesser hs, who manage this.</p>