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You could say I'm the flip side of the "drop out of high school and make a million bucks" coin, although I'm not giving up yet. I dropped out of high school 2 y

You could say I'm the flip side of the "drop out of high school and make a million bucks" coin, although I'm not giving up yet. I dropped out of high school 2 years in due to a confluence of factors (primarily boredom and some family issues that resulted in me entering foster care.) My perspective is that the academic aspect of high school is nearly worthless for the long tail of people who have above-average intelligence. What is valuable is the social interaction with peers and other extra-curricular activities. You can get most or all of those activities elsewhere, but it's harder. Additionally, if you have plans of attending a prestigious college you may have more trouble getting in with a GED - although a reasonably high score guarantees admission to a lot of state schools. Unfortunately I wasted any potential gain by spending a few years not doing much of anything except playing video games - in hindsight, probably due to depression. Currently I'm taking college classes and working independently on some projects; I'd be happy to answer most questions.

yardie 13y ago
This is a more recent occurrence in schools. From my experience, the best place to be to be stimulated was school. But with budget cuts it's getting harder to keep students interested, period. When I started middle school we had a fully equipped science lab, week long camping trips to the everglades, snorkelling, scuba, sailing and computer camps at various universities. All paid for by the taxpayers. By the time I graduated highschool the money had dried up through budget cuts and those programs were shuttered. My old, college roommate worked in the admissions office told me exactly why they don't bother with GED applicants. If you are that smart you are supposed to be doing college prep courses. Getting a GED means you might be smart but probably lazy. And they have no shortage of smart, college ready students applying. If you didn't immediately enrole into community college after getting your GED you're cooked. It also means you don't have any of the minimum requirements (4 years english, 4 years math, physics, chemistry, 2 years language, etc.) to enrole to even the lowest ranked state school. > Unfortunately I wasted any potential gain by spending a few years not doing much of anything This is the type of the student universities tend to avoid. Have you gotten treated for the depression? Are you working towards an AA? Full-time or part-time student? Colleges will allocate some spaces for non-traditional students but the good ones prefer FT students.
- socillion 13y ago
  State schools I've looked at just require minimum GED scores (I had no problem getting perfect scores on several parts) and a few years of foreign language. > This is the type of the student universities tend to avoid. Agreed, but retroactively fixing mistakes is impossible so I have to settle for not repeating them. I'm taking classes full time right now, if I get into a "good school" it'll be a transfer. I'm not sure if I'll get an AA; either way I'm planning to get a computer science BS.

yardie 13y ago

This is a more recent occurrence in schools. From my experience, the best place to be to be stimulated was school. But with budget cuts it's getting harder to keep students interested, period. When I started middle school we had a fully equipped science lab, week long camping trips to the everglades, snorkelling, scuba, sailing and computer camps at various universities. All paid for by the taxpayers. By the time I graduated highschool the money had dried up through budget cuts and those programs were shuttered. My old, college roommate worked in the admissions office told me exactly why they don't bother with GED applicants. If you are that smart you are supposed to be doing college prep courses. Getting a GED means you might be smart but probably lazy. And they have no shortage of smart, college ready students applying. If you didn't immediately enrole into community college after getting your GED you're cooked. It also means you don't have any of the minimum requirements (4 years english, 4 years math, physics, chemistry, 2 years language, etc.) to enrole to even the lowest ranked state school. > Unfortunately I wasted any potential gain by spending a few years not doing much of anything This is the type of the student universities tend to avoid. Have you gotten treated for the depression? Are you working towards an AA? Full-time or part-time student? Colleges will allocate some spaces for non-traditional students but the good ones prefer FT students.

socillion 13y ago
State schools I've looked at just require minimum GED scores (I had no problem getting perfect scores on several parts) and a few years of foreign language. > This is the type of the student universities tend to avoid. Agreed, but retroactively fixing mistakes is impossible so I have to settle for not repeating them. I'm taking classes full time right now, if I get into a "good school" it'll be a transfer. I'm not sure if I'll get an AA; either way I'm planning to get a computer science BS.