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Well, I'm not sure about your questions, but I'll tell you that my son's college of choice (Virginia Commonwealth) REQUIRED him to take the GED for admission.

 

It wasn't that hard for him. He has a hard time writing really well, but got a 99% on the GED writing--mostly editing.

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In my experience (with my students)employers are fine with a GED, especially if they have a homeschool transcript of some kind along with it. It seems to be more looked down on when students drop out of high school, but it doesn't seem to be as looked down on when they know it is a homeschooler's culminating test. But, this is just my limited experience. :-)

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In my area, a GED knocks you out of consideration for many good jobs and training programs that are available to those with high school diplomas. I'm not saying I agree with that, but that's how it is. You have to have that diploma, and yes, the majority of the training programs are diligent about requiring one to submit a copy of the actual, physical diploma.

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Things may have changed since last I read about the GED. Everything that I read, though, encouraged homeschoolers to avoid obtaining a GED. One reason was that the test measured only through the end of a generic 10th grade education, rather than measured a complete high school course of study. The more important warning, however, was that in the popular mind (never mind individual circumstances), the GED is associated with failure -- whether that be associated with having earned poor grades, dropping out of high school, struggling with drug-related or other serious problems, etc.

 

My older two sons followed a different path. NOT my dream path, but one which has proven fruitful. I was very ill for four years, and the sons in question fell two years behind their age peers with their school program. We did not wish to hold them back unnecessarily, so [reluctantly, I admit, in the beginning] followed the advice of a well-respected local educator. She advised us to let the boys enroll in the local community college, upon turning eighteen. After one year of CC, they would be eligible to transfer to a four-year college or university without any stigma, and without anybody asking to see a high school transcript. I balked at first, because this was so very far out of my comfort zone, and so very alien to my own college path. Yet the educator's advice proved wise.

 

(We are in Texas, btw.)

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The college my dd is looking at in Montana also REQUIRES homeschool students to take the GED. I guess employers would have a hard time looking down their noses at the GED with a college degree following it..............:glare: I guess if any tech schools, employers etc. were ONLY going to look at "GED" in front of them instead of the person and the whole picture---I wouldn't want my children applying there anyways.:rant:

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The Sheriffs Dept job my son applied for required a GED and would not consider a homeschool diploma. He had to rush out and get his GED before they would even consider him for a position. He did, he passed, and then decided he didn't want the $3000 a month job! :confused:

 

Instead, he decided he'd like to be an RN (which in all honesty is a much better job for his interests and personality). The nursing program at our local cc also required a GED, and didn't consider a homeschool diploma worth anything. :001_huh:

 

I guess these companies consider a 10th grade education better than a full homeschooled one? :glare:

 

My middle son wants to be an engineer. He is attending our cc for two years and then plans to transfer to a local engineering school. The cc is fine with his homeschool diploma, and I am hoping the school he transfers too will be as well. If not...he'll be taking the GED.

 

My advice? Get the GED. You never know when/if you may need it and it's a good back up plan. For us, it has held a lot more weight than our homeschool diploma issued to us from our ISP.

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I worked for the GED program at our local CC for a couple of years (Here in NC the GED is housed in the NC CC system.), and saw all sorts of odd things in that time frame. For the most part, "homeschoolers" who ended up in the GED program were not-schooled. (I refuse to call that negligence unschooled, because I'm a fan of unschooling when it works!) After a few weeks in our GED prep classes, they usually had little difficulty passing four of the five components, and might take a little longer in the math area. :)

 

But I also saw adults who had never graduated from high school anywhere gain admittance to some college, take lots of college courses, and then have the degree-awarding entity say, "Whoops, you must go back and get a GED, even though you've navigate our courses beautifully." And as was mentioned, I saw several well-educated formerly Christian-schooled (non-accredited) students denied entry into programs without a GED. They usually just signed up for the tests and completed them quickly. I even saw one student make a perfect 4,000 on the GED (800 on each of the five components).

 

Honestly, while my older dd has a "mom-diploma" (beautifully printed by homeschooldiplomas.com), her entry into the university was based primarily on her completed associate's degree. I would be very frustrated if they decided not to confer her BA in mathematics without her going back and getting a GED! (She could do it in a day, with her eyes closed...LOL.) But with my younger dd, I actually considered allowing her to get a GED because of the doors it opens for her for employment and driving privileges. But decided against it for that same reason...I'd prefer she not drive or work just yet. GRIN.

