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Cover schools and counselor letters/course descriptions.


Dmmetler
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We're in TN, and have been with a cover school from the start. I just attended a workshop on college planning, etc, where the speaker really stressed the importance and benefits of the counselor letter, course descriptions, etc and how it is important to make sure the GC knows your child well enough so their passions and interests are reflected. He stated flat out that homeschooling was a major advantage in this regard because you can control that content.

 

I'm pretty sure that since a cover school issues the transcript, they'd also be responsible for doing that sort of stuff (which is why senior fees are much higher than other grades). And the counselor isn't going to know DD from Adam (or, at least. from Eve!).

 

Basically, is this stuff really so important that it would make sense to drop the cover school? Or is it possible to add an additional supplement beyond the stuff the school sends? I do not know anyone who is homeschooling a high school student locally, without either a cover school or enrolling them in an accredited distance learning school like Laurel Springs or American School, and for the most part the parents seem content to let the school handle the school side.

Edited by dmmetler
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I agree that being able to control that content is of utmost importance.  

 

By itself, for college admissions purposes, homeschooling high school is a liability.  You can make it an asset (or at least less of a liability) through your counselor letter, school profile, and course descriptions by showing how your student and your homeschool are unique (and superior  :D).  

 

I'd drop the cover school.

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Our situation was not quite the same, but here's what we did anyway.  :)  Our kids were primarily homeschooled, even through high school, but in our town they had the option of taking classes (however many they wanted) at the local public high school at the same time as homeschooling, and also getting a degree and graduating from there if they were interested.  It was a very unusual situation, and I've never heard of it happening elsewhere.  We decided to go that route because some of my kids were interested in attending college overseas, and I thought this might make it a little easier.  My own own transcript was combined with the ps transcript, so they appeared on the ps transcript with the notation next to all homeschool courses that those grades had been transferred in.  (could be transferred in from anywhere:  a private school, another public school, homeschool, etc.)  

 

So, the school generally handled all the transcript stuff, and my kids did get to know some teachers there well so were able to get letters of recommendation from them.  But, they didn't really get to know the counselors well and I still felt like I was their main counselor.  So, even though the counselor there did end up sometimes having to fill out a counselor form, I also sent my own letter separately as their homeschool director/counselor if I felt it would be beneficial.

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I would not drop the cover school just because of that. The letter from the GC is not the only reference letter; you can always add more and are free to write your own as a teacher LOR if you want to explain more about your schooling. Also, your DD is taking college classes and will have LORs from professors; those count way more than the GC letter. Colleges know that GCs often don't really know their students. An enthusiastic letter form a prof weighs more heavily.

 

Now the transcript - that depends on how far out of the box your schooling is and how willing the cover school is to work with that. I don't know how a cover school works: do you submit course titles to the school and they just put the transcript together from your info? If so, all they do is format; the info would still be the one provided by you.

 

Also, all this will play a role only if your DD applies to extremely selective schools with very low admission rates. For many schools, the GC letter won't matter at all, and some won't even require any letter - if the standardized test scores are OK, that's what counts.

 

I would, however, examine why you have a cover school in the first place. What is the benefit? Is it actually worth it? I homeschooled without cover school or accredited program, and DD was admitted to several tippy top colleges. I am not sure what one gains from a cover school other than reassurance.

Edited by regentrude
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I am in TN. I am not sure which cover school you use but I have used a couple.  Both have pretty much asked me what they should highlight in the letter.  One was a category 3 school where the counselor did know my ds but she still asked what we wanted written.  We are now with a big category 4 school that really will not know my child when he graduates.  However, I have looked at the website and it appears they will write what we ask.

 

I am not worried about it and figure the cover school takes care of enough administrative to make it worthwhile to me though technically unnecessary. However, my ds will not be applying to highly competitive schools.  I think he will only apply places that we will be accepted based on test scores and GPA.  If I felt like a fantastic counselor letter/school profile/ etc was important I might take back that control.

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Hmm, I may be in this same boat.  We have an early college school here where DD will be completing her senior year.  If they graduate her from there (which is what we were planning) then they would be in charge of that and REALLY not even know her, because she will be basically completing the whole year at the comm college.  I was already wondering about sending transcripts in the fall, because it will still be a homeschool transcript at that time, then if it changes?

