Help Junior graduating early Have no clue were to apply

Applying to College
1

<p>I was just informed by my daughters principal that she was going to graduate this year. She is a junior and we had no knowledge that she was going to graduate this year. She didnt even take the SAT or ACt this year. SHe took the SAT two years ago and the PSAT this year and last. I immediately signed her up for the next ACT in feb and she is going standby for the next SAT test. Both of these may not even be in time to help though.</p>

<p>I am so upset and frustrated as we were just starting to go through all the college mail to start narrowing down schools to visit this spring so we can have a decision by summer.</p>

<p>With the deadlines for many schools being 1/15 I am scrambling to find a aschool for her to apply to.</p>

<p>Please give me reccommendations based on her stats;</p>

<p>15 years old
Master Sargeant in JROTC (two years participation)
Over 100 hrs of community Service
Cheerleader
Beauty Pageant Queen
Was on the game show Jeopardy
Ranked #15 out of a graduating class of 600
UW GPA 3.8
PSAT scores were 65 Math 63 Verbal 61 WRiting (age 12)
SAT two years ago 610 Math 560 Verbal 530 writing
She has an EFC of 0</p>

<p>WHat schools will give her the biggest Merit or Need based aid she is the oldest of 6 of my kids and again we had no time to prepare for this so I am in so much need of guidance Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Isn’t is the students decision whether or not to graduate early? Your daughter may have enough credits to graduate by the end of the year, but it is her decision in the end. She really needs to retake the SAT/ACT, as her current scores won’t land her anywhere that she seems capable of. Without knowing scores, it’s near impossible to gauge where she will be able to get in. You might want to come back in a little while when she gets those scores back.</p>

3

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<p>you might want to leave this off the college app when the time comes around. it doesn’t really add anything</p>

4

<p>She is only 15? I would NOT recommend anything other than taking courses at the local community college and living at home for a girl so young, no matter how smart she may be. However, once she has some college credits, most schools will then look at her as a transfer student, and financial aid may not be as good then. A gap year or two would absolutely be great for her. Or, if it’s not too late, she could pursue a post-grad year at a private school if she really can’t just stay at her own high school with her friends. What does your daughter want to do? Did she know she would be graduating early? With mandatory attendance laws in place, if she wants to keep attending her school, the school can’t turn her away just because she has the credits to graduate. Most elite colleges want to see the 4 years in math, english, science, etc, so she might find she is shortchanged by graduating early. I would tell the principal that at this time, you have no intention of allowing her to graduate, and that an academic plan will have to be developed for her if the problem is that she has taken all the highest level courses the school offers. Someone at the school will have to begin thinking outside the box instead of just sending your daughter out of the “box” of school!</p>

5

<p>We had the discussion at the beginning of last year when she was supposed to be entering 11th grade based on her credits. We transferred to FL and I told the principal she wanted to stay in 10th an extra year. SO they let her stay in 10th grade. This year she was classified as a junior. AGain we thought everything was good. The message was that it was the school boards decision and that last year and this year she has taken virtually nothing but electives.</p>

6

<p>when she entered 9th grade she was already in precalculus and physics and had three years of high school foreign language and two years of ap english so she absolutely has all the core reqs plus more to graduate. I was considering two things apply at some schools and deferring admittance for a year or finding a school with a post grad year. I plan to go to the school board to have options… I dont want to let her take college classes because then she will be a transfer student and that is less money. But I dont know how we are going to explain that gap year. And as for being a pageant queen she has a couple of scholarships she has won from that already and her community service is all tied into her platform. SHe is competing this summer at the national level at a pageant thats televised. I figured the stern contrast of an army jrotc master sargeant by day and beauty pageant queen on the weekends would add an interesting contrast</p>

7

<p>Explaining a gap year won’t be a problem. Students do it all the time, for all kinds of reasons. My problem would be what to do with a 16 year old who’s not in school… too young to go on many gap year programs which want 18 year olds - and they’re expensive to boot.</p>

