I’m currently a Junior in high school with 25 credits short of graduating. My goal is to graduate early this year, and attend a cc. My only problem is my school isn’t open to students graduating early and I don’t know how I’ll be able to get my credits for econ/gov. Should I take the CHSPE to graduate, or try and get my diploma from my school?
What are your plans post graduation? If you want to go a 4 year school, I think you are better off staying at your current high school and not graduating early.
I would not try to graduate early.
Here is another plan…go to CC FOR FREE!!!
See if your HS has a Dual Enrollment Program (it might be called something else) but you get to take community college classes while in HS and you don’t have to pay for it!
Then strongly consider your State Colleges/Universities where all your credits will transfer.
General Things to consider about graduating early:
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You are competing with other students for admission who have had an extra semester/year of classes, leadership, ECs.
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You will not be on the regular applications schedule and it will be more difficult to work with your GC /teachers for recommendations
So in general, I would not recommend this at all. There is no real upside.
I was an early high school graduate ^-^ although I enrolled in a CC, now I’m transferring to UCI or UCD. I decided to finish high school early as my counselor said I would have to stay another year to fulfill my requirements to transfer to a University. So in my case, going to CC saved my time and I was in CC for almost 2 years and now transferring as a junior to university.
Although, I did kinda regret not going through high school to enroll in university. So if you have good grades and sat, act scores and requirements fulfill to apply to university through high school, I would stay in high school. But, do you know you can enroll in cc while going to high school, so enroll in cc and take the major classes or electives as needed.
Talk with your counselor and school should allow you to take classes at CC. My brother is a sophomore at the high school and he took pre-calculus class on CC during summer with the school permission.
The benefit of taking classes at cc while going to high school is that once you go to university, you do not have to take those classes again and your university is going to give credits for those classes. Also, most CC’s has small class sizes with some of the best professors, use rate my professor to find a good professor. Good Luck!
Update-I did not take CHSPE to graduate early but I had fulfilled my high school diploma requirements, so they let me enroll in CC on that year, but told me to come back at the end of the year for the graduation ceremony to take my high school diploma.
My daughter did full time dual enrollment for two years. Her classes and books were free. She didn’t take any classes at the high school but could still do any extra curricular she wanted to at the high school. She also had to go in a few times to talk to the guidance counselor esp beginning of the senior year.
She is now a freshman at a private school. They accepted all her credits but a few are free electives. While she started as a junior she most likely will take 3 years and have a double major.
@momtogirls2 I have two girls who have taken this path but are still in HS. One on her own (registered as a homeschooler but essentially a full-time college student) and one enrolled in a dual enrollment “middle college” program - her junior and senior years will be all at the college. They love it and the academics have been really stellar. I’m confused when you say she is a freshman at a private college but she started as a junior. Was she able to apply as a freshman for aid but have her two years count? I am getting so much conflicting information about how this works. I would love to know the school if you felt comfortable sharing.