<p>Hey everyone, currently I am a high school sophomore, and am doing pretty well so far, I am taking an AP class and received a 3.8 weighted/3.6 uw gpa for the first semester. I have taken the California high school exit exam and am 100% positive that I passed. After this year I want to continue the rest of my high school education in a community college and receive a GED, rather than a diploma. I find myself constantly distracted by the social aspect of high school, and feel that the environment is just not right for me; I feel more mature than many of my peers and just want to be surrounded in a more comfortable environment; I don't need a second chance, I just feel like I can learn to my fullest potential in a different environment. The community college I want to go to seems to fit my needs. </p>
<p>I will continue to take rigorous courses, and will take the SAT's, but am worried that the reputation of the GED will have a profound impact in the college admissions process; I aspire to go to such schools such as cal, ucla, nyu, and etc. </p>
<p>I already partake in extra curricular activities and know the importance of them for colleges.</p>
<p>So to sum it up, I will be finishing "high school" in a community college, but will receive a "lower quality" diploma; </p>
<p>Generally, GED recipients are the people who need a 'second chance.' </p>
<p>So, what I want to know is that, will colleges see that i'm smart, and disregard the "GED" label in my case? Will they treat me with equal bias to a student who is around my caliber but has received a diploma?</p>
<p>If you transfer from a CC, you’ll have a great shot at UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC and any of the other UC/CSUs. As long as you keep your grades up (which may be harder than it sounds). I know a couple people that did the GED option and were successful.</p>
<p>you’re looking for a more mature and academic environment at community college?</p>
<p>Being completely honest here, a 3.8 weighted gpa is nothing special dude. You don’t want to take any chances going into a more academic environment (i may be wrong, i have no idea how rigorous your cc is). Just stick it out in regular high school.</p>
<p>Your grades in CC are going to depend a lot on how much you work. It’s not like the other people in the class will be super smart, but they’re there because they want to be and are willing to do the work. The GED route is a good one if you don’t like high school and you’re sure you are mature enough. If you’re not sure, you can take a CC class in the spring or summer to gauge the difficulty.</p>
<p>Hey, zymbolic, have you ever heard of a program called TAMS? It stands for Texas Academy of Math and Science. It is at UNT (Univ of North Texas). There are other programs like it across the country. It is very well respected and works like this: Rising juniors who are accepted into TAMS attend the program at UNT at the beginning of what would have been their junior year in high school. Their last two years of high school are attended in residence at TAMS (UNT) instead of high school. And, nicely enough, those same two years of high school count as their first two years of college! So TAMS kids have a jump start on college. They’re effectively juniors in college while their high school peers are just beginning their freshman year! Many great colleges recruit kids from the TAMS program because they’re amongst the best and brightest. My kids were highly encouraged to apply, but didn’t. A handful of their friends applied and even fewer attended. But none of my kids felt like they were ready to reside a distance from home, in a dorm, like a college kid, right after they turned 16 years old. You, on the other hand, sound like you might really enjoy the experience! Some of my kids’ friends absolutely love/loved it!!! Check it out!</p>
<p>I’m not an admissions official, but I’m pretty sure you are always much better off getting the high school diploma than the GED. As I see it, surviving the frustrating social environment of high school is just a part of growing up.</p>