I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts... Son chose SMU for multiple factors, including getting 1 of 20 full ride scholarships, however, the instant sense of community and connection with both students and admin along with the leadership and networking opps at the Cox school of business made the decision. He did not want to be a small isolated fish at an elite college. Finally, we did ultimately benefit greatly from a homeschool education consultant. It is important to find someone who you really connect with, and is supportive. We spoke with several, and our son still recalls his shock upon hearing one consultant state 'you don't even have a ticket to the elite school lottery' when discussing building a balanced list and applying to the lottery schools. Well, what a relief it is all over! Onward!

DS accepted Carnegie Mellon Tepper Business Santa Clara Univ. Leavey Business Trinity University William & Mary SMU Cox BBA scholar and President's Scholarship

We're waiting for ED & EA results soon. Dd applied to ed&ea to Rice University University of Chicago Santa Clara University Southern Methodist University Trinity University Arizona State University.(he got accepted to his safety ASU! rolling admits)

In a similar vein, I was watching a livestream on collegevine. It was a live essay review, and the essay was so bad I couldn't believe it. After a few sentences, and the reviewer admirably offering corrections, I thought this couldn't possilby be real. It had to be some sort of prank. It was funny in a sad kind of way.

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

Yes, we registered last fall, and he's scheduled for the first week of may.

I’m struggling with trying to figure out if taking 3 AP exams (self-study) next month will be worthwhile. Here is the scenario: Homeschooled all courses with WTMA 3.93 gpa 4 DE classes(all A’s) at embry-riddle univ; engineering, calculus, physics & comp sci. Sat score was 1440(730 eng 710 math) Son is a junior and reaching for elite schools. Extracurriculars and essays are Lake Wobegon above average. WTMA doesn’t really offer AP classes, and AP’s are not taught at our local rural high school, so the thought was to self study for the AP comp sci, statistics and economic exams with the aim of providing more verification of academic success. At this point with only a month more to prep, I’m wondering whether it was a mistake. He was disappointed with the math score on the SAT after a year of serious study! If the AP exams don’t matter then he could put the time into other activities.

I agree with Dmmetler, it would be great to introduce it now. My son started piano with me at 6, and we would just enjoy the sounds, a melody or two, and a few easy books. At 6 he also started cello and that was more formal with a teacher...Fast forward 10 years and he is quite proficient in both. We never pushed him, he just loved it.

Thanks, Lori...I'll check it out. I did finally find how to search old topics on the forums...I searched for 'harvard magazine article' (i had to choose ALL search terms not just any), and was able to find it.

I tried to search and find an old thread but came up empty. Where would I look to see what was discussed.?

This is from an article 1 year ago, but since I missed it, perhaps others might benefit from reading it. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/05/law-school-professor-says-there-may-be-a-dark-side-of-homeschooling/ The interview link is from the Harvard Gazette, and I am including a quote that outlines this professor's radical views of homeschool parents and children. GAZETTE: Your article says that homeschooling in its current unregulated form represents a danger to both children and society. What evidence do you have to support that? BARTHOLET: One is the danger of child maltreatment, and we have evidence that there is a strong connection between homeschooling and maltreatment, which I describe in my article. Other dangers are that children are simply not learning basic academic skills or learning about the most basic democratic values of our society or getting the kind of exposure to alternative views that enables them to exercise meaningful choice about their future lives. Many homeschooling parents are extreme ideologues, committed to raising their children within their belief systems isolated from any societal influence. Some believe that black people are inferior to white people and others that women should be subject to men and not educated for careers but instead raised to serve their fathers first and then their husbands. The danger is both to these children and to society. The children may not have the chance to choose for themselves whether to exit these ideological communities; society may not have the chance to teach them values important to the larger community, such as tolerance of other people’s views and values.

Thanks to all for these really helpful comments. This is my first time trying to navigate all of this and it is a big challenge. I don't think I planned this well, but at this point need to make decisions for better or worse. While not ideal, I am leaning more towards taking some extra DE classes, and then just have DS take some of the AP exams he can do self-study. It only makes sense to do the exams in2022 as senior year 2023 will be too late. Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I am assuming that there will be at least some benefit in taking an AP exam and scoring well (without taking the AP class). I did find a small private school in central Arizona who will be happy to assist us in the exam setup! I had no idea we needed to do it now!! Thank you!!!

E-R has a their DE program all online through their WorldWide branch. I think it probably looks better than a local CC. Thanks for the suggestions on the AP sites. That is very helpful!

Regentrude, is your job at a college, private or public? I would echo your thoughts above. Personal experience of my son is his university courses(with the exception of the Calculus) were book reading, little teacher involvement, asynchronous, and maybe very little learning unless you were passionate. Multiple choice tests were the norm. He also still speaks to his friends at Oregon Episcopal School(he did 7th & 8th grades) and the norm at that 'best school in the state' is the students learned nothing over the past year online. The admin was scrambling to figure out online zooms, etc. However, DS' experience at WTMA is the opposite. They have mastered the technology pieces, the classes are all live, using blackboard and they have chat and audio participation. He says that the difference between WTMA and and the college online is remarkable. So fortunately for him he has done well.

Thanks for your perspectives, Lori & kokotg. Another nuance is that in these lockdown times many in person classes are not happening. I anticipate that admission readers are going to see some new trends in applications, especially in extra curriculars. The Embry Riddle courses are all asynchronous and online,(although they do have group projects where students interact) but I don't think that will be apparent or noticed by the readers.