Skipping Senior Year of HS--Pros and Cons

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm not saying the OP's son is in the same position that I was. But I can't stand when people say that there is no risk to the standard four year high school program, or that there are significant social risks to breaking that mold

I agree to a point honestly but at same time it really sounds like you never were a mold to begin with whereas many people fall into it but can deviate from it here and there. Graduating at age 14 is so extreme it's hard to compare that to someone looking to graduate a year in advance. For many there are valid points of consideration towards a social aspect, maturity emotionally and ableness in taking on college life especially as specialized as engineering can be.

My advice would be different if it was about going into the workforce once junior year passed assumed it was not about dropping out but attaining their high school diploma but as the question was asked about fast tracking to college there are other things to consider that and social is part of it and so is what may be missed during that last year either academically or emotional or social maturity. It's at least a conversation that should be had.

 

[barkley]

I AM a little concerned about him surviving dorm life. I think he'll get along fine with his dorm-mates, but the noise and chaos may bug him. Optimally, IMHO, would be to commute to State U for a year and transfer. I think having him stay over a night in a dorm might be a good idea--we'll look into that.

you might see if the state u offers a special summer session for high school students. the university (public) my oldest attended does a session in the summer that is intended to give high school students a taste of what university classes are like in addition to experiencing dorm life. it's not taking traditional classes but they take some abbreviated versions of courses (not for credit), get the opportunity to learn about the majors they are interested in all while living in the dorms. granted-it's kind of a 'college light' experience since the population is greatly reduced but it does offer them the opportunity to see what living in a shared dorm room is like (they purposely don't do single rooms b/c those are hard to come by/next to impossible to get as freshman and it's one of the hardest parts of adjusting to dorm life based on their student surveys).

Culinary Arts (he loves to cook!) at the same time. He aced all three, and wants to take Culinary 2 next year.

by any chance does your school district have a voc-ed program? ours in cooperation with several others in our region has a program that is offered to juniors and seniors that offers a dual enrollment of sorts. half days are spent at the high school doing the traditional coursework (which can include ap classes and advanced classes if the student desires) with the other half of the day at the tech school in a nearby town (school provides transportation). there's a variety of programs offered including one in culinary arts. the culinary arts program gives a much more expansive learning experience in the different aspects such as knife skills, baking, menu planning (and costing), single service vs banquet planning/preparation. even if it's not something he plans to pursue as a career, if it's something that he enjoys it's an opportunity to learn more about it and gain a different high school experience (one of my oldest's classmates loved to bake, no desire to pursue it professionally/another college major already planned for-she did the culinary program in high school and loved the opportunity to take entire courses on topics they only touched on for a day or two in the traditional high school culinary arts courses).

 

[QueenIsabella]

OP here--minor update...

I got a chance to talk to my son yesterday. He's not 100% on the idea of skipping senior year. He'd like to keep it as an option, though. For now, we're going to proceed as if he's skipping, but he knows he can hit the "OFF" button, and his parents will back him 100%.

He'd like to do 2 college courses in the fall--the college will test him on math level before he can take calculus (I'm not worried about this, but it might make him more confident. Or, show he's not ready for college calculus, which is okay, too). He'll also take college chemistry this fall. How he handles these two courses will speak volumes.

Meanwhile, he'll see about taking the two English courses and as many honors/AP classes as he can. Here, at least, APUSH is a Junior course (it has been, everywhere I've known--never heard of sophomores taking it). He's currently taking AP World History, APUSH next year, whatever else he wants.

He was thinking that, if he stays in HS, he'll take Culinary 2 his senior year--and everything else at the college. Culinary 2 is a 2-block course (we have block scheduling)--I don't know if it's 2 blocks for one semester, or one block all year. If it's the latter, that works perfectly. I figure, if nothing else, the culinary skills can lead to a part-time gig while he's in school. Plus, we're huge fans of pursuing passions, even if they don't lead to fame and fortune--everyone needs creative outlets and a way to blow off steam. We're painfully aware that chemical engineering is difficult major. We aren't so much looking for him to graduate early, but maybe he can take a few more electives, do a semester abroad, etc.

We have school choice here, and there were vo-tech options. However, I think the culinary program (ironically, at the community college), you can't just take a couple courses--you have to be registered in the program. Which is a bummer, because I think he'd have a blast.

Again, I appreciate the varying opinions and experiences. One thing I did tell him was, "Don't wait for me to be ready for you to leave--you'll never go!" I love that kid!

