Skipping Senior Year of HS--Pros and Cons

[aprilgail]

I skipped my junior year and went straight from sophomore to senior and graduated a year early- was not sorry at all, hated school and couldn't wait to get out and move on with my life.

 

[Miffy]

He wants to skip senior year of HS and go to college instead? The answer is yes. He should do it. I wish I had done that, but it wasn't even an option when I was in HS. Your son knows exactly what he wants to do and there's no reason to hold him back. I wish him and you and your family all the best.

 

[cvjw]

Both of my sons did full time dual enrollment their last year of high school. Each only needed a couple high school classes to graduate, so they took 8 classes at our local college that satisfied all high school requirements and counted as college credits. They never had to step foot onto their high school campus unless they wanted too - all their classes were at the local college.

Both then went on to university of Georgia with their freshman year classes already completed. This allowed them to only take 4 classes each semester instead of the normal 5. My older son also graduated a year early from UGA - bachelors and masters in 4 years because he also had some AP credits from his time in his magnet high school.

Dual enrollment his senior year would accomplish what you are wanting and keep him at home his last year. Just make sure all the classes will transfer to his final college of choice.

 

[Wendy1985]

I understand I am talking pre Covid but senior year is supposed to be the best senior trip dances grad night so those would be things to consider

 

[loves to dive]

My son had enough to credits to skip the last half of his senior year and had enough AP/college credits to skip part of his first year at college. He opted to stay in HS so he could walk with his class, he wouldn't have been able to had he left. He just took a minimum of easy classes that last half year (easy for him, they were math and science classes). After the took his SATs and admittance tests he was able to skip all but about 2 core classes at UGA (an English and humanities wouldn't you know). He has never regretted staying in HS.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I wish I had been smart enough as I hated HS.

lol

 

[Kitty 34]

OP, if my middle DS had suggested skipping I would have said go for it. He would have been so ready. He was already taking college classes most of that year, too. Of course being in sports his senior year was very important to him so that's probably what kept him in HS.

Good luck with his decision.

 

[mefordis]

As the title suggests, our youngest, DS16 has approached us with the idea of skipping his senior year of HS and starting college early. He's currently a sophomore, so we have some time to plan. Also, he's already been accepted to start dual enrollment--HS and college--in the fall, taking 1 college course the fall semester, then 2 next spring. The kids a thinker/planner, so I know this has been rattling around in his brain for a while. I'm looking for people who have done it (or had their child do it), or possibly teachers who have had students do this. Mostly, I'm looking to make sure we consider the ramifications.

Some more information: he's a smart kid. Really good student without much effort. He wants to be a chemical engineer. He's mostly a loner, but other kids like him--he's a loner by choice (as opposed to his autistic brother, who's a social misfit--I mention this to show that I know the difference, ha ha). His interests aren't tied directly to school--he takes ballet, violin, and is active in Boy Scouts. Most of his friends are through Scouting.

He hasn't taken the SAT/ACTs yet--this would be a priority. His PSAT score was 1250 and pre-Act was 28. He's currently taking his first AP class (World History).

Our bare-bones discussion with him has us looking at three options:

1. Attend decent engineering school 2 hours from home. He's been casually looking further afield, but we're concerned about him being too far from home at 17. We'd be open to a good argument (from him) if he wanted to be further away. One of our priorities is to get him to this school for a visit/campus tour and to talk to their admissions people about him starting early. His stats indicate that he meets their admissions criteria.

2. Attend the local branch of State U for 1 year. They don't have a Chem. Eng. major, but they would offer the basic freshman courses and higher math and chemistry. Plan to transfer to whatever engineering school after freshman year. I know that transferring wreaks havoc on financial aid, but this won't be an issue (he won't likely be getting any, anyway).

3. Finish HS on time, with as many AP and college courses as he wants to fit in. He's limited on college courses for junior year--only 2 (not sure if that's per semester or per year).

I want to emphasize that this is student-led. We're proud of him, but he's my baby, so inside, my heart is breaking that he wants to leave early. However, my job is to let him fly! So, let me know what we should be considering, any pitfalls along the way, unexpected benefits, and so forth. Thanks for reading.

He sounds like my daughter and I would have no hesitation with her graduating early. She really didn't like the school scene. During the pandemic she decided she liked remote schooling so she ended up transferring to an international school that was online. She's set to graduate in May and is looking forward to college. She has no regrets about not walking with her class, or prom or anything like that. She's a different type that's for sure but very happy with her decisions.

 

[QueenIsabella]

A couple things--I never said he didn't work for his grades, just that he gets A's and it seems easy for him. He rarely asks for help--I answered pre-calc questions a few times, that was it. He's very self-motivated.

Also, DH and I are both engineers (I'm electrical, he's mechanical), so we know how hard the curriculum can be. That's why he'll be taking calc at the local college. Probably chemistry (and organic chemistry) as well, assuming he stays in HS.

