Move On When Ready
Move On When Ready enables Georgia high school students to earn credit toward an associate degree while also earning credit to graduate high school. Only students who have not already earned a high school diploma or GED are eligible, and the program can last up to two years.For more information, visit gafutures.org/hope-state-aid-programs/scholarships-grants/move-on-when-ready.
For one day last week, 17-year-old Miette Craig from Rossville was attending three schools at once.
She attended orientation for the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga on Wednesday, the day before she graduated with her associate degree from Georgia Northwestern Technical College - all while she still had a week before graduating from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School.
In a word, Craig said she's been "busy." She's attended classes nonstop, including in the summer, since the beginning of her junior year.
That's what it takes to obtain a college degree before you graduate high school, though.
"It was a lot of work, but I managed it," Craig said. "I got close to dropping classes a few times when things got really stressful, but my mom wouldn't let me. She gets a lot of credit."
Craig started looking for alternative ways to graduate high school around her sophomore year. She didn't have many friends at school, and the high school environment didn't suit her, she said.
Her mother found the Move On When Ready program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, which provided the opportunity for the 15-year-old Craig to work toward an associate degree while the dual-credit classes also counted toward her high school graduation requirements, all free of charge.
Students who qualify for Move On When Ready have their tuition and books paid for with state funds through the college or university. Many schools throughout the state have the program, including nearby Dalton State College.
Craig leapt at the opportunity.
"I've been so much happier in college," she said. "The college environment was so much better for learning. Not to mention everything was paid for, even my books. All I had to do was return them at the end of the year."
Her first year was spent mainly taking general education courses, such as college algebra and two English courses. Throughout the last year, though, she attended several business-oriented classes for her degree in business management, such as human resources management and transportation logistics.
Transportation logistics played an even bigger role in her schooling. For the first year, Craig had to travel to GNTC's campus in Rock Spring, despite not being old enough to have a drivers license. That meant coordinating with her mother to take her to and fro, and often meant finding ways to keep herself occupied while she waited.
Craig will have two and a half years at UTC before she graduates with her bachelor's degree. After that, she said, it's on to get her master's.
Her big plan is to be self-employed, but she isn't sure doing what just yet. She's run an online store offering handmade jewelry since she was 15, and said the experience has shown her that she's suited to being self-employed.
For now, though, she's just looking forward to seeing what being a 17-year-old junior in college is like.