[OutsiderFan]

As someone who hated high school, there is a part of me who gets why kids would want to go on to bigger and better things ASAP.  But I wasn't a star athlete or academic performer in high school either.

Can someone explain to me why more and more kids are looking to graduate early and enroll in college in the Winter/Spring rather than the Fall these days? 

As both a mid-year JC transfer and mid-year grad school transfer, I can honestly say it was a bit awkward to not start at the same time as my peers. 

But I guess more importantly is what does Stanford do if more and more kids want to enroll early, to the point so many prospects are missed that it starts really impacting the program negatively?  And what does admissions do with more academic-minded kids who want to do the same?

[OutsiderFan]

As someone who hated high school, there is a part of me who gets why kids would want to go on to bigger and better things ASAP.  But I wasn't a star athlete or academic performer in high school either.

Can someone explain to me why more and more kids are looking to graduate early and enroll in college in the Winter/Spring rather than the Fall these days? 

As both a mid-year JC transfer and mid-year grad school transfer, I can honestly say it was a bit awkward to not start at the same time as my peers. 

But I guess more importantly is what does Stanford do if more and more kids want to enroll early, to the point so many prospects are missed that it starts really impacting the program negatively?  And what does admissions do with more academic-minded kids who want to do the same?

[JohnR34231]

I think for the highly rated football players it is a chance to get to their football program early, participate in spring ball. have a better chance of getting in playing time as a freshman, and maybe get an early path to the NFL.

I recall the last semester of HS being kind of a coast time as the college decisions had been pretty much made, and everyone took school somewhat lightly. So I guess if you are really gung ho, you want to pass that up and get an early start on your college education.

Stanford seems to be doing pretty well in football these days without offering the winter enrollment. So, as long as the success continues without it, I don't expect winter enrollment to become an option any time soon.

[JohnR34231]

I think for the highly rated football players it is a chance to get to their football program early, participate in spring ball. have a better chance of getting in playing time as a freshman, and maybe get an early path to the NFL.

I recall the last semester of HS being kind of a coast time as the college decisions had been pretty much made, and everyone took school somewhat lightly. So I guess if you are really gung ho, you want to pass that up and get an early start on your college education.

Stanford seems to be doing pretty well in football these days without offering the winter enrollment. So, as long as the success continues without it, I don't expect winter enrollment to become an option any time soon.

[terry]

Stanford seems to be doing pretty well in football these days without offering the winter enrollment. So, as long as the success continues without it, I don't expect winter enrollment to become an option any time soon.

I don't think Stanford will ever adopt a "football exception" to its normal rule prohibiting freshmen from enrolling in mid-year. The idea that football players generally are treated like other students is an important value. If Stanford were to revisit the policy for everyone, then of course football players could take advantage of that. But I don't think that's very likely.

I believe incoming football players may be allowed to take a class or two in summer quarter, which is not really part of the regular academic year. I think that's as far as Stanford will go for football players.

I think the advantage of early enrollment is not clear. When Steve Sarkisian was at U.S.C., he talked about players who enroll early:

"It is a nice head start for him. But I don't think that's going to be the ultimate in making that kid a great player or not. Is it the overriding advantage to playing early? I can't say that it is. Ultimately, in the end, the best guys are going to play. I don't think being here early is that big of a difference."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/st...id=2954864

[terry]

Stanford seems to be doing pretty well in football these days without offering the winter enrollment. So, as long as the success continues without it, I don't expect winter enrollment to become an option any time soon.

I don't think Stanford will ever adopt a "football exception" to its normal rule prohibiting freshmen from enrolling in mid-year. The idea that football players generally are treated like other students is an important value. If Stanford were to revisit the policy for everyone, then of course football players could take advantage of that. But I don't think that's very likely.

I believe incoming football players may be allowed to take a class or two in summer quarter, which is not really part of the regular academic year. I think that's as far as Stanford will go for football players.

I think the advantage of early enrollment is not clear. When Steve Sarkisian was at U.S.C., he talked about players who enroll early:

"It is a nice head start for him. But I don't think that's going to be the ultimate in making that kid a great player or not. Is it the overriding advantage to playing early? I can't say that it is. Ultimately, in the end, the best guys are going to play. I don't think being here early is that big of a difference."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/st...id=2954864

[washingtonismoney]

For the same reasons terry mentions, we won't adopt an exception. But I do think it's hampering us a bit. A lot of kids really seem to like the idea. It rarely seems to be a dealbreaker, but certainly an additional factor to overcome. And I think there's likely to be a fair amount of overlap between kids who are interested in enrolling early, and interested in us, so it's an issue we'll have to deal with.

[washingtonismoney]

For the same reasons terry mentions, we won't adopt an exception. But I do think it's hampering us a bit. A lot of kids really seem to like the idea. It rarely seems to be a dealbreaker, but certainly an additional factor to overcome. And I think there's likely to be a fair amount of overlap between kids who are interested in enrolling early, and interested in us, so it's an issue we'll have to deal with.