Literally, this is honestly one of the biggest decisions I will make, so I need help.

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>If you were in this situation, what would you do:</p>

<p>It is required we have 4 years of high school to graduate, (I think this is for everyone)..but anyways, I asked my principle that I would like to graduate earlier, and explained how I'd like to go to medical school early, yata yata ya...etc.. Anyways, after a "looooong enduring, stressful situation," my counselor and vice-principle constantly tried to contact the superintendent and tried to work it out so that I can graduate early. (I don't like them btw, I just try to act like I do, ..ugh) Anyways, they finally got me to graduate early. Howeverrrrrrr, I have a problem. I simply do want to graduate early now because:</p>

<p>1.) Colleges deadline to apply is OVER! I'm not waiting a year to apply because it is simply stupid and a waste of year.
2.) I will be bumped to the top 20 of my class rather than being top 5 of my class which really kills me.
3.) ...I can't think of anything else.</p>

<p>Sweet and short: If you had to choose, either to graduate early (which is a high and rare honor to receive), or become valedictorian of your class, (or even top 5), which would you choose? Think smart and hard. This is my future. Get your friends butts to come post too :)</p>

2

<p>Your grammar is kind of confusing so I don't know if I got this right but... you either grad early, only apply to colleges with a late deadline, and drop your class rank, or you grad normal, apply to colleges next fall and have more time for apps, and grad with higher stats?</p>

<p>If those are the choices, I would really suggest that you hold off gradutign for a year. Especially because of the college thing. And it isn't really prestigious/honorable to grad early. You just need the necessary credits. And why would you want to be a year younger than everyone else?</p>

<p>I would say nay.</p>

3

<p>Okay, you explained it better than I did, :). Well, if I graduate early, I get to go to college earlier, and become a doctor quicker..</p>

4

<p>Enjoy your senior year. It doesn't look too good to colleges if you graduated early & sat on your butt for a year.</p>

5

<p>You'll probably change your mind about medical school, anyway. Most kids do.</p>

<p>I do not think you should graduate early; you don't seem to have any good reasons for doing so. It's too late to apply to colleges for next year. </p>

<p>You should thanks the folks at your school for making the effort they did, regardless of what you choose.</p>

6

<p>Only a year quicker. Graduating a year early was my goal for a while.. but I realized I could fit a wholeeee lot more into that year and it was worth saving. I'd say graduate normally.</p>

7

<p>I think you kinda just have to prioritize. Do you want to have fun or get into a top college? Of course, it's possible to do both but if you graduate early you could probably spend the year doing something you really enjoy: studying abroad, an intensive science research project, volunteering, practicing for a sport, etc. If you do graduate early, you might not get into very competitive colleges but they might see you as a more interesting person and besides, there's more to life than college admissions. It's a tough choice though, I'm struggling with the same dilemma.</p>

8

<p>I would advise to stay at your high school and graduate with your classmates. Graduating early isn't an honor. Graduating at the top of your class most certainly is. Enjoy the coming year - visit colleges, make friends you haven't had the time for, get a job in the medical field next summer, read some good books, and relish this special time to discover more about yourself. What's the rush? Being a doctor a year earlier will mean little 10 years from now.</p>

9

<p>If I were you, I'd pass on graduating early and just let senior year come my way. Senior year truly has a lot of memories, I'm sure :) and you'll have a lot more time and choices when it comes to apply for college. But it's your decision! Hope you are happy with the one you end up choosing :)</p>

10

<p>Just enjoy senior year.. you have the rest of your life to be a doctor, so just have fun being a teenager while you can.</p>

11

<p>i would say stick around another year. you can always defer a year for college if you feel you need a gap. typically only super mature people make the decision to graduate early and colleges will ask you for an explanation of why you did this; it seems safer and emotionally better to do your senior year, which is a very fun year anyway.</p>

12

<p>I'll have to agree with everyone else. Have a fun senior year, and you'll be at the top of the game and have time to think out everything. If you go early you might not be as prepared as if you have another year.</p>

