When do US teens go to college?

Could you give me a few details about the US school system? How long do you go to elementary school, high school, college? Someone told me you were finished with high school at 16 (at least if you're smart like Daria). So why's Daria still in HS? MSB

Matthias Benkmann wrote:

In San Antonio (and the whole of Texas), the public educational system is like this: a preschool (optional) from the ages of 4 to 6, elementary school from the ages of 6 to 11, encompassing grades 1 to 5, middle school from the ages of 12 to 14, encompassing grades 6 to 8, and high school from the ages of 14 to 18, encompassing grades 9 (freshman year) to 12 (senior year).

Since I'm a product of purely Catholic education, it was like this for me: grade school from the ages of 4 to 14 (from Pre-K to 8th grade) and all-girls' high school from 14 to 18 (from freshman year to senior year). Unlike public education, Catholic school designations change little if any from region to region. That's because in the USA education is mainly a locally mandated thing, with various districts in various places (and in large urban areas, various districts in the same place) controlling their own small patch of district.

Here's a breakdown of what I went through:

Pre-K (prekindergarten): age 4 to age 5 Kinder (kindergarten): age 5 to age 6 1st grade: age 6 to age 7 2nd: 7 - 8 3rd: 8 - 9 4th: 9 - 10 5th: 10 - 11 6th: 11 - 12 7th: 12 - 13 8th: 13 - 14

freshman year (9th): 14 - 15 sophomore year (10th): 15 - 16 junior year (11th): 16 - 17 senior year (12th): 17 - 18

And just to let you know, in all Catholic school districts, you have to pass a placement test given by your prospective high school in the 8th grade in order for you to enroll in your prospective school. When I was an 8th grader the fee was $5, but I think the price has gone up to $10.

Giving ya too much information,

Diane

You finish high school at 18 for the vast majority of people. If you are extraordinarily smart, you may be allowed to skip some years and graduate early. Like me! I graduated at 17. AFter that, it's 2-8 years of college, with 4 being the number most people take.

On Mon, 02 Aug 1999 19:52:50 GMT, [email] (Matthias Benkmann) wrote:

Kyle He complained when I hit him. All my friends do. Wusses.

Elementary School is 6 years (Kindergarden through 5th grade). Some elementary schools are 7 years because they include 6th grade. Intermediate, or middle, school is 3 years (6th, 7th, 8th). High school is 4 years (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th). Most students are 18 by the time the graduate, unless they skipped a grade or were held back.

Elementary, Intermediate and High Schools are required by law. College is kind of optional, depending what career you hope for. College is usually 4 years, more for doctors and lawyers.

*~*~*~*~* Liz *~*~*~*~*~*~* See my auctions here - http://auctions.yahoo.com/user/Napua_Poire

On Mon, 02 Aug 1999 19:52:50 GMT, some letters randomly coalesced from individual pixels, claiming to be from [email] (Matthias Benkmann), and it said:

At five years of age, we enter Kindergarden. This is mostly story time and coloring and toys, with some reading and writing, and some math, added in.

Elementary school is 1st through 6th grades (in Fresno; I hear it's different in other places), and the first two grades are completely worthless. Actually, no, I learned a great deal of what I needed to learn, but it was all... COLORING ACTIVITIES. Like, add the numbers together to get a number, and COLOR ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER! Read the story, and then COLOR THE PICTURES!!! Oh, and now, just for fun, COLOR SOME MORE!!! I couldn't take it. It began a long tradition of never doing my schoolwork, while aceing the tests anyway.

Anyway, then there's junior high, or middle school, which goes for two more years (7th and 8th grade).

High school is four more years (9th to 12th grade), and, just as an age check, most freshmen (9th graders) are 14 when they enter high school..

Then there's college.