 

[AppleDumpling]

Again, I appreciate the varying opinions and experiences. One thing I did tell him was, "Don't wait for me to be ready for you to leave--you'll never go!" I love that kid!

That’s sweet and sounds like something I would say. As parents, we root for our kids to succeed and be independent, but it’s still hard to let them go.

I skimmed through the thread, and my instinct would be for him to stay in high school and graduate with his class. Like others here, I’m of the mindset that says enjoy your youth and don’t rush it, as you’ll have plenty of time to be an adult. But clearly you have put much thought into this, have analyzed the options and only you know your son best and can judge, with his input, how the circumstances may play out. In the grand scheme of things, one year probably won’t matter much either way, as long as he is confident and satisfied with his decision.

One thing to consider, since you mentioned scouting, if he goes away to college, would he be able to stay active in his troop before he ages out, and is that something he wants/cares about? My son was also very active, was SPL, and is an Eagle. He earned Eagle in the beginning of junior year, and stayed involved through his junior and senior years.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Sigh. Boy Scouts. This is a bit of a sore subject!

On the one hand, he loves Scouts. If he went away to engineering school instead of senior year, yes, he'd have to leave Scouts. If he stays local, he could participate and would age out in 2/24.

OTOH, he doesn't think he'll get Eagle. He's 2 ranks away, and very close to the next rank (Life?). We think he could make it if he put in the effort. This is particularly irksome to my DH, also an Eagle--our older son (who's autistic) didn't get his, but certainly got a great deal out of Scouting. So, I think DH sees DS16 as his last chance. But, 100%, it has to be DS's decision.

 

[chickapin parterre]

"as his last chance" ????

 

[CaptainAmerica]

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.

What are his grades like? He'd be better off graduating higher in his class with fewer crammed-in courses than having a ton of credits and all B's. I'd focus on getting those test scores up, graduating on time, and getting into an elite university.

 

[MrsPete]

Respectfully, this is dead wrong. This is the exact same argument that teachers and administrators gave me and my parents starting when I was 7 years old. You'd never believe my entire story if I told it, and it really isn't relevant here. But the bottom line is that I have been a grown adult for a long time now, and I am STILL working through the psychological damage I have from well-meaning school officials who did their level best to hold me back. At 7, I was a happy and well-adjusted kid who was several grades above age level, involved in a bunch of activities outside school, and just wanted to learn everything about everything. By the time I finally made it out of high school at 14, I was an anxious, angry, neurotic mess who wanted nothing more than to put it all behind me. I was DONE. And it wasn't because skipping grades was hard on me, it was because I'd spent my ENTIRE childhood fighting for someone to recognize that I needed radical acceleration like I needed air. Had someone forced me to stay with my age group all the way until I was 17/18, I probably wouldn't be here today.

I'm not saying the OP's son is in the same position that I was. But I can't stand when people say that there is no risk to the standard four year high school program, or that there are significant social risks to breaking that mold.

We're probably not going to agree.

Obviously I don't know what you were like as a child, but you say you've "been a grown adult for a long time now", so I wonder if you're aware of how different high school is now /how many more options we have now. At the high school where I teach /in the county where I teach, we offer:

- A specialized academy at every high school with unique opportunities for students. My high school offers pre-engineering. Another is all about law enforcement and fire fighting. Another has a full-fledged commercial kitchen and students can come away with a Food Safety certification.
- Through internet classes, students can enroll in a wide variety of advanced courses that aren't taught on our own campus.
- When I was in high school, I think we had three AP classes available to us. Today my high school offers 27; well, not all on my campus, but all in our county.
- We offer dual enrollment at our community college. A few students pursue dual enrollment at a nearby university, though that is less common.

In short, we offer an awful lot of advanced options that didn't exist back when I was in high school. A kid who's look for advanced opportunities can probably find it in high school.

 

[QueenIsabella]

"as his last chance" ????

Yeah, I know. I've told DH he needs to back off. Our youngest needs to become an Eagle...or not...by his own choice.

 

[QueenIsabella]

What are his grades like? He'd be better off graduating higher in his class with fewer crammed-in courses than having a ton of credits and all B's. I'd focus on getting those test scores up, graduating on time, and getting into an elite university.

