Cottonwood Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Just wondering who has used this school..thoughts? are they flexible, as in.. if DD came into 9th grade with higher math behind her than they start freshmen at, would they adjust her math course? Or other courses for that matter? Also, in some of the reading ont he site, it says they have 3 yrs to complete all 21.5 credits. How busy is that? lol Is that a full day, or at their own pace? And, I thought American School was cheap, but it looks like Penn Foster is cheaper. $900... something, if I pay in full. For all 4 yrs?? What are some other high school institutions I should be comparing? We are definitely looking for an accredited school that issues diplomas. I'm trying to look into all the options I can to see what is a good (enough) fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Never heard of them before. But in looking briefly at their high school courses it appears that their highest level math offered is Trigonometry. If that is the case then it's a big red flag to me which would indicate other potential weaknesses. That would mean my son would only take 'two' math classes for all of HS since he is taking Algebra 2 in 9th grade this Fall. Math is so fundamental to other areas study such as the science, business, etc... Maybe I'm missing something? Or maybe they are just more humanities oriented? http://www.pennfostervirtualhighschool.com/highschool_courses.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 yeah I noticed that too. My DD13 is completing Alg 1 right now. But I remember business math being valuable to me in high school so I figure there are other maths.. I mean, for her, she'll take Alg 2, Geometry, Trig, ..and.. maybe another they offfer? I dunno. I can't find anyone who has actually used them, and I"ve posted on loads of forums. At least with American SChool, for instance, you can somewhat get reviews of some sort. I really like the pricing, and a less expensive offering doesn't worry me if it's a good fit. I just can't sign up for 4 yrs of something unless I hear more about it ...other than the school's claims. KWIM? sigh....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 It could be that they are treating their Trigonometry course as Pre-Calculus. Normally Trigonometry is not even a separate course by itself. Trig is usually combined with Algebra 2 or Pre-Calc. So a typical High School sequence could look something like this: 9th: Geometry 10th: Algebra 2 11th: Pre-Calculus 12th: Calculus or Statistics For an advanced track it could be: 9th: Algebra 2 10th: Pre-Calculus 11th: Calculus 12th: Statistics or Multivariable Calculus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I've never heard of them before, but they do offer Calculus under their printed book classes - just not their online classes. And they offer AP Statistics under online. Are you allowed to switch between the online and printed courses? A few things that would worry me - Why don't they list the price on the website? Will 21 credits be sufficient for future goals? Can you take additional credits and pay per class? How many classes can you take at a time? Why does it have to be completed in three years? What happens if you haven't finished in three years? If college is in your student's future, I would call admissions at potential colleges first and make sure that their diploma would be accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Is there any way to preview the classes? If you pay in advance and don't like their program/classes once started do they offer a refund within a certain period? I would hate to pay in advance only to find out its really not working for whatever reason. However if you can get some important questions answered to your satisfaction and find out it's legitimate it may be worth giving it a try. $900 is a lot to lose. But if they offer your money back it's incredibly cheap even if you only end up taking a few classes. I would need to ask a lot more questions regarding curriculum used, rigor, format, instructors' background info, instructor availability, etc... Since you can find no independent reviews maybe they would allow you to speak with a few parents who are using their program currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Ok, This got my curiosity going. So I looked for reviews and found some which you can see below. Note that some are mixed with their career schools but still discuss the High School as well: http://www.gradreports.com/colleges/penn-foster-career-school http://penn-foster-career-school.pissedconsumer.com/ http://www.onlinedegreereviews.org/college/penn-foster-reviews/reviews/ Hope this helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 21.5 credits? DD is going to need 26. That's 6 1/2 courses per school year. She will end up doing 7 courses a year, for a total of 28 credits. Would a serious university accept someone with only 21.5 credits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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