CHOOSING BETWEEN TWO SCHOOLS

Dear Jellybean,

I'm not trying to be braggadocios, at all, but I'm pretty smart, (ex. I didn't study at all, but I got a 96% on a mid-term). I go to a small school, so we can't separate classes into smart or... less smart. I'm always really bored during school and my teacher sometimes gives me things to work on while he's trying to explain it to others, but its just not working out too well.

So, recently my mom was talking to a friend of hers about this, who happens to be the principal of a high-school I'm interested in, and she suggested that I skip a grade. My aunt, on the other hand, who's a teacher, advised against it. I don't want to skip 8th grade, and I would REALLY miss my friends, and I also hate that it's an all-girls school, and some of my best friends are guy friends.

BUT I'm really bored at school, I love to learn, they have an excellent exchange program, (and I always want to travel to different places, I even considered boarding school in a foreign country-until I looked at the tuition) and they are the only school in the city I live in that allows kids to bring service dogs to school (My family is considering training a service dog, but I would be the one to take it everywhere, and since it has to be with you all of the time.)

I'm really stuck as to what to do! Please help!! Thanks so much!!
Vacillator

Dear Vacillator,

This is a situation when a pro-and-con list can come in handy. Don't laugh - it's a classic "make up your mind" tool for a reason. Just grab a pen, draw a line down the middle of a blank piece of paper, and scribble "Pro" at the top of one column and "Con" at the top of the other. In the "Pro" column, write a list of reasons why it would be good for you to skip a grade and go to that other school (such as the fact that you'd be challenged and engaged during classes). In the "Con" column, write reasons why you'd be better off staying where you are (like being with your friends).

Dig deep to think up every possible "Pro" and "Con" that you can to put on your list. When you've exhausted your imagination, take a break and look at your list. Is one side way longer than the other, making it obvious which would be the better choice? Did you come up with one compelling reason during the exercise, that suddenly made you realize what you really want to do?

Once you've got your pros and cons done, make a second list. Start fresh on a new piece of paper, and begin writing out what things a school should provide to you, that will help you get into a good college one day, become a well-rounded person, and have a successful future. You may want to include things like the school's academic reputation (the tougher the marking, the more impressed college recruiters will be if you do well), availability of after-school clubs and activities (important for being well-rounded and also for your future college application), and so on. Make the list as long as possible, then apply each "should have" on your list against each of the two schools you're considering. By the end of this exercise, one should emerge as the school most likely to give you what you need in the long-term.

I hope this is helpful to you. Good luck deciding!