input needed asap please-Would it be detrimental to spread out h.s. to 5 years for college bound student?

[Carpe Diem]

Thanks for reading and any input.

 

Would it be detrimental to spread out h.s. to 5 years for my college bound daughter?  She is missing a couple credits which would be the main reason but there are a few other positives of going another year. 1.  She is working on her figure skating.  She is making nice progress and would like another year to compete on the local high school team (which would be allowed as it is a club sport.)  2. Going another year would allow her to finish her h.s. diploma in piano which is a nice accomplishment and according to her teacher counts towards college credit.  3.  She could study further in science and math.  4.  She could do an AP class.  5.  She would still graduate as an 18 year old.  6.  She does not want to graduate yet.  Needs more time to mature.

 

In going to a 5 year plan would this be a detriment?  How would we do her transcripts by subject rather than years?  She went to the local h.s. for freshmen year.  Would we count that as 8th grade?

 

We are also thinking about maybe we should just say she graduates this year.  She would have a senior solo in the ice show.  I know not a big deal but skating is a big deal to her.  If she graduates next year then she would have her solo then.  If we say she graduates this year we could maybe count next year as a gap year but have her finish up the couple credits and then squish that into her senior year on her transcripts.  Or is this illegal somehow?

 

Thank you for reading and for any input.

 

 

[kiana]

I would not try and squish what she does next year into her senior year post-graduation.

 

If she were chomping at the bit to graduate, I would graduate her. But given as she has plans that she wants to do and does not want to graduate, I would prefer to retroactively declare her PS freshman courses to have been "8th grade" and just move all the rest down 1.

[In The Great White North]

I don't see college plans in the narrative.  If she has not already applied to colleges, it is too late for many (and most scholarships), which would lead me to not graduate her this year.

 

 

 

But given as she has plans that she wants to do and does not want to graduate, I would prefer to retroactively declare her PS freshman courses to have been "8th grade" and just move all the rest down 1.

 

:iagree:   There is absolutely no rush.  What she shouldn't do, is slack off next year by only taking the couple of credits she is missing.  She should still look like a full time student.

[Daria]

I think a 5 year plan sounds fine.  If asked about it in an interview, she could mention that she was young for her grade, and taking another year allowed her to meet some personal goals, like competing at a higher level in figure skating, completing the piano curriculum, and trying some college level (AP) classes.  I don't see why this would be held against her.

 

 

[rlestina]

I understand about the skating and the ice show!  I have two skaters...  And I agree, retroactively declaring that year as 8th grade and taking one more year of high school makes a lot of sense, as long as you make sure she has a strong senior year, assuming college is part of the plan.  And you probably know this already, but USFS has some scholarships available, and a nice recognition program for high school skaters that can be put on college apps. 

[Daria]

If she was in a brick and mortar school for 9th, how could she retroactively declare that as 8th grade?  I know that colleges ask to see the transcripts from every school you've attended, and the transcripts will say 9th.

 

I'm in favor of giving her 5 years, and I'd be on the retroactively make that 8th plan if she'd been homeschooled throughout.  

[Kareni]

Where does she intend to apply to college?  I would check their admission paperwork.  If it's a college that uses the Common App, they will wish to see what she has done/is doing in the four years prior to college. 

 

If she will have homeschooled in the four years prior to college, on her transcript you can list high school level classes that were taken prior to high school.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[allyphoe]

I don't know that I'd try and retroactively declare PS 9th grade as 8th grade. Repeating a grade in high school isn't uncommon when going from PS to boarding school, so ought to be permissible when switching to HS. She had two years as a 9th grader.

[Daria]

Where does she intend to apply to college?  I would check their admission paperwork.  If it's a college that uses the Common App, they will wish to see what she has done/is doing in the four years prior to college. 

 

If she will have homeschooled in the four years prior to college, on her transcript you can list high school level classes that were taken prior to high school.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Is this really true?  

 

My son's freshman grades from PS are lousy.  I had assumed there was no way around the negative impact, but are you saying that if he spends 5 years in High School those freshman grades would disappear?

 

What if he spent 4 years in high school and took a gap year?

[Kareni]

Is this really true?  

 

It's my understanding that the Common App wants to see the student's work for four years of high school.

 

 

What if he spent 4 years in high school and took a gap year?

 

I believe in this case they would still wish to see what he did in his four high school years.

 

 

My son's freshman grades from PS are lousy.  I had assumed there was no way around the negative impact, but are you saying that if he spends 5 years in High School those freshman grades would disappear?

 

If he is in a public school, it's likely that the transcript would show all that he did in high school; you might ask them what would be on his transcript. 

 

If he has been homeschooled and also been in a public school and is homeschooling when he applies to college, your transcript would show the final four years as his freshman through senior years.  You could list some of his eighth grade work if it was appropriate. 

 

Would years two, three, four, and five show that he took the usual high school course load and an appropriate number of credits (i.e., four years of English, three or four years of math at an Algebra I level or higher, etc.)?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[J-rap]

I don't see how you can change her 9th grade year to 8th grade, because that was done at the PS and is on record.  Wouldn't any college she applies to want to see that transcript?

