<p>I'm not sure if this is the right forum, hope so. I have two daughters, 15, who are seniors in high school. They are homeschooled/internet schooled and are internationals but US citizens. They will take national exams for their country and get their high school diploma in the spring. We've decided that they will not be applying to college this year because they are so young. We're trying to figure out what to do with them for the next year or two -- some type of gap year? I've looked into it a bit but we are somewhat limited by their age, as some programs require participants to be 17 or 18. Letting them work and sending them off with backpacks doesn't appeal. They're quite academic and very interested in music and languages, so something in that direction would work. Ideally we could find something that would help them in terms of college admissions, as their applications are going to be so non-traditional that they may need "help." I would appreciate suggestions.</p>
<p>Some prodigies do go to college at young ages, though some special arrangements may need to be made.</p>
<p>[At</a> just 14, UCLA math student Moshe Kai Cavalin has written his first book, ‘We Can Do’ / UCLA Newsroom](<a href=“http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/at-just-14-ucla-math-student-moshe-229359.aspx]At”>Newsroom | UCLA)
[TCU</a> admits 11-year-old first-year student | TCU 360](<a href=“http://www.tcu360.com/campus/2013/08/18281.tcu-admits-11-year-old-first-year-student]TCU”>http://www.tcu360.com/campus/2013/08/18281.tcu-admits-11-year-old-first-year-student)
[16-year</a> old freshman defies limits - CollegiateTimes.com](<a href=“16-year old freshman defies limits”>16-year old freshman defies limits)
[16-year-old</a> freshman adjusts to college life | Reese News](<a href=“http://reesenews.org/2011/04/04/16-year-old-freshman-adjusts-to-college-life/13821/]16-year-old”>http://reesenews.org/2011/04/04/16-year-old-freshman-adjusts-to-college-life/13821/)</p>
<p>They could also go to college here: [Bard</a> College at Simon’s Rock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bard_College_at_Simon’s_Rock]Bard”>Bard College at Simon's Rock - Wikipedia).</p>
<p>I am kind of at a loss to know what to do other than send them to college. I’m a big fan of gap years, but my kid was 18 when she went on hers.</p>
<p>If you have the money to do it, you could also look into a post-graduate year at a boarding school in the U.S. They’re expensive, but many very good schools offer a very good experience. And it would be an experience that would enable them not only to mature one more year before college, but also to make some of their dorm-life social gaffes (most of us make them) with people they’re going to be around for only one year, instead of for four.</p>
<p>Arrange for them to live with a family member’s home stateside to do traditional senior year at a high performance math/science high school.
They may want to experience a classroom setting.</p>
<p>^^I like that solution beerme. Or a “5th” year program at one of the very good boarding schools if money isn’t an issue.</p>
<p>Agree that there are some wonderful 5th year programs at Boarding schools in the U.S.: Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylavia used to have one. I would check Lawrencville in New Jersey, The Bolles School in FL, The Hill School, Choate, St. Paul’s, Andover, etc. There are a lot of them.</p>
<p>or they could get jobs . . .</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>My older one (homeschooled) went off to college at 16. She had already earned 66 college credits locally through both 2- and 4-year colleges, and took AP exams (but no AP classes), and threw them away to start again. She could have gone off at 15, but the college we would have been interested in sending her off to at that age was not strong in…music and languages! </p>
<p>We found an extraordinary apprenticeship program through one of the local colleges, and a composer who expanded her composition skills. She also learned French. It was an absolutely delightful year!</p>
<p>She is now finishing her Ph.D. in…music and languages.</p>
<p>I like the exchange student idea: let them go to a year of school somewhere, in the US or another country, and be a high school student there. Since they are done with school, the focus can be on the social, cultural, and language part. Otherwise their tender ages make it tough to know what to do with them. Are there year long volunteer programs for kids this young? Maybe under religious auspices?</p>
<p>The deadline for the National Security Language Initiative for Youth is coming up very soon (just a few days!) This might be an ideal gap year choice for them. Check it out today! YES Abroad and CBYX are other free, government sponsored youth exchange programs with later dates. PM me if you would like more info. My children were accepted to NSLIY and Yes Abroad and chose NSLIY China. One of my children did a year exchange with Rotary as well.</p>
<p>Doesn’t Interlochen offer a gap year program for music? Might depend on <em>how</em> interested in music??? It’s a boarding school as well, but it would be music focused.</p>
<p>"Ideally we could find something that would help them in terms of college admissions, as their applications are going to be so non-traditional that they may need “help.”</p>