 

So, she's remaining a high schooler and taking advantage of the dual-enrollment program until she is 18, and then we'll renegotiate graduation. :) I expect for her to graduate in December 2010, but may encourage her to wait until June 2011. And no GED planned at this time.

 

Lori

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In our state, kids can not take GED unless they are 18 or older.

 

I believe it's the same in FL except extenuating circumstances.

RE: The GED, as far as the actual diploma goes, it just says that you're a high school graduate. It doesn't say anything about GED. It seems that most job applications I've seen say "high school or equivalent" so the GED wouldn't have a stigma unless brought up by someone. Of course, that's just my limited experience. :)

 

As for colleges: In the 5 (all privates) my dd applied to, none questioned her transcript from me. Granted, she does have 3 yrs of cc classes to back it up so I can't say how much they noticed about my stuff.

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In the situation you describe, I'd encourage a child to follow the GED by enrolling in and completing some program through a community college. The GED in and of itself can be either negative or positive depending on the context. A student in a position to back up the GED with a community college degree or a reasonable homeschool transcript plus decent ACT or SAT scores could probably overcome objections in specific instances.

 

I know that community colleges vary quite a bit, but those in NM have a variety of classes geared toward the "non-studious". There are also testing options which allow entering students to skip those and go directly to college level courses. Age requirements for the GED vary from state to state, but some exceptions may be allowed. You'd want to check on that and verify information by checking more than one source.

 

FWIW, in New Mexico the state colleges have their own interpretation of the law regarding Roadrunner (lottery funded) scholarships and do not recognize home school diplomas. They'll admit home schooled students based on ACT, SAT, or Accuplacer scores, but to obtain the scholarship the GED is a must.

Edited by Martha in NM
clarity
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Wow, I just checked Louisiana - - not only do you have to be 18+, but you have to have been withdrawn from school for at least 6 months. What is the sense of that, if you have to be 18 anyway??

 

Yes, it surprised me too. I believe if they require such condition for you to have been out of school for several years, it's because they are letting you know that GED is for giving second chance to high school dropped out. For excelling kids who would like to have high school diploma equivalency, it's not their option if they live in such area.

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Guest brettstaylor

I teach a free online GED preparation class. I am paid by Pinellas County (Florida) School District. Passing score on the GED Tests is doing better than 30% of the norm group (12th grade students) who took the same tests for norming.

 

I recommend checking with whatever institution the student plans on using the credential at to make sure it is accepted. Generally, a GED is the same as a standard high school credit-based diploma. In fact in Florida, passing the GED Tests results in a credential called a State of Florida High School Diploma and those receiving it are by law considered as high school graduates.

 

My web site (MyGEDClass.com) has links to more general information about the GED Tests as well as a course of study to help prepare for the GED Tests.

 

Always remember, the GED Tests are NOT given online. most sites you get when you do a google search for GED are scams. Be carefull.

Brett

Edited by brettstaylor
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I'm sure you already know this but in NC you child can take drivers ed at the local high school and then get their license. The only requirement is that they stay in school. If they drop out their license is no longer any good but as far as I know they don't check this. As to my dd getting into college, none of the state colleges we applied to required a GED. We submitted SAT scores and a homemade transcript and there was nothing else required. My dd and ds both attend CC here and all they had to do was to take their placement test but that is because they were dual enrolling. Both CC near me require a high school diploma or GED so I'm assuming it is a state wide thing. I guess the one's you heard of was because of slip shod work by the admissions counselor.

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  • 3 weeks later...
In our state, kids can not take GED unless they are 18 or older.

 

I'm reading past threads about the GED because my dd17 is considering that route alongside a mom-issued homeschool diploma. In Georgia, you only have to be 16 and have dropped out of high school for 6+ months.

 

So please do check your state requirements as they seem to vary state to state.

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One reason I'd advise against the GED is the discounting of it by the military. Many non-studious kids find the military is a good fit but the military does NOT want to see a GED.

