Some students at Kenwood are choosing to graduate early with 27 early graduates last year and up to 25 expected this year.

“Some students choose to graduate early because they were either held back in grade school, or they just wanted to finish school and start their career early,” said Kenwood School Counseling Department Chair Joshua Grubka. Meanwhile, others would rather live the full “high school experience” and just complete their high school requirements in the whole four years.

I wasn’t even aware this was an option until my sophomore year. As soon as I discovered this, I knew it was something I was interested in, so I asked my school counselor what it takes be eligible to graduate early. Much to my surprise, graduating early doesn’t require a lot more from a student. In fact, the only subject I had to double up on were my English and social studies classes, but I didn’t mind at all.

Although, this all depends on the student and if they passed all their classes on time. If you do everything you’re supposed to do, you get the same opportunities and experiences as all other seniors do, such as assemblies, prom, and other senior activities. The only major thing I found that you do miss out on is the free SATs offered to Baltimore County juniors. Because I chose to finish my high school credits in three years rather than four, I couldn’t get early release like most seniors because I waited too long to take some classes so my schedule for my senior year was packed.

“Graduating early is something that I have been planning to do since my freshman year. I wanted to start CCBC early. This year of doubling up as a junior and senior has been tough, but all the hard work was worth it for sure! I had a great year and had a lot of fun on my journey of graduating early,” said Lydiah Filipiak, another early graduate.

To graduate early, you want to make sure you are meeting all of the high school requirements with 21 correct credits for graduation, 75 service learning hours, and all testing requirements. After graduating early, most students do not take a year off because it can be difficult to get back into the school grind, unless they need a break to fully recharge after all those draining years of schooling. Most students either go straight into college, military, or the work force. If you are looking to finish high school and get a head start on your career, graduating early is something I would recommend looking into!