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Gamingforce Interactive Forums > Gamingforce Network > The Quiet Place > ANGST! > No more High School

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vorannon
Recently I made a difficult dicision. I decided to drop out of high school in a couple years and just go for college by getting a GED. All my friends say it wont work, and they would know, but they wouldn't! So should I go for it. All the practice GED tests I've aced, so I'm prety confident about my actual scores.

Jochie
It's plausible. It might be harder to get into some big, fancy university. If you plan to go to a community college and then transfer to a university after a while (to save money) then the GED plan should work just fine. It's really hard to say if you should or shouldn't do it because it's a choice you make for yourself. Some things will be trickier, but then you get to skip high school, which is pretty tricky itself for some people. Just make a plan for college and figure out what you'll need to do exactly. Put your mind to it, and go for it. There are many ways to go through this wacky life thing. It's up to you.

Adol
I wouldn't do it, myself. Dropping out of high school isn't going to look good to a college, no matter how good your test scores are. Think about it from the perspective of a University's admissions department. If someone's too lazy to stay in high school for 4 years, what are the chances that they'll actually manage to survive 4 years of secondary education? :\

The fact that I've never seen a college mention GED's in their admissions websites only reinforces my thoughts on that matter.

That having been said, you could try calling up some college admissions people. They might know more than some random guy on the Internet. :tpg:

The only way that I can see this working is that, if you enrolled at a community college with your GED, you could transfer up to a real college or university after a year or two.

mrEkli
I agree with Adol. If you would drop out of High School, who's to say you'll stay in a college for possibly longer? And yes, call the admissions people.

Another Dreamer
I went to high school for three months upon coming here from Malaysia, didn't like it, got a California High School Proficiency Exam Certificate (state equivalent of GED), dropped out, went to a two-year college, transferred to the University of California at Davis, and I'm now finishing a degree in Food Science.

Possible? Definitely. But you -should- talk to high-school and college counselors, first.. don't just take my word for it.

ArellaNova
possible - depends on what type opf college education you want - some courses of cirriculum are harder to get into - and wont be possible to do with just a GED

Duo Maxwell
I don't know, the GED is kind of a shitty way to go. But, if you must, then I guess there's no stopping you.

You said, "in a fews years." Does this mean that you've not even begun high school or you've recently started? It's only 3 to 4 years, so stick with it if you can. I hated it too, but I got through it (Although, I finished in just under 3 years, because I worked and took extra classes to get ti over with).

Enkidu
Although it may seem like a nice idea right now, you'll regret it later. If you go apply for a job somewhere, and there's another guy with the exact same diploma and skills like you, but he has also finished high school, they will take him instead of you. Why? Because they fear that, since you didn't even have enough determination to go through high school, there's also the risk that you'll get bored in that job, and that you'll just quit. The other guy is more trustworthy if you look at it that way, so my advice is, stay in school, so that you don't have any regrets later on.

vorannon
I've looked into my college choices. They both accept GED as a high school diploma. I can't quite explain why I want to not finish high school, it's just that It'll be the easier way out. Mabey not in the long run, i'd admit, but for now and the next few years.

Duo: Wonderful observation. I'm in my second sophmore year right now. I'm only waiting becuse I can't get a GED for another few months. Plus, I don't want to go of to college at age 16. That's suicidal. I want to wait untill I'm 18 or so.

I know I might as well go through high school like everyone else, but as I said before, I think it's the best thing right now.
I've thought it all out. I think it will be prety possible. I would just like the opinion of you guys.

Additional Post:
Oh, and get this. I'm going to get a degree in Music Education. A bit Ironic, no?

Chaco
My suggestion is discuss this with a guidance counsler before actually dropping out. See how realistic these goals of yours are, see some statistics and such...It reminds me a bit of the smart smart girl who gets pregenat and ruins her life. You can probably go far but don't take a shortcut that could fuck you over in the long run.

