There's a couple of 15 year olds at my school. I don't know them and it's safe to say they don't get invited to parties much but if you are hellbent on fasttracking your education then go for it. You won't die either way.

That's the rub. Yes, you get a two year head start. Would you get into a better school if you waited two years? Probably. Would you have more college friends if you waited two years? Probably. Depends on where you want to see yourself and what kinda path you want to put yourself on.

I'd say that saving the two years is worth it if you think the experience that you forsake by skipping two years of high school are worth less than those you'll generate at college despite being 2-3 years younger than everyone on campus.

Most (older) people looking back a bit, describe their years in the last two years of high school as well as their college years as the most exciting in their life. The journey to where you want to go, is the most of what you enjoy; the destination is usually shorter lasting. If I were you - and I am not you - I would enjoy my years as junior and senior (which are a lot more than only the educational aspect) !

All the people who excel and go to graduate school don't reminisce about 17-22 the same way IMHO. I have also always put #1 value on education and pushing myself to take as many classes as quickly as possible.

To address GoldFinger's comment first I wouldn't be stuck in Lamar for my whole college experience your mistaken there. the Point of the program is that I get to get two years of college experience out of the way, therefore saving me a lot of time. THEN I proceed to apply to normal colleges (my goals are high with Princeton Johns Hopkins and Harvard being at the top of them) aside from that as i have previously mentioned in the forums I'm trying to become a doctor hence the time saving strategy also this head advantage will help me look like a more attractive candidate when I'm applying for colleges. Aside from the high college goals I also want to apply to fast track medical programs ( example link https://medicine.mercer.edu/family-savannah/accelerated-track/ ) these programs are even more competitive than the above listed Colleges in fact most of them have a less than 5% acceptance rate.

I realize that I stand to loose valuable experience and enjoyment but like Valis said for me education comes first. The only dilemma I'm experiencing is at what point is the exchange too much?

I considered doing a program like that at my state school and ultimately chose not to.

I wouldn't say I regret that decision, but I also don't think it was necessarily the right one. I managed to actually enjoy my final two years of high school while still learning a fair amount (including numerous AP courses that have shortened my time in college), and I've gotten to have a more normal college experience. I also came into college more mature and ready for things on the academic side, whereas I know people who, despite being very smart, struggled for their first year or two academically and socially after entering college early.

That said, those same friends are now starting lucrative careers and PhD programs at the ripe old age of 20, and the ones who were going to adjust socially ended up doing so. Your life will be much the same either way, so it's a matter of what you think will be better for you in the short term.

You might want to look at those colleges you plan to apply to now, and see if your Lamar credits will even transfer in. Would you be applying as a freshman, or as a transfer students. For several years, Harvard wasn't even accepting transfers at all, and even now the numbers are very low.

I just spent a year at a University only to transfer and have none of my credits come with me. Definitely check that out.

I did a program somewhat like that, but not as extreme. I was admitted early to UC Berkeley and split time my HS senior year between HS classes in the morning and UCB classes in the afternoon as a proto-freshman. The main differences, it seems, were that my program was one year, not two, and I still got to enjoy most of my HS experience. I was 16 when I started at UCB, turning 17 that spring.

On the whole, I'm glad I had the experience but I don't think I would have wanted to do it if I had to give up senior year of HS, let alone junior and senior year. I do consider those last two years of HS, as well as college, some of the best years of my life. Those years are valuable not just for the experiences you have during that time period, but also for your future ability to relate to other people.

The upside of getting units out of the way turned out to not really be relevant for me. Between my program classes and AP tests, I started my first full year at UCB with more than a year's worth of units. I expected to graduate in three (or fewer) years. I took my grad school admissions test when I was 19, scored sufficiently well for my goals, and was ready to roll. Then I thought about it and decided I really didn't want to start grad school at age 20. So I stayed in college an "extra" year and graduated in four a month after I turned 21.

