Making the best of an easy high school

Spin Echo · Post by **Spin Echo** » 2006-10-18 05:24pm

Fuzzymillipede and Darth Wong's exchange in venting has me thinking. What should you do if you're in a high school that hand's out 100%'s like candy? Yes, ideally the system should be changed so that doesn't happen, but realistically that would take several years to do. What should someone who is in an easy A high school right now do?

Obviously transfering schools or going to a private school could help, but in many cases isn't an available option. I was lucky in that my school let me take college courses and courses at other schools. I imagine most school districts wouldn't be as flexible though. Just graduate early and get onto a real college?

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2006-10-18 06:13pm

If the high school's giving out marks like candy then the students are going to be totally fucked when they get to college. They will go into college with huge gaps in their knowledge base and end up hopelessly lost after the first week.

Therefore the first thing to do would be to get an idea of college requirements, find out the material that will be covered in the chosen field of study and get cracking. Get some books from the library, maybe even get a tutor and start work on bridging that gap before it's too late.

If there's enough time then you can think about fast-tracking through high school and getting an earlier start in college. That's about all I can think of at the moment.

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2006-10-18 06:26pm

College is expensive. Non-current-edition textbooks are cheap. Find out what textbooks students are reading at good colleges, and read them. 9/10 of a college education is just a ridiculously expensive reading list, anyway.

If possible, challenge some AP tests. 80 dollars is a nice price for 3 college credits, if you can handle the test.

Spin Echo · Post by **Spin Echo** » 2006-10-18 06:36pm

Just occurred to me that since it's not clear in the OP, I should probably add that I'm not asking for me, but more as a general question since I know there are people here still in high school. I'm long out of high school and was fortunate enough to have a decent high school. At the time anyway, I hear it has gone downhill in recent years.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2006-10-18 06:53pm

Find out if decent Universities take graduates from that high school seriously. If so, enjoy the free ride while it lasts. If not, transfer to a high school where the grads are taken seriously.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-10-18 10:29pm

What defines a "decent" university from a "non-decent" university? Assuming, of course, that we're talking about real universities and not "pay us $10,000 and we'll hand you a diploma" places.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-10-18 11:55pm

The best way to compensate for an easy high school (and many universities will be aware of these schools) is to take on plenty of extracurricular activities, by which I mean the sort of activities which you can put on a resume. Particularly activities that imply initiative and leadership potential. That sets you apart from the group.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2006-10-19 01:10am

Any person stuck in such a high school should work on his own, constantly on many subjects. If he is in an easy high school, either it's crap or he is so good that he shouldn't even be in high school.

So take a trip online or to a local collage, read up on requirments, check the basic courses offered, and start studying by yourself. If possible, work with someone else, a mentor figure who can help you with the harder subjects such as math.
Otherwise, do as Wong said, stuff that sets you apart.

lance · Post by **lance** » 2006-10-19 01:32pm

Try dual enrollement with a local college if it's avalailable. Take as many classes as possible at it.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2006-10-19 04:55pm

In the town i come from there´s an institution that offers people interested in science to do projects and participate in national and international science competitons like the International Young Physicists' Tournament and the international physics olympia (hey, they just won a couple of gold medals) and stuff like that.

Perhaps there´s something like that in your area?

Spin Echo · Post by **Spin Echo** » 2006-10-19 08:24pm

lance wrote:Try dual enrollement with a local college if it's avalailable. Take as many classes as possible at it.

I had been thinking, and summer classes at a university or college might be a better way for people to go. You avoid scheduling conflicts and having to deal with the fluff work of high school along with a real course or two could be quite time consuming and draining.

salm wrote:In the town i come from there´s an institution that offers people interested in science to do projects and participate in national and international science competitons like the International Young Physicists' Tournament and the international physics olympia (hey, they just won a couple of gold medals) and stuff like that.

Perhaps there´s something like that in your area?

I might be able to pass for under 18, but I suspect people would be screaming ringer