For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw | Hacker News Reader

For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw

nytimes.com

18 pointstokenadult11 comments

Maybe college helps because students can start taking themselves more seriously there than they can in high school.

Or because it's not as much of a tremendous waste of time. If you're smart and motivated, you can probably complete the average high-school class in an afternoon. The whole thing is an exercise in grinding speed-limited to the slowest kids in the class. If I could go back, I would have dropped out, gotten a GED, and went to college when I was around 16.

If I were 16 now I'd spend the extra time on Open Courseware and go to college only when I had done enough exploring on my own to really take advantage of the profs' expertise.

...and you would have ended up at community college. HS guidance counselors and college admission officers get this type of smartass thinking all the time and the answer never changes. Anyone can take the GED, it proves you aren't a complete waste of space. Anyone with half a brain can also graduate. What separates you from all the other mouth breathers is what you did with those 4 years. I, technically, finished highschool in 2 years. I spent the following 2 taking college prep and AP courses.

And that is how you go to college.

Many (most?) community colleges have affiliations with proper universities such that if you're not a complete dud for the two years you spend there (place in the top 40% or somesuch) you can transfer your credits and do the last two years at a proper university. I've known several people who have done this successfully.

My wife is one of them. For financial and geographic reasons, she started at a community college then transferred to a proper university after finishing there. She had to retake one course that wouldn't transfer and a couple of classes at the community college became electives when they transferred over, but for the most part she saved a lot of money that way.

I completed the second year of high school German by spending a few summer days at the local library. The teacher lent me a second year book for the summer. I'd started my language requirement late, in my junior year, and wanted to make up time and get to a more interesting class. I'm pretty sure it was not much more than 10 partial days' effort, and maybe less. This was without a German speaker to practice with, other than a pen pal. (Well, Dad still remembered some from his school days and travels, but he didn't use it much and I did this on my own.)

However, I had just gone on a school trip to Germany early that summer. Just nine days -- not long enough to really pick much up German -- especially amidst a herd of English speaking contemporaries. But it was a great trip and so very motivating. (I've remained friends with the tour guide to this day.)

This sentence caught me: when we all know senior year is a waste,.

Personally, in my senior year I racked up AP Credits for English and Calculus that applied to my college and participated in a Constitution Contest where I both learned a great deal and got a trip to DC that was at least subsidized by the school (so far the only time I've been to DC).

I may have been able to achieve more by going straight to real college courses, and I know not all schools offer the opportunities I took advantage of, but I would hardly say it is self evident that senior year is a waste.

In my junior and senior years of high school I took 6 AP courses (and passed the associated exams), which translated into about a third of the college credits I needed to graduate. I entered my University mid-sophomore year and graduated in the Summer 2 years later. If you're lucky enough to go to a worthwhile high school, you can definitely get a lot out of senior year if you're willing to put a lot into it.

I'm very happy to see programs like this happening and succeeding. My high-school offered college-level courses through a few local universities. Those and the few AP classes my school offered were the only worthwhile classes I took in high school.

Unfortunately, there weren't enough of them. I had basically run out of classes to take. I ended up graduating a year early and going to college. (And now, as a junior, I feel comfortable saying that that's one of the best decisions I've ever made.)

A widely available option is to dual-enroll in high school and college courses to take classes at a nearby University when you've exhausted the high school curriculum.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com