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5 Steps to Graduating Early from Online High School

Who says you must follow the rules when it comes to high school graduation? Online schools attract students who aren’t afraid to operate outside of the norm. That’s why some of these students work toward graduating early–in less than the traditional four years. You can too. Here’s how.

  1. Set a target graduation date. The sooner you determine your goal for graduation, the faster you can map out an action plan. Obviously, starting this goal as a freshman or sophomore will make it more feasible to accomplish — especially if you want to graduate an entire year early. During freshman and sophomore year, you’ll have more opportunity to manage an appropriate number of classes.
  1. Determine next steps. First graduation, then what? This is a question you should ask yourself early on. If you’re planning to study engineering in college, your high school courses will look different than if you plan to enlist in the military or go directly into the workforce.
  1. Meet with your counselor. As soon as you decide on a graduation goal, meet with your academic counselor for advice on how to make it possible. Your advisor will be able to review your course load to meet state graduation requirements and assess requirements you have already fulfilled.
  1. Get creative. Online high school offers numerous opportunities for flexibility. For example, if you need to take two or three years of physical education, there’s a good chance you can fulfill those requirements through ice skating, hiking, gymnastics or dance class.  Another bonus? You can fulfill these requirements at night, on weekends or during the summer.

With your counselor’s guidance, you can take an extra course each semester. Make sure you have the capacity and time, however, to pull it off. You don’t want your grades to suffer because you’ve overloaded your schedule.

  1. Commit to the work. Face it – you’re taking on a challenging schedule if you plan to graduate high school early. You must commit to the extra work. That means setting boundaries but don’t let this intimidate you.

With solid time management, a set of clear goals and a focus on studying and completing your work, you’ll be able to shave months off the time it takes to graduate.

Ready to explore early graduation from online high school as an option? Take these 5 steps to help you reach your goal. Contact us to get started.

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