My junior is about to submit requests to teachers for recommendation letters for the college applications she will be submitting next fall. I haven't yet started poking around in any actual applications (the Common App or otherwise). If her teachers say yes, what exactly are we asking for at this time? Do teachers typically write the letters now, while the experiences are fresh in their minds, and give me (the counselor) digital copies? Or, do her teachers submit the recs directly into the applications using a link of some sort generated by the application? (If so, how soon would they be able to do that, generally speaking?) Any advice to how-to info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! (I used to be a high school teacher and wrote tons of college recs myself for my students, but that was 16 years ago now! Back then, I was still sending them in actual paper envelopes....)

Hello! My oldest is currently a junior. We're starting to make our game plan for college application season and I am curious: What is the earliest that students may submit applications (generally speaking)? I know every application is different, and most of the sites we're looking at say that the Early Action deadlines are around November 15th. But those are the deadlines; I'm curious how early she can submit--August? September? Just curious if anyone might share the earliest they were able to submit. Are there any pros or cons or obstacles you've come up against when submitting as early as possible? Thank you for any advice!

Yes! Fair point. (We used to live and homeschool in Maryland, though we never opted for the umbrella option.) I guess I just feel that since colleges are assessing applicants from all 50 states (and internationally!), they should be better-versed in the variety of ways homeschooling functions. Or at least, the admissions counselors for each geographical region should understand how homeschooling works in the states they are responsible for. (For instance, my daughter's admissions counselor at MICA is in charge of applicants from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mass., Michigan, Minn., Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio. So I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them to be familiar with homeschooling laws and procedures in these states. Student applicants are expected to adjust their applications for every individual school; schools should likewise have to know their prospective students.) Thank you also for mentioning the Tennessee academy. I hope to not have to need something like that, but I appreciate knowing it exists as an option!

Thank you so much to everyone has chimed in, and for sharing stories! I was freaking out for a bit there, but I think the school just don't know what it's asking. This information was coming from a regular admissions officer (not a student), but I suspect it will be fine. (It's just frustrating when the school's policy doesn't seem to understand homeschooling/seems to contradict itself. Like, what magical agency cranks out homeschool transcripts and diplomas? lol.) I think my daughter will just apply with all the same, thorough documents we'll be providing her other prospective schools and let the chips fall. Like others have said, it just seems weird that as an art school, they don't get more than the average amount of "alternative" students; you'd think they would be more familiar with homeschooling. It stands in stark contrast with another school on her list, Savannah College of Art & Design, which has super homeschooling-friendly language on their website (screenshot attached). For this and other reasons, SCAD is definitely a school she is especially interested in.... Anyway, thank you again! So helpful!

Your comment made me lol. It made me realize that yes, my daughter won't even be eligible to take the GED because she'll legally be a high school graduate! (And I recently looked this up on the GED website.) Thank you for your input!

My daughter is interested to applying to Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the fall. Their website says homeschoolers not in some sort of specific program must have a GED. I emailed them to ask if the GED requirement is flexible. I got this response: Homeschool applicants must provide the equivalent of a high school transcript with course or subject titles, duration of study for each title, the content of study for each title, and an assessment of performance or "grade". Preferably, the courses completed at home are part of a curriculum developed and evaluated by a nationally recognized diploma-granting organization or agency. If not connected with such an organization and an official transcript from a state homeschool association or sponsoring public high school is not available, homeschool applicants must obtain and submit GED, TASC or HiSET exam results as confirmation of completing a generally acceptable secondary school curriculum. Individual homeschool transcripts with date of completion do not suffice as official proof of graduation. In my original inquiry, I tried to explain that Ohio (where we live) fully recognizes homeschool diplomas, so like, the diploma I grant her should be proof that she has really graduated. The admissions counselor seems to believe that because Ohio recognizes diplomas, we are in some sort of umbrella program, but we are not. Basically, they don't seem to understand homeschooling at all, and I am trying to communicate that yes, my daughter absolutely is doing proper high school. (By graduation, she will also have 28 credits of dual enrollment with our local CC!) None of the other major art schools seem to have this disconnect; they all have reasonable homeschool admissions requirements. So I just feel at a bit of a loss; we don't have the requirement they mention (and making my daughter get her GED feels insulting), but I don't think the school even understands how homeschooling works or what they are asking. It's like they don't even know what they want. MICA is a respected art school and it has a lot of pluses, so I don't want to take it off my daughter's list if I can find a way forward, but I don't really know how to proceed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Okay, fiiiiine! lol. Thank you for your input; I appreciate it! We will jump through this hoop.

