My GC gave me the opportunity to be in the middle college program next year. Should I do it?
I’m currently a sophomore taking AP bio, honors precalc (online), honors english, honors history, spanish 2, PE, and comp sci. I have a 4.22 GPA weighted and a 4.0 UW and I am just not challenged at my school (a large public high school). Beyond just academics, I also don’t really fit in and I want to get away from the high school scene.
Though I’m only a sophomore and haven’t put too much thought into college plans I do want to go to a good school (UC Berkeley/other UCs, Harvey Mudd, Reed, etc.) and am wondering how middle college looks on college apps.
Do you live in California?
Middle College sounds like a great academic option for you but remember, what trips applicants from middle college is ECs. Check whether you can continue trams/clubs at your HS, or whether you can join (how easily) research and clubs at the middle.college.
@MYOS1634 I do live in CA. The CC I’d be taking classes at is about a 5 minute drive away from my HS and I would still be able to participate in any clubs or sports teams at my high school. Regardless of what I do next year I’ll most likely be playing varsity volleyball and be in the science club and science bowl team as well as the cancer research club. Do you think it’s practical to drive back and forth for clubs and sports? Would my schedule make it impossible to get there in time?
You’d likely have five classes a semester, three on MWF and two on TTh ( or 4+1 or 2+3 but that’s not as balanced). So, you’d have plenty of time to drive back and forth.
Note however that each college class would be twice faster paced than a hs class and would require at least two hour of preparation, plus office hours (once a week or twice a month) and study groups. So it wouldn’t be like HS - more work on your own, more flexibility.
If you choose to do middle college (I’m assuming means community college since I’m not familiar with the term middle college), I would not make assumptions that you need to do study groups, office hours etc. My daughter is a high school senior who is doing her second year of full time dual enrollment. I can tell you she has never done a study group beyond talking to people a few minutes before/after class or exchanging cell numbers to text. I doubt she has done office hours beyond asking for a college recommendation.
. In terms of schedule choose one that fits the classes you want and works for you. First my daughter doesn’t take any classes on Fridays since her school doesn’t do m/w/f classes just M/W or T/TH or longer once a week classes which includes Friday only options. Actually one semester my daughter took 4 classes M/W and 1 class Tuesdays so no classes on Thursday and Friday. She loved that schedule but it hasn’t worked out again. Now on Fridays she gets up early drives her father to work so she can have the car and goes figure skating where she practices and hangs out with figure skating friends. Of course she also has to pick up her father at work.
I would have to ask though is why don’t you feel challenged at high school and what makes you think college will be more challenging. I know my daughter still had to finish taking her high school graduation requirements. She will have over 60 credits but isn’t getting an associates degree. For my daughter it wasn’t the challenge she was after but she preferred getting to focus on say business classes rather than AP classes that didn’t interest her as much. It also gave her more time to focus on figure skating simply by being available to skate some during traditional school hours.
Office hours are necessary to middle college students since they will need two recommendations from their professors in order to apply to selective colleges. In fact, it is recommended they try and take two classes with the same professor if they got along well in order to ensure the strongest possible recommendation.
In the past, top middle college students were tripped by recommendation and ECs when it came to highly selective xolleges., hence the advice.
(@mom2girl2: Middle college is an option for advanced high school students who are not adequately served by their high school. They remain HS students but take a full load of classes - 4 or 5 a semester- at a nearby college. Your daughter is a high level figure skater who dual enrolled to accommodate her academic and athletic excellence, so her situation is different from more traditional middle college students, who need to maintain ECs.)
@MYOS1634 my daughter is far from a high level figure skater just loves to skate. There are 16 tests that Olympic skaters have passed. She is pretty low on the testing most likely taking the 4th test in December. Since she has been volunteering for many years with beginners her coach is now trying to get her high enough to eventually be able to get paid to do some coaching. My daughter is a high school student who takes a full load of classes 5 each semester at a community college and is considered a regular high school student and will graduate with her high school class. She does ECs with her high school such as the high school figure skating team, helps with Class of 2018 activities etc.