 

I'm honestly thinking about just graduating her as a homeschooler instead of letting the early college school do it.  

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I am currently homeschooling under an umbrella. I create everything myself and simply submit it to them to authorize and then send out. I don't get charged anything additional bc I have done all the work. They simply have to approve and put on their seal. I would ask if you can do something similar.

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I do not know anyone who is homeschooling a high school student locally, without either a cover school or enrolling them in an accredited distance learning school like Laurel Springs or American School, and for the most part the parents seem content to let the school handle the school side.

 

 

I'll repeat some of what I told you locally in very brief fashion.  :)

I'm using the same cover school that you do. The counselors there will write the letter with your input if you request it.  Parents can write course descriptions and this specific cover school will help you send those officially.  parents are the ones who input the portfolio information online.  and when you go into "create request" (on the online record keeping), you can request the transcript is sent with portfolio.  and even call them to make sure it's all going.

 

In other words, it's like 8fill said.

 

also: when we did letters of recommendation, it came from people other than school counselor.  Nothing my oldest did required it to be from counselor.  We still got in where we wanted to be and got scholarships based on letters from other leaders.   So, I never had the need to ask for a counselor letter from our cover school.  But I do remember them saying they'd do one with parent input.

 

by the way, yes, part of the senior fee is about sending transcripts and diploma and cover for diploma. and stuff like that.  

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In TN, a cover school is one of the easiest legal options for homeschooling.  It is why many people use it.  For us, the guidance counselor aspect isn't even a consideration.

 

I'm dealing with this as we approach college apps this fall.  Our cover school (HomeLife) only sends out a very bare bones transcript.  I'm working on a transcript supplement to send in with my dds application.  It will contain more about her activities and have course descriptions.  None of the schools my girls are applying to use the Common App, but there are places on that to beef up the application.  

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I was going to say the same thing - check with the cover school. You may have a lot of control and/or input for these documents.

 

Also, from what you've posted before, I think even with only a fair counselor's letter, your DDs application will not in any way suffer for ways to look like "something more than a nice well rounded kid."

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I personally would not submit an application without the counselor letter. The person dmmeter heard speak was correct. It is the best opportunity for the parent to share their insights about their student. It is a vital part of describing our homeschool philosophy bc my kids are so involved in designing their courses and driving their high school educations. Our homeschool is not like any traditional school and my kids have not approached their classes like classroom students. The counselor letter is where I get to describe their motivation to learn and their no ceiling approach to learning what they want to learn.

 

That is huge when it comes to certain types of universities that are looking for motivated, independent thinkers.

 

ETA: fwiw, if the cover wouldn't submit my letter directly, I would change covers or investigate how much control I would have if I filed as registered homeschooler with the ps system.

Edited by 8FillTheHeart
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clarifying my earlier post: 

from my earlier answer there is a difference in my terms of the "cover school counselor who sends the letter" vs "counselor letter".

 

I never asked the cover school "counselor" to send a letter.    And as unusual as it seems to be on this forum, the colleges we applied to did not ask for details about our philosophies or course descriptions.  I feel like the odd ball freak again on here.

 

Our officially sent ACT scores and bare bones cover school transcript  along with the college's individual fill in the blank application was enough for both admissions and college scholarships and state grants.   We weren't doing common app for colleges.  I expected that the college would ask for it based on what they say in their catalog. But they looked at the ACT score and said "nah.. you did fine." (edit: that was in person the admissions person told us that we didn't need more and it was done deal. )

 

We weren't going for elite factor name either.  It was local college with good rep in our field that was familiar with our local cover school.   DD did have to tell a little bit more about herself in the ultra competitive application by invitation scholarship in interview.  But lack of counselor letter is not why she was runner up.  She was too nervous and just didn't do a good job at interview. oh well. runner up is nice too.

 

The cover school dmmetler and I use will work with parent to send letters.   One just needs to ask them directly. It's just a phone call or email or "create request" away.   Not all cover schools are the same.  But this one really likes to help make it individualized.

Edited by cbollin
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Collin, our oldest graduated from high school when we lived in TN. All he needed were transcripts and test scores. I switched cover schools bc the one I was with created the most unprofessional piece of junk I have ever seen. (It was embarrassing.Good thing I saw it when he was DEing.) I suspect many TN schools still don't want much.

