Is leaving high school to attend community college and transferring to a UC a good idea?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

I am a sophomore in high school, and I was wondering if taking CHSPE and leaving high school and attending community college is a good idea. I’ve heard on the internet some people have done it and got into UC Berkeley after spending 2 years in community college taking prerequisites and IGETC courses. I have also found out this path can save my parents a lot of money to pay for my tuition fees.

Should I stay in high school and aim for scholarship and private university or should I leave and just attend community college and transfer to a UC after 2 years?

I honestly don’t know which path will be better for me. I just don’t want to make a silly choice and regret it later…
Generally, I used to aim for prestigious private universities like Stanford or MIT, but given the amount of time and money I could save by going to community college and transferring, I don’t know…

2

There is no reason to save time. Where are you going to spend it?

The process is part of life, not a distraction from life. You will not save time. Plus, you will be growing in other, social, emotional, spiritual, leadership ways. It’s not all about knowledge, but how you harness that knowledge in the company of others, that makes for a fulfilling life.

Here is a plan that works well: Shoot for going to community college through dual enrollment through high school. Also take as many AP exams as you feel comfortable with and score 4 or 5 on them. A community college will convert these to IGETC and pre-req satisfaction.

When college decision time comes, seriously consider community colleges. You may be able to attend community college for one year, finish IGETC AND all your pre-reqs, then transfer to Berkeley*. You will “save” a year that way; plus you will still save your parents 2 years’ tuition at UC AND one year’s tuition at community college AND have “the full high school experience.” In parallel, you can apply for scholarships at private universities.

Short answer: No, don’t leave high school- savor it!

Yes, aim for a scholarship and private university or community college and UC.

*If you really want to challenge yourself, you could figure out how to apply as a transfer student to UC and apply to community college over summer term after high school graduation. If you plan it right, you could conceivably require only a couple additional classes after high school to graduate full-IGETC from community college. Then, you would attend UC for 2 years and graduate. Because of logistics/bureaucracy this would, in practice, be almost impossible to do, but it is an interesting thought experiment. Each of these events (graduation from HS, matriculating to community college, graduation from community college) are supposed to be done sequentially, and to be complete by the end of spring term- but there may be some loophole depending on how the calendar lines up.

3

I think it depends on your maturity level personally. I would also recommend going to your local community college and taking the exams to show which math/English level you’re at. You will all of a sudden be more responsible for your own classes with registering and have to stay on top of a lot of things, like which classes transfer, which ones are required, etc. But there is a lot of help here. Even sit in a class or two and see what you think, it’s free and the professors can’t kick you out.

Definetly put a lot of thought into it, but if you feel mentaly ready and mature enough to handle, I’d say go for it. If my kids are at that level (and age) I would encourage them as well. Also make sure your parents are on board! Good Luck

4

This rout works for some students

5

Thank you very much, ItsJustSchool, for the advice. I will look into dual enrollment at my local community college and study for AP exams.

6

In addition to what Itsjustschool said, carefully think about what YOU want. Personally I hated high school, I didn’t care for the overly exaggerated “high school experience.” But to each there own, which is why you need to think about if you ok missing out on it or not. Personally I wish I had researched my options better. I wasn’t the social/outgoing-type, I was the one who liked to quietly read books, play chess, and read/watch manga. So I would have preferred the early-opt out and directly into college.

7

Why the rush? Your parents will save the same amount of money if you finish HS and then enroll at a CC for 2 years.

If you leave HS now (not sure if you’re planning on doing this before or after 10th grade) then if your plan works you will be one of the youngest students in your classes at Cal. This may affect the friendships you make (and the out-of-class socialization is a big part of what one learns in college, even if its not listed on any syllabus). Furthermore grad schools or employers may wonder about maturity due to your young age when you finish college. That’s assuming you get in, of course; there are no bonus points for applying young, and it is a mistake to take for granted that you will earn high enough grades at a CC to be a strong candidate for Cal.

