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Scholarships for Those Who Graduate Early

For those gifted, accelerated students, staying in high school for four years could be a thing of the past. For students who catch on quickly or find high school without academic challenge, in some states they may be able to graduate early and get a scholarship to boot.

According to the Associated Press: “Idaho lawmakers have proposed giving scholarships to high school students who enroll in college early. Eight other states are participating in a program that would let high school sophomores pass a series of tests and graduate early. A Utah lawmaker went so far earlier this year as to propose letting students skip their senior year. ” Wow!! I sure wish this had been a option when I was in school. I always felt that so much time was wasted on learning things that really would not benefit me in the future.

But the plan in Idaho is a little more bold than other proposed plans throughout the country. In Idaho, students could graduate up to three years early and on top of that receive taxpayer money to enroll at a state university or community college. So how much could students receive? The amount of the scholarships would be approximately $1,600 in scholarship money for each year they graduate early.

Of course, this could get some taxpayer feathers ruffled, but already many high schools across the country allow students to start taking college courses, some on taxpayer’s dime, as early as their junior year in high school. Again, I wish this had been the case when I was in school. To think that you could actually graduate from high school with at least one college year under your belt already.

In Idaho, this scholarship plan has already passed the House but remains to be passed by the Senate.

According to Associated Press: “From New Mexico to Pennsylvania, eight states nationwide are participating in a pilot program that would allow high school sophomores to graduate early, thus getting a head start on community college. The program, spearheaded by the National Center on Education and the Economy, would include 10 to 20 high schools in each state and start in 2011. Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are also participating.”

Though some are opposed to letting kids as young as 16 attend college for fear of “growing up too soon” others feel that a plan such as this may help those driven and gifted students get a head start and avoid getting “lost” due to boredom and lack of challenges in the school setting.