I want to drop out of high school.

<p>Try and hang in there! I agree with all the good advice given here. Please try and see a counselor or, if you're not ready for that option, go online to nami.org. Lots of information and support. One thing you need to know about a GED - usually, you can not take the exam until after your HS class has graduated - that puts you out for a year. Try the "just for today" approach if you can. My heart is with you.</p>

<p>I checked the law for persons taking a GED in the state of PA and I gather I can take and past the test before my class graduates? <a href="http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp?a=5&q=39791#copy%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp?a=5&q=39791#copy&lt;/a>
My only worry is not getting accepted into penn state. Yes I only have a 3.0 but its not a matter of good grades, its grades in relation to the college I'm applying to. Would you normally have to write an essay/comments on the application when in my situation? </p>

<p>Is there a way I could graduate early and take all my classes at my local community college? </p>

<p>I've learned to hate high school since day 1 and I have been counting the days for 3 years for it to be over. I have had some good times in high school but I have had many more bad times then I have good. How can I get out of high school and still go to college?</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies, they are very appreciated.</p>

<p>Well, you're talking about getting accepted to Penn State Wilkes Barre, which is not the "Penn State" most people think about when they hear the name. As you probably know, your GPA and SATs put you about dead center for their entering class. They take 84% of applicants, so your chances are pretty good.</p>

<p>On the other hand, they require four years of English in high school? Do you have that? I searched their web site re: GEDs and found nothing. If I were you, I'd call the admission department before I made this leap.</p>

<p>rofl. if you think that college kids dont act like they do on "jackass" or wont **** around, or are always acting totally mature you are mistaken. Kids may be more mature in college, more intellectual, etc. but that doesnt mean they dont act supid</p>

<p>if you feel like all of your class mates are jackasses in HS, you'l find the same type of crowd in college, and in the work force in the real world. I think its stupid to not finish HS because of it because you'll end up facing it again, for the rest of your life.
The best thing to do is learn to know who you are and know how to handle different types of people. Try to explore your self some more during your last HS year and into college. Take a look at some philosophy and psychology books. You may find many of them very interesting and you may have a shift on your perspective.</p>

<p>It's dumb to drop out senior year. Just finish it and get your diploma. You don't even need to go to college if you don't want to...but you better be very smart in other skills.</p>

<p>I think you will be disappointed if you do go to a PSU satellite campus. The atmosphere at these campuses is a LOT like high school. There are fewer kids and probably cliques and the like. It's more of a high school part 2 experience than a college one. However, you do get to transfer to main campus in as little as two semesters, and some very smart people that I know went to a satellite campus.
It looks like you could get in, but Penn State is getting really popular and even their branch campus admission is getting hard.</p>

<p>My little sister hated high school and said the kids were 'jackasses'.. she's now going to a penn state sattelite school and hates it more than high school. she said the kids are even worse and can't wait to get out of there. they all hang out in their groups and she hasn't made a friend yet - and she's even living on campus in their dorms. Penn state main campus is even worse than the sattelite campuses - a gazillion people walking around drunk 24/7 acting like complete jackasses.</p>

<p>Ok here's my insight.</p>

<p>I know someone who was expelled in my junior year (long story). In any case, he went to the local community college, took courses there, and was able to still move into senior year with us. Maybe there is a possibility you could do that. </p>

<p>Still, I highly discourage you to drop out. From what I can understand, you seem to be depressed. Let me just tell you-- I understand. My best friend is currently battling depression and just last year my school suffered a terrible tragedy because a boy in my school was depressed. </p>

<p>Based on my experiences with depression and people who suffer from it, it seems people always try to "peg" it to something. For instance, you're pegging it on the social aspect of school. Someone else I knew was pegging it on his experience with girls. The thing is, usually there's something much deeper than these surface issues that is causing depression. </p>

<p>You need to do yourself a favor and talk to someone. Talk to your guidance counselor, see if he has any advice. Talk to a teacher. Talk to a parent. Most likely, when they hear about your situation, they will want to help. </p>

<p>You might be amazed at how your outlook on school, and life in general, changes after you receive some help. </p>

<p>I know what people suffering from depression are going through. It's not easy. It's not easy to even talk to someone about...but it needs to be done. Just remember that this is only a very small part of your life and you WILL overcome this eventually. </p>

<p>I'm not trying to sound didactic and i'm not trying to sound like I know your situation, because obviously I don't. But I do know a little bit about depression, and hope that maybe my advice helps a little bit.</p>

<p>bcarvings, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time of it. I agree with the other posters who say that you should seek counseling before making such a drastic decision, and of course, it would be best if you can manage to stay the course for a few more months. But finishing out your senior year won't help you if your mental state causes you to do poorly in your calsses.</p>

<p>I don't know anything about the Pennsylvania educational system, but here in California we have a state test, the CHSPE, which allows one to leave high school early with the equivalent of a GED. By law, all California colleges (including the UCs) must accept the CHSPE in lieu of a high school diploma. My daughter took the test last year as a HS junior and is now a freshman at a community college, with the intention of transferring to a UC or a California private in two years.</p>

<p>Her situation was not the same as yours - socially, HS was great for her, her test scores were excellent (only girl in her class to be NM commended), but her grades were abysmal. (For example, she failed APUSH, then got a 4 on the AP test, and a 740 on the SAT II. To graduate from HS, she would have had to repeat a class for which she already had college credit.)</p>