He will NOT be attending the local community college! He actually had a choice--if you go to the CC, it's free and you get HS credit (say, for English). But, he needs the rigorous courses to support an engineering degree, so he's going to State U instead (an actual branch of the state university, with dozens of majors, post-grad degrees, etc.). No HS credit and we have to pay his tuition. (yay! But--he needs the challenging courses).

He's not into the HS scene at all. His sport is dance, not interested in drama club or prom or marching band. We're actually more concerned about him not getting his Eagle rank in Scouts, but that's on him.

I am painfully aware that we can't turn back the clock later. I skipped a grade growing up, and had the chance to skip a second one (MY senior year in HS), which I turned down. No regrets at all, but he's not me, and I would have been 2 years younger. Personally, I'm not in a hurry to have my baby fly the coop, but it's his life, not mine.

I do appreciate everyone's insights. There is much to consider.

 

[TwoMisfits]

A couple things--I never said he didn't work for his grades, just that he gets A's and it seems easy for him. He rarely asks for help--I answered pre-calc questions a few times, that was it. He's very self-motivated.

Also, DH and I are both engineers (I'm electrical, he's mechanical), so we know how hard the curriculum can be. That's why he'll be taking calc at the local college. Probably chemistry (and organic chemistry) as well, assuming he stays in HS.

He will NOT be attending the local community college! He actually had a choice--if you go to the CC, it's free and you get HS credit (say, for English). But, he needs the rigorous courses to support an engineering degree, so he's going to State U instead (an actual branch of the state university, with dozens of majors, post-grad degrees, etc.). No HS credit and we have to pay his tuition. (yay! But--he needs the challenging courses).

He's not into the HS scene at all. His sport is dance, not interested in drama club or prom or marching band. We're actually more concerned about him not getting his Eagle rank in Scouts, but that's on him.

I am painfully aware that we can't turn back the clock later. I skipped a grade growing up, and had the chance to skip a second one (MY senior year in HS), which I turned down. No regrets at all, but he's not me, and I would have been 2 years younger. Personally, I'm not in a hurry to have my baby fly the coop, but it's his life, not mine.

I do appreciate everyone's insights. There is much to consider.

I guess I'll be the Con opinion.

I pay for my kids' DE courses, but I never graduate them early. I use the high school dual enrollment years to make sure they actually like the majors they think they do and that they can succeed in them as well. My 1st kid wanted Forensic Science, so our 1st DE course was the 1st year "must" course for that major. It proved, okay, we should keep that major. And we followed up with Music Theory, b/c a Music Minor was high on her list, but she had very little "real" musical training...and she aced it with flying colors and that does count for her Minor now (which might have been impossible to do in 4 years with a Science Lab Degree and a Music Performing Degree, but having 24 credits all transfer helps...a lot).

My 2nd just got admitted to her 1st DE course today - Russian 1. She wants to major in Russian Studies and live in Poland (she'd do Poland studies, but you can't...so she'll take Polish at the college level - she's studying it now in HS with a tutor in Poland - but just the language). She is thinking to combo that with either a Psychology (to work at State) or an Advertising (to work in international business) Minor, so we may add on in the 2nd semester the Intro to Psych course to see if she likes college level Psych as much as she liked her high school one.

Both of my daughters go to the CC - these are not DE at a high school. And I pay. But it's worth every penny to be sure now, and not sometime in Sophomore Year of college where now it will take 5 1/2 years to graduate. Bonus points that if they hate the courses, they still meet core requirements for all the majors at their desired school, so we try again senior year of high school with a new plan...

 

[teller80]

Keep in mind CC classes tend to be easier than university classes, I know many students who take some CC over the summer for this reason.

Very true. My daughter aced Calc at the local CC during her senior year but went into remedial math in college. (Lowest math offered at the college was Calc)

 

[RamblingMad]

This depends on their maturity. Some will strive. Others won't. It's really up to the kid.

 

[chickapin parterre]

my freshman year in college was the best year of my life....granted two of the three roomates (4 of us) were best friends in high school and we lived that year like brothers. Dorm life is a cornucopia of individual growth and opportunity , another year of maturity will strengthen that time.

 

[cvjw]

A couple things--I never said he didn't work for his grades, just that he gets A's and it seems easy for him. He rarely asks for help--I answered pre-calc questions a few times, that was it. He's very self-motivated.

Also, DH and I are both engineers (I'm electrical, he's mechanical), so we know how hard the curriculum can be. That's why he'll be taking calc at the local college. Probably chemistry (and organic chemistry) as well, assuming he stays in HS.

He will NOT be attending the local community college! He actually had a choice--if you go to the CC, it's free and you get HS credit (say, for English). But, he needs the rigorous courses to support an engineering degree, so he's going to State U instead (an actual branch of the state university, with dozens of majors, post-grad degrees, etc.). No HS credit and we have to pay his tuition. (yay! But--he needs the challenging courses).

He's not into the HS scene at all. His sport is dance, not interested in drama club or prom or marching band. We're actually more concerned about him not getting his Eagle rank in Scouts, but that's on him.

