Graduating high school early/ benefit?

B

Butterfly beach

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2023
Messages
21
Our DS was able to skip his junior year in high school due to dual enrollment classes. So much of what you do in high school, is repeated in college, so he strategically took courses that counted for both. Do you think the academies would be impressed with this high school path or would they be disappointed due to evaluating six semesters instead of eight?
 
For any college, university or Service Academy, they are in the business of education. Skipping a year means skipping a year of additional classes, leadership opportunities, community service and general maturing.

All the other students your DS is competing against has 4 years of classes... so for example what math did your son get up to ? Calculus? Why not take another year in HS and do Calc 2 and Multivariable? Why not take another AP science?

All of the other kids got another year of leadership opportunities...what leadership does your son have?

All the other kids have 4 years of sports and possibly more years of Varsity... what about your son?

All the other kids have another year to work on their SAT/ACT... how are your son's scores?
 
bopper said:
For any college, university or Service Academy, they are in the business of education. Skipping a year means skipping a year of additional classes, leadership opportunities, community service and general maturing.

All the other students your DS is competing against has 4 years of classes... so for example what math did your son get up to ? Calculus? Why not take another year in HS and do Calc 2 and Multivariable? Why not take another AP science?

All of the other kids got another year of leadership opportunities...what leadership does your son have?

All the other kids have 4 years of sports and possibly more years of Varsity... what about your son?

All the other kids have another year to work on their SAT/ACT... how are your son's scores?
Click to expand...
All of his sciences ( Chem, physics, biology) were completed at college level. Math at calculus. Too many leadership positions to name. I guess he could stay longer to play a sport but seems odd.
 
bopper said:
For any college, university or Service Academy, they are in the business of education. Skipping a year means skipping a year of additional classes, leadership opportunities, community service and general maturing.

All the other students your DS is competing against has 4 years of classes... so for example what math did your son get up to ? Calculus? Why not take another year in HS and do Calc 2 and Multivariable? Why not take another AP science?

All of the other kids got another year of leadership opportunities...what leadership does your son have?

All the other kids have 4 years of sports and possibly more years of Varsity... what about your son?

All the other kids have another year to work on their SAT/ACT... how are your son's scores?
Click to expand...
Assuming your school has any of these courses...mine does not.
 
USNA will evaluate the package submitted. Academically, they will focus on the STEM type classes taken. They could potentially weigh the ACT/SAT more just like the CFA probably has more weight for non letterman than those with multiple varsity letters.

If the can candidate is ‘young’ for the class but still old enough, they may have questions regarding maturity and readiness to fit in with classmates.

In short, if the candidate fits the requirements to compete - admissions will allow him to compete. If they find the candidate lacking - go to college for a year and re-apply.

IMHO - USNA admissions is pretty good at determining if an atypical candidate is a good one.

It probably took them some time to figure out home school candidates, but did (as an example)
 
My son earned 84 college credits and his AA degree before he graduated high school.

I don’t think the academies would be necessarily impressed one way or another. It’s a competition.

It would have been a huge mistake if he graduated early.
 
Last edited:
According to the USAFA website, they suggest 4 years each of English, math, and science. My son rearranged his schedule to add on another science when he read that. His were all dual credit or AP as well.
 
I gradutated from USMA long, long ago. I was mature for my age, but very young (I didn't turn 21 until 2d semester Firstie year). Frankly, my young age was a disadvantage. There were many classmates that were 2-4 years older than me and that's a big difference at that age. Their life experiences and maturity were miles ahead of mine.
 
I saw somewhere USAFA prefers AP/IB over dual enrollment...colleges, too. This is because AP/IB programs are nationally standardized, where dual enrollment can be subjective. USAFA wants applicants who have continually challenged themselves to the maximum rigor that their high school offers. No hurry; the more mature a student is, the better they will thrive.
 
T-37IP said:
Being very young will make USAFA that much more difficult. It is much more than academics. Use the last year of high school mature, gain more athletic and leadership experience, and get even further ahead in academics. There is no advantage to graduating early.
Click to expand...

I agree it isn't a race to see how fast you can graduate from h.s., regardless of where you want to go to college. If academics come easy for the OP's son, that should give him more time to pursue sports, ECA's or other leadership roles. Most people talk about not having enough time to do what they want in h.s., so this might be an opportunity to benefit from that. Doing a mediocre job at a lot of sports is probably not as much of benefit when applying as excelling in the ones you are good at.
 
If graduating early, would your DS meet the minimum age requirement... 17 years old by July of the year he would enter USAFA?
I agree with others who replied that graduating early would not be an advantage. Another year of maturing (especially for a boy) would be beneficial for success at USAFA.
 
USAFAGradMom said:
If graduating early, would your DS meet the minimum age requirement... 17 years old by July of the year he would enter USAFA?
I agree with others who replied that graduating early would not be an advantage. Another year of maturing (especially for a boy) would be beneficial for success at USAFA.
Click to expand...
This occurred to me too. From the USAFA website. For class of 2028, that is July 1 of 2024.

  • Be at least 17 but not past your 23rd birthday by July 1 of the year you enter the Academy.
 
USAFAGradMom said:
If graduating early, would your DS meet the minimum age requirement... 17 years old by July of the year he would enter USAFA?
I agree with others who replied that graduating early would not be an advantage. Another year of maturing (especially for a boy) would be beneficial for success at USAFA.
Click to expand...
Yes, he would be 17.5 years old at graduation
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top