<p>Hi all.
Sorry to be in your forum, but I could use some advice from all of you parents out there!
I am interested in early entrance programs (meaning that instead of doing senior year in HS I would go to college) but I do not know how to introduce this concept to my father (he is very opinionated, and if he decides he doesn't like something, it is not going to happen, period.)
My mother is very much in support of it (but my parents are divorced), and my GC is also very supportive, but convincing him will be the most important (as he will be saddled with tuition, etc).
Any advice?
Thanks again!</p>
<p>Do you have reason to believe that he won't go for it? Have you broached the idea before and he wasn't receptive?</p>
<p>Are you sure that you want to miss out on your Senior year? Take your time and think it through before jumping into this. Weigh the pros and cons. Why do you want to start college early? What advantage in the long run will this give you? Why do you want to leave your high school early? Will it mean that you will miss out on scholarships offered to qualifying seniors? You need to sort out your reasons for why you want to do this. I'm not saying that it's a bad way to go, but you must dig down deep within yourself and figure out why you want out of your high school early. If you've exhausted the curriculum in your high school, I'd say start college. For any other reason, you may want to think long and hard before skipping your senior year.</p>
<p>You certainly should approach him with this. I don't think it is a negative thing. He may be amenable and supportive of the situation when you give him your reasons. So get your facts in line and your story together about the advantages.
One issue that he may have is the financial end of it. He may not have put things in order to come up with your college money next year. Ask him to start running the numbers to see what he is expected to pay. If nothing else, it is a dry run that will let everyone know what is going to be expected in the financial area. This has been a sticking point for many kids, particularly kids from divorced families, in my experience. You may also learn some financial information that will impact your decisions. It is a good idea to at least start the process on the financial end and you will be ahead of everyone even if you decide not to go next year.</p>
<p>I did this back in 1969. I really didn't like hs and knew senior year would only be worse. As soon as I got to college, I was surrounded by an interesting peer group and made lots of friends. I had notrouble with the academics either. Not for one second did I regret leaving hs early. Doesn't mean it's right for everyone, but it was right for me.</p>
<p>If your father will be paying for tuition eventually, starting it a year earlier should make little difference because he'll also be done a year earlier. Do you think he questions your maturity or judgement?</p>
<p>Depending on <em>why</em> you are interested doing this, have you considered the alternative of remaining in HS for the first semester of senior year, then spending the second semester doing something interesting such as volunteering abroad or pursuing another interest? </p>
<p>I know several students who have done this. It has two big advantages: it enable you to take more time selecting and applying to colleges, rather than doing it all in a rush--and when you are one year less mature and less experienced, which does make a difference at your age--and you are likely to be able to return to participate in graduation and the other end-of-year festivities with friends and family.</p>
<p>Moderator Note: There are several parents on this Board whose children have done this. I have changed your thread title a bit, in hopes they will more easily notice it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>What year are you in right now? If you want to apply to colleges, you will need to have completed high school requirements and have all the necessary board scores (ACT or SAT, plus 2-3 SAT subject tests depending on the college). You will need to have a strong high school record and all the recs. </p>
<p>Are you considering dual enrollment? What about staying in high school but taking courses at the local college/university? </p>
<p>Is your family's financial situation such that you will need financial aid? How much? How do your parents expect to pay for your education? These are some issues that you will need to consider and discuss with each of your parents.</p>
<p>Here in Wisconsin we have a Youth Options program, you could get U of Michigan classes as a senior if Michigan had the same program- you would have to pay room, board and buy textbooks- you can use this argument with your father (being a neighboring state I know some strings you can pull with your father, if in WI you can do it, why not in MI...). I have known students who have either gone to college after junior year via this or as regular college freshmen- it is an excellent choice if you, your GC and mother all think so. My gifted son started kindergarten early and skipped an elementary grade so I have personal experience also with younger than average college students. Your guidance counselor may be the best one to present your case to your father, s/he can offer the professional opinion and counter any of his objections and reassure him with objective reasons. S/he may be able to also flatter him with praise for fathering such a brilliant and mature child... Good luck. PS- regarding costs, you are just incurring them one year early, as well as saving those from being a HS senior.</p>
<p>Marite has some necessary questions there for you. The next SAT date is not until after the summer. Are you thinking about going to college this fall? Or are you entering your third year of highschool and want to make it your last?</p>
<p>Actually, you don't need to have fulfilled HS requirements to apply Early Admissions. I just skipped my senior year. I think that's what Early Admissions is all about.</p>
<p>My D's best friend decided last fall (her junior year) to graduate one year early and start college in the fall. I don't know if this is the case with you, but she just never found a good social group in high school and didn't really click with any of the groups like band, choir, sports, etc. Plus she was starting to hang around with a somewhat bad crowd. She was accepted to three local colleges with partial scholarships and she chose one of them and is going to live in a dorm. In order to get in all the required credits she is taking several classes at summer school. This seemed to be a good plan for her. I'm not sure on your motivation for leaving early and if any of her reasons would apply to you. Good luck!</p>
<p>There are definitely some early admissions programs such as at UCLA or U Wash or Simon's Rock. Some colleges also allow students to attend without a high school diploma or without having completed senior year (e.g. Harvard or MIT or Stanford). But some do require the high school diploma, eg. Brown).<br>
As well, some actually expect the applicant to have fulfilled the high school requirements (and then some) to prove maturity and level of preparation. This is quite different from the real early admissions programs.
