Last year in December I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to stop school and have been out for over a month. I started homeschooling but I stopped yesterday because I am considering repeating the 10th grade. Because of my sickness, my school work has been affected since the 9th grade. I know myself and if I went back to school or did homeschooling I’d fail. My grades already aren’t good. I am in honors and AP classes now but the track I was on, I would be dropped to regular classes for junior year. My GPA is not good (2.98 unweighted) for the colleges I plan to apply to (My top choice is Colombia right now). If I stay home the rest of the year I could study for my SAT AND ACT test, study to retake past Regents and future Regents test (I live in NY) and take care of my health. I could study for my classes I would retake next year, and breeze right through. Plus because of scheduling conflicts in the beginning of the year I was taking classes I did not want (and because of that, also not getting good grades in those classes) and I could change my schedule.Plus I could study more into my interest (art,music,writing,film, basically the arts). The only cons I can think of is I will not be in the same grade as all of my friends, and I will still have to send colleges my old grades.
Is it worth starting over, or should I just suck it up and finish out the year? How will this affect my admissions especially for top colleges like Colombia?
We 're NYS homeschoolers. I don’t know of any part of the homeschooling regs that allow students to just stop school altogether. I’d suggest staying at home and dialing it down until you’re ready to return to school. Your parents would still have to report, but you wouldn’t have to take APs or 10th grade Regents. Take care of your health first.
I mentioned the idea to my guidance counselor and she brought up the possibility of me graduating as a junior since I’d have enough credits. The only pro to that is I’d finish highschool the same year as if I didn’t repeat the grade, but I’m not really enthusiastic to the idea of missing senior year. If I could make up the credits I would miss at my local community college and/or summer school I might consider it. Does that seem like a better option? I’m not in a rush to go to college, in face I was already planning a gap year.
If you graduate then take college classes, you’ll be considered a transfer student at many colleges. You won’t be eligible for freshman scholarships as a transfer, and it’s freshmen who generally get the best aid.
I know someone who repeated sophomore year due to health issues and it hasn’t negatively affected her in the college process. She’s gotten into some great schools that are generally pretty difficult to get into. Since you’ve missed so much, do you think it’ll impact how you do in your future classes? If you feel the need to get some time to get back on track, repeating wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s definitely about your health and your needs. Could you maybe only retake some of the classes that you didn’t do as well as you like in?
Don’t graduate early next year.
Take your time, rest, recover.
Don’t rush it. Read, study when you feel okay, cook for your parents, bake a cake, enjoy life.
In the Fall, start your 10th grade and kick butt.
It won’t impact you negatively to “repeat” sophomore year (since you got cancer, it won’t be considered a “repeat” anyway - just make sure it’s mentioned in the commonapp section about education interruption - if you say interruption due to cancer, you’ll be 100% in the clear with them.)
Turns out @ austinmshauri was right. Now , I am being forced to do homeschooling but I can’t take any AP classes only honors (because none of the tutors are qualified). I know myself that this will ruin all of my grades. I am already behind but all of the tutors are inept idiots (to put it lightly). I am not going to do it, and I don’t care if my parents get arrested or fined for truancy. I will fail on purpose to be honest. If their is a way for them to let me stay home tell me, cause I will just drop out of school next year, to be honest.
I like your idea of repeating tenth grade. Just finish out this year with whatever home based education/school district tutors, etc. they offer you. then plan a do over with the courses you always intended to take. I wish you the best and I think it’s good that you are planning for a good future! Keep the counselor as an ally as much as you can. She/he will need to write some special things in the counselor letter when it gets to that point.
@Cressidy, Home education and homebound education are different. What you’re describing isn’t homeschooling. It sounds like you’re still registered at the public school.
In NYS, a student who is homeschooling takes the courses the parents decide upon. Homeschoolers don’t have tutors. Many dual register at local colleges and/or take AP exams after self-studying.
Homebound students are still enrolled in public school and take the courses the high school registers them in. The district provides books and instructors.
If you want to homeschool, your parents have to send a Letter of Intent to your district. Look up NYSED 100.10 (the homeschool regs) to see how it works. Feel free to PM me for details. I run a homeschool network and can send your parents sample documents and answer any questions they have.
@austinmshauri Yea, sorry I did use the incorrect term. But I don’t think homeschooling is a good fit for me.
@thingamajig They aren’t letting me be homebound and still repeat the school year but they are forcing me to finish out the year and start out 11th grade next year.
Failing will only hurt you.
Ask your parents to follow the process as described by austinmshauri and declare you “homeschooled”.
No more inept tutors. You get to decide what you do with your days, including if you want to take 2 Ap’s and 1 honors class and nothing else until you feel recovered. Your parents give you grades (or not, or Pass/Fail, they should have criteria). Then your parents register you as a 10th grader Fall 2017, you are a real 10th grader, you can enroll in community college “dual enrollment” classes (2 classes MWF, 2 classes TTH) and/or virtual school and/or study on your own joining groups in the library (or even museum if there’s one nearby). After you complete homeschooling/community college/library group 10th grade, you can either enter 11th grade at your high school or continue with this.
PM austinmshauri, she knows what she’s talking about and she can guide you through so that you’re not “homeschooled” alone, but rather involved in activities and classes appropriate for your level and potential.
BTW you can register for AP classes even if you’ve not taken the class but you’d need to bridge the difference between your honors class and the AP course content on your own.
@austinmshauri@MYOS1634 To be honest, when I wrote that yesterday I was a bit emotional. So I might not fail on purpose, but I am definitely not working with the tutors or going back into a school building till I decide I want to. I’m just frustrated because my parents don’t understand what I want and my doctors are all overstepping their boundaries (trying to tell me what to do with school etc.) Since they won’t let me be homebound but still restart the 10th grade, I might do homeschooling for the rest of the year and then go back to school in the fall as a 10th grader.@MYOS1634 I don’t see the point of doing dual enrollment as you described and waiting till 11th grade to go back to highschool
Have you ever considered Distance Learning (Online high school)
I currently am a senior, and it is my second year with an online school. I absolutely love it. You should look into it!
The point of dual enrollment is to give you the rigorous courses you want without your district limiting you. If you think your district is being difficult now, wait until you try to register as a repeat 10th grader in the fall. They don’t have to let you repeat, and unless your parents hold you back (fail you) why would they?
If you’re willing to add an extra year to high school, I’d do it as a 10th grader. Have your parents declare, and report you, as a sophomore next fall. You’ll have the freedom to pursue the courses and activities you want, but you’ll have a better chance of retaining your sophomore status and entering public school as a junior. All they have to do this year is say you weren’t up to completing 80% of the planned material due to medical issues and hold you back. Make sure you leave enough 11th and 12th grade courses open so that you need 2 years in your public high school to finish.
What’s causing your parents confusion? Do they not understand why you want to repeat 10th grade? Are they worried about not using tutors? You need them onboard for whatever your plan is.
