My youngest dd has recently been accepted to the UAH Honors College (yay!) but I am wondering about dorm life. My oldest is currently in an honors dorm at another school, which is set up like the UAH dorm...in a suite with 4 students having their own room with a door. For two years now, she has felt like she lives alone as none of her roommates come out of their room to hang out in the common area...they don't even leave their doors open! As a result, the honors "community" has been a disappointment and she has felt very lonely. For those of you with students there, I was wondering what it has been like for your kids at UAH. Thanks in advance for your help!

Yep, that's exactly how we had to do it last year. It left me feeling uneasy as well, but the endorser we chose knew how stressful the whole thing is and got it submitted in plenty of time, Just choose wisely and keep the lines of communication open. Congratulations to your daughter!

Where: The University of Central Florida (Orlando) Why: Full ride scholarship for National Merit Finalists (with enough left over for a Disney annual pass!) Major: Mathematics Other: The Burnett Honors College is small and has a good reputation; the math department is excellent; the dorms for Honors students are beautiful and she'll have her own room in a quad. It's three hours away from us as we're in South Florida (the school provides a bus back and forth on weekends). UCF was not even on our radar until late November when they sent an invitation to an NMSF dinner. They pulled out all the stops and dealt with all our reservations. The presentation impressed DD and her dad...I was the last one on board but now we are all thrilled with the decision. Go Knights!

I've been slack on posting on any acceptances so far so here goes...DD has been accepted to: Millsaps College (Presidential Scholarship) University of Alabama-Huntsville (Charger Distinction Scholarship) University of South Carolina-Honors College! UChicago - deferred Waiting on 3 more in the new year! Congrats everyone! Mindy

From the UChicago's website: The University of Chicago does not charge an application fee for students applying for need-based financial aid. For students not applying for need-based financial aid, our application fee is $75 and can be submitted through the Coalition or Common Application. That's why I was wondering if this sort of thing was commonplace. :-)

Okay, thanks for the input! It bothers me that if you put yes to that question, sometimes they waive the application fee. Makes me feel guilty. :crying:

So I'm just trying to get this straight...Even though I don't think I qualify for need-based financial aid, we are filling out the FAFSA, because that seems to be the conventional wisdom. So here's my question...on the applications, the colleges ask if I am applying for need-based aid. Is the answer "Yes" because we filled out the FAFSA? (even though I'm pretty sure we won't qualify?) Thanks for your help!

Thank you, regentrude! Very helpful perspective on this. :-)

So it seems the Home School Supplement questions have changed slightly from previous years (see below). Question #3 used to say "if not listed on the transcript", but they've removed that part. So I'm wondering if they really mean I should list all courses taken outside of the home (with all the details), even if it's on the transcript and I've included course descriptions? I'll admit my course descriptions do not go into the level of detail they are asking for here (i.e frequency of interactions with other students, for one). What did you guys do? Thanks in advance! Home School Supplement Please provide any information about the applicant’s home school experience and environment that you believe would be helpful to the reader (e.g. educational philosophy, motivation for home schooling, instruction setting, etc.). Please provide the grading scale or other methods of evaluation. If the student has taken courses from a distance learning program, traditional secondary school, or institution of higher education please list the course title and content, sponsoring institution, instruction setting and schedule, and frequency of interactions with instructors and fellow students (once per day, week, etc.). In addition, if the student has taken any standardized testing other than those listed on Page 2 of the Common Application please describe below.

Thanks for all your input! Based on these answers, I will just rely on my transcript and send official FLVS if specifically requested. I love the collective wisdom of this board. :)

I have uploaded my DD's transcript to the Common App and it includes the courses she took at FLVS. Should I order an FLVS Official Transcript as well? I couldn't upload it directly to the Common App. It would be sent to the school electronically through Parchment. I'm just wondering if this is redundant or a good confirmation of my transcript grades... Thanks!

