High School / College opportunity

[SOONER]

I have a question for you guys. My wife and I are considering letting our son apply to a special High School program next year. It is an early college program at Guilford College in Greensboro ( he would still live at home). If he gets accepted he would go his 9th and 10th grade years to a high school at Guilford College and then his 11th and 12th grade years he would be going to regular college classes at Guilford College . It's a good private college thats about $24K per year but it would be free through this program. So when he graduates high school he would actually have 2 full years college credits. I read a recent survey of local high schools and it showed that high school graduates of this program on average get a $100K scholarships upon graduation. It sounds really good however my wife and I have been thinking about it and it would mean he would not experience the "normal" high school activities. Also, his college experience would be altered because he would be starting normal college as a Junior.
There's obviously advantages because he could go to graduate school earlier and graduate earlier as well. He thinks he wants to go to medical school so this would allow him to start and finish earlier as well.
I don't know if he can get accepted because they only take about 50 students but we are considering our options in case he does.
So here's my question. Knowing what you know about your high school and college experience would you trade it for an opportunity like this?

 

[leftyman]

let him go to high school and be a kid... we had a similar situation with our daughter although it was sports related and not to get into a long story she's in high school now and extremely happy.

pm me if you want to know the details

 

[ed21x]

it's actually not that hard to attend college classes while in HS. I did it just to save my parent's money while going to a public school. Also, medical school is a post-college venture, so going to undergrad early will not be affecting his graduate school admissions.

 

[beer]

I had this opportunity when I was a freshman in HS about seven years ago. I didn't take the opportunity and I stand by my decision 100%. The people that did became, in my opinion, socially dysfunctional by the time they were high school seniors and never had much of a life in college because they were two years younger than anyone in their class, and that's, for what it's worth, a big deal when you're in college (the 21 year old divider).

For what it's worth, keep in mind - You can basically knock a year or more out of college with AP tests. And AP tests are more widely accepted than the transfer credit's you'll acquire from this program.

So the question you want to ask is really, 'is putting my child in a socially dysfunctional situation worth saving one year of college?'

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: ed21x
it's actually not that hard to attend college classes while in HS. I did it just to save my parent's money while going to a public school. Also, medical school is a post-college venture, so going to undergrad early will not be affecting his graduate school admissions.

Exactly. Between classes at any local school (online would be especially convenient), AP, CLEP, and DSST testing programs, it wouldn't be difficult at all to get junior level college standing before graduating high school, without entering any sort of special program...

 

[FoBoT]

does he want to experience the "normal" high school activities ?

if he is a nerd, then maybe that normal stuff will just give him anxiety anyway

if he wants to be a doctor and isn't a social butterfly, then i say go for it, sounds pretty awesome way to get started in life to me

 

[pontifex]

i may have missed it in the op, but what does your son want to do?
i think in the end it should be up to him what he wants to do.

 

[yobarman]

Let him do it. The high school experience isn't all that special. He'll learn a lot more about life in college anyways.

 

[DaiShan]

Basically, he won't have a normal high school experience with sports and clubs and all of that, and he will graduate college before he is 21, so he will miss out on a lot of the parties and going out to clubs. I think that the social aspect of college is just as important as getting good grades.


/edit High school is when most people start dating and learning how to interact with people of the opposite sex. Dates in middle school aren't really the same, and (at least in my experience) it's a lot easier to go out on dates when you're old enough to drive. He'll be in college by the time he gets his license, and he'll be pretty far behind the curve in this department IMO.

 

[SOONER]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i may have missed it in the op, but what does your son want to do?
i think in the end it should be up to him what he wants to do.

I think he is leaning toward applying to the program but he's only 13 so he doesnt fully appreciate all the implications of his decision. We want him to understand both the pro's and the con's of the decision.

 

[theknight571]

I hated High School...but loved college.

Do the 50 or kid kids accepted into the program attend class together, or are they treated just as college students, so they may, or may not, be interacting with kids their own age.

Hard to say... I know we all want the best for our children... even if that means letting them be "normal".

Like a couple other people mentioned... what's his opinion on the issue?

 

[shoRunner]

let him decide. it is his life and if he decides against it, its not like he's losing out majorly...i think most people made it throught 4yrs of high school + 4yrs of college ok.

the social aspects of high school are equally as important as the education.

 

[SOONER]

Originally posted by: theknight571
I hated High School...but loved college.

Do the 50 or kid kids accepted into the program attend class together, or are they treated just as college students, so they may, or may not, be interacting with kids their own age.

Hard to say... I know we all want the best for our children... even if that means letting them be "normal".

Like a couple other people mentioned... what's his opinion on the issue?

He would be with the other 50 kids for his 9th and 10th grades and then be in normal college classes his 11th and 12th grades.
Ultimately it will be his decision but we want to offer him good guidance to help him decide.

 

[FoBoT]

what is the consequence of dropping out of the program at some point?

i have a twelve year old daughter and she tends to change her mind about what she wants to do

 

[gigapet]

I'd be mroe worried about him missing out on the undergrad experience of college life rather tahn missing out on high school. HS sucks.

 

[DanFungus]

I changed the most in my junior/senior years and would think it'd be hard to meet new people who are at least 2 years older than you physically and mentally if the kid isn't very outgoing. If he/she is, I personally still wouldn't want to leave high school early.

I'd be mroe worried about him missing out on the undergrad experience of college life rather tahn missing out on high school. HS sucks.

Also VERY true. Living at home for the first two years of undergrad would be terrible.

 

[Mo0o]

He should go to a regular high school or a good private one if you can afford it. THen apply to a school better than guilford. Medical schools actually dont like accepting younger students so his age might work against him. I would suggest working his ass off in a regular high shcool and get int oa 6 year program like rice/baylor for medical school.

 

[AZGamer]

High School... College... If you're in it for the social experience, good luck getting into a good grad program, etc... If you're there to learn, you might be in the minority, but that's in your advantage.

You get out of life what you put into it. I'd push him to go for it, but let him decide.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: gigapet
I'd be mroe worried about him missing out on the undergrad experience of college life rather tahn missing out on high school. HS sucks.

Coasting through HS only to be roughed up by college is essential to life

 

[touchmyichi]

HECK NO! Take this from someone who is nearly a peer to him (freshman in college), he NEEDS the experience of high school- whether he likes it or hates it. He isn't going to be prepared or comfortable with college life. Anyways, the best students I know attended four normal years of high school just like anyone else and they were still challenged. The AP/honors program allows high school kids to essentially take college classes and get credit for it- most of them are comparable (many more difficult actually) than my current classes at University of California, Davis.

Also, while that school may be decent, if he did really well in high school he could possibly wind up at a much more prestigious University and thus a more respected degree (yeah i know some people don't buy this idea, but it should be a factor nonetheless). I know the free education of a private school sounds tempting, but then again you have UV Chapel Hill right in your backyard- a much better choice.

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: AZGamer
High School... College... If you're in it for the social experience, good luck getting into a good grad program, etc... If you're there to learn, you might be in the minority, but that's in your advantage.

You get out of life what you put into it. I'd push him to go for it, but let him decide.

People usually find a balance between school and parties, well not everyone, but those that don't, fail out and end up living at home and working at a movie theater