I am painfully aware that we can't turn back the clock later. I skipped a grade growing up, and had the chance to skip a second one (MY senior year in HS), which I turned down. No regrets at all, but he's not me, and I would have been 2 years younger. Personally, I'm not in a hurry to have my baby fly the coop, but it's his life, not mine.

I do appreciate everyone's insights. There is much to consider.

Our dual enrollment was at an actual university right by our house, not a community college. It was also free, including books. We paid $15 a semester for parking. It was in the Georgia university system, so all courses transferred.

I would not have let my boys do DE at a community college.

 

[_19disnA]

Even if he is ahead on academics, there are lots of other activities to occupy his time while in high school. Sports and/or ECA's are some that come to mind and involve something other then academics as well as the opportunity for different experiences outside the classroom and the chance to make new friends. Even if someone is ahead academically, there is a BIG difference in the maturity level of those 1-2 yrs older. Will he have the same interests with them in college and fit into their social circles? What is really to be gained by jumping ahead? I vote for stay in h.s. and graduate with those he has spent the 4 yrs with.

 

[QueenIsabella]

He has no interest in sports or more HS activities. His friend group is primarily his Scout troop--he just finished a year of being Senior Patrol Leader--the boy elected to run the troop. He gets along with kids older than he is, always has--as I mentioned, he has 3 older siblings--he's closest to his older sister (age 26). I think he's just DONE with HS and wants to move on with his life.

Keep in mind--he is pushing for this, not his parents. He actually approached his guidance counselor before us, because he thought we'd shoot him down.

I think for now, we're going to approach this as a realistic scenario--get him into ACT/SAT testing as soon as reasonable, visit the decent "nearby" (2 hours away) engineering school, really talk about what he's hoping to gain. Things are complicated slightly because we have an exchange student visiting at the moment (only through next week), so frank discussions are tricky. What will really sway things, one way or the other, will be how he does in his calculus class (at the college) in the fall. Bonus points to him if he pushes to take a second college class this fall (I had recommended only one, not wanting to overburden him). If he struggles with the college class(es), that's a good sign that he should back off this idea.

I have no doubt he'll be successful, whatever works out.

 

[starry_solo]

I suggest no. He should continue what he's doing. Taking college classes while in high school and have a senior year. He can enter college as a sophomore (likely) or maybe a junior depending on how many college classes he takes while in high school

Definitely do the college classes route vs AP classes

 

[OhhBother]

I skipped my senior year of high school and consider it one of my best life decisions. I also skipped seventh grade, so I started college at 16. This put me well ahead of my peers and has kept me there throughout my professional life. I graduated college early, began my career early, earned promotions at a younger age than I might normally would have, etc.

Today, I’m a month shy of turning 50, and I’m a senior executive in my company. I’m planning to work a few more years and then retire early.

Getting that “head start” back when I was a teen has kept me ahead of the game throughout life. I’m so grateful my parents supported my decisions all those years ago.

 

[pahoben]

I graduated from a private engineering school with selective admissions. At that time about 30% of the freshman class flunked out or transferred out by end of first year. Maybe first in high school class and high SAT's but still couldn't muster the self control required to maintain in their classes. Schools have adopted kinder gentler grading standards now but still the case that you get out of engineering school what you put into it. Any good engineering school can provide a challenge to any student no matter how gifted and at the same time no matter how gifted you, by your own efforts, can receive a poor (or partial) engineering education. It seems to me the critical determination about age of entry is when the student can commit to studying as much as is required to achieve whatever objectives they set assuming they have sufficient technical aptitude for engineering as a career.

When I look back I believe fear was part of my motivation because I sure didn't want to go back to where I came from prior to engineering school but also it was the first time since 5th grade that I actually enjoyed school.

 

[amcnj]

I don’t really recall if skipping a year of high school was done when my children were attending. Skipping lower grades was more common.

Taking AP classes and then placing out of a year of college seemed the route students took. I know one of mine had to take one summer class and then together with the AP credits was done with their bachelor's degree in 3 years.

But I guess I would not have been opposed to the idea of skipping a year of high school. Though like you, I would have investigated it carefully, as skipping grades when young made them among, if not the, youngest in their high school classes. And I remember one unintended consequence we didn’t think of was in athletics, where others could be years older and thus much more developed physically.

I think the college placement tests will help with the decision on the academic side. Some high schools are much more rigorous than others, and although the student excelled in HS, weren’t as college ready as they thought. Then of course there is the emotional/maturity level side of it, and I have seen really good students not be able to adjust to the level of work and self-discipline required. Though it sounds like you are pretty confident about those areas.

On the other hand I have also seen students who breezed through high school and continued to do so in college. I remember at times being a little worried each semester as it seemed very little effort was being made, yet the grades were always there, so I eventually learned to just believe they could handle it all OK on their own.

Good luck to you and your child in making a decision that works best for them. It is definitely not a one size fits all situation.