13

<p>I would suggest graduating early. I plan on doing this. First and foremost, which is more important? Education or fun senior year. Often, one can save a lot of money by doing this. Also, you will be in school a loooong time in order to become a doctor. Graduating early would help. I would say go for it. Do you plan on attending a CC or four year university ar first?</p>

14

<p>Yes, like the majorty says, stay, in college you can work hard and get the necessary credits earlier, like working during the summer, or even just do a 6 year medical school program. I have a friend who's graduating in 3 years based on taking the right classes and working hard last summer.
Don't graduate early, do well senior year and get into a good college with the normal application deadline.... there is absolutely no need to rush anything</p>

15

<p>Well, maybe if you live near a big college or something, you could try PSEO.</p>

16

<p>Don't graduate early. As much as I hate high school and everything, I still like being a senior - even though the year is stressful and all. There's something I like about sitting out in the hall with friends during classes and not getting reprimended for being out of class - heck, teachers sit and talk with us! I don't necessarily want to rush into the "real world" and later regret not enjoying my time in comfort.</p>

17

<p>I am graduating early, and I am a really big advocate of it, but it is only for certain people. I have always felt years beyond my peers, and for the entirety of 10th grade I spent my days dreaming about college. I had already decided where I wanted to apply, what I wanted to major in, etc. by... probably around March-ish of 10th grade. I thought I was stuck for two years, but then I realized that I had the ability to graduate early. I went through the procedures and I am now in my 11/12th grade of high school. I only had to take one extra class (social studies) in order to do so, so I am having no problem whatsoever. It was an extremely hard decision to make, and it has been met with much animosity from my peers - I cannot count the number of times a day during the first month or so of school that people came up to me and proclaimed how they couldn't believe I would make that decision and that they didn't understand it, could never do it themselves, etc. It drove me nuts for awhile, but luckily its died down now. Even still, at least once or twice a week people come up to me (and these are people I either barely know or only knew from elementary school and such). HOWEVER, on the other hand, every single person who has already graduated high school (guidance counselors, teachers, parents, friends, coworkers, even my therapist) have agreed that it is an excellent idea. So with that combined, I have really had to look within myself and know that it was the correct decision for me, and know that I just had to ignore those who didn't support it. There are a ton of tradeoffs as well. I don't get the pleasure of looking around at graduation and knowing i"ve known these people for 18 years. I don't get to relax a little senior year. I don't really get as many chances to receive roles in musicals/dramas (a hobby of mine). It also turns out, unfortunately, that I am missing several opportunities - classes that are offered next year, leadership positions in clubs, etc. However, in my mind, for my mental health, it is all worth it. Even still this year, I have been unhappy in high school, and I am counting the days until I graduate. And another thing is, I probably could have gotten into more prestigious schools if I stayed four years in high school. However, the industry I am going into after college doesn't require Ivy League prestige or perfect SAT scores. I believe I am approximately at the same rank in my class I would have been if I graduated on a normal schedule, perhaps I would be a few slots higher, but I am still i the top 10%, so in my opinion it is not that big of a deal. If it is important to attend a prestigious university, graduating early may not be the best route.</p>

<p>That being said... you don't sound very well prepared. If you missed deadlines, then you don't have a college to go to. So what is the point of graduating early? In order to graduate early, you have to have a plan, and a very good one. If you haven't made the decision by now, it seems there is simply no decision to make. However, I wish you luck, and if you (or anyone else who is questioning graduating early) has any questions, feel free to PM me.</p>

18

<p>Last year, I was in the exact same position! Either graduate early with 8 APs, lower rank, few ECs, or put it off a year with 11+ APs, val and more ECs. At first I thought I'd graduate early, but decided not to later. Really, there is a whole lifetime ahead of me. Shouldn't I be as best prepared for it as I can be? All my friends are currently seniors, and next year I won't have as interesting classes to take, and some I'll have to do at the community college... but it gives me time to keep my act together, you know?</p>

<p>I'm happy with my choice, but people are different.</p>

19

<p>graduate normally</p>

20

<p>Graduating early is lame.</p>