<p>She's MUCH happier in college - the freedom to choose her classes (and her hours) means a lot to her, and she's studying subjects that her HS didn't offer, like anthropology. She also has time to intern with a local magazine. Though she hasn't made many friends, there's none of the "who do you sit with at lunch" pressure that's such a feature of HS. And the other downside of CC classes is that some of the students in her classes aren't quite as bright or as motivated as the students in the honors classes at her HS were. We hope that will change when she qualifies for the honors program next semester. Of course, we won't know if this experiment was a success until she applies to transfer in 2009, but right now, it's looking good. </p>

<p>There's no one path that's right for everybody. But please do seek counseling before you take "the road not taken". An antidepressant might do wonders for your worldview.</p>

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<p>You will no doubt thrive in college. At most colleges, there's little social pressure. A student who wants to study, or hang out in the lab, or visit art galleries, or play online games won't be mocked.</p>

<p>The key thing at this point is to complete high school in a way that will get you into college. While kids with GEDs DO get into college, have you considered a transfer? An alternative school? I know at my public HS, they have several programs, including one that emphasizes online work, that still lead to a degree.</p>

<p>As everyone else has suggested, get some input from somebody who knows your situation better than CC members - a guidance counselor, a teacher you respect, even a friend's mom or dad if you don't think your own parents should be your first resource. Sometimes, parent-kid discussions can get too emotional or judgmental to be useful for analyzing a problem and formulating a strategy. Good luck!</p>

<p>i don't think that you should drop out of high school .. you're almost done with highschool you won't get as far in your life without a dipolma so why drop out?? friends aren't a reason to drop out anyways.</p>

<p>Heres my advice here: You should listen very closely since I was semi-like you.</p>

<p>Education is not for you..... Drop out of HS and forget getting any diplomas. </p>

<p>Your just wasting your precious years of your short life in someplace you hate? Why???? Because the schools and colleges have you going real good that you make 5.00$ a hour if you don't do good in school....... </p>

<p>The reality of the matter is that is not true and it scares people into paying 50k a year to a college.</p>

<p>Heres what I did: </p>

<p>Dropped out of HS in 10th grade....
Got loans from family members and friends
Invested money into the stock market and made nice returns (2 years)
Paid back loans and started looking online for a business opportunity.
Tried several different online businesses lost alot of money (To be honest at this point I was living off income from Online Poker and blackjack)
Found my perfect business and invested everything I had into it.
I now make 70k a year running a online business 2-3 hours a day.</p>

<p>It's that simple, Stop wasting your time and stop caving into fear (working at 5.00 a hour), be a man and become something more then a sheep who works for someone else until they die (How sad...)</p>

<p>Or you can take the advice out of all these brainwashed fools and stay and waste your life in someplace you are unhappy.</p>

<p>You only live for so long....Don't screw it up by wasting years of your life unhappy....</p>

<p>This advice is only if your the type of person who likes to take risks and can live with the results...</p>

<p>hmm...........bigvick, but how do you know he really wants to be a businessman? Even if he wants, he can be a far better, and learned businessman even by going to a two year college. Not saying that going to college will guarantee him a great successful life (depends what is 'success' to every individual obviously), but it's rather the smoother, yet, challenging way to earn a living. And he has no problem going to college, and he's only finding it hard to decide whether he should drop out of HS.</p>

<p>Could you get your HSED? Which is a high school diploma except you take the GED tests, health and civics test. You don't have to take the health and civics test if you have 1/2 credit of health from high school and 3 social studies credits. That's what I got..and I don't know how colleges would look at you for it because I didn't drop out my senior year..I got it because I was home schooled.</p>

<p>Real quick B - please don't drop out. College is so much better than high school. I didn't like high school much although I did very well academically. I'm much happier in college. You can be anyone you want to be when you leave the stereotypes and pettiness of high school behind. Yes, some colleges are like high school, but I think you'll find most aren't. You do need to go to a therapist and get treated for depression. You may find your world just suddenly change for the better. btw - don't pick a college just because it is "less competitive": find a good fit, visit the campuses, follow your passions, and you'll find a new and hopefully happy home. Good Luck!</p>

<p>DON'T drop out. Maybe you can homeschool for the rest of senior year, maybe you should talk to guidance counselors and see if they will grant you duel enrollment credit. Are you sure you have explored every option? Also get "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" it may give you some good ideas.</p>

<p>Dwayne: I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap-high school and everything-just skip it.
Frank: You know Marcel Proust?
Dwayne: He's the guy you teach.
Frank: Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that.</p>

<p>Bcarvings, I'd try to finish up high school if you can. Either way, please talk to your guidance counselor about your options and about depression. I have friends who have been very much helped with the right medications. In fact my mom has been helped with meds. I've heard that some meds that help older folks do not work well in teenagers. So that is where the medical people and therapists come in. Do know that you have taken a very important FIRST STEP in posting on this board. A Lot of good advice here. We are all rooting for you and sending you positive thoughts and best wishes for a good outcome. I have a feeling that things will turn out well for you. It may be difficult now, but with the right help, it can and will get better.</p>

<p>bigvick,</p>

<p>Who says that the OP has to pay $50K a year to a college? Or even anything?</p>

<p>The biggest advantage to a college degree is having flexibility. Yes, you managed to succeed without the traditional means, and that's something amazing. However, how many people manage that? A college degree gives the more "average" person opportunities that no degree does not. </p>

<p>Not everything is about the salary.</p>