Just wondering. For those of you with kids who will probably graduate from high school 2+ years ahead of schedule, do you or your kids have ideas in mind for what they'd do next?

Would you let your child go off to college very early? If so, would you let him/her go if the college was close to home or would a distant college or university be okay?

I know that there's no single right answer to this question and that everything depends completely on each child, but I thought I'd ask as a way to solicit exchange of ideas. Here are a few of ours for our child:

* Do a high-school abroad year or two with a program like AFS.

* Get a p/t job and take random classes at a community college (astronomy, ceramics, etc. etc. etc.).

* Do an exotic internship (e.g. Marine Biology in the Bahamas). There are many experiences like this aimed at high school-aged kids.

* Other.

Gee... thanks for bringing up the topic I've worked the hardest to avoid!

Our DS will graduate from HS @ 15, and will not turn 16 until the fall.

I've read everything I can get my hands on regarding early enrollment programs and early college in general and am intrigued by the options currently available. I suppose I'm taking the head-in-sand approach for now, hoping that more colleges will have programs in place to support the early kids.

Dandy

Post removed because it was written poorly and not clearly. The post caused much unintentional upset, offended people, and possible hurt feelings (which I regret).

Another option, in some states (like MN), is not graduating early but taking advantage of the post-secondary enrollment option. (You go to college while still in high school, for free.) I did this my senior year of high school many years ago (FT at the college, no classes at the high school), so I got my first year of college at the local university for free. Of course, it's pretty much the same as going to college early, but thought I'd throw that out because it's FREE. Books and all.

Well, technically mine won't be a high school grad because he is not going to finish highschool. But he is going to college early. By age he would be starting highschool next fall, instead he will be at college fulltime. This is most definitely the right path for him. If I was to do things over again, my only change would probably be to move him up one more year. He was really ready for fulltime university classes this last year.



These things are not mutually exclusive.



Everyone is different and everyone follows their own path.

Has anyone had a child that chose some of the options Val suggested, delaying early college?

It has been suggested, but has anyone had their child try them?

Ren

One thing to keep in mind if the child graduates hs early, then later applies to college-
I think you would want a very organized plan. Although it could be lots of fun to just go sailing for 6 months or whatever, it's gotten so competitive to colleges that you have to keep that in mind. Kids often take a "gap year" to buff up their resume to get INTO college. Taking a gap year or 2 if you are young might sound good, but I think you have to plan if your child ultimately wants to go to a competitive college.

Yes, CFK these are our opinions and not meant to be "pushed" onto others. Being well rounded is subjective. We feel that excelling in core subjects alone is not well rounded -that is what I meant and it is simply our opinion.
Of course, to each his/her own.

Do you have study's to show that kids graduating 15 yrs. and younger have a better chance in getting into competitive schools than kids who graduate early and spend 1-2 years experiencing foreign country's or having work related internships?
If anyone can add a link to a study showing that kids who graduate high school at 15 or younger have a good or better chance of getting into top schools I would love to read it ( I am not aware of one, nor have I studied this myself). DA did tell us pretty clearly that top schools aren't interested in young applicants (they did not reference anything).

I don't think that it is easier for a kid 15 or younger to get into top universities. In fact, the opposite is probably true. I don't have stats to support this assertion. It is just a feeling after sending two kids to colleges at 16. Top colleges actually are more concerned about the very young students (some of them do fall apart in college). Admitting kids this young is a risk the school have to take (if everything else is equal). Both of my kids downplayed their ages and put an effort to show their maturity in their essays.

College admission is a game of credentials: academic, leadership, community service, talent, awards, etc. These all take time to accumulate. This puts the kids who skipped a lot (especially in high school) at a disadvantage.