<p>In addition to going to the school board, I’d contact an attorney who does education issues. There may be ways to ‘persuade’ the school board that the school did not prepare your daughter for graduation - no recent SATs, college counseling, etc - thus jeopardizing her shot at good school and merit aid options.</p>

8

<p>You can only apply to schools with rolling admission. Your best bet is Penn State. Northeasterns deadline is Monday so I don’t think you can make that. Ohio state, purdue.</p>

<p>Mainly, any great universities are cut out because most had deadlines by Jan. 1st. If anything, go to a college and transfer after a year If she’s not happy, but I think penn state is the best one to try.</p>

9

<p>There are several excellent schools with January 15 deadlines. S received at email from Colorado College today; they were extending their deadline (I think until the 17th?)</p>

<p>That said, she’s very young.</p>

<p>Have you heard of Bard College at Simon’s Rock? It admits 10th & 11th grade students. It’s expensive but offers scholarships. Looks like the deadline is Feb. 1, in case you don’t get anywhere with the school board.</p>

<p>And for what it’s worth, I think the beauty pageant/ROTC combination is intriguing. My D, a jr in college, applied to college as a ballerina/boy scout.</p>

<p>In our school district, even if a student finishes all their classes at semester their senior year, they
won’t graduate until the spring. That’s because that way the district gets to collect their full student apportionment.</p>

10

<p>Under these circumstances, I wouldn’t send my child to college yet. I would look at top-quality private schools or boarding schools for senior year. Simon’s Rock, as someone said, is worth checking out. How is she oing? Is she ready to leave home and/or high school so suddenly?</p>

11

<p>First off, was your daughter ever tested for giftedness, and do you still have a copy of the testing report and findings? If so, did you share this with her school in Fl? I have been on FL Dept. of Ed. website, and they can NOT force her to graduate. When she transferred schools, did she select the 3 year grad. option? If you want her to stay in school, to give you more time to prepare, you need to insist that they test her if it was never done, and then develop an appropriate education plan for her. The schools are required to do this for gifted students. I am sure they are not equipped, but that is their problem, not hers. Under dual enrollment with a local college, she could take classes, but the school would be forced to pay as part of her education. Some colleges consider even one college credit to be “transfer” status, but some don’t count dual enrollment credits done during high school. You do need time to do the whole college search wisely, prepare financially, your D needs time to mature more, and take the SAT, etc, without rushing herself. I am sure the school is counting on your newness there to be able to bamboozle you, because they see it will be difficult for them, but I am pretty sure the school is mandated to offer a free and appropriate public education for all up to at least 18 years old, so the law is on your side. I did copy this from the website about this year, and maybe this is what the principal was referring to, but this is about kids who selected early graduation as an option:</p>

<p>3) Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, each district school board shall provide each student in grades 6 through 12 and their parents with information concerning the 3-year and 4-year high school graduation options listed in subsection (1), including the respective curriculum requirements for those options, so that the students and their parents may select the program that best fits their needs. The information must include a timeframe for achieving each graduation option.
(4) Selection of one of the graduation options listed in subsection (1) may be completed by the student at any time during grades 9 through 12, subject to the requirements in subsection (2). If the student and parent fail to select one of the accelerated high school graduation options, the student shall be considered to have selected the general requirements for high school graduation pursuant to paragraph (1)(a).</p>

<p>If you were to look at residential colleges for your D right now, consider how difficult it would be for her to have to room with someone a good two years older, and the disappointment that roommate may feel at having such a young roommate. As a minor, your D may also run into trouble if she is on her own and has to go to an emergency room, doctor, dentist, etc. without you to sign for her to be seen and treated. Heck, she could even need your permission to be able to leave campus, every time she wants to, depending on the school. Some banks won’t even give kids under 18 checking accounts, etc. It could be tough right now. There’s so much more to college than the academics…</p>