I went to a rural public HS in the midwest with about 70 per grade. It's fair to say I struggled socially, emotionally, and academically.
Me too, although my HS had closer to 90 students per grade. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to be homeschooled, so I could learn everything I needed in just a few hours a week and have more time to do what I wanted. I was frustrated with both the lack of academic challenge and the teasing/bullying. On the plus side, because the school didn't know what to do with me, I got to spend several classes sitting in the back reading.
On the other hand, while I think I could have handled the academic challenge of college early, I'm not sure I would have been ready to leave home at 15 or 16. I was happy to leave at 17 though.
Although it wasn't possible at the time, my ideal would have been a virtual high school supplemented with distance learning courses and extracurriculars through the local high school.
