My daughter is considering graduating high school in December to start college early next spring. Her high school says she easily has enough credits and her college advisor says she has the necessary courses and test scores to be admitted. Her coach said it would be great - she has a decent chance to start as a freshman and it would help her get ready for that - but that it wouldn't hurt her if she didn't.

Just wondering if anyone out there had experience with this (good or bad) that they could relate.

Thanks

I think it would be a great idea. She would be able to get very valuable minutes in the spring games and adjust to the speed difference in college ball. A played on my son's team did that last spring and had a great season last fall.

The fact that she is considering it on her own means that she doesn't fear greatly missing a number of great experiences that high school seniors usually have as graduation approaches. If that is the case, there is almost no downside to graduating early and starting college in the spring. The huge upside to it is being able to go through spring practice and scrimmages (yes folks, they are scrimmages, not real games) with your team, which puts you in the enviable position of showing up as a freshman in the fall and feeling like, and being viewed as, a returning veteran. If she's not afraid of what she'll miss, DO IT!!

Mo Isom at LSU, Courtney Foster and Elizabeth Jobe at Clemson are a few who come to mind.

Our Daughter did this...she grad early from a Atl 5-A school to play college soccer.... it worked out very well for her, she is a Sr now and she would tell you that the first Spring really gave her a leg up on the transition to the college game, the study and travel issues, and the opportunity to build a realtionship with coach and upperclass-women. She has been in the starting 11 on a ranked top 15 team from her start.... advice, this has to be something she (the student athlete) really wants to do, because they do forgo a year of HS soccer and don't walk at grad with their class. good luck

OBTW ... when our DD did the grad early thing and played that first spring with her college team ....those spring games were not scrimages, for our DD and team they were for real and for keeps, she was playing her way into the squad and a top ranked team always plays for pride and brag rights, even in spring

but Mo's dad has told me she is coming back for the graduation events and walk.

My son considered it but we really didn't support it. He had an August birthday so was really young for his class. I just could not see sending a 17 year old off to college out of state and most of his peers would be much older. I know that the same thing happens in the fall but he would be a half a year older and there would be more freshman there. He also is very glad he did not pass up the senior year experience at his high school. He was very social so that stuff mattered to him. I guess if soccer is your driving passion beyond other things and you are mature enough, its fine.

who waited to start in the fall. She was viewed as she thought she was better for having missed her senior year. It took longer for her to blend in because the upper classmen were already a group and she was the outsisder, then when the new frosh arrived she wasn't a part of them either. With a women's team the dynamics can make or break a squad. Then because the rules a a wee bit more lax in the spring the intensity wasn't there for the squad with more parties for the graduates etc. In all now knowing the scene I'd coax her to graduate from HS then join the squad with the rest of the recruits.

You can never unring the bell and although missing senior exploits may sound less important now down the line it's importance may rear and the lack of having gone to the prom and attended all of the awards, graduation events and the ceremony (a key right of passage for some who graduate with you this will be their crowning glory for the rest of their lives)you may wish you hadn't missed it.

I'd like to thank everyone who replied for their thoughts. While thinking it through this week, she figured out that she'd miss out on both her HS soccer season and HS weightlifting. While HS soccer was not a deciding issue, she believes she has a real shot at the HS weightlifting state championship in her weight division and is reluctant to pass that up that opportunity.

I'm (somewhat) indifferent, as the college she's committed to is not that far away (70 miles), but at this point it looks like she'll stay in high school and graduate with the rest.

We'll see what happens.

I like your name! thats funny, curious george is awesome