Eligibility to be considered a team member

[FrankJ]

If you graduated high school, you are no longer a student. I expect the "pre college" thing is to cover the odd situation if your high school ends before the FRC season ends. All students have to reregister with First every year. As a side thing because of GA law, you have to be a registered student at Walton to be on our team. Other states may well have different laws. I poked around TIMS & the First web site, but did not see a definitive answer. Anyway in my unofficial judgment, you should register as a mentor since you would no longer be a student.

The First web site does describe FRC as a program for 9-12 grades ages 14-18.

You should contact First directly if you want their answer.

[George C]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

If you graduated high school, you are no longer a student. I expect the "pre college" thing is to cover the odd situation if your high school ends before the FRC season ends.

Not necessarily. In Ontario students frequently come back for a "victory lap" or as a "super senior" after they have officially graduated and received their diploma. Usually it's because they want to improve a course mark or pick up some extra credits.

[itsjustmrb]

What about the Boy Scout, Girl Scout and home school teams. Aren't they considered school aged (13-18) and necessarily students?

[Mark Sheridan]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

In Ontario, 5 years of high school through grade 13 was standard until some point in the 1980s. Then it was changed to 4 years through grade 12 for everyone + 1 year of OAC (Ontario academic credit) for university-bound students only. In 2003, the grade 12 class (which had been using a different, updated curriculum for the last few years) graduated alongside the last OAC class. At the time, Ontario was the last jurisdiction in the U.S. or Canada to have a 5th year of high school.

Originally Posted by George C

Not necessarily. In Ontario students frequently come back for a "victory lap" or as a "super senior" after they have officially graduated and received their diploma. Usually it's because they want to improve a course mark or pick up some extra credits.

Is the option for the grade 13 still around in Ontario?

I just realized I had quebec's CEGEP backwards. In Quebec, you graduate in grade 11 and go to through CEGEP before going to university. How does this work for FIRST teams in Quebec?

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Mark Sheridan

Is the option for the grade 13 still optional in Ontario?

It's not called grade 13 anymore; it's just more grade 12. I'm not sure exactly how that's treated on the student's academic record, or when the diploma is issued (for a student who has enough credits, but doesn't have the right courses or marks for university yet).

[Mark Sheridan]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

It's not called grade 13 anymore; it's just more grade 12. I'm not sure exactly how that's treated on the student's academic record, or when the diploma is issued (for a student who has enough credits, but doesn't have the right courses or marks for university yet).

Yeah I think my friends said they got their diploma but wanted to improve their marks and take a few other classes. So their transcript was updated. Um I think got their diploma in 2004 cause I graduated in 2005.

I graduated from a California high school. I recall getting a notice that I completed all my credits early, I could have graduated a year early but that is not a boast since practically all university bound students have enough credits to graduate a year early. You only need like 2 years of science, 2 years of math. The only thing that took 4 years was english and social studies. So if you took a English and a history class during the summer you could finish a year early. I had a friend who did graduate a year early so he could go to West Point. i guess he was impatient.

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

It's not called grade 13 anymore; it's just more grade 12. I'm not sure exactly how that's treated on the student's academic record, or when the diploma is issued (for a student who has enough credits, but doesn't have the right courses or marks for university yet).

Students can take up to 4 additional credits (34 credits total) in their victory lap. They are treated exactly like any other course.

[George C]

Ontario students require 30 credits to graduate and can take as many more as they wish. As of Sep 2013 and with some exceptions, the 35th and beyond means the board will receive reduced funding from the Ministry of Education. They will be funded at the continuing education rate. Students will not have to pay to take additional courses. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/faqs.html

[ErvinI]

Originally Posted by Gregor

Students can take up to 4 additional credits (34 credits total) in their victory lap. They are treated exactly like any other course.

Some universities give priority to applicants who did not repeat a course. University of Toronto does that, but most other universities don't (that I've looked at).

Diplomas are issued whenever a student has completed all courses required for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, along with other rules. This means that a student could go into their 5th year with a diploma, or not if they take a required course in their 5th year (4U English for example). Other than that, a student taking a 5th year is treated like any other student with the same amount of credits, although they're not allowed to join any extra curricular activity without taking 4 courses that year (which includes robotics for most schools).

[CLandrum3081]

This is an interesting discussion. In MN, juniors and seniors can take college classes for college and high school credit. Several of us on the team do this, and some of the mentors and other members joke that we ought to register as mentors because we're not "pre-college age" if we do this. The catch is that we're still technically enrolled at our high school, just not for any classes (except for those of us that only do this part-time).

[bduddy]

I had a similar question once... I originally read the rule as pre-(college student), but I believe the intended reading is (pre-college) student. (Aren't parentheses useful?). The age is irrelevant, though; if a 60-year old who never graduated high school goes back, he or she could be the driver. Also, there's no minimum age, I've seen a couple teams with middle school-aged members and drivers (although get too young, and there might be safety concerns...)

[Qbot2640]

This is a very interesting discussion - Our school district has one "early college" high school, and those who attend this program fully will not graduate after four years, but rather after five...they will simultaneously receive their high school diploma and an associates degree. Our lead programmer attends this school, and we have interpreted his eligibility to end after this, his "traditional senior year." A second interpretation we have considered is that he will "age out" of student membership when he turns 19 next fall.

I really wish FIRST would make a definitive statement on this topic. It could make a significant difference to the way we, and obviously other teams, administer their program...and there is a considerable amount of "gray area" with the variety of school programs and with the teams who are unaffiliated with a specific school.

[Tungrus]

Copy/paste from USFIRST.ORG:

FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)

[Madison]

This thread makes me want to start a team full of old people pursuing their GED.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Madison

This thread makes me want to start a team full of old people pursuing their GED.

Can I ignore my high school, undergrad, and grad degrees and go after a GED just so I can be on a FIRST team?