<p>Sorry, not really a useful title for this thread, but I need some advice.</p>
<p>I might get into a situation by some weird twist of fate, I may not be able to graduate from my high school and get a diploma. The thing is though, I'd only need 1 extra credit to obtain a high school diploma, but my school still wouldn't give me a diploma because of some uptight rule. So technically I'd just have to end high school without a diploma instead of graduating, yet I'd have all the same qualifications as people from my school who earned diplomas, the only difference being I am lacking 1 English credit (3 instead of 4). Even if I did complete that 1 English credit I was lacking and had all the required credits needed to graduate, I would still not be able to get a diploma because of some strict rule in my school system. </p>
<p>I have good-enough stats, in my opinion. Great GPA, rigorous courseload, great ECs, and probably good scores (I'm entering junior year, haven't taken the SAT yet). Probably good essays and teacher recommendations as well. I think I could make a competitive applicant at top schools with my stats.</p>
<p>There are several top colleges that do not require a high school diploma. If I were to get into this situation where I would be lacking 1 credit for graduation and also be without a diploma, do you think this would break my acceptance at these colleges considering that I have good stats and basically everything else? Should I just take the GED so I can have some tangible form of a high school equivalency? Do you think colleges will be understanding of this and realize that I am almost equal to other applicants besides my lack of 1 credit and a high school diploma?</p>
<p>At this point, my question is purely hypothetical so nothing's for sure. But I just wanted people's advice in case something does go wrong.
Thanks.</p>
<p>We would need more info on what the problem is and what your high school would say in the school report. For top colleges cutting high school short also usually means fewer advanced courses, less depth in ECs and fewer leadership positions–something else to consider. Most top colleges would need a good reason why you chose to do this unless you’re a superstar who exhausted all your community (including local colleges) has to offer.</p>
<p>What “uptight rule” will you have violated? You will probably have to explain on your college application why you will not have a diploma–if it is due to lacking one class, the college may expect you to just complete the class before you apply. (Why not take it over summer, or an online class during the schoolyear?)</p>
<p>It’s hard to know whether colleges would be “understanding” of your situation without knowing the reason behind the deficit of a credit. If the credit is really a whole year of English, that could be a real problem- especially if you flunked the class or never took it.</p>
<p>You might want to make an appointment to talk to your GC as soon as possible to try to rectify the situation. Good luck.</p>
<p>The “uptight” rule is that I have to attend my school for the last semester before I graduate to be able to graduate. I might be doing this program at my community college instead so I’d attend my community college for the last semester of senior year. So if I wouldn’t be attendance for the last semester of high school, I wouldn’t be able to get a diploma.</p>
<p>I’m going to be in high school for all 4 years (except possibly the last semester like I was talking about). I’ll still have many AP courses on my belt, lots of leadership positions, good ECs, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, then I think that makes it 1/2 credit of English and not 1. Ooops, sorry about that.
My high school would award me all the credits from the community college except the english credit, so that’s the reason why I’d be only lacking the english credit.</p>
<p>And I don’t want anyone to say “why don’t you just stay for the last semester of high school?” because I might in fact do that. But I want to know the consequences that will happen in case I don’t decide to do it, like I said, this is a purely hypothetical question.</p>
<p>I mean, I’ve heard that some kids just leave high school during senior year without a diploma at all and get an early start at college. So I guess this would make me one of those kids…</p>
<p>You might want to send an email to a few admissions offices of colleges you like and get the real answer before the school year begins. If you’ll be enrolled at a CC, they might be fine, but be careful, some top tier colleges do not allow you to apply as a new student if you have matriculated at another college. (You’d have to apply as a transfer.)</p>
<p>If the CC courses are part of your high school’s advanced program, then it is only the diploma you have to worry about.</p>