I think that being 12 to 13 hour drive from home will mostly keep you from driving, which means that you will need fly back and forth. There are plenty of students who go to school on the opposite coast and have a full day flight. You would at least have relatively short flights, and could do the drive once to bring stuff from home at the beginning of your first year. One thing that you should check however is whether you can do this with one flight or if you would need two, and what the cost would be of flying back and forth.
Right now I am about an 11 hour drive from home dropping off a daughter at university. In this case we feel that it is worth it for a great school in a beautiful location.
Btw at my school, we do Earth Science, Biology, then Chemistry. Physics is an optional course as only three credits are required. I plan to take it next year because I’m currently enrolled in Biology and Chemistry this year (if I where to do a 4th year of HS, I would probably do an AP science). I was offered to move up a year in science but didn’t do it because I had to answer by winter break and didn’t have time to get my questions answered.
I took Algebra I and LAC I in 7th (one was considered honors, I believe it was LAC I), then Geometry and LAC II in 8th (both honors). Last year I had Honors American Literature, Honors Algebra II, Honors Earth Science, World History, Spanish I, Computer Fundamentals, plus required Health and PE (which is probably the most useless class ever in an online school).
This year, which hasn’t started yet, I have AP English Language, APUSH, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, Spanish II, then Driver’s Safety/PE as semester courses.
Also my school doesn’t offer Honors for languages or math past Algebra II.
Honestly the drop in my GPA was because I wasn’t completing all of the work on time last year. Math was definitely the worst with it, I ended the year with a C. I dropped an extracurricular for more reasons than just school but I do have more time now.
Also, studying for the PSAT is something that’s done? My school mostly just told us to call the local school district and sign up back in May if we wanted to take it, I did and now I’m at calling the 11th grade advisor or something in mid-September.
OK, I have new facts from my first post. I made the false assumption that you were a rising senior. You are entering your second year of HS, regardless of the year label attached. Your parents can’t imagine sending you that far because you are still young. It’s too early for that decision.
Your 3.2 is also from one year of HS. That’s good news because you have plenty time to get over a 3.5 or better even if you do graduate in 3 years. I agree with others that you should talk to the guidance counselor and construct a curriculum that lets you graduate on time, rather than early. That could include multiple APs and if possible duel enrollment, both of which may reduce college costs depending on where you attend.
If you have a 3.2 GPA, then you should NOT be trying to graduate high school one year early. You should be trying to slow down and graduate at the normal age, and significantly improve your GPA.
This is of course a somewhat different question than whether you should go to university far from home, although I do see that being far from home would probably be more tolerable if you are older.
Look into dual enrollment options in your state. My daughter graduated hs with 60 semester hours toward her BS and my son will graduate with 81. http://admissions.psu.edu/apply/requirements/options/ In Ohio the hs pays all the expenses. Ask your hs how it works in PA.
Is your school purely online, partly online partly brick-and-mortar, or entirely brick-and-mortar but they don’t offer some classes so have you take them online?
Your schedule this year is good for a mix of sophomore/junior year.
Next year, you could take Physics and AP chemistry, Spanish III, AP Euro or World History,
Dual enroll for Calculus 1 and your choice from calculus 2, statistics, discrete math, linear algebra (whatever you don’t take next year you could take senior year) and English both semesters (Composition, communication, seminar/or related: philosophy, comparative literature…) plus one class of your choice each semester (music, cultural anthropology…)
“Senior year”, be totally dual-enrolled.
Typically, dual-enrolled students take 4 or 5 classes per semester that are paid for by the HS or the district or the state, which indicates your ability to handle rigorous content, autonomy in learning, and a fast pace, while allowing you to earn credits which you may be able to use at some universities.
Yes, good students study for the PSAT because there’s a lot of money at stake.
There’s PSAT 10 and PSAT NMSQ. The first one is for 10th graders to practice, the second one is for all 11th graders to take -if they’re top 1% they can qualify for a range of scholarships which, depending on the university, go from $2,500 to full tuition to full ride.
