<p>Hey there. I'm trying to decide whether to repeat 11th grade in order to gain entrance into the IB program and wanted more opinions. :)</p>
<p>I dual-enroll through a community college right now. I enjoy the freedom, but the course offerings are slim and I'm finding the rigor isn't all that my mom and I want it to be. I'm now considering going to public high school and getting the "regular high school experience." I'm specifically interested in the IB program, though I'm also considering AP courses.</p>
<p>My concern is that colleges would frown upon me repeating 11th. My scores are very good and I expect a good GPA. ECs are limited due to narrow interests, but I'm hoping to expand upon them with access to a rigorous high school's resources. I would graduate at 18 instead of 17 (July birthday); this and what colleges think are really my only hangups. What do you think? Will repeating 11th have a negative effect on my applications, or do colleges simply not care if I've got the scores/GPA/rigor/ECs/essays/recs they want?</p>
<p>I don’t think selective colleges would hold this against you. You can explain to them why you transferred, or the counselor in the IB program can do it. You aren’t actually repeating anything, even though there will be two years on your record labeled “11th.” This is more like a college student who switches from an English major to engineering and needs 5 years to get all the courses finished. We don’t say that that student is “repeating junior year.”</p>
<p>Colleges may well assume that your homeschooling wasn’t up to snuff such that repeating 11th grade made sense. I don’t believe that they would view it the same as someone who went to the public school and had to repeat 11th grade.</p>
<p>Do you all think it would be wise to consult a few admissions people from the schools I’m interested in? I don’t know if it they would have a straight answer for me. I’m interested in Macalester, Carleton, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Smith, Tufts, and UChicago, plus my flagship.</p>
<p>I think it would be a great idea to consult a few colleges. I don’t see that colleges would hold it against you, though. You are trying to get more challenge out of your high school years and since you would have graduated a year early anyways (or are you saying you’ll be 19 when you begin college?), it wouldn’t seem to matter. Even if you were 19 when you begin college, lots of kids take gap years and come in as 19 year old freshmen, so it’s not all that unusual.</p>
<p>You sound like you have a great head on your shoulders!</p>
<p>Do not do it imo. DD was IB student and got everything someone is suppose to get from the programme so I am not knocking IB. She got college credit, the IB diploma and a scholarship because of IB but I would not do another year in HS just to do IB. IB doesn’t net you much college credit because many of the higher ranked colleges don’t view SL classes as college worthy. It is not going to prepare you any better for college than college will prepare you. </p>
<p>It sounds like you want the high school experience. If that is the case, I would go to high school for 12th grade and take AP courses or I would continue to dual enroll at the CC or another college.</p>
<p>^^ very true, great point - D who is doing full IB is also taking the AP exams for credit as IB is not a great way to pick up credits. She ends up doing double exams in almost all subjects which is stressful and expensive. IB diploma is $100 per exam X 6 plus a registration fee which I think is $142 or something. APs are $87 per, so it adds up fast.</p>
<p>The point about IB being bad for college credit is valid, although that is changing fast enough so that it may be less valid by the time it becomes relevant for you.</p>
<p>Apart from that, though, if you are worried about how colleges will view your repeating 11th grade, don’t worry. “I wanted to do a full IB program” will be a completely satisfactory answer, especially coming from an ex-homeschooler.</p>
<p>Another advantage will be this: As long as you are going for the “regular high school experience,” you will get that a lot better if you do 11th and 12th grades than if you just do 12th. Because of the way organizations work, and because it takes some time to find your bearings and your people, and because things tend to come unhinged at the end of 12th grade anyway, going to a school just for 12th grade means never really having any impact on it, participating fully in its life.</p>
<p>Being 18, not 17, when you graduate from high school and go to college will be a plus, not a minus. Not just for the college; for you, too.</p>
<p>I’m less concerned about college credit. Most of the schools I’m looking at only accept so many or only some of a specific kind or whatever they feel like accepting that day, so I’m trying not to worry too much. I will be going into my next grade, be it 11th or 12th, with 36 CC credits and 5 passing AP tests.</p>
<p>To clarify, I will be 19 my entire freshman year. I will turn 18 before I begin my senior year if I choose to go through with this whole scheme.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone particularly cares, but for those who do and to organize my thoughts, these are my reasons:
a very reputable high school offers it
I like the IB curriculum
I want prom, a yearbook, and teachers who care about me, even if all I do is complain about being trapped in teenager-jail for 8 hours a day
I want to take part in their extracurriculars, and even have an impact!
I want to develop more friendships with people around my age (most of my friends are in college)</p>
<p>So yes, lots of pros to the situation, but I’m also feeling lukewarm about the being in school all day part and being six months older than your average kid for the rest of my school career.</p>
<p>Anyone else with opinions, please keep them coming.</p>
<p>Our son attended five colleges and universities in dual-enrollment mode. I generally just had to convince someone high enough in admissions to let him take courses. Schools may have policies but they often have someone in the management chain that can grant a waiver.</p>
<p>The only problems I can see from being six months older than the average kid are</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When you are 18 and your classmates are not, you will probably be asked to buy cigarettes for people because you can do it legally.</p></li>
<li><p>When you are 21 and your classmates are not, you will probably be asked to buy alcoholic beverages for people because you can do it legally.</p></li>
<li><p>While still in high school, if you want to date a girl who is two or three grades behind you in school, her parents may object because of your age. However, unless the school is going to require you to make up freshman or sophomore courses, you are unlikely to meet many girls that much younger than you because all the IB kids will be in 11th and 12th grades.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So many parents hold back summer birthday kids anyway now - age will not be an issue. GO have your fun high school experience. Several of D’s friends chose to do dual enrollment, at the CC but they’re not on campus and really miss out on some of those “normal” teen things. My D really blossomed in the last 2 years getting involved in some of those types of things that you mention and in some places that surprised me. You are only a kid once and it sounds like you went from home to college without some of that in between socializing.</p>
<p>I still vote for you can do this in one year. You can have the whole year and really enjoy school. It will be a cake walk and after a while you will be very bored with the academics. Just take some of those AP courses you always wanted to take but were to afraid to waste you time on them. Believe me it will be a great experience but you don’t need two years of it really. Even kids in these programs run the the spectrum of intelligence. You are so far ahead academically you will grow bored very quick. </p>
<p>You will graduate on time and never have to explain why you a whole year older. Take the year and have the time of your life and chill.</p>
<p>With the additional information I would just go into school as a 12th grader, take the IB classes you can, take AP or other classes as you are able and graduate on time. Take part in whatever activities you want and when/if colleges question you on this tell them exactly what you posted here–you wanted to “experience” high school. That will not be an issue and most schools will actually applaud your choice.</p>