Straight To Bachelor's Program As A High School Drop-Out?

Question

I dropped out of high school at 15 and started college immediately. However, I didn't continue with college but started my own business and studied on my own since self-teaching has always been my talent.

Now I've decided to catch up with people of my age (who should be in their second semester of junior year in college right now), so I was wondering if I would be able to apply at a college as a junior or even, hopefully, senior.

I've already taken and passed (with almost perfect scores) numerous CLEP exams, and for math and other scientific subjects, I'm definiltely proficient in sophomore/second year's material and even junior/third year's, and that is why I'm willing to apply as a junior or a senior student.

I guess I'm basically asking here if I'll be able to enroll at a four-year university as a junior/senior student without any prior "official" education with an official transcript and GPA, almost as a homeschooled individual.

Answer 1

Nope. You might be able to make an argument that you have a proficient HS education IF you pass the GED. In order to get college credit you MUST take a class from an accredited school. Part of that accreditation is homework, midterms, and a final, based on required topics and graded on a curve against other students. There is no such thing as "home schooling" at the college level, and your self-evaluation on your math and science proficiency will not sway anyone.

Short answer is no.

Answer 2

Your class level in college depends on number of units you have passed, not how many years you have spent in school. This makes sense since some people might go part time or don't pass their classes and have to repeat. Some of your friends that are supposed to be Juniors may actually be Sophomores if they have been slacking off.

When you said you attended college immediately after high school, I am assuming that you went to a JC since most 4-year universities require a high school diploma or equivalent to enter as a freshman. Since you have some college experience, I am going to assume that you will be applying as a transfer student. Have you looked into their admissions requirement? They will want certain number of courses with passing grades before you can apply. In any case, it will be very difficult to become a Senior right away, if not impossible.

That is because a typical student spends first two years taking lower division classes and latter two years taking upper division classes. JCs only offer lower division classes, which means that even if you get credit for all your lower division classes, you will have two more years worth of classes left.

Depending on the major, such as in the Social Sciences, you may be able to finish all your upper divisions in two to three semesters, perhaps with summer school. But as a first year transfer student, I doubt the school administrators will allow you to overload your schedule but if you are certain that you will do well, perhaps you can convince them.

As far as getting credit for your home schooling, look into "credit by examination". However, I believe most universities have restrictions on number of credit units that can be earned this way. After all, universities are there to make money.

I have to admit that upper division courses get significantly harder so use caution before you try to hurry through all of them. I know that this is not the answer you wanted to hear but what you are trying to do is really impossible, at least at any of the traditional universities.

Answer 3

Do you have a GED?

Most accredited schools will require you to have a HS diploma or a GED, but if you've done that well on CLEP exams, then you should be fine for a GED test.