AliceNWondrland
Getting into a good college is hard enough with a regular degree. Why would you make it even more difficult by dropping out and getting a GED? Obviously a GED is preferable to no high school diploma at all, but it's still quite inferior. Sticking with high school says a lot about you. If I were an employer and I had to choose between hiring someone with a regular diploma and someone with a GED, it would be no contest as to who would get the job. My advice is, don't drop out of high school.

squallgaia2003
so true,,,stay in school and get a god job!

Immortal
It would work if you went to a community college first, which would also save you some cash as well. But I would go over it with your counselors at your high school and the advisors at the community college and university to make sure it will all work. Perhaps if they say it will work you should get a written statement as well in case they decide to change their mind when it is time for you to transfer?

DixieKong89
Well I'm still in high school but I have to tell you if you drop out there's tons of benefits you'd be missing out of. Granted I don't know your cirriculum, but it should go without saying that college will be harder for you in some aspect if you don't finish.

squallgaia2003
yeah..i'm still in highschool too...I'm ready for college because of my grades and level of mastery but i don't think i could jump right in...i'm not ready to leave highschool yet..i like my school and friends and i don't wanna leave them to start college early..it's just not a choice right now

Gecko3
Well,

Here's my opinion on the subject. Before you make any rash decisions on dropping out, I would also advise that you talk to a school counselor and let them know. Perhaps they can work something out with you.

Here's some of my experiences regarding a situation similiar to yours. I graduated from high school in 1998, after sucking it up for four years. I have seen many friends drop out, and now they mostly work in places like Burger King, McDonalds, or unemployed (not saying that this will happen to you, but they told me that getting into a university was too hard with a GED).

Me, I joined the Army. There's many reasons why, but I guess the top ones are because I was "sick of school and wanted to take a break", and "See the world" (boy did I see the world lol). After finishing four years on Active Duty (full time army), I went to college. Let me tell ya, the Army was really rough compared to school, and I'm glad that I got all that experience, so that I didn't really take school for granted again hehe.

I was also the first person in my family to graduate without dropping out (one of my older brothers did graduate eventually, but he dropped out for a few years too, not sure why. Another of my brothers dropped out and recently got his GED. However, he's having trouble getting into a community college).

Bottom line is, try to think of the long-term impacts of your decision. It's not like figuring out where you're going to hang out on a Friday night, this will affect you for the rest of your life, and if you can avoid it, you probably should. Not saying GED's are terrible, but they are generally viewed as lesser than a full fledged diploma when it comes to getting a job or trying to get into a secondary school (like settling for a bronze medal because you decided you didn't want to work to get the gold one).

Sure, school kinda sucks, but you could be in a lot worse situation (like me when the Army sent me to Korea, within artillery range of North Korean guns hehe). You could always wait till you graduate, then take a few years off before you head to college (but the longer you wait, the harder it'll be too, because you start forgetting stuff you need to know for college).

japancrisis
I don't think you should drop out. I agree with Alice that it's hard enough to get into college with a regular high school diploma, why drop out and try to get a crappy GED? Those hardly work anyway (not that I know how it is, I'm still in highschool but I have hard stories similar to yours) I don't think you wanna drop out, just stay in there, work hard; it'll be almost over. Don't jepardize your education, you don't want to do something that you might regret later in life.

vorannon
A GED is just as good as a high school diploma to most colleges. The few colleges i'm looking at couldn't care less if it's high school or a GED.

The main reason i'm doing this is that I did a bunch of classes last year and early this one that I didn't get credit for because the school counted me as getting a biology credit. I apparently didn't get it, so now the other sciences i've taken don't count. The same happend with social studies last year. So now I've got to redo 5 classes plus abother 5 or so on top of them. That, or just skip high school.

I've got it all worked out. I get the GED, get a bunch of music scholarships, and a years worth of hardcore work should get me into a good colege.

Blue Nazis
That's my future plan. :) My cousin is going down that road.

Radioactive
I wouldnt suggest it, But if you want to go for it.