<p>If they aren’t going to be super-strong applicants, and they aren’t ready to go off to college, why are they being pushed out of high school at such a young age? Why not take another year to do more advanced coursework, strengthen other activities? Or perhaps be an exchange student next year in a high school in another country?</p>
<p>I can understand your hesitation. I have a 16-year-old senior who we’ve worked pretty hard to keep from graduating any younger. Thankfully, we have a local program that lets accelerated teens take most of their classes at the community college (and yet still be high schoolers) so that is what she’s been doing happily since 15. Yes, she could have handled university classes at 15 but leaving home to live with college students was not really what any of us wanted at that point.</p>
<p>Gap years are complicated for the under-age. Jobs are scarce for kids when so many adults are out of work. Most internships want college-aged kids. However, we’ve found the arts to be most flexible. My daughter has done several different internships with professional theatres for example. Perhaps you’d have luck looking into local music programs. I do like the idea of a study abroad program even for just a semester.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from homeschooling friends, having at least some traditional classroom experience is a benefit when applying to colleges. Having outside teachers to give recommendations helps. They may already have those things but if not, something to consider.</p>
<p>How about a semester/year abroad? Like a junior year exchange program -you can take part even if they’re home schooled. They’d live with a family and attend school - taking language/history etc classes in another language would be beneficial even if they’ve technically graduated from high school. </p>
<p>That’s what friends did with their almost-16 year old high school graduate - she spent a year in Argentina, came home speaking fluent Spanish and the experience (which does require maturity, coping skills, etc) made her ready for college.</p>
<p>I Agree. I am a 16 year old senior right now; I spent a year in Canada to not head off to university at 15. </p>
<p>This year or two can be the perfect occasion for her to become independent and experience living on her own while leaning another language 
organizations like YFU offer programs in many countries. Also, some countries year 11/12 curriculum is equivalent to freshman and sophomore year curricula in the US; this is the case for example in Germany, where I currently complete my senior year.
I went at 14, so at 15 she is probably just the right age to have that experience!
So if she wants to push herself, she could go to china and prepare by teaching herself Chinese or something similar, whatever is to her liking. </p>
<p>Best regards :)</p>
<p>My daughter is 15 and wants to study in Spain next semester. We are going through CIEE, which seems to be a good organization. They are very organized and helpful. DD has been the one to drive the process - she did her own research and then showed us what she had found. She’s a tiny thing (5’-3" tall and 87 pounds), but knows what she wants! I think she will have an amazing experience.</p>
<p>I was young graduating from college and spent my gap year here: [Learn</a> to speak French in Touraine - Loire Valley - France | Institut de Touraine](<a href=“http://www.institutdetouraine.com/en]Learn”>Learn French in France | French courses in France | Institut de Touraine) and I lived with a host family. The minimum age appears to be 16, so you might have to wait for a birthday. Great experience and useful to have a language down pat before attending college.</p>
<p>Depending on your kid, sending them off to college at 15 may be fine. </p>
<p>One undergrad classmate ahead of me graduated with honors at 17 and I knew a few others who were around your D’s age or slightly younger. </p>
<p>However, be mindful that some colleges have a minimum age of 16 for admitted/enrolled students. </p>
<p>Also, many good suggestions from other posters to consider as well.</p>
<p>Why not continue with home schooling for another year? There are plenty of internet courses for college level classes, with AP credit available in an increasing number of international locations. </p>
<p>You can continue to monitor/guide their education while giving them increasing opportunities for independence.</p>
<p>I would say go through a program like “Youth for Understanding” and do an exchange year. Your kids could go to high school with their age peers in another country. They live with a host family so it is not like sending them off on their own. We just hosted a student from Germany through that program.</p>
<p>Also consider Bard College at Simon’s Rock…it has a program for high school aged kids who have basically finished everything of interest at their college. So they would be with kids that would be high school aged.</p>
<p>To Mini:
Would you mind telling me a bit more about the apprenticeship program? The girls’ piano teacher teaches at a local university, and we might be able to construct something similar with his help. They say they don’t want to major in music or languages but would like to continue with them in some way, so the next year or so would be a good time for that, before they do their premed/biomedical engineering plan (well, that’s the plan and we’ll just see how that changes). Thanks.</p>