He's a straight-A student, except for the one bobble in orchestra that I mentioned (one quarter, last year, got an A as a final grade). I don't know that he wants an elite university--he's been contacted by a couple, but doesn't seem to seriously consider them. Also, he's not "cramming in courses". He wants to double up on English--that's the only thing he'll need to do to graduate early. He'll have all his other requirements. As I've mentioned, he's also taken art, orchestra (a 2-block course, meets every day, all year), culinary, and he'll have 3 years of French. He actually started earning HS credits in 8th grade, so he's a bit ahead of the curve, but not one of those super-brilliant whiz kid types.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

you might see if the state u offers a special summer session for high school students. the university (public) my oldest attended does a session in the summer that is intended to give high school students a taste of what university classes are like in addition to experiencing dorm life. it's not taking traditional classes but they take some abbreviated versions of courses (not for credit), get the opportunity to learn about the majors they are interested in all while living in the dorms. granted-it's kind of a 'college light' experience since the population is greatly reduced but it does offer them the opportunity to see what living in a shared dorm room is like (they purposely don't do single rooms b/c those are hard to come by/next to impossible to get as freshman and it's one of the hardest parts of adjusting to dorm life based on their student surveys).



by any chance does your school district have a voc-ed program? ours in cooperation with several others in our region has a program that is offered to juniors and seniors that offers a dual enrollment of sorts. half days are spent at the high school doing the traditional coursework (which can include ap classes and advanced classes if the student desires) with the other half of the day at the tech school in a nearby town (school provides transportation). there's a variety of programs offered including one in culinary arts. the culinary arts program gives a much more expansive learning experience in the different aspects such as knife skills, baking, menu planning (and costing), single service vs banquet planning/preparation. even if it's not something he plans to pursue as a career, if it's something that he enjoys it's an opportunity to learn more about it and gain a different high school experience (one of my oldest's classmates loved to bake, no desire to pursue it professionally/another college major already planned for-she did the culinary program in high school and loved the opportunity to take entire courses on topics they only touched on for a day or two in the traditional high school culinary arts courses).

What's his goal at the end of this? If he wants to be a serious chemical engineer with a whole world of career prospects, he'll be much better positioned with a degree from Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, or Georgia Tech than from a "decent" school, as you described it in the first post. By "elite" in this context, I didn't mean prestigious just for prestige's sake, but an academically rigorous program with outstanding career opportunities.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Georgia Tech is on his list. It's too far away, IMHO, for him to go if he goes a year early. Because we're currently hosting an exchange student, I haven't had the chance to really talk through with him the various options, pros and cons, etc. Obviously, one advantage to staying in HS would be a wider range of colleges to potentially pick from.

On the good side, he seems to be aware of his prospects (i.e., doesn't think he has a shot at MIT, for example). He really seems to know what he's looking for in a college. We also have one of those "ranking" books for colleges--it's from 2018, for his sister, but I figure, close enough. Every time he gets contacted by a school, he looks them up to see if they're worth considering.

I have a sneaking suspicion that he'll end up staying in HS. We're fine with that. Mostly, I started this thread to see if I was missing some angles on the idea.

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

My daughter took a lot of AP classes and also took college classes in person and online her senior year. Was at her high school for half a day. She ran out of math classes at our high school so that's what prompted it. I would, personally, let him do whatever he wants because it is the cheapest credit hours you will ever pay for. EVER. However...he may be limited on what he can take as he probably still has to meet the high school state graduation requirements. And those classes at your local college may not count towards the degree requirements at the one he attends. CALC 3 did count, but the English class she took did not. I think 2 AP classes didn't count because a single class can't count towards 2 requirements. My daughter's university has a recruiter that she emailed with to see what her situation was.

Something else...with engineering you do have a specific order you take certain classes in. She struggled a bit, early on, to find enough classes to make her full-time so she took on a language minor but she came in with a bunch of credits in that, too. May have to add in a random fitness class next spring.

 

[kathyk2]

He's a straight-A student, except for the one bobble in orchestra that I mentioned (one quarter, last year, got an A as a final grade). I don't know that he wants an elite university--he's been contacted by a couple, but doesn't seem to seriously consider them. Also, he's not "cramming in courses". He wants to double up on English--that's the only thing he'll need to do to graduate early. He'll have all his other requirements. As I've mentioned, he's also taken art, orchestra (a 2-block course, meets every day, all year), culinary, and he'll have 3 years of French. He actually started earning HS credits in 8th grade, so he's a bit ahead of the curve, but not one of those super-brilliant whiz kid types.

