<p>Here's the deal. My son has blah blah scores, blah blah GPA, a very small set of EC's because he's at a very small school as one of the founding class. The school gave up trying to keep up with him academically over a year ago; as a result, he's been taking substantive classes at a local community college. Even <em>that</em> isn't any challenge -- he's been the highest grade in the class, etc. This summer, he's spent the summer at Stanford in fuzzy classes and will probably end up with 2 A's and a B. (The summer session has two more weeks.) I've recently realized that at this rate, if he continues what he's doing, by the time he's due to apply to colleges, he'll have enough credits to have to apply as a <em>transfer</em> for many schools, including Stanford. </p>
<p>He's also old for his grade, because his birthday was just after the cutoff, so he'll be turning 17 this fall. Honestly, he probably could have skipped a grade or two in the past, but because of family issues (his father hates formal education, there was a whole custody thing, he's changed schools tons of times) he never got the chance. So, honestly, at this point, high school is just a social outlet for him. He takes the tests they want him too, turns in the papers, and studies what really interests him on his own time. His summer at Stanford (getting real college credit, in classes with regular Stanford students) has really made him feel even more discontented with high school. The thought of two more years of it has makes him sorta wince and groan, though he's very polite about it. </p>
<p>Given that, I am sure he could apply early to many many places and get in, with scholarships or kickass financial aid, because I, his parent, am penniless and mostly unemployed. He doesn't just want to go <em>anyplace</em>, though -- he wants, really wants -- to go to Stanford. He's thought about other schools, he's spent the summer there, and that's what he wants. If this were his Senior year, he'd be applying EA and we'd be waiting to hear. </p>
<p>It's not, though. So, here's the question. Does Stanford ever admit a year early? If he applied and didn't make it, would it be likely to color his changes for next year? Should he try? We're going to have to decide now, because he'll need to start taking an additional English class at community college to make final graduation requirements. On the one hand, I hate for him to risk his chances to get into the school of his dreams. On the other, well, it's very sad to see him having to go from Plato and advanced research back to English classes based on reading one book every 6 weeks. </p>
<p>Ideas?</p>