GED Stories

Name: Chris
Age: 17

I just have this feeling that it’s the right path.

My best friend thinks I have the potential to go really far with a GED, but my parents worry about how most GED recipients don’t get a good life. However, there’re many extremely well-off people that never finished high school, like Walt Disney, Einstein and many of today’s celebrities, artists, etc.

One particular person that inspires me is Jackie Chan, he never even went to school, but is very smart and does many hard jobs, like acting, directing, choreography, etc.

My parents think it’s a bad idea, but I really don’t think high school is doing me any good, and I could be doing more beneficial things.

I want to become a Wildlife Preserver, and also would like to go into the comic/manga business as an artist and develop video games.

I am a smart person. I know that because I got 1600+ on the SATs without STUDYING (and barely guessed, and I’m going to take it again soon), always pass tests, exams etc., and I just learn things easily.

But I really don’t like the way school is going for me right now. I’m a very good learner, and like to learn things I’m interested in. I’d like to spend my time learning skills for future careers in mind, but at H.S., they make you learn things you don’t want to.

Trying to make someone do something they hate is not the way of teaching in my mind. My grades have always been wobbly, because I’ve always been busy working on stuff I am truly in love with. I just wish they wouldn’t force people to learn things they (students) find useless, ’cause we’ll just forget it.

Oh, and another problem is with the huge variety of students. People learn in different ways, like visually or physically, but with such big classes, individual students don’t get much say in the way they can truly learn. Also, there’re many “bad” students that disrupt the class many times, distracting others from learning. Bullying is another issue, and though I’m not that much of a victim, I hate it when people get dissed or picked on for entertainment (if it was to protect another from being bullied, that’s different).

SO yeah, I really don’t like school, to the point where I’d say I hate it.

Getting a GED seems like a good idea because I have already contacted several colleges, all saying they accept GEDs.

Do you guys think this is the right way to go? Thanks!

(Note: I’m a junior)

Chris,

We don’t typically recommend that high school students drop out and take the GED, though we recognize that there are a lot of students left behind by their high schools. One concern is that in college, you want the best preparation for all your general ed classes, and of course, the experience of making it through high school is valuable to a lot of people, even when it means overcoming hurdles. We hear a lot of regrets about not graduating. Have you talked to a counselor at your school to find out if there are options for you to finish up high school, such as an independent study program?

However, if your school situation is intolerable, we greatly encourage you to get a GED and move on to college instead of just dropping out. The discrepancy in success is not between high school graduates and GED graduates. It’s between high school/GED graduates and those with no high school level degree. And an even greater discrepancy exists between those who only get a high school/GED degree and those who get a college education. College is becoming more and more important for success. Any particular person could become successful without a degree, but the better your education is, the more you’re increasing your chance of success. It sounds like you have a lot of potential, so whatever you pursue… enjoy it and best of luck!

The GED Academy