Live2Ride Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 DH and I were discussing our kids and their highschool tracks at dinner. They are out of town visiting family so we've been enjoying our largely varied dinner talks :D. I have had maybe a total of 10-15 days without them since they were young and a handful of those were for funerals. Yet here we are talking about them, lol. We don't always have a lot of time to just relax and chat openly/frankly with each other without two sets of ears listening along... So tonight we were discussing our Ds who has a mid July birthday. We have homeschooled him from K on and started him a little late due to his immaturity. But in doing this we noticed that he would be graduated a few months before he turned 19, thus not having much 'free time' between school and when he can submit his papers. At this time though he is on track with the rest of his peers. He can be graduated at 17 if we/he wanted and it would be ~15 months until mission age... What would be the pros and cons? As of this time he really wants to go and has since he was little. We haven't pushed, but have enouraged him and he's seen others in our ward return from their missions.... Oh the decisions! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Well, let's see. My son had a late birthday, so I had him in homeschool in the same "grade" he would have been in high school, so he could be with his peers in seminary, etc. Anyway, he graduated at 18, and then turned 19 in the beginning of November. He couldn't have completed a full semester of college before his 19th birthday, so he opted to work and save money instead. He got a job at the hospital in Park City that paid $13.00/hr. and gave him a gas allowance, so he was able to earn quite a bit of money before he left on his mission in mid-November. He turned in his mission papers in July or August, I think, and he had five or six weeks between the time of his call and when he had to report to the MTC. He went to the California/San Fernando bilingual mission (English/Spanish) and loved it!! When he returned two years later, he was able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with us before he started college in January. It worked out perfectly for him. I would say do whatever your son feels comfortable with. Fifteen months between graduating and a mission call is a loooong time though. It helps if they focus on the mission and get that under their belt with maybe only a semester of college between high school and the mission. It seems like the more you get out of that mission mindset and the more you're involved in college life (and dating) the harder it is to refocus your attention to where it needs to be. Although some of my son's friends have had to take more time between high school and the mission than they thought they would (one friend had to wait NINE months for a visa to France) and they did just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 What does he want to do? If you graduated him at 17 and had 15 months, how would he spend it? Taking college classes, working and saving,.....? DH graduated at 17, spent the next 18 months working for his dad and then left. I knew a few 17 year olds at BYU. They weren't the most mature; skipping classes, having fun instead. Went on their missions and came back a lot more mature. It kind of depends on your kid. On the other hand, I could see that it would be nice to get some credits out of the way while he can. Dh was fairly old when he graduated. 26 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetandSimple Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Can he graduate early and then do two semesters of community college? It could be really nice to have some college credits ahead of time. I know a few guys who have come home from their missions, fallen in love, got married, had kids, and still had a few years of undergrad work ahead of them. Economically, that's hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Dh has a November birthday. His parents held him back for another year of kindergarten, but by high school he had matured enough to complete it in three years. He then got his associate's degree at a community college before his mission. He left on his mission a few months before he turned 20. He got home a few months before he turned 22 and transferred to BYU. That plan worked way better for him than postponing school because he was mature enough to get a lot done before his mission. He and I met the first week of class at BYU. I am very, very glad that he didn't have four full years ahead of him just to get his BS. :) We got married a year and a half into his start at BYU. He had a real job before I got pregnant. I was a student for over a year after she was born, but it was really nice that he wasn't a student anymore. It was also nice to have real income and health benefits. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 So tonight we were discussing our Ds who has a mid July birthday. We have homeschooled him from K on and started him a little late due to his immaturity. But in doing this we noticed that he would be graduated a few months before he turned 19, thus not having much 'free time' between school and when he can submit his papers. At this time though he is on track with the rest of his peers. He can be graduated at 17 if we/he wanted and it would be ~15 months until mission age... As of this time he really wants to go and has since he was little. okay, I have a rm, one out, one getting ready. (he's frustrated with the delay, but his desire to go has only gotten stronger.) I confess, I don't see the problem with timing. kids graduate high school, go straight to college (re: more school, sometimes doing summer semester) then submit their papers so they can enter the MTC at 19. (papers can be submitted up to three months before their bd's.) You say he's ready and eager. the one thing I would say is, boys who have lived away from home at school (or such), do better adjusting than those who have never lived away. Not saying mandatory, just they have an easier time adjusting becasue they've had some experience being independent. learn to cook, learn to mend, learn to clean and wash, etc. what do you think he should do "in the meantime" after graduating hs? work? college? it's one of those or it's twiddle his thumbs. the paper process for my two who submitted took six months - even my HYPER efficient and uber independent dd took five months from start to call (and 2 1/2 months of prep.) physicals, shot series, wisdom teeth removal, passports, etc. takes time to schedule things. (then for some places e.g. brazil - it can be six months between call and departure due to visas.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 all good points! thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 oh, regarding math classes and mission. I've been informed by those in the know - do NOT take math beforehand as things get forgotten and has to be retaken. (2ds was ADAMANT he was NOT taking anymore classes until he came home for that reason. he'd spoken to too many in his area of interest who just had to repeat math classes.) 2dd (chem major) did orgo before her mission, and ended up forgetting things. just one thing to consider about college before a mission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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