<p>My little brother in 8th grade applied to an early college and got in. This is the type of early college that students complete all required high school courses in two years, and then in the next two years they go the university and take any classes they want. I searched this school and there is about 60 students per a grade. I do not know if he should go because I am not too sure how top tier (Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Duke) schools look at these students. There are no AP classes offered at this school, but then again they can take as many classes as they want at a university for the last two years of high school. He is definitely at the level of an Ivy League student (but so are 20,000 applicants a year right? haha) so I am not too sure if he should go and then end up not going to a top tier school just because he is an early college student. Do these colleges possibly look at these students in a good way or bad way? Does it even make a difference? Any advice? Thanks</p>
<p>I don’t think it makes a difference, really. My friend goes to an early college and got into a top tier school. My school doesn’t offer AP courses either. Colleges will look at the context of your school to base their decision, and how the student takes advantage of that situation – taking the most rigorous courses offered, etc. I think it’s fine and it seems like a great school so don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>@lovers Thanks. Also, another concern I have is that this school does not offer many clubs and offers no sports. He is good at soccer (takes it from me :p), probably would make varsity his junior year if he goes to the normal public school. Would the colleges understand that this school does not offer many clubs and sports and give him lee way? I believe this school is mostly academic driven, which isn’t bad, but it does not care much for EC’s which is an integral part of getting into a top school.</p>
<p>I think you should be more concerned about whether this is the high school experience he wants. Being a young student in a college course is rather different than finishing high school with your friends. Commuting to a college campus may be difficult in various ways. Will he be mature enough to be comfortable hanging around a college campus? Will these grades follow him on his college transcript and is this going to create any issues? Does he have the reading, writing, and math skills to keep up with college work in 2 years? Will attending the college prevent him from participating in the EC’s he likes?</p>
<p>It really depends on who he is. Some kids need to move past high school quicker for both intellectual and social reasons. My eldest is in an early college program and really loves it. </p>
<p>He may not be able to participate in the university clubs but there are lots of activities he could do off campus. He could do charity work, be part of a church group, play rec or club sports, do community or youth theatre, internships, get a job when he’s of age. Museums sometimes have clubs to be part of if he has any particular interests. If there are 60 kids in his grade, putting together a literary magazine is possible. If he’s not at the level for university music programs, many communities have youth orchestra and band opportunities separate from schools. My own daughter has found she has more time for EC’s because she spends substantially less time in class and while she can have some hefty research papers and projects, she doesn’t have the nightly grind of busy work that she had when she was in a traditional high school.</p>
<p>Also consider that the Ivy leagues may not be the schools that suit him when the time comes. He should make choices based on what is going to keep him engaged and challenged the next 4 years. Yes, he should take care of his requirements for a good college but he shouldn’t live the next 4 years focused on an Ivy League education. </p>
<p>Everything all funnels down the same drain. One could do a program like this, a fancy prep school, a giant public HS, a military boarding school, etc and they all end up going to the same colleges, taking the same ACT/SATs. It really depends on the individual, but most all roads lead to the same destination.</p>
<p>If he does not do this early college program, what are the course and curriculum alternatives at the high school? I.e. will they be sufficient to keep him interested and challenged in school?</p>
<p>One thing to note is that actual college courses tend to require much more student self-motivation and time management than high school courses (including AP courses that sometimes have similar content). Gaining experience with how college courses are run while still in high school can ease the transition to actually going to college. Some more typical frosh struggle with this transition when it happens at the same time as other transitions (living on one’s own at college, working part time to earn real money to pay for college, etc.).</p>
<p>I’m confused, OP. Are you your brother’s legal guardian? What you want him to do really isn’t a factor here. As others have already told you, if your brother needs more of a challenge than traditional schools can offer him,. then this might be exactly what he needs. He also may not find that Ivy’s (which are not the be-all, end-all destination for everyone) are not what he needs, again, as others have pointed out. As well, college do take into consideration what is and is not offered at any one high school. My D’s does not have sports or AP classes, but has a 100% college acceptance rate. It has a wide variety of other opportunities that make up for some traditional EC’s.</p>
<p>Living in Seattle, I’m familiar with the UW’s early college program and knew a young woman who began college there at 13 or 14 and had her Ph.D before she was 20. It was the path she needed and she did well. I have a friend who homeschooled her daughter, who got her AA degree at the same time she finished HS. She began at a 4 year college as an 18 yo junior, and is now working on her Ph.D. at 20. THAT worked for HER. My niece did a traditional HS, but added extra classes and jumped directly into advanced levels, then took a triple major college path, and is now the owner of 2 Master’s degrees. There IS no one true way, and I say if your parents are ok with this and your brother wants to do it, more power to him.</p>