Do you live in Cary North Carolina? My niece attends a high school in Cary and she'll graduate a semester early. She is going to take college classes along with high school classes starting next September.

 

[QueenIsabella]

My daughter took a lot of AP classes and also took college classes in person and online her senior year. Was at her high school for half a day. She ran out of math classes at our high school so that's what prompted it. I would, personally, let him do whatever he wants because it is the cheapest credit hours you will ever pay for. EVER. However...he may be limited on what he can take as he probably still has to meet the high school state graduation requirements. And those classes at your local college may not count towards the degree requirements at the one he attends. CALC 3 did count, but the English class she took did not. I think 2 AP classes didn't count because a single class can't count towards 2 requirements. My daughter's university has a recruiter that she emailed with to see what her situation was.

Something else...with engineering you do have a specific order you take certain classes in. She struggled a bit, early on, to find enough classes to make her full-time so she took on a language minor but she came in with a bunch of credits in that, too. May have to add in a random fitness class next spring.

Yeah, this is why we're not counting on him graduating college early. We don't expect the classes to all transfer, regardless of how much he tries to work with the college admissions office. I've heard many horror stories on the subject. But I figure, if he has to re-take, say, differential equations, it's going to be pretty easy the second time.

Do you live in Cary North Carolina? My niece attends a high school in Cary and she'll graduate a semester early. She is going to take college classes along with high school classes starting next September.

Nope--Wilmington, NC. I love all the educational choices here (we moved from NH--my older two graduated HS there).

 

[pahoben]

We're probably not going to agree.

Obviously I don't know what you were like as a child, but you say you've "been a grown adult for a long time now", so I wonder if you're aware of how different high school is now /how many more options we have now. At the high school where I teach /in the county where I teach, we offer:

- A specialized academy at every high school with unique opportunities for students. My high school offers pre-engineering. Another is all about law enforcement and fire fighting. Another has a full-fledged commercial kitchen and students can come away with a Food Safety certification.
- Through internet classes, students can enroll in a wide variety of advanced courses that aren't taught on our own campus.
- When I was in high school, I think we had three AP classes available to us. Today my high school offers 27; well, not all on my campus, but all in our county.
- We offer dual enrollment at our community college. A few students pursue dual enrollment at a nearby university, though that is less common.

In short, we offer an awful lot of advanced options that didn't exist back when I was in high school. A kid who's look for advanced opportunities can probably find it in high school.

I am not sure of his particulars but believe he is referring to children that score say 700 's + on the SAT in seventh grade or above 50 percentile on the GRE in seventh. For these children the public school system is toxic and the school clock the mortal enemy that sucks away the soul tick by tock (if not always then at least very very frequently).

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I skipped my senior year of HS back in 06/07. One of the biggest thing that prompted that decision was the lack of class offerings available my senior year. I had moved out of state in 9th grade and the advanced class path at my new school was different than my old school, resulting in me taking primarily classes with 10th graders in 9th grade, 11th graders in 10yh grade, etc. The new school was small (about 160 kids/graduating class) and didn't have a lot of course offerings. My junior year, I took the only 3 dual enrollment classes available for college credit and was looking at a senior year with AP English and the rest would be BS classes like basic Chem and Calc (had already taken both for college credit junior year). My HS wouldn't let me graduate early since we had a 27 credit requirement and could only take 7 classes/year, but agreed to let me spend my senior year in college full-time for dual credit. I did have to come back to the HS once per week for 45 mins for the first 9 weeks for a gym credit (wouldn't accept a college phys Ed credit or allow me to double up my junior yr or take it over the summer), but I otherwise spent my senior year in college full-time.

I went to the community college, but that was solely for financial reasons. Since I wouldn't officially graduate HS until after that first year of college, I couldn't apply for financial aid (not sure if it's still the same now). My dad only agreed to let me go to college early if I paid my own way and I couldn't afford university tuition so just did CC (there were no discounts on tuition there either) and commuted from home. I also worked 36-39 hrs/week to cover my tuition and expenses.

I do not for a minute regret skipping that year. There was no way I could have stayed motivated in HS taking lower level or filler classes. Because I spent all of HS in classes with older students, I didn't have any friends in my actual grade anyway, so I wasn't missing anything there. I've never regretted missing senior prom or any of the other senior moments as they would have been with kids I didn't really know anyway, and I never cared for HS much the 3 yrs that I did attend. I actually never even attended my HS graduation, and just had them mail the diploma.

