How to get a college education started early.

Many young people could start college early (my own son was a junior at the university after his first semester there due to his taking AP classes in high school and night classes at the local community college while in high school). Here I share what I have learned about getting young people into college-level classes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• The will to talk with Faculty and school administrators.
• Some colleges charge a fee for required assessment testing.

1. If you are in, or are the parent of a child in, junior high or high school it is not too early to start thinking about a college education.
   
   You may take Advanced placement classes at your high school if possible. you might also try taking CLEP and other types of for-credit tests, just remember to study for them first.
   
   I will also show how getting into your local community college can also possible.
   
   Many colleges also award small amounts of credit for certifications and experiences (not all advertise though, so ask), so if you have (for example) a Red Cross basic child care and infant CPR certification it may be valuable.
   
   As a base statement I will also say that college is expensive so get your credits as cheaply as possible and write LOTS of applications for scholarships, there are scholarships for an astounding variety of purposes, degrees, ages, races, etc. You don't have to wait until you apply to college to start applying - if you research scholarships in advance you can potentially target essay drafts to their requirements a year ahead of time. Be aware of deadlines in the application processes. There are much better advisers on the subject of Scholarships out there than I, just look for them.
2. Taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes: If they are available in your school or school district and if you are eligible you may take AP classes to earn college credit while earning high school credit.
   
   Exams: several agencies in the U.S. create and administer exams that are considered equivalent to certain introductory college level final exams. The CLEP Exams are administered by "The College Board" a non-profit agency (www.collegeboard.com). Another Non-profit group (www.ets.org) administers a wide variety of tests, including the challenging but often quite valuable GRE.
   
   Many exams can be taken at Prometric testing centers, Prometric is a for-profit company that administers enough types of general, subject, and vocational exams to boggle the mind.
3. Getting into community college or a university early: I have assisted 3 youths in getting into college before graduation from high school - one got an "A" in college psychology 101 when she was 14!
4. Some of the challenges of getting into college include:
   getting a parent/guardian to sign a form permitting you to take classes at night,
   filling out a form regarding your personal information and any other schools you attend,
   Getting the permission of the course instructor,
   getting the permission of the department chairperson,
   getting an evaluation/permission from a college counselor (assessing if the student is mature enough for college classes).
   
   I know that this sounds like quite a chore but in my experience it really only takes 1 to 3 weekday afternoons to sort it all out. Just try to plan ahead and get this done before course registration ends!
   
   It can be work to get in but it can be so valuable - my Son graduated at age 22 with 2 bachelors degrees and earned a masters degree two months after he turned 24!
   The other two have done very well also!

Tips & Warnings

• This really seemed to help the self-esteem of those that I have helped. They seem to feel more adult and respected.
• Try not to worry that you are not mature enough to fit in, just make sure you can handle the classes/courseload.
• If one college says no try another one, try next semester, if you have taken and passed a college exam or two the proof may be helpful also. Don't give up, keep trying.
• Note that I don't hold any investment or interest in any college or testing company, I'm just a consumer like you.
• Some young people may not be ready for some of the classes they may be interested in (which is what drives new student testing). Starting at the community college in classes appropriate to your education is not a bad thing - you learn what you need to know to move forward and you can still knock out two years of college at bargain basement prices!
• If you are taking community college classes for transfer to a University make sure that your credits you plan on taking will transfer - it is not guaranteed by any means. When you find out what will transfer ask another source as well - I've found that community college and university advisers can disagree about their transfer agreements :)