Hello! One more follow-up question about college admissions. My 11th-grader is signed up for two SAT dates: May and June. As we've been researching prospective schools, it's become clear that ALL of the prospective schools on her list--the state flagship (OSU) and a host of art schools--are all test-optional. She is also currently doing lots of DE at the local cc, and did not need an SAT score for that. All that to say: I'm beginning to wonder why we are spending valuable time prepping for the SAT? (We could be spending this time on Algebra II, her art portfolio, and all her other courses....) Is there a reason to take the SAT anyway that I'm not considering? (I expect that she would crush the language arts section and perform just average on the math section.) We are both on board with doing whatever is best for her future goals, but I'm honestly really struggling to see the point. Please advise! Thank you!

As a non-math person, I honestly hadn't considered this. Maybe she can just take statistics at cc second semester senior year? I will think about that!

I know; that's another possibility: To do a CCP math class second semester senior year at the cc. She really doesn't want to do math through a class, though (at least when we do math on our own, we control the pacing and the assessments, etc.,). That's another reason I'm torn.

I'm in the thick of planning my oldest daughter's senior year. (She is currently a junior; we are working together to plan her senior courses.) She hopes to attend an art school for graphic design and/or fine arts, but she'll also be applying to our state flagship (Ohio State). She is an excellent student (4.0 unweighted GPA) and is currently taking lots of dual enrollment. Math is her/our weakest subject and I'm trying to decide if it makes sense for her/us to suffer through pre-calculus next year. (She is currently doing Algebra II.) She'll do whatever she needs to do to get where she wants to go, but she would much rather fill her senior year with challenging courses she actually cares about--WTMA French IV, a 4th lab science (would be taken at the community college) as well as more English and social science courses also taken at the cc--than pre-calculus. Basically: Is this a make-or-break situation? Would you say she definitely needs to have a fourth year of math on her transcript to be accepted to a range of art schools (including the prestigious ones that we probably can't afford, but hey let's take a shot), or does it make sense to let math go, given that she has demonstrated rigor elsewhere on her transcript? (Art school websites rarely list specific courses that students need. OSU's website states that three years of math is the minimum they'll accept, but she exceeds all other minimum requirements they list.) Note: Obviously, her art portfolio will be a huge factor in her art school acceptance. Her art portfolio is in progress and is strong; I'm strictly asking about the academic side of the equation here. Thank you for any input and advice!

This is so helpful! Thank you!!

I am considering switching my daughter to Mr. D's Self-Paced Algebra II program. (After years of using and loving Math U See, we switched to CTC Math for the computer grading and efficiency, but it's not working perfectly. I am attracted to Mr. D. because it seems a lot like CTC, but with the added benefit of access to a live instructor.) My question: How do the sessions with a live instructor work? Can a student bring a specific question and have it answered? Will she have to sit through a bunch of other students' questions before getting her question answered? (That is fine! I'm just trying to get a sense of how efficient the process may or not be.) Any feedback you can provide about Mr. D would be greatly appreciated. (I wish the website were more than just a class portal; there doesn't seem to be much general information offered there.) Thank you!

YES to Tyler DeWitt's YouTube channel! He is the BEST and his channel saved our lives last year! Two other huge chemistry helps (both on YouTube): Professor Dave Explains Wayne Breslin (he demonstrates balancing all sorts of equations and we found his explanations SO helpful!) Edited to add: Crash Course Chemistry (also YouTube).

So helpful, thanks!