So it's important for the OP to know which s/he is interested in.</p>
<p>My wife hated her (crummy, hatable) high school. She was young for her class. She graduated early, then took a gap year in which she worked at a residential school for autistic children, then went to college (where she was still young for her class). A cousin of mine is doing the same thing right now -- he just finished high school a year early, but he will be working in a lab for a year before going to college. That may be a viable alternative course if your father gets set against your going to college early, or if the SAT schedules don't work, but you still want to get out of high school. And I suspect you would have many more college options that way.</p>
<p>My wife's high school, by the way, made her apply to colleges in her last year there. They didn't have so many kids going to college that they were willing to let a "live one" go without being entitled to count her as definitely college-bound. My cousin didn't have that problem (at a school where 99% of the kids go to four-year colleges), and he will be applying to college next year.</p>
<p>There is already a lot of great advice on this thread, but you might also want to check out the "Ask the Dean" column I wrote a while back on this topic:</p>
<p>Early</a> Graduation - Ask The Dean</p>
<p>It's a question, in one form or another, that "The Dean" sees fairly regularly. However, we never seem to find out what the student eventually chose to do, so perhaps "Smart.Cookie" will let us know what he decides.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of you! I am floored by the number of responses I have gotten. Let me answer some of the questions to clear things up:</p>
<p>What year are you in right now?
Right now I'm a rising junior, and as of now I have exhausted my High Schools math curriculum (having taken AP Calc).</p>
<p>Are you considering dual enrollment?
I will be dual enrolling for junior year, but senior year (in order to follow my school's curriculum and pursue an IB diploma) I would have to take IB Math SL, a class that would be a gigantic review and that would offer no new concepts</p>
<p>What about staying in high school but taking courses at the local college/university? .
Again, I will junior year but this isn't an option for senior year.</p>
<p>Is your family's financial situation such that you will need financial aid?
I will need aid (while my dad works as an engineer, my mother is a teacher, so our overall income is at the middle class level and there is no way that we could pay the full tuition, and I already have one sister in college)</p>
<p>How much?
My sister had a need of about $12,000 a year at a very expensive LAC, so if it was a private school I would say I would need $10k+, although I hope to qualify for merit scholarships</p>
<p>How do your parents expect to pay for your education?
My dad has an UGMA account set up for me that will pay for four years of in-state tuition at UMichigan, so the finances are all there, but he is rather reluctant to send me OOS (where all the early entrance programs are) due to cost</p>
<p>I should also say that I am considering the RHP program at USC and the NAASE program at the University of Iowa (if I get into both I plan on going to the least costly).</p>
<p>Also, it is not maturity that my dad will question, but rather the financial aspect of it and my desire to go to college early. College in general is a very sensitive subject with him, as when my sister was accepted to UMichigan and a more expensive LAC he spent months arguing with her about which she should attend. She eventually chose the LAC, but it still annoys him that she chose the LAC. My main concern is that he will say "Go ahead and apply if you want to" but then refuse to take me to campus visits (too much money) and attempt to choose for me which program to attend.</p>
<p>Again, thank you all for your responses! So far they have been very helpful!</p>
<p>Regarding JHS's comment:
My HS is (thankfully) very open to programs like these, so having my principal's consent should not be a problem. Like I said, my GC is very eager to go over the apps with me and contact the admissions people regarding what is needed for a complete app, so I am thankful that the situation will be easy to approach on that end :)</p>
<p>You do not need your father to visit colleges (your mother or others can take you as getting a hotel room will be a problem) and you register for classes without his being able to dictate to you, or even find out without your permission, regardless of your age, so don't worry about him controlling your future too much. Michigan is an excellent school (you even heard it from a Wisconsinite) so be sure not to settle for a lesser school. Also, you don't need your parents' permission to apply or attend any school- you only need one to guarantee any legal contracts, such as housing (personal experience there). You do need the financial aid forms from both of them, however.</p>
<p>I'd say don't rule out UMich out of hand. It's a great school and the honors program is extremely well regarded. But if you want to attend a smaller college, in a different geographical area, look into schools with good finaid/merit aid as well. Try to do as much research into these issues before having the discussion with your dad.</p>
<p>I have to say that I find it very, very hard to imagine why you would pay OOS rates at Iowa or USC when you could attend the Honors College at the University of Michigan at in-state rates.</p>
<p>I wouldn't blame your father for refusing to consider it. I think that you should reconsider. From what you say, your main reason is to avoid taking an IB course that repeats math you have already studied, and that this course is required to get an IB diploma. Could you not explore other alternatives, such as testing out of it by taking the IB exam? (Do they let people do that kind of thing in IB? Surely there must be other kids that have faced this issue.) Or simply do without the IB diploma.</p>
<p>Now, if you were looking at a program that was clearly superior to that at the U of Michigan, or very different in nature--like your sister's LAC--that would be another matter.</p>