 

I don't know if colleges would question why she needed to take four additional years.

 

I think that I, personally, would be tempted to graduate her this year, and have her take the next school year as a Gap year to do interesting things, possibly take AP classes, and complete the two necessary classes which I would then add to her high school transcript.  I would try and complete those before December 2015, so that you could honestly say that she graduated in 2015. 

 

The only questionable thing would be if she were to take AP classes AFTER she graduates, then she would possibly be called a transfer student when applying to colleges, and therefore wouldn't qualify for some scholarships.

 

On the other hand, if neither you nor your daughter feel she is ready to graduate, then there is probably nothing wrong with it being a 5-year plan.  But again, I think it would still be considered 5 years because her 9th grade year is already on record with the PS.

 

All five of my children took a Gap year (and four went on to college after that), but they were required to send their complete high school transcript when applying for colleges, not just a record of their past four years.

 

[rlestina]

If you homeschool 4 years of high school, that's your high school.  You are not under any obligation to mention or reference what happened in the year before, which you are calling 8th grade, unless you are trying to show some of those credits as high school credits.  As long as you don't do that, there's no reason to send them a transcript from the public high school, because it's not relevent.  We're homeschoolers - we do not have to follow the same rules as the local high school.  We just have to follow our state laws.

 

A gap year is whole different thing, because it's not a year of high school level classes and credits. 

[In The Great White North]

Colleges want to see transcripts from all schools attended during the last four years.  If she did 9-11 at a b&m school then 11-12 at home, 9th grade may very well show up on her transcript.

[OneStepAtATime]

Colleges want to see transcripts from all schools attended during the last four years.  If she did 9-11 at a b&m school then 11-12 at home, 9th grade may very well show up on her transcript.

As I understand it, she only went to a PS High School for what would have been 9th grade and has homeschooled High School since then.  If she did 4 years of High School as a homeschooler after that year (taking an extra year to graduate, which is what the child apparently wants) and counted that PS year as 8th grade for all intents and purposes, it seems to me that the only thing relevant to her transcript would be the 4 years she was homeschooling for High School (as long as she was still taking a full load her new Senior year).  The PS year wouldn't ever need to even be mentioned, would it?  It would have occurred 5 years before she graduates (by the time she graduates) if she takes an extra year to do so.  And she is young,  She would still be graduating at 18 if she takes that extra year.  I don't see why a college would care about that PS year if her transcript reflects the previous 4 years and shows her completing all required credits.  But I could be dead wrong.  Just trying to understand.

[In The Great White North]

 

 

As I understand it, she only went to a PS High School for what would have been 9th grade and has homeschooled High School since then.  If she did 4 years of High School as a homeschooler after that year (taking an extra year to graduate, which is what the child apparently wants) and counted that PS year as 8th grade for all intents and purposes, it seems to me that the only thing relevant to her transcript would be the 4 years she was homeschooling for High School (as long as she was still taking a full load her new Senior year).  The PS year wouldn't ever need to even be mentioned, would it? 

 

That's correct.  There are plenty of kids who do 9th grade in one school, then go to a (far more expensive) "prep" school and repeat 9th grade.  The official school transcript only includes the 9th grade at the prep school.  The situation would be the same.

 

From the OP, I had the idea she was thinking about graduating this year or next, and would therefore have 9-10-11-12? on her ps transcript.

[katilac]

It's true that schools are mostly concerned with the final four years, but that doesn't necessarily let students off the hook for the grades that came before. 

 

Some schools factor certain classes, like algebra 1, into the high school GPA - even if it was taken in 8th grade. So you can't just send in a transcript that starts with Algebra 2. 

 

In the OP's case, I would probably ask the schools. They are looking mainly at the last 4 years, yes, but I would definitely not want to appear as though we intentionally leaving off her 'first' high school year. It might simply come up in conversation, or someone might notice that her 'new' 9th-grade year had mostly 10th-grade classes, and ask about it. 

 

I don't think taking 5 years is a drawback, especially when you have solid reasons. Better to ask than risk being viewed as trying to game the system, imo. 

[In The Great White North]

 

 

Some schools factor certain classes, like algebra 1, into the high school GPA - even if it was taken in 8th grade. So you can't just send in a transcript that starts with Algebra 2. 

 

I've never run into this.  Which schools did you find that did?

[AmyontheFarm]

I am in Ontario, Canada.

Our local B&M school lets the kids take a 5th year routinely.  If a student is not mature enough to handle college away from home, or if the student tells the staff they can't afford college yet, they invite the child to stay an extra year and work to save more money.  The transcripts are done with all similar subjects grouped together instead of a transcript done based on the school grade 9- 12.

[katilac]

I've never run into this.  Which schools did you find that did?

 

I just saw it again within the last week. Let me see if I can find it - I didn't note it at the time, b/c my kids are behind the curve and took algebra 1 in 9th!