<p>i go to a boarding school in new england right now. i'm a rising senior, and my cumulative GPA there is 89.67. i have some nice friends. but....
i have thought many, many times about transferring. the school requires all students to do a sport every season. i'm terrible at sports, and i wish i could spend that time doing something that i CARED about. there are other things about the school i don't like (too small of a student body)
i didn't have the courage to transfer, but now, i'm considering taking a huge risk.
i'm considering transferring to a public school and repeating junior year. that way i'll have 2 years of high school with no sports requirements...2 years to pursue WHATEVER I WANT.
of course, i could take the easy way out and finish senior year at the school i'm at...but if i do that, i will regret my high school experience FOREVER and always ask myself why i didn't transfer.
thoughts?</p>
<p>Make sure that it’s legal to do this in your state. In some states, you can’t repeat a year if you passed the previous year (i.e; you could not be a junior again unless you completely failed your first junior year, even if you’re moving between private and public or private and private schools). That may not be true where you live, though. Also, the public school system itself may have a problem with you entering as a junior. </p>
<p>Otherwise, I don’t think there’s a problem with this idea, if that’s what you’re interested in doing. It could make you more mature and ready for college and give you a chance to have more opportunities.</p>
<p>That’s a pretty unusual path–kids usually repeat at boarding schools. It will all come down to the specifics. Did you go to an Exeter equal and not do well? Did you go to a school that’s not competitive and return to a more competitive public? There is no easy answer, the schools, what you took, what you retake–all that will be in play. I’m glad you’re thinking it through as opposed to the other option you posted, just applying to a massive number of top schools with hopes you’ll get into one. That does not work.</p>
<p>my school isn’t an exeter-equal; it’s a tier down. kids with my grades and scores typically find their way into good schools (colby, hamilton, wake forest etc.) but not the BEST schools (top 20 schools). acceptance and matriculation history attest to this. so i’m in a comfortable position right now…which is why it would be a HUGE risk to go and just repeat junior year at a public school. it’s not a competitive public by any means…so it’s a SIGNIFICANT step down from the school i’m at now. the benefit of transferring that after school i can pursue ECs i care about, rather than sports.</p>
<p>any more thoughts?!</p>
<p>How will you step into the public school and show academic growth plus gain leadership positions and/or rewarding EC experiences? If you’re doing this in the hope of a better college it may not be the best idea. It may also not be the worst, but it would really have to do with how you did for the first 2 years and the unknown of the next 2.</p>
<p>Don’t do this as a matter of “this will put me in a better position for college.” Are you going to be HAPPY during your two years in public school? Is this going to help you grow (even non-academically, but also socially and mentally) better than toughing out your last year? Will you have better friends coming out of the public than the boarding school? Etc.</p>
<p>Seriously, don’t even look at how this will affect your college chances. I know a student here who dropped out of his school’s competitive IB program. Part of the reason he was accepted (we’re both pretty sure, anyways), was the “Why Brown” essay he wrote about how he didn’t like IB because of the lack of freedom it offered him in course selection. It certainly wouldn’t have looked like a smart move to most outsiders (what? every smart student at your school does IB! No one gets into good colleges who doesn’t finish IB!), but because it improved his life, and made him a better overall person, it improved, rather than decreased, his opportunities.</p>
<p>Do what’s best for you.</p>
<p>high school sucks. get done, go to college, and enjoy your life.</p>
<p>Public schools are really downplayed. If you transfer, it will not decrease your IQ and if you challenge yourself you shouldn’t have a problem.</p>
<p>Not all public schools are created equal though… I’m a bit spoiled and attend a pretty good and competitive HS.</p>
<p>I would find it surprising that a public school would let you come in as a junior. A private school,yes, but not a public. I could be wrong, though. </p>
<p>I would just suck it up and finish out at the private school. Why prolong high school, when you can move on and focus more on what you’re interested in college? Pursue your interests during the summer. Focus on those “nice friends” you have. Not everyone’s high school experience is perfect. </p>
<p>At public school, you will have to do alot of things you don’t want to do, either. </p>
<p>I agree with the advice not to do this switch because you think it will help you get into college.</p>
<p>Don’t make the switch if your only (or primary) reason is to improve your college application options.</p>
<p>Do make the switch if after considering all of the evidence, you are confident that you will be happier at the new school. Your mental health is very important Even if you find out that you will be there for just one year, you will be able to participate in plenty of ECs that interest you.</p>
<p>i will probably be in a worse position for college if i switch to the public school, actually. it’s pretty underfunded. the college counseling at the school i’m at now is PHENOMENAL, and my school does really well with college placement…even students who don’t have the best grades get into good schools. </p>
<p>it’s just this whole thing about “regret” if i DON’T go to the public school. i hate how my school is so small (only ~90 kids in each grade). i dislike most of the students (except my friends obviously). i always wonder if i’ll be happier at the public school, which has more students…also, the kids aren’t as spoiled and stuck-up. the reason i want to repeat junior year is because by the time i get settled in as a senior it’ll be time to graduate. i feel i’d adjust much more easily if i went in as a junior.</p>
<p>Why do I suspect your parents aren’t going to be too happy about this idea? </p>
<p>Maybe you’ll transfer to the public school, and find that it’s a perfect fit for you. Alternatively, you could transfer and be at the same level of happiness that you’re at now. Or find that you’re missing your old school, and you would have been happier staying there. </p>
<p>Have you visited this public school? When you say that you can spend two years doing whatever you want, what, exactly, do you want? Does the public school offer that? Do the colleges you’re considering offer you the opportunity to do whatever it is you want?</p>