It depends on what kinds of colleges you want to apply to, because I can tell you that some things this thread directly contradicts the information from admissions at my college (which, to use the college craze terminology, is a "top-tier" school - don't love the phrase but hard to describe without giving away a lot of info). One thing that admissions at my school directly addresses is graduating early, and their take is that early graduates are almost always disadvantaged in the admissions process unless they have some sort of exceptional accomplishment or are a scholarship athlete (usually does not apply at my school which is not a sports powerhouse, but could be possible).
Take it from someone who has gone through this process recently. If you are thinking of applying to very competitive schools, it is going to be a whirlwind process as it is. For me, it was by far worse than actually getting the degree, and more stressful than anything else related to schooling. I would strongly advise against early graduation UNLESS you are going into some sort of program that compares you only against other early graduates. I believe a few programs exist, but I can't remember enough details. Anyway, my fear is that by graduating early, your admissions process (and yes, it is a process) will be rushed and could be "too little, too late."
Especially because the kind of financial aid cooperation you need from your parents will still be an issue. But there are lots of merit scholarships out there that could remove this worry for you. I would start looking into what merit scholarships would be realistic. Lots of state universities offer great opportunities for a dedicated, conscientious student. The downfall is, a top tier school will offer little to no merit aid, generally, for academics (now some offer them for special circumstances, or for athletics). So there is a balancing thing there. But my thought is, you're better off giving up some prestige for a solid merit scholarship that you can manage the GPA for, because you will be MUCH more likely to finish college with no breaks. If you have financial woes, you might have to take breaks, or transfer anyway, delaying your degree conferral.
Another thing I want to address is the thought that only grades will matter and not what the course is. Competitive admissions actually has a term for this: course rigor. To get a competitive spot or scholarship, they will look to see that a student took the most rigorous course load in the context of their school. So that means you need to take the hardest things offered at the school you attend. They do ask about this in the guidance counselor survey forms (GC "recommendation", I've seen it, it's more of a form that says like "check the one that describes this student's course load" i.e. most rigorous). It would be a serious mistake to think that course rigor is not an issue in the competitive admissions process in 2012. If your school offered AP courses and you didn't take them in your core subjects (math, English, science, social studies/history) then you would not have much chance of getting into my college (which is not even "Ivy League"). This matters MORE than SAT scores. For high schools that offer AP and IB, IB diploma is generally considered the most rigorous program. But you need to go school by school. This does NOT mean you should take all AP/Honors classes and fail. Obviously, that would be a huge mistake. But if you can handle the AP classes but might get one B instead of straight As, you should take the APs. It sounds like you do quite well in the context of your school so I think for you the harder classes sound as if they would be manageable. Also taking a foreign language is good.
My advice is that you pick your safety school now. Look for a large public university that is maybe the second most competitive to get into in your state. Find out about the merit scholarships they offer and what would make one competitive to apply. Look on their admissions website or contact admissions. PM me your state if you are having trouble with this. Your goal is to try to meet those requirements, and exceed them, so you can earn other merit scholarships that are more of a "reach" or alternately get into a school with a good financial aid program.
You can also check out the College Confidential forums, which are frequented by people who are largely crazy and irritating, but know their college admissions process. Also google admissions officers blogs, as there are some good ones out there with info about the process. I am giving specific info for the process into very competitive schools that in College Confidential type communities are considered "top-tier" or for very competitive full merit scholarships at state universities. You don't need perfect everything, but the overall picture needs to be very conscientious. I don't want to scare you, just to get you thinking about the kinds of things that are out there. Unfortunately nowadays this is a process where some families are hiring people to help them sort it out, so it's important to be informed early. PM me if you need more help.
Take it from someone who has gone through this process recently. If you are thinking of applying to very competitive schools, it is going to be a whirlwind process as it is. For me, it was by far worse than actually getting the degree, and more stressful than anything else related to schooling. I would strongly advise against early graduation UNLESS you are going into some sort of program that compares you only against other early graduates. I believe a few programs exist, but I can't remember enough details. Anyway, my fear is that by graduating early, your admissions process (and yes, it is a process) will be rushed and could be "too little, too late."
Especially because the kind of financial aid cooperation you need from your parents will still be an issue. But there are lots of merit scholarships out there that could remove this worry for you. I would start looking into what merit scholarships would be realistic. Lots of state universities offer great opportunities for a dedicated, conscientious student. The downfall is, a top tier school will offer little to no merit aid, generally, for academics (now some offer them for special circumstances, or for athletics). So there is a balancing thing there. But my thought is, you're better off giving up some prestige for a solid merit scholarship that you can manage the GPA for, because you will be MUCH more likely to finish college with no breaks. If you have financial woes, you might have to take breaks, or transfer anyway, delaying your degree conferral.
Another thing I want to address is the thought that only grades will matter and not what the course is. Competitive admissions actually has a term for this: course rigor. To get a competitive spot or scholarship, they will look to see that a student took the most rigorous course load in the context of their school. So that means you need to take the hardest things offered at the school you attend. They do ask about this in the guidance counselor survey forms (GC "recommendation", I've seen it, it's more of a form that says like "check the one that describes this student's course load" i.e. most rigorous). It would be a serious mistake to think that course rigor is not an issue in the competitive admissions process in 2012. If your school offered AP courses and you didn't take them in your core subjects (math, English, science, social studies/history) then you would not have much chance of getting into my college (which is not even "Ivy League"). This matters MORE than SAT scores. For high schools that offer AP and IB, IB diploma is generally considered the most rigorous program. But you need to go school by school. This does NOT mean you should take all AP/Honors classes and fail. Obviously, that would be a huge mistake. But if you can handle the AP classes but might get one B instead of straight As, you should take the APs. It sounds like you do quite well in the context of your school so I think for you the harder classes sound as if they would be manageable. Also taking a foreign language is good.
My advice is that you pick your safety school now. Look for a large public university that is maybe the second most competitive to get into in your state. Find out about the merit scholarships they offer and what would make one competitive to apply. Look on their admissions website or contact admissions. PM me your state if you are having trouble with this. Your goal is to try to meet those requirements, and exceed them, so you can earn other merit scholarships that are more of a "reach" or alternately get into a school with a good financial aid program.
You can also check out the College Confidential forums, which are frequented by people who are largely crazy and irritating, but know their college admissions process. Also google admissions officers blogs, as there are some good ones out there with info about the process. I am giving specific info for the process into very competitive schools that in College Confidential type communities are considered "top-tier" or for very competitive full merit scholarships at state universities. You don't need perfect everything, but the overall picture needs to be very conscientious. I don't want to scare you, just to get you thinking about the kinds of things that are out there. Unfortunately nowadays this is a process where some families are hiring people to help them sort it out, so it's important to be informed early. PM me if you need more help.
