<p>I just heard some interesting information and I want to verify if it's really true. A girl at my school stayed back a year. She didn't have bad grades or anything, but she just wanted to have more time to do things (for example, prepare for certain competitions or standardized tests, etc). In the end, she got into all the HYPS schools plus other top ones. Her friends said that staying back a year really doesn't show up on your transcript at all. </p>
<p>Is that true? What do you guys think about this?</p>
<p>In Ontario, they used to have OAC (Ontario Academic Credit) year, but that was abolished in 2002/2003. It was referred to by students as “Grade 13”. As a result, all the courses that one would take in grade 13 got condensed into other parts of the Ontario school system (not only high schools but in elementary and middle schools too), making our curriculum harder than what would be expected. As a result and because of diploma constraints, many students stay behind for a “victory lap” to take an extra 1 or 2 credits that they would like to do better on or didn’t get a chance to take in grade 12. Of course, all grade 11 and 12 subjects in Ontario are subject to full disclosure on your transcript, which means that colleges and universities can see that you did a victory lap and if you improved a previous mark (if that’s what you chose to do). Many students from around here do it to complete a government certificate of bilingualism if they are in French Immersion or take an extra AP. I’d say that there’s about 30 kids in my school right now on their victory lap, and as university acceptances have come in, it hasn’t hurt them - even for kids who were applying to universities out of the province (where people don’t generally do a victory lap) or internationally. I’d say that it has a chance of hurting you if you took a victory lap just to ameliorate a mark, but if you’re taking a different, more challenging course from your senior schedule, then why not? If it’s something you really want to do, go for it. At my school, you can only take 2 credits on a victory lap, so I think a lot of people find it less stressful going through the university applications process with less coursework on their plates, too.</p>
<p>I object to this, why would you spend another grueling year in high school while all the people you know graduate and go on to university? lol. I’m sure you can benefit by inflating GPA by adding another year of additional classes, but then again colleges will still be able to see your 5 years in HS and there is a possibility you might perform poorly =[. You’ll also be a year older in college, so I would agree with bsmd, it is a waste of time. If you don’t have polished academic/ec stats just go to community college for a year or two and transfer. That way you’ll be able to explore more options and get credit for it for a year rather than stay in high school.</p>
<p>Honestly I would say that is a waste of the year too. If you don’t get into HYP and you HAVE to go, you can just try to transfer from college. No point in delaying life a year just so you can get into HYP, which aren’t even that great anyway (well, maybe Yale is).</p>
<p>I understand the “victory lap” that CanadianMTgirl is talking about, but staying back just to try to get into a selective college? lolok just move on.</p>
<p>I don’t think she was necessarily trying to go for top colleges. She was really involved in the Physics Olympiad, and when she didn’t make the camp her junior year, she decided to stay back a year. That way, she’d have more time to prepare and would still be able to put it on college apps. She did make it though. She made it twice, once her repeated junior year and once her senior year. Sometimes, Olympiads can really get us involved, especially if you love the subject very much.</p>