<p>Currently a sophomore, but I've reached the point where both my counselor and parents realize I am way too mature for staying in HS. On top of this, I'm just not challenged and everything feels fake to me (the ECs, the volunteer work, etc). Long story short, I realized only two things were my passion - business law and journalism (I took classes at my CC, and fell in love with both subjects). Here's the thing - I'm going to be quite young when I finish the IGETC at my CC- I'll be barely 17 (15 now). I know my age looks quite young on paper, but I'm 100% motivated. I doubt colleges would look down upon this, but I wanted to know of any possible repercussions.</p>
<p>For the record, I'm getting the CHPSE (california high school proficiency exam) certificate, which is equivalent to a HS diploma.</p>
<p>Start with the most important part: what you are going to think about this choice two years from now. You will miss two years of the residential college experience. You will be very out of sync with your college classmates when you arrive as a junior and they've had two years to staff the college newspaper or radio station. The caliber of your classmates in community college will, as a group, be nowhere near the caliber of your 4-year college classmates, so the level of discussion/instruction/friendships will be lower.
Have you explored other options, like studying abroad as a junior and then entering a 4-year school just one year early?
It sounds like you are smart and bored, and I think community college is not going to solve that problem.
Here's another suggestion...go visit those community college classes in session now.</p>
<p>I'm in my CC class right (intro to business, winter session) now, and I'm going to miss only my junior and senior year of HS, not college. The study abroad thing came up, but I wouldn't be comfortable leaving home for a year at 16 in a foriegn country (as much as I'd love to, I'd probably do it in summer).</p>
<p>you will be going in as a transfer student, not a freshman most likely, iwth the credits you may have, which may or may not be transferable...these are things that you really need to consider..,.and transfer can a different process and may be narrower in scope</p>
<p>before making this decsion, read up on transfer students, credit, transferable credits etc</p>
<p>I think leaving high school earlier is not what you want. You will need to enter college as a transfer. Just take the hardest courseload in high school and if that is not hard enough, take a few community college courses to quench your thirst. No need to leave out junior and senior year. If you get good grades and such you can see yourself at a top university, where you will not be so bored anymore.</p>
<p>yes, i'll be going in as a transfer student, i know that. i've talked to my CC counselor, and everything's been set in stone - i'll be done with my 60+ credits in 2 years flat, with winter and summer intersessions</p>
<p>If it's "set in stone" I'm not quite sure why you're asking for advice. Transferring can be more difficult than freshmen admission, especially at very selective schools. (Princeton, for example, does not offer transfer admission.) You'd be wise to look at the transfer requirements for colleges you're considering. (Sophomore year is early to make that decision but you may have a general idea.) I'd really encourage you to talk directly with admissions officers at a few possible schools before you decide. </p>
<p>"I'm going to miss only my junior and senior year of HS, not college." If you transfer in with two full years of college credit you would enter as a junior rather than a freshman, correct? I agree with SVM that you might be out of sync with your classmates at that point.</p>
<p>don't know where OP lives, but In CA, it is easier to get into UCLA or UC Berkeley as a community college transfer student than as a high school applicant. Set up that way by the California master plan for (forget the whole name).</p>
<p>Yep, I live in California. The CC I'm going to has a VERY high transfer rate to UCLA (it's in the top 10 for CC transfer to UCs and CSUs) - I just don't want my age to be a problem</p>
<p>Again, my advice is to talk directly to admissions at UCLA (or whatever school you're interested in) about your specific situation. They're your best source of accurate information.</p>
<p>OP says "I wouldn't be comfortable leaving home for a year at 16 in a foriegn country" so that makes me wonder if he (or she?) would feel okay about going away for college early. Cornell has an early admission program that allows for attendance after junior year so that might be an option if you're willing to stick out HS for one more year. <a href="http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/firstyear/other.cfm#early%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/firstyear/other.cfm#early</a>
I think it's a good idea to figure out where you want to end up as a first step, then work backward from there--looking at what practical steps you need to take to achieve your goals.</p>
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Currently a sophomore, but I've reached the point where both my counselor and parents realize I am way too mature for staying in HS.
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I don't know, you have your entire life to work. Why exactly do you want to get ahead so soon? You may be mature, but it doesn't mean you're old. Your classmates, they'll catch up to you but they'll have gotten more out of the two more years they had of being a kid.</p>
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<p>OP says "I wouldn't be comfortable leaving home for a year at 16 in a foriegn country" so that makes me wonder if he (or she?) would feel okay about going away for college early. Cornell has an early admission program that allows for attendance after junior year so that might be an option if you're willing to stick out HS for one more year.<<< </p>
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<p>MD Mom, I don't know if you were referring to the Simon's Rock suggestion, but ifso, it's in Great Barrington, Mass and takes rising sophomores. Full name is Simon's Rock of Bard College and transfer to Bard College (and other colleges as well) is quite common after the initial two years. The beauty is that the entire entering freshman class is 16.</p>
<p>I was just thinking in general terms, not about any specific program. It's not clear to me if OP is interested in going away to so school or not just yet. </p>
<p>Simon's rock sounds interesting and might be a choice OP wants to think about. I was just throwing Cornell's early admit program out as an additional option if OP wanted to go to school before graduating HS.</p>