I do wish I could have gone straight into a university rather than CC, but at the end of the day, it wasn't that big of a deal. All of my credits transferred (including the dual enrollment credits in 11th grade) to the out-of state university I eventually graduated from. I ended up joining the military after that first year of college, and between the college credits I earned from dual enrollment and skipping senior year combined with some college credits given for military service, I was able to enroll in my university as a junior and thus really only spent 3 years in college before graduating with a BA (CC my senior year, then 2 yrs in university).

Every kid is different, but for me skipping senior year was definitely the right move. Age is not nearly as important as maturity and emotional readiness. My bday falls late in the year so even if I had spent senior year in high school, I still would have started college at 17. Starting a year earlier at 16 wasn't that big of a deal for me. I made friends easily in college, actually easier than with kids my own age in HS, did well in my classes and honestly thrived with both the responsibility and the freedom. Since the classes were more challenging than HS and possibly because I was paying for them, I cared more about actually trying. In HS, it was difficult to stay motivated when it wasn't a challenge and an A was easy.

Your son has some time still before any decisions will need to be made. I think it's great that he's looking at his options already. It sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders and is really thinking through his options. Personally, I would trust his judgment on whatever he feels the right decision is. He would be 17 1/2 starting college if he started early, which is dang near an adult and old enough to start making his own decisions, especially since it sounds like he has given you no reason to question his judgment. Looking back, I will say that had my dad not permitted me to skip my senior year, there would have been some bitterness and resentment as it would have felt like he was trying to hold me back and didn't trust in my judgment to make the right decisions for my life.

I think it's great that your son is exploring his options now and love that you seem to be encouraging him to think through and research those options rather than pushing him in one direction or the other. Regardless of what he chooses, I wish him the best of luck.

 

[momz]

I have not read all of the replies. But I would encourage you to consider letting him graduate early, but not start college just yet. He can get a job during what would have been his senior year. This would keep him home another year which could be crucial to him developmentally. Then start college when he's a little older, a little more mature and has some experience "in the real world". School has been easy for him. But, is it easy to get to work on time? To follow policies and procedures even if you don't understand or agree with them? Do mundane things? All of these things will be required of him at college. He will have to do assignments that he doesn't see value in. He will have to follow course requirements even if he doesn't see the point. Getting past these types of attitudes will help him succeed. now, I don't know your kid, but I do understand this age and stage. Also, I happen to think high school can be a waste of time for some kids...maybe yours. It's great for a few...but for the kids who are not into the sports, clubs, or other organizations, and classes are "easy", well, high school can be a drag. There can be no joy in going to that building day after day. So, let him try out his wings, but keep him close to home until he's ready to launch.

 

[JLTraveling]

I agree to a point honestly but at same time it really sounds like you never were a mold to begin with whereas many people fall into it but can deviate from it here and there. Graduating at age 14 is so extreme it's hard to compare that to someone looking to graduate a year in advance. For many there are valid points of consideration towards a social aspect, maturity emotionally and ableness in taking on college life especially as specialized as engineering can be.

My advice would be different if it was about going into the workforce once junior year passed assumed it was not about dropping out but attaining their high school diploma but as the question was asked about fast tracking to college there are other things to consider that and social is part of it and so is what may be missed during that last year either academically or emotional or social maturity. It's at least a conversation that should be had.

Oh, I 100% agree that it's a conversation worth having. But the poster I was responding to was SO dismissive of the idea that there could be anything wrong with forcing a kid to stick to the standard high school schedule, I felt like that general brick wall needed to be addressed. For some kids, perhaps many or even most kids, an extra year of high school may not be a big deal. But IMO, rigidly stating that there's zero risk to it, and a huge risk to acceleration, is just as ridiculous and damaging as it would be for me to try to claim that high school is a giant waste of time and all kids should just skip it

 

[RCharnay]

I skipped my senior year 40 years ago. I noticed a few years ago that I had never been invited to a reunion. I can truly say that in 40 years, that was the only time I ever had a second thought about not doing senior year. My situation was much the same as your son; I was an excellent student who was very bored with classes (except for Speech and Drama) , had completed my required courses,and had no interest in being part of the social world or staying a year in school for Prom. I had a few good friends and we waved and wished each other well. I was able to move on to work and school and that meant I was heading into a Master’s degree a year earlier. One of the most mature decisions I ever made.