Socially, I was a college non-entity at age 16. Other students weren't mean, but it's not like any of them wanted to hang out with a 16 year old. For me, it didn't matter because I still had my HS friends and social structure. I think it would be rough coming in at age 15, and I expect you would probably trend toward being friends with other TALH participants who were in the same boat.

So on this track, you would enter medical school (assuming acceptance) at age 17? That just seems like a bad idea to me. Even if you could do it academically, you would be even more socially out of place at a medical/graduate school level at that age. Bad enough you can't even go out drinking with your peers, but you're even still jailbait. But let's say you don't care about socializing because you're hardcore student guy -- I really think you would face difficulty, and maybe even discrimination when it came to finding a job. I could see that hospitals might consider your young age a strike against you when it came to employment. As a patient, I don't know that I would want a 20 year old treating me, even if he were super-smart like Doogie Howser (that's an old TV show about a genius teenager M.D. that aired more than a decade before you were born).

All in all, I say thumbs down. But if you're serious, perhaps Lamar could put you in touch with a TALH alumnus who went to medical school on the timeline you envision for yourself. That person would probably be a good resource on what your experience might be like.

THM, I don't know if it is the same in the UK but usually med school is after a 4 year university, so he'd be entering at 19, or 3 years early, not 5. Still, I would not recommend it but it's your life.

Hangedman you were off by two years the age of entry into medical school would probably be 19-20 ish as far as the credit transfer problem goes. The Texas government requires that every public school in texas accepts the credits. If i get into said fast track program outside of Texas I would be more than happy to ditch the credits in return for acceptance into the program lol. Look at it as showing the programs that even at a young age I can handle college work (even if it isn't the strictest college) and that could boost my application. The "fast track" program doesn't necessarily help you graduate faster but it GUARANTEES a spot into a medical school regardless of the MCAT score

But thanks to everyones opinions and suggestions really gives me some outside perception aside from my Indian parents shouting at me to get up and leave already

Oh, right. I think I was double-counting the two year thing -- that he would start two years early and be done in two years. Same deal, though.

DD, I just read over this again, and I think you know the correct answer. You said it yourself.

"I got a really bad feeling about this..."

Then don't do it. Listen to your instincts.

"I save two years of my life"

Actually, all you're really doing is accelerating how quickly you need to work for the rest of your life.

Enjoy your life. It's not a race; the finish line is the same for everyone.

What are your ambitions? Life goals?

In my case, I probably could've skipped a year or two as well but the decision was made for me. I ended up creating a company at 18 (only so late because I waited over a year so I wasn't a minor in my country) and I'm now going for a Bachelor and half-expect to make enough of a name for myself that I don't really need a Master to prove myself, but I may do that as well. I guess my point is that I just started with the next step while in high school rather than skipping years in high school or elementary.

I think that was maybe best for me, but I'm not sure. I had time enough to find my place and learn and achieve things by myself, but I also just finished high school while I started to really grow tired of it about two years ago.

I'm from the Netherlands though, so your experience will be hard to compare.
Also, if your ambition is to study medicine, I think learning things on your own to achieve your goals is significantly harder.

Nobody has life goals in high school.

I did.

And we're so far down the road from when you were in high school. I have never met someone whose plan at 15 was the same as their plan at 40. My plan going into college already changed and I'm still in college.

Sure, goals can change, but his current goals will influence his current decisions and also whether he will or will not regret a decision.
We cannot know what's too far if we don't know what he wishes to achieve.

This decision won't make or break his life. I hardly think it will change it. He'll either be done earlier or at a regular pace. That's all he's deciding.

True, but he's asking for advice and I assume he wants that advice to make the best decision. What the best decision is wholly depends on what you wish to achieve.

I really don't think it will go badly for someone of such high academic standing anyway. He's not going to lose out on any professional or graduate opportunities by graduating from high school early.

I'm not arguing with that. I maintain that he's not looking for 'just do something you'll be fine' as advice though. He wants pros and cons for his specific situation. What exactly he aspires in a broader sense is part of his specific situation and influences the pros and cons to consider.