 

But, during the 10 yrs since I worked with him on his, things have really changed. All of the schools except for 1 that my Dd is applying to want all supplemental homeschooling info (course descriptions, letter, profile, etc). It is impossible to generalize college apps. Each school needs to individually considered.

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My big concern is that it is likely DD will be applying out of state, and that changes things a bit. If she was only going to apply in state or even regionally, the cover schools are well known, and, at least at the college I've taught at, homeschoolers coming from the one we're with are well regarded. Outside of the region, maybe not so much, and right now, DD's list goes coast to coast.

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You should check in with your cover school to see what the transcript, counselor letter, and school profile look like, and how much is cookie cutter and how much will be customized just for you. If you don't like the answers, you can find a different cover or just homeschool independently.

 

But I still say that your particular kid -- with her very obvious passion and the amazing depth to which she has pursued it -- will not have a problem distinguishing herself in the student portion of her application regardless.

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We are in Alaska, where the majority of homeschoolers participate in one of the many public programs for homeschoolers; these function similarly to a cover school, and issue a transcript, along with dealing with the counselor part of the Common App, etc.

 

I've graduated two kids via this system. It CAN be confusing for the colleges, so we try to clarify the situation (without over-explaining, which can confuse the situation further :-) ) via "additional information" boxes, if available, or in the essays.

 

I recommend keeping in close contact with whoever is dealing with your counselor letter and transcripts. I had to be a major pain to my daughter's "contact teacher" this year, but I've learned that they are not always completed educated as to the ins and outs of college admissions and what they need to be doing, as this is just a small part of their job within the program. You will have to be very proactive.

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I don't have an answer, but you know what is crazy... This issue is not on my radar and not on the radar of tons of other homeschoolers.  But then I've got issues centered around the homeschool regs that other people have no clue about (and no clue why I'm upset about them).  Yet, despite these differences our kids will be applying to colleges.  Possibly some of the same colleges.

 

I find this annoying as all get out.  People scoff about national standards, but it makes more sense to me than what we currently have.

 

 

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My big concern is that it is likely DD will be applying out of state, and that changes things a bit. If she was only going to apply in state or even regionally, the cover schools are well known, and, at least at the college I've taught at, homeschoolers coming from the one we're with are well regarded. Outside of the region, maybe not so much, and right now, DD's list goes coast to coast.

 

 

some other information you may not realize if you haven't gone to the graduation ceremonies hosted by the city wide association (which is not cover school). service academies.

Most of the  years that I've lived here and paid attention to the graduation booklet, someone from around here at homeschool graduation receives an appointment to service academies.    I don't know which cover school *all* of those students used.  I do know that some did use the same one as you and I use because of the main high school counselors had at least one son go that route.  So be encouraged to call and contact the staff.  I think you'll be in the happy camper place.  But if not, go independent. :)

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In TN, a cover school is one of the easiest legal options for homeschooling.  It is why many people use it.  For us, the guidance counselor aspect isn't even a consideration.

 

I'm dealing with this as we approach college apps this fall.  Our cover school (HomeLife) only sends out a very bare bones transcript.  I'm working on a transcript supplement to send in with my dds application.  It will contain more about her activities and have course descriptions.  None of the schools my girls are applying to use the Common App, but there are places on that to beef up the application.  

 

I may be telling you stuff you already know about HLA.  in applecore, there is the option to put stuff in the "portfolio". That is where you can list a bunch of activities.  (prints like a resume) And the portfolio is sent with transcript (if unsure about that or concerned they'll forget, request it in the comments box in the request manager). 

 

hope that helps you a bit.

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I may be telling you stuff you already know about HLA.  in applecore, there is the option to put stuff in the "portfolio". That is where you can list a bunch of activities.  (prints like a resume) And the portfolio is sent with transcript (if unsure about that or concerned they'll forget, request it in the comments box in the request manager). 

 

hope that helps you a bit.

Thanks! I did not realize that they would print and send the portfolio.  They didn't with my oldest's transcript.  I don't particularly like the format of it either, so I'll probably still make up my own supplement.  

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