Question for College Students (in Off-topic)


Armageddon January 13 2008 1:42 PM EST

I'm a high school junior that is eligible to graduate at the end of the 2008 school year. I could attend college right away in the Fall of 2008, or I could take four to five college courses through my public high school for free, or reduced price. I am planning to major in Biology and then taking MCATS for Pre-Med School. Anyone who can give me insight if graduating a year early from high school and going to college is really worth it, would be wonderful.

QBRanger January 13 2008 1:46 PM EST

I would take college courses through your high school and enjoy the HS experience another year, being a senior and a BMOC.

College can certainly wait another year. If you go to college while young, you will feel overwhelmed by the experience. At least that is what happened to me. I went away to UF at age 17 and it took me about 1semester to adapt.

Enjoy HS while you can, then go to college when your ready.

Little Anthony January 13 2008 1:48 PM EST

get out of high school as soon as possible. Free class? College is free too ( I took exams and tested out a bunch of low level classes at college anyway.) -Yes, I am smart like that! (joking)

Mikel [Bring it] January 13 2008 1:54 PM EST

Finish High School, the extra time to mature will help, and it's even better if someone from your school shares the freshman experience with you than being completely alone.

Armageddon January 13 2008 2:26 PM EST

I was put in alot of advance placement classes so i know alot of seniors and juniors :D

Mikel [Bring it] January 13 2008 2:37 PM EST

maybe so, but you're still just a kid to them.

AdminQBnovice [Cult of the Valaraukar] January 13 2008 2:41 PM EST

If you like high school take advantage of the time you have.

[P]Mitt January 13 2008 3:16 PM EST

I was put in alot of advance placement classes so i know alot of seniors and juniors :D

Talk to Remembrance[NK]. By the end of his junior year he had taken 8 AP classes (and gotten 5s on all but 1 of them, which he got a 4). He was considering graduating early, but he decided not to and to stay for his senior year (this year).

As for graduating early, if you graduate early, you have a much lower chance of getting into a good/top college, which will definitely impact your chances at Med School.

Stay on for another year. Enjoy being a high school senior; you'll never be one again.

Picasso January 13 2008 3:46 PM EST

I would advise toward staying in HS. Graduating early will not make you a more desirable Med-School applicant, whereas staying an extra year will allow you time to mature and train the necessary skills to succeed in college and present yourself as an applicant who will succeed in Med-School.

Little Anthony January 13 2008 3:48 PM EST

college is much more fun than in HS. Plus, all the older experience counterparts :D

Bariagan [Demonic Serenity] January 13 2008 4:06 PM EST

I would say stay as well. The extra college courses will free up more space for courses you want to take later on.

Unless you hate your high-school, there is no point to graduating early especially if you plan on going to med school. The early graduation won't look nearly as good as the greater number of college courses, more so if they are in related fields.

tydye January 13 2008 4:34 PM EST

Taking classes through the university as a college student was cheaper for me and turned out to be a better option, I was able to graduate with an associates in 2 semesters rather than 4 from the junior college I attended. It all depends on your situation though! good luck with your decision.

razXcore January 13 2008 5:46 PM EST

i say you stay another year.
college is a lot more independant than high school so take advantage of teachers who will actually give you more than 5 minutes of their day to help you

QBOddBird January 13 2008 10:27 PM EST

I'm in agreement with everyone above excluding Little A (sorry, man) - taking college-level courses in HS during your senior year is definitely the better option, IMO.

Sir Leon [Soup Ream] January 13 2008 10:49 PM EST

Take College Courses through your highschool, If you enjoy highschool. Once it's over, most of your friends leave and you'll only see them during breaks.

Stay in HS, take college courses. You'll regret it later. ;-)

Ragatag January 13 2008 11:26 PM EST

stay another year, once you're done with highschool you can't even go back again might as well enjoy another year.

Ulord[NK] January 13 2008 11:32 PM EST

Stay another year and take as many challenging courses as you possibly can. Premed undergraduate program is one of the most intensive, competitive and downright difficult path you can take in university. You'll need to perform consistently for four years and come out with a solid GPA + lots of volunteer experiences. You definitely need superb time management skills and a lot of tenacity. I see a lot of my friends going to premed and fail out second year because they don't have what it takes. You might as well try honing your work ethics while in highschool risk free. That also sadly means you might want to stop playing CB coming 2nd and 3rd year.

Wizard'sFirstRule January 14 2008 12:01 AM EST

you never know what people ask on CB. Health advice yesterday and career today?
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