The remaining years of HS provide a time not just for classes but to mature and grow. If one motive to leave is that you don’t get along with the other kids in HS then the right thing to do would be to get help to fix that, not quit and start taking CC classes.

8

Wow, that was an eye-opener for me, mikemac. Thank you very much.

Also, thanks for pointing out the friendships and maturity part. I do agree that I should mature first in high school.

9

I have two sons. One left high school before graduating, received an A.A. degree, and then transferred to his dream school where he is on full scholarship. He enjoyed the things high school offered socially, but didn’t see the point of taking more AP courses when he could just go to college. He was a mature self-starter. He made great friends at early college, so didn’t feel he missed anything by leaving high school early.

His younger brother attended all four years of high school and made the most of his experience by being involved in many clubs and activities. He is at his dream school too, but a very different one from his brother.

Bottom line - different strokes for different folks. Leaving high school doesn’t make you grow up faster - life takes care of that, as long as you continue to challenge yourself. But if you move on from high school early, do so because you are ready for a new challenge and it is right for you, and not because you want to set a perfect path to Berkeley.

10

First of all, does a Chspe even get you out of high school? I mean, you still need a GED.

Second, a fatal flaw I see over and over is kids rushing to the community college too young and their grades suffer. The unfortunate thing is those grades will follow you FOR LIFE. What I suggest is you finish high school with your peers, then go two years to a CCC, so you transfer as a junior when you are 20 or thereabouts. Plus, you’ll be around kids your own age at the university, which is an important consideration in terms of fitting in.

11

A high school diploma is not required for admission as a transfer student to University of California. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/transfer/minimum-requirements/index.html

12

Yes, by law, CHSPE gives you the certificate of proficiency. By California law, this is the equivalent of high school diploma. However, it is not generally recognized by other states, so outside of California, it’s not that much of a use.

I agree. I shouldn’t rush and leave high school.

13

Good to know, albclemom. Thanks for your input.

14

We were also the parents that wanted our DD to finish out high school and mature, but she was miserable for a variety of reasons. We allowed her to take the CHSPE and leave high school early. It was the best decision she ever made. She flourished at CC and is now a senior at UCLA. She did very well at CC, in TAP, and is doing very well at UCLA. Only you can determine if you can handle this path. Good luck!

15

This is a very personal decisions that few 15 year olds are equipped to make. If you a viable candidate as a sophomore for Stanford, you are probably best served attending a few more years of high school.

If you don’t hate it, why leave? What’s the up-side?

16

If I were in your shoes, I would just work towards graduating from high school with a lot of AP courses/tests under your belt. If you wanted to save $ for tuition, you could possibly go to a CC after high school and transfer in just a year (possibly more). It’s good to give yourself options - yes, people do what you’re thinking of doing, but it may not be best for you. Regardless, you shouldn’t feel rushed to complete college. Take your time.

17

I’m just going to add my two cents, and I do realize everyone is different. But I am what I am, and if you were my kid, I’d be having a conniption fit right about now (def: a fit or rage of hysterics). Call me conservative, but I am so fanatically pro-education and doing it through the proper channels. I think you really need to graduate high school and then decide what you want to do. You’re way too young to make an informed decision. As @NCalRent and @goldencub said, why the rush? (This is just my opinion, so people can freely disagree.) :slight_smile:

18

I took the CHSPE this March and passed; I left in May after the administration finally let me withdraw from high school. (I was a junior this year)
I’m currently enrolled for the fall term at a local community college. I really hated my high school and its environment and my GPA was pretty low, so I realised that I would have to go to a community college anyway after graduating. I can’t speak for my success since I haven’t even started college yet but for me, it was a very liberating option to take and I’m glad that I did so.

However, everyone’s different and you should take some time to think about it. If you really are undecided you could always take the test and make a decision later on. The CHSPE certificate is also useful for job applications, since you wouldn’t have to go through the school to get approval.