Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Senior in High School - next steps

mouchette,

While you are correct that very few adolescents are on this forum, there are a fair number of persons who have lived through gifted adolescence into adulthood, and may also have parented gifted children into adulthood. I also happen to have been working with adolescents for a couple of decades, at the intersection of education and mental health, in a setting that seems to collect diverse learners of many kinds. From my vantage point, my first impression is that you are a survivor and adept problem-solver who has managed successfully to transcend an unusually laden childhood context to a remarkable degree. If you were to "accomplish" nothing else in your life (and, to be clear, I strongly agree with Eagle Mum that you have many years of progress ahead of you), I would consider you to be a success already. Reaching this point in your life with this level of resilience--not to mention (fwiw) conventional markers of educational and developmental accomplishment--is far more challenging than you may sometimes give yourself credit for.

You have a practical and realistic plan for your future, which acknowledges strengths and challenges, proposes solutions, and doesn't rely on either handwaving or fairy godmothers. You will likely find (as we all do), that the details of your plan and path change along the way, but you have demonstrated that you have the flexibility to adapt and develop alternatives. Delaying gratification can feel endless at times, but possessing this skill is what distinguishes those whose trauma experiences and adverse childhood experiences limit their development and access to their native abiliites, from those who transform pain into compassion, persistence and resilience.

On a concrete note, there is much to be said for obtaining your 2-year degree as a dual enrolllment student. (National Merit Scholarships don't typically pay for a 4-year full ride anyway.) You may wish to consult with your school counselor about options (scholarships, discounts, direct admission, etc.) at public universities for 4-year degree completion after an associate's degree, as many states have some subset of these. A nice compendium of state policies in the USA is here: https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/dual-concurrent-enrollment-2022- tunnel rush
Check your state info for current policies and opportunities. There are 4-year state universities with automatic admission policies for those coming from an in-state 2-year community college, and some with automatic scholarships based on GPA, with amounts tiered by weighted GPA.

If you've ever been in foster care, some states will pay for your university education, typically at a state university. Sometimes simply having had a DCF/CPS open case will make you eligible.

With a 2-year degree, you become significantly more employable. Make yourself indispensable at your job, and many employers will pay for you to complete your 4-year degree, and possibly more.

And finally, you are not alone. There are far more people out there with whom you can (and will) connect and find community than you currently have opportunity to encounter in a small town. As you move into settings with increasingly complex cognitive demands, you will likely begin to meet some of these peers in person or virtually. (Dual enrollment might be the first taste of this.) For the moment, know that, while the next two to five years may feel insupportably long, each day really will bring you closer to more and more open doors, interesting and positive challenges, and possible engaging relationships. If you have a special interest, search for someone doing research on it, and send them a respectful and professional email with a thoughtful question about their area of expertise, and see if they respond. Even better if it's a professor at a research university in your state. Those kinds of contacts can turn into professional and educational mentorship relationships, and can be a huge help when it comes to college applications and recommendations. In addition, of course, to their primary benefit as intellectually stimulating communications.