I also think there could be a credibility issue. If I am awarding 1 full credit for Government, but the public schooled applicant's transcript only awards .5 for the same dual-enrolled class, I wonder if the Admissions department assumes we're trying to pad the GPA, which might make the whole transcript suspect. Just a thought...

I found this. I hope it's helpful. http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5421/urlt/0078394-delist.pdf

Where did you put the National Latin Exam scores?

As application season is upon us, I wondered when they say "Official Transcript", what they actually mean? Of course I am sending my official transcript which includes classes from outside sources, most of which do not have transcripts of their own (Lukeion, for example). I know I have to request official transcripts from any dual-enrolled classes (FAU, for example). What about Florida Virtual School (FLVS)? Do I have to request an official transcript from them? If so, when? At the end of senior year, or when we first apply? Any help would be appreciated, as I feel the colleges are going to be bombarded with transcripts for this one student! Thanks! Mindy

Thanks for the input! A question... On the Course Descriptions, do you include the non-academic courses? For example, my daughter is a ballerina and danced 15 hours a week, so it was her PE credit. Do I need a course description for ballet?

Hello all! In preparation for the above, I have been working on (and have almost completed) the following documents wearing my Guidance Counselor hat: School Profile Counselor Rec Letter Course Descriptions Transcript I also have: DD's resume I'm thinking that's all I need, but I wanted to make sure. Am I correct? And I think I understand also that if there is anything else (for example, DD's poems that have won national contests), these could be uploaded by DD with a Zeemee account? I'm a little hazy on that last part! Thanks for all advice. Corrections to my thinking are appreciated!

My DD's science teacher has written her Letter of Recommendation. She then sent it to me digitally. I know that teachers are not required to (and usually don't) share it, but she did. Now that I have a digital copy, can I upload it for her to the Common App when it opens or does it have to come directly from her? I am thinking that she would just like to check this task off as complete, so it would be easier if I did it. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Thank you everyone! You have confirmed what has slowly been dawning on me. We have to widen the net and explore more options. Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and wisdom. And you know I'll be back with more questions. Onward! :hurray:

Did you visit Birmingham Southern? I'd love to know what you thought and any information you could give me on the school. We visited in March and we thought it was a beautiful campus but the tour wasn't very good so that soured my Dd. She is concerned about academic rigor specifically.

Looking into Furman and Berry now. :001_smile: Thanks!

I totally know what you mean. It's only on the list because of the great deal for NMFs and her Dad's an Aggie. :laugh: But she hates that 60,000 enrollment number.

I have been lurking here for a few months learning from you all. So first, thank you! You are a wealth of knowledge. After all the reading and research, I have a list of schools to apply to but I find myself lying awake and night wondering if I'm on the right track. So here i am! A few facts. DD is a homeschooled junior. She is leaning towards a small (under 3000) LAC. She wants to major in math, but has strong language skills (Latin lover and and some poetry national awards). We just got the National Merit commended letter so NMSF is likely but not guaranteed. Finally, we will be relying on merit money to finance this, as we fall into the category of not being eligible for financial aid, yet not being able to afford more than 10K a year, if that. I hope I've given you enough information to evaluate our list, so here goes: Birmingham-Southern Centre College Millsaps College Texas A&M Honors UAH Honors University of Richmond University of the South University of South Carolina Honors College Wofford College What say you, o wise ones? :glare: Seriously, thanks for your help. Any feedback is appreciated.

Just wanted to tell y'all about this wonderful Latin curriculum! My daughter used the program for her 4th and 5th grade years and was able to go straight into Henle without a problem. Her peers a year ahead of her in CC's Challenge Program were struggling, but she sailed right through it. She even gave a presentation in her coop class on Latin that impressed all the adults in the room with her breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding. I heard about it for weeks afterwards. :-) The only problem is that she is now the latin expert in the family...she knows much more than me. Whenever anybody asks me, I always tell them about GLA and they've never heard of it. I thought is was time that the gem of our home school program gets some good press. Let me know if you have any questions. Mindy

You asked for evidence, I gave it to you. Now you're faulting me for giving you researched based evidence? No win situation, I guess.