 

http://nche.hslda.org/docs/display.asp?folder=2580

 

That's not always true. I know the Army will take a GED if the student has some technical school or college credits. I haven't checked the other branches of the military.

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In 2007, the Pentegon agreed to extend their military Pilot program for another 4 years. This means that Homeschool Diplomas will be placed under Tier 1 with State issued diplomas, if they score 50 or above on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. However, GED recipients will still be treated like highschool dropouts and remain under Tier 2.

 

Quote:

 

"Many home-school graduates are interested in serving their country in the military, but it has not always been easy for them to serve because the military had difficulty deciding how to recognize a home-school graduate's diploma. They were looking for some form of "accreditation" from the state, which a home-schooler cannot provide.

 

In the mid-1990s, HSLDA began to work with the Department of Defense to encourage the military branches to be open to home-school graduates. The first response by the military was to admit home-school graduates, but treat them as high school dropouts. This immediately placed home-schoolers at a disadvantage because they were ineligible for many of the incentives and special programs the military offered for enlistment. In 1998, the Department of Defense agreed to place home-school graduates in Tier 1 in order to conduct a five-year study program to attempt to measure the attrition rates of home-school graduates.

 

At the end of that period, unfortunately, the results were inconclusive because a large number of recruits were incorrectly classified as home-school graduates. In 2007, the Pentagon agreed to conduct a new four-year pilot program, opening Tier 1 status to home-school graduates who score 50 or above on the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

 

More and more home-school graduates are deciding to serve their country through the military. Despite the policy change in 2007, some recruiters still need to be reminded that home-schoolers are allowed to enlist in Tier 1 and should experience no discrimination from the military for being home-schooled."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/26/home-schooling-military-policy-allows-enlistment/

Edited by LUV2EDU
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Honestly, I'd just have a lower academic requirement for a homeschooled student like this. Now if they didn't FINISH it, I wouldn't give them one, but for a kid just less capable, I would. Schools do this ALL the time. I've known people with 3rd grade educations who had alternative diplomas.

 

GED is seen as less and inferior. I would only encourage my child to get one if it was necessary for their goals (the college they are attending is WAY behind times and requires one of homeschooled students). Otherwise, there are much more appropriate ways to "prove" themselves.

 

JMO,

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Honestly, I'd just have a lower academic requirement for a homeschooled student like this. Now if they didn't FINISH it, I wouldn't give them one, but for a kid just less capable, I would. Schools do this ALL the time. I've known people with 3rd grade educations who had alternative diplomas.

 

GED is seen as less and inferior. I would only encourage my child to get one if it was necessary for their goals (the college they are attending is WAY behind times and requires one of homeschooled students). Otherwise, there are much more appropriate ways to "prove" themselves.

 

JMO,

 

Colleges and Universities that still require a homeschool graduate to take the GED test, are behind and need to catch up. There are too many other good schools to choose from, that accept homeschool diplomas and don't make you take a GED test.

 

Quote:

 

"A Harvard University (MA) admissions officer said most of their home-educated students "have done very well. They usually are very motivated in what they do." Results of the SAT and SAT II, an essay, an interview, and a letter of recommendation are the main requirements for home-educated applicants. "[Transcripts are] irrelevant because a transcript is basically a comparison to other students in the school."

In addition to Harvard, prominent schools like Yale (CT), Princeton (NJ), Texas A&M, Brown University (RI), the Carnegie Mellon Institute (PA), the Universities of Arizona, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and many others all have flexible transcript criteria, accept parental evaluations, and do not require any accreditation or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). At Kansas State University and others like Lipscomb University and Middlebury College (VT), transcripts are optional."

 

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000017.asp

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He lives in our neighborhood and everytime he hears about families homeschooling, he just says that the homeschoolers ARE doing well at Lipscomb, HOWEVER

 

he says these kids still need to learn to be independent. That he is amazed at how many homeschool parents are emailing and calling professors from out of town/state about their kids weekly assignments and micromanaging their college students and never give the kids a chance to handle anything themselves :001_huh:

 

In his view, that is the annoying thing about many homeschooled students ~ their parents. :001_smile:

 

Just thought it was an interesting observation and not related to the subject at hand at all ~

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