taking college courses while still in high school?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>i'm interested in hearing from students who have taken college courses before graduating high school, and parents whose children have had that experience. from what i've read, the most common issue seems to be that the student isn't challenged enough in math or science. i'm the opposite: it's my school's english curriculum that bores me to distraction.</p>

<p>i'm a sophomore, and we're reading hamlet. we spend so much time on comprehension that we do virtually no analysis. when we write essays, which is rarely, emphasis is placed on speed rather than quality. 'acting out scenes in a modern setting' is the exercise of choice. i feel like i'm back in middle school.</p>

<p>in addition to being bored, i'm exasperated: the class is obscenely easy, and by all objective standards i'm the top student in the class, but i'm getting worse grades than ever because the teacher dislikes me personally. this is a teacher who, after only a few classes, let us know that the only reason he got into college was because his father had 'connections'. granted, this is an a- instead of an a+, but what upsets me is that it's completely arbitrary with no basis in the quality of my work. </p>

<p>this is a prestigious private school. i am a swedish immigrant with english as a third language.</p>

<p>much of this will change next year, assuming that i have a different teacher. i'm also starting the ib curriculum, and i hope that english hl will be more rigorous than this. however, i want to look into college courses so that i'll have some options open in a worst-case scenario.</p>

<p>what are your experiences? how did you find and select the courses? how did the application process work? how did the professors treat the younger students?</p>

<p>any information is helpful, be it about english, math, or a completely different subject. thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Just go ask your counselor. If you can prove that you are advanced they will let you through, you will generally have to compact the other courses in order to go on to harder courses though. If you do not already know the things covered in 11th/12th grade English you will still have to go through and take the classes. Sometimes you can do it on your own if they let you. </p>

<p>Its generally much easier to compact mathematics because curriculums(word?) are more set, while in English curriculums vary. Generally the schools are much more understanding if you're trying to compact math/science because there are alot of science/math nerds out there :). </p>

<p>You may be capable of handling the tougher courseload, but you will still have to get credit for the prerequisites.</p>

<p>If you have a good class rank (top 10 or something) or if you have a reputation of some sort for being smart at your school, the counselors may also be more understanding.</p>

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<p>i'm fine with taking my school's classes, which i'll need to do anyway to get my ib diploma. i imagined the college courses as some kind of supplement, as a back-up of sorts if next year ends up being as frustrating as this year. talking to the counselor is a good idea, so i'll try that. thanks for your help!</p>