<p>OK, let me explain my situation then if anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate! I have a son who is a junior, and is very young for his grade (august birthday ,will turn 17 before his senior year) Hindsight, but, we should have waited a year before Kindergarten but were told he was ready. Academically he is a B student, athletically is a very good swimmer, (lower tier D1 right now ,but wants to swim at a more competitive college) We have recently thought of him repeating his senior year of highschool. Right now he goes to a Catholic all boys hs. I realize we will need to change his NCAA status if we move forward with this. I guess my main question is ....can he repeat a year at a public hs, or other private hs, or does he need to go to a school that specifically has a PG program? As I stated earlier, he is a B student so, he will not max out of the HS curriculum, he is in college prep classes , not honors or AP. Someone also said something about re-classifying not sure exactly what that is. I also heard that if he graduates from one HS the public hs usually won't take him??? Can he do senior year and not graduate , then do senior year somewhere else and then graduate? He is not concerned with the social issues of repeating another year of HS...his main focus is having more time to get his swimming times down to the status where these more competitive schools will want him. He can still swim club during this time because USA swimming goes up to 19 years old. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We still have time to figure this out ,but want to gather as much information as possible.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that’s all too young - I have a friend, a current senior, who isn’t turning 17 until May.
Additionally, I don’t believe that many public high schools will let a student repeat a grade without failing. If you’re serious about doing this, it will take a lot of explanation and wading through red tape.</p>
<p>May I state my opinion? I really, truly don’t think this would be a good idea if your son is looking at competitive schools. Repeating a year looks highly abnormal, and frankly, I think it would significantly lower his chances of admission at most universities.</p>
<p>That said, I’m only in high school myself, so if anybody would like to correct me, go ahead.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you do a search of “PG year” on the forum…I bet you’ll find some good info from parents who have already been down the road.</p>
<p>If you want to redshirt him, do so, but don’t kid yourself (or him) that he is so young. August is not that young. Some states have kindergarten entry cutoffs in Oct, Nov, or Dec. Most of my daughter’s friends will still be 17 when they get their high school diplomas.</p>
<p>You and your son need to be realistic. Will the extra year really get his times down to the level where he can compete on a college team? If yes, go the PG route. I do not believe you can do this in a public school program, so you are talking serious $ here.</p>
<p>Personally, as summer child and athlete, I would not want to wait a year to start college, but YMMV.</p>
<p>That’s not young at all. My son is a senior in high school (will graduate this May) and he just turned 17 a few weeks ago. He skipped a grade in elementary school and has always been the youngest student in his class. If you want your son to delay his entry to college for athletic reasons, that’s another story. But don’t use his age as an excuse. Because it sounds like he is doing just fine academically. Repeating a grade would likely, as DiaphonousDoll stated above, look odd and possibly suspicious to colleges. Explore the PG route, or have him take a gap year to work on his swimming times. </p>
<p>I think taking a postgraduate (PG) year sounds like a good idea in his situation. He’d be able to bolster his academic profile and work on lowering his times. You should look into boarding schools that offer this option (many of the top ones do, I believe) and see if any of them are a fit. Repeating a grade, on the other hand, is a little iffy, and probably wouldn’t look too good to colleges. </p>
<p>August is on the young side of the spectrum, but not overly so. If your son wants to apply for a PG year I’d suggest that he cite his desire to increase his athletic finesse instead of his age as the reason why he’d like to take an extra year of schooling. </p>
<p>Good luck! If I had skipped a grade like I was originally going to do in kindergarten, then I imagine I definitely would’ve gone the postgraduate year route–it sounds like a fantastic experience. </p>
<p>Don’t repeat a year… He’ll end up a ‘Super Senior’ which, for the most part, is a title for the degenerates. While it might seem like a good time to boost his academics, remember that everyone else would be getting good grades/ better grades in shorter time periods. Also his age is not abnormal… One of my best friends is only 15 but still a junior. Now SHE might be a little different lol</p>