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With most states allowing high school students to graduate at the age of sixteen, you have an important decision to make. Should you try graduating high school early, or should you graduate at the same time as your classmates? What are the benefits of graduating high school early? What about downsides?
While there are benefits to graduating early from high school, there are also a few downsides to taking this path. Before you decide to graduate early, you must weigh the pros and cons of this decision. You need to understand how it will impact you in the short term as well as the long term.
Pros To Graduating Early
Here’s one of the biggest advantages of graduating high school early. It is that it allows you to get a head start on your career. The sooner you graduate from high school and then college, the sooner you will be able to start working and earning.
Odds are if you’re able to graduate early you’re a goal-oriented, high-achieving student, which means you likely have an impressive GPA or ACT/SAT score—having high marks means you’ll be eligible for more scholarship and grant opportunities.
Cons to Graduating Early
The cons of graduating early are that you miss out on the typical high school experiences. Things like going to the prom, attending sports events, and also celebrating graduation day with your classmates.
Upshot: You should only consider graduating early if you are a self-starter and an independent and responsible student.
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