High School credit before high school

[jayb842]

Can you give high school before they reach high school? How does a college look at this?

[Ellie]

Many folks here have reported that colleges specified that credits on the transcript must have been earned in the four years immediately preceding the college application.

[vonfirmath]

Many folks here have reported that colleges specified that credits on the transcript must have been earned in the four years immediately preceding the college application.

 

How does that work if you take a gap year?

[Luckymama]

Please come over to the high school board---this is a very common topic of conversation!

[In The Great White North]

If you take a gap year, you usually apply at the normal time then ask for a deferral.

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with Ellie.

 

While some high school systems allow 1 or 2 classes to transfer from 8th grade as credit (usually Algebra, Biology, or foreign language), colleges typically only want to see the last 4 years of high school work on the transcript. They assume that if your student was working at an advanced level in middle school and taking Algebra or Biology at that time, that your student will continue to work at an advanced level through high school and would be doing math up through Calculus, or Advanced sciences.

 

For the homeschool high school transcript, you can add those types of classes to the transcript if you are concerned it will look like a gap in the student's education -- say, if Algebra 1 was taken in 8th grade. You give the credit, but no grade (you award a "P" or "Pass") so that it is not included in the GPA, and you make a notation/footnote that the course was done in 8th grade.

 

 

If you would like more discussion on this topic, check out these past threads:

High school classes taken in middle school on transcript?
Need clarification on hs credits/transcript (pro/con of including credits from 8th grade, need portfolio or no?)
High school level work done in 8th grade on transcript?
Transcript question: pre-high school credits (count 8th grade credits on transcript?)

 

They are all listed in the pinned thread at the top of the high school board that is a mega-compilation of past threads on loads of high school topics: Transcripts, Credits, GPA/Grading, Accreditation, College Prep/Applications, Scholarships/Financial Aid, Career Exploration -- past threads linked here! (see posts #1 and #5 for the lists of links)

 

BEST of luck in your class credit and transcript adventures! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

PS -- edited to add:

 

If there is a gap in your student's high school years -- say your student was seriously injured or ill, or had dropped out for a time, and missed a year of high school -- you would make a note of that on the transcript, that the last 4 years of academic work are shown, and that they occurred in the last 5 years due to ________ (fill in the blank of reason why student missed a year of school).

 

More typically, when someone says "gap year", they mean a year off between high school graduation and starting college in order to meet specific goals -- participate in a special extended opportunity; work/travel; mission trip; etc. A gap year is quite common in Europe; it is expected that the student will go do something that will make them a more experienced person, encounter other cultures, and contribute to the betterment of the world through volunteer work -- all of which translates to making them more mature and interesting, and to have more to contribute in class when they start college after the gap year experience.

 

That's what Great White North is referring to -- if you take a gap year between high school and college, and had already applied and been accepted to the college, you request a deferral. 

 

[8filltheheart]

My answer is yes, I do. They still continue the subject throughout high school, just beyond high school level. They also take tests, like AP exams and SAT subject tests to demonstrate that they have mastered the material at younger ages.

 

When filling out college aps, they do have spots that limit the number of courses you can list, so continuing the subjects through high school is important. However, on our transcripts that we submit, we have a <9 column and all pre-9th grade credits are listed there.