Depending on which school your child wishes to attend after school, a GED certificate is a good way to get out of all that extra legwork. For the amount of work needed from the average student in America to get through their Junior and Senior years, most kids would have the ability to gain an Associates’ Degree from a minor college. It’s worth the trouble, believe me. It’s also a great way for students to relieve their stresses. Consider that your student would have more mature friends, perhaps more free time between classes, less books to carry and ruin their back, and one way or another, a leg up in the education process over the average High Schooler by the time they reach normal graduation age. Even in the work place, a GED will get you hired just as well as a Diploma, since it shows the employer that the person worked hard enough to get out early and make something of themselves in the world.
I had the ability to graduate early out of High School because of my abilities, though I didn’t take a GED. What I realized was that if I had taken it that early, I would now be at the level of a few of my friends in college now. One, in fact, that is only a few months older than I has already earned a BS in Physical Fitness from Humbolt University. I had just earned an AA from my local college the same time she was going into her third year to cap off that leg of her education. Scholarships are readily available for younger persons because their age is usually considered a handicap, and Federal Aid is enough for a full-time student (usually) to pay all their school-related bills. The Fed will usually pay for tuition as well.
As for doing the work as a freshman now, that promise to become emancipated from high school by the age of 16 is a good incentive for a child to keep working towards that goal. They may well be able to maintain the workload, and focus on getting the best grade they can, if they know the study will make for a quick exit from their school. High School was and is a hell to most kids, no matter how supportive the family at home. It’s no better than many junior colleges, especially if you consider that gateway drugs and other bad habits come to struggling, stressed teenagers even moreso than in college. At least in college your student can pick the courses they wish to take, and the speed at which they want to succeed. If they get into one at 16, that’s two more years they have in which to pass courses, than their 18+ friends who will graduate later.
If you don’t think your child can make it in college so early, test them at it. Many colleges allow “enrichment” courses to young teens to see if they can handle the stresses of adult schools. My last semester before graduating in 08 I studied with a 14 year old in my Spanish class. I had the unique opportunity of being paired with him and a man from Iran on a student exchange program. Since the three of us were so poor at the language we had to pull together to get our grade. It was astonishing to see a kid that young work so hard in a college environment. I know he was pretty average as well, not a genius. If he can do it, I bet your child could too.