I'm just now reading about it and am curious if anyone's kids have done it? Was it worth it? I'm intrigued.
I would like a run down from someone with personal experience as well if it not too much trouble. Thanks
My daughter is a freshman at Early College. ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!!! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.
Early College I have a 15-year-old daughter who is a junior in Early College if you would like more information as well. It has, like everything, positive and negatives, but overall, this year has been our most intense, but the instructors and administration have been the most receptive as well. My daughter is all academic, no sports except for dance, and she is young (15 and a junior), but the teachers are receptive, they know who she is and are very quick to respond with any questions or concerns. They are encouraging, supportive, and understand that a lot of these kids, because academics are important to them, have had issues with fitting in in the past. My daughter came from a elementary public school to home school middle school environment so had quite an eclectic background, but has aclimated well. The fact that she will graduate with a highschool dipoloma and her associates degree is a huge benefit, but that is also available at a lot of the highschools as well with dual-enrollment. She likes the smaller classes as there are only 52 kids in her entire junior class. (This is in regards to her class as a whole, she is in a lot of college classes with all ages, so the classroom sizes are not smaller). The application process is similar to what the kids go through to get into a normal college with an application, essay, and interview, as well as parental interview. Mr. Garland, the principal, is passionate about the kids, and hires teachers accordingly. He holds these kids accountable and treats them all with respect and is a huge advocate for his students. The downside, for me, is that there isn't as much structure, but it's college so that's to be expected. That's my issue because I need it, and my daughter needs it, so she and I have both had to implement more structure on our own, which isn't a bad thing at all, just sometimes challenging to know how. There isn't any handholding but again, it's college, there shouldn't be. But it can be somewhat of a shock to the system, but when they do figure it out, and you see the lightbulb going off, you know they are getting more and more equipped for the real world and that's what education is all about, as well as parenting. So, if you have a child who is all about academics and doesn't mind missing out on sports/band etc then I would defintely recommend applying. Even if they aren't sure, apply anyway, then make the decision. It is a 5-year committment with Early College, (it can be done in 4 but the more college classes you take, the fewer you have to pay for on the university level). They do have dances, a prom, a yearbook, student government, and other things available to the kids so it's not like they are missing out on the entire highschool experience. We have a lot of highschools around here that the kids can attend football, basketball and soccer games, etc. and see their friends. That's about it. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to IM me. Have a great weekend
When mine was in high school we decided not to go that route but to take the college courses given at the high school. Those credits transferred to the college my daughter is now attending and she could graduate college this year, if she wanted too (she's a Junior but considered an upper class woman). We have decided that she will stay on to graduate with her class and just take some easy classes her senior year and take the LSAT. She will graduate from Western with a degree in Forensic Psychology and a minor in Biology. Her plan is to go to Duke for law so she is more marketable. She's also looking at Georgetown. Wants to go to work for the federal government. As much as people complain about the Johnston County school system I find that it produces some darn smart kids. Lots go to the North Carolina School of Science and Math and she has friends at West Point. If you need any information on how we did it PM me, kdc. We also know a family whose daughter is now in med school after graduating from NC State on a full scholarship. She also went the route we did. Both of our families wanted our kids to get the full high school experience but get college credits as they progressed. Sherry
Thanks for all the input again folks! I am just going to see what happens and go with that. Going to leave it up to him if it's something he wants to pursue, he's only in 8th grade now, so we have some time to see if that is the direction he may want to go in.
Awesome! I recommend you both attend the open house. I think they have it in January or February, I followed EC on Facebook so we wouldn't miss it. It was very informative and the kids got to talk to the students in a private setting. I think that's what helped my daughter make her decision. Also, ask lots of questions. I am so grateful to the fine people on here who answered my questions on the board as well as PM. I hope you have the same experience and I will definately pay it forward on in anyway I can help.
So what is the program where I see HS kids being bussed to JCC. From my schedule they seem to get there about 11 and get picked up at about 2. Is this early college, middle college or just something through the individual schools. It intrigres me to see about 10 JCS busses and I have been wondering what it is.
Early College My daughter ride the bus to JCC. Her classes start at 11:00 a.m. but she is in class until 5:00 p.m. I do not know how the Middle College works as we have not had any experience with that. As my daughter does not drive, if she has any college classes, she is taking 4 this semester, that is taking place on a day the public school lets out early, we (her parents) are responsible for her transportation, same on a teacher workday, etc. for the highschool side, and buses do not run, we are responsible for her transportation on those days. It's not too bad though. I try to get with a few of the other parents and either pick up or drop off, whichever is easier. We have been very pleased with our Early College experience. I strongly recommend everyone to come to the open house, bring your child, they will have an opportunity to talk with the kids that are currently enrolled. Bring lots of questions and go through the process. It's great practice for college application process as well. Good luck.