AliceNWondrland
I'd be interested to know what colleges treat a GED as an equal to a regular high school diploma. Community colleges, maybe, but I've never of a university like that.

qbjunkie
Well, I can see why you would think that, seeing as your school fucked you over from the sounds of it. However, if you stick it out, the extra classes you can take while in high school will help you out a lot. Even if you are able to get into a college reasonably easily, it doesn't mean it will be easy to get through college. The extra stuff you can dredge out of more high school classes make it more than worth the effort required to go through them.

Don't rush things, and it will turn out better. You can still get a good job while in school, if you look around a bit, and thus can spend more time saving up. It all adds up to an easier path down the road.

Hell, I finished high school, and I still regret not putting more effort into it, because with just a bit more effort, I would've been so much better off. Had I dropped out, I am scared of where I would be now.

vorannon
Alice: http://www.acenet.edu/clll/ged/faq-TT.cfm#get-into-college

I e-mailed West GA about it and they accept it and I am looked at no less (or more) than a regular high school graduate. I don't know about UGA, but I think i've got a better chance of flying to the moon.

If all else fails, KSU is the way to go. My dad teaches there and I should be able to get in rather easy..... even tho their requirements are increasing.

qb: I do plan to wait a bit untill I do drop out. I want to wait for all my friends. I'm gonna get any high school education I can, drop out, spend a year working and getting a solid foundation going, then going off to college. Then hopefully spending the rest of my days in a band room teaching little kids how to blow........ on horns and stuff....... yeah.....

BrassNucks
if i were u id stay in high school.. so u have a better chance of getting into a college. maybe get a scholarship for some thing.. maybe...

Duo Maxwell
Plus, I don't want to go of to college at age 16. That's suicidal.

What's suicidal about it? I went off to college at 17. I was well-received and your freshman year, the workload should be cake.

Blue Nazis
I wouldnt suggest it, But if you want to go for it.

Lies!!!

vorannon
Yes, it's a lie.

And duo: It was more of a joke than anything, but I would feel rather outcast as an extremely young college freshmen. Social outcast, not acedimic.

Edit: I didn't spell academic right..... stupid me.... trying to prove i'm ready for college........

Duo Maxwell
I know, I meant I was "well-received" by the student body, in general. When you do go off to college, you'll discover something. For the most part, the people are there because they want to be. You don't have a bunch of immature dipshits trying to make it hard on all of the people trying to learn.

In fact, you might get more respect being younger in that position. I got a decent amount of encouragement and praise from my peers. I also got to date older women, which is nice (well, they were older than me at the time).

Loyalist
I'm in my first year of CEGEP, which is government-run colleges up here.

Belive Duo when he says people cease to give a shit. When you have so many people at one school, its hard for "cliques" to form and, by statistical chance, there will be people who share your interests.

Locke Cole
Yup, I'm in a specialized program at Seneca, and there's only 32 in our year, and I think 30 in the year above us, plus 20 odd staff, and 80 in the non-flying first year (it'll be cut to around 50 by the end of first semester, and then to 35 or so after the first year, those that remain go onto the flying syllabus.) and I'm good friends with everybody in my year, as well as most of the staff and other years. It's awesome. Our whole class also does alot of shit together (going drinking/house parties/etc.../hockey) all the time, so we're pretty tight knit.

Loyalist
Ah, you're at flight college, eh?

Zindura
College will be infinitly better than high school from what I hear. People tell me there are so many people, you do what you want, and you just get lectured.

I'd feel a helluvalot better being myself in that kind of environment.

Endure High School, cause everyone else did.

yui-chan
One of my friends dropped out when she turned sixteen, and she's doing okay, but she's not going to get into any really prestigious colleges. Her goal when she was younger was Oxford, that's out of the question now. It all really depends on where you want to go later. If you're really desperate to get out of highschool, you could try to graduate early, if your school allows it, although that would take considerable more work. Looks a lot better than dropping out, though.

MysticTear
I made that decision

I dropped out of school and went to this alternate program. It was called Youth Challenge. I took all 5 GED tests and I got not my GED, but my diploma.

The choice is yours... choose well.