There has been some discrepancy as to whether or not a particular student in my region qualifies as a legal VRC High School competitor. The definition of student as per game manual:
This students’ birthday is a month after the date cutoff, so he is in that respect legal. The discrepancy lies in the “enrolled in a pre-College school” part. He graduated high school last year, and is now enrolled in a 1-year program at a trade school. He plans to attend College next year. Is he a legal competitor?
If the student received a high school diploma last year (i.e. completed grade 12), then they would now be considered as pursuing post-secondary education, not pre-college. Thus, they would not be considered a High School Student.
That being said, there are no restrictions on post-secondary students being mentors or otherwise contributing the team as a non-Student. They would just not be allowed to be a Drive Team Member.