We just PCSd to Fort Eustis a little over a month ago, and we are LOVING this area. We decided to live in Williamsburg, and we are so glad we did. It is amazing! We never want to leave. The people are so friendly, the area is beautiful, and the list of things to do is seemingly endless. I know many people who move here choose to live in either Yorktown, Williamsburg, or Newport News, but there is brand new post housing available on both the Langley and Eustis sides, so that's a plus as well. If you have any specific questions about Langley/Eustis, let me know. Don't know too much about the post yet, but I can certainly ask around for you:)

I haven't been on the boards in quite awhile. I had a baby in November and my time has been extremely limited! I'm so happy to have logged on today for the first time in months and to have found this thread! Dd and I just returned on Sunday from "Honors Day" at PITT. It was our first visit to the school. A few months ago we had almost discounted PITT due to the homeschool letter discussed in a thread this past fall. But soon after that thread, dd received a full tuition/room/board plus offer from PITT. So, of course, it was back in the running for us as well. Our visit to PITT was enjoyable. The nursing tour was amazing. The program is certainly top-notch. And while dd was all but sold on Alabama (she loved the campus, honors dorms, and she had a full tuition/room/iPad/stipend scholarship), she is now leaning toward PITT for several reasons (superior program, direct admit nursing, begin clinicals sophomore year, 8 semesters instead of 9). I have a few questions, if you don't mind. Were you able to tour Sutherland (the honors dorm)? We were not...the tour took us to the towers. If so, we're the rooms any different for honors? Do you see any advantages to the Living Learning communities? Do you see their Honors program as being "strong"? Bama has an incredible honors program, and the Dean (Dr. Sharpe) seems very involved and concerned. I didn't get that impression at PITT. Do you still foresee any problems submitting that final transcript that will be required before registering for 2nd semester courses? Thanks for any insight. It would be quite a coincidence if both our students ended up at PITT after all!

I'm sorry, I guess my answer wasn't clear...it was early :-) What I meant was that with FLVS, etc., they will not list it on the transcript as AP unless they actually take the AP test. Otherwise, it is only an Honors class. The AP test is required to count as an AP class on the transcript. Hope this helps.

I'm happy to add to dd's list of acceptances: University of Pittsburgh: Direct access into nursing program, honors college acceptance, scholarship info. to follow Drexel University: Direct access into nursing, AJ Drexel Grant of $22,500 per year DD is still sticking with University of Alabama as her #1 choice...I don't think there is anything that will sway her at this point. She is in the process of applying for the University Fellows Experience right now. The only school we are waiting to hear from is Florida State, which begins sending first notification after December 1st. Congrats to everyone!

This is the same information my dd received from PITT. However, in light of the concerns raised, I'm quite sure it has moved PITT way down on her list as well (at least in my mind). Why chance having problems later when schools like Alabama have been so incredibly homeschool friendly? Congrats on the acceptance, though! I'm sure both you and your son are proud:)

I'm not sure if there are new rules regarding awarding AP credit without taking the AP exam. DD takes her AP courses through Florida Virtual School, and if the student does NOT take the AP exam, they are only awarded Honors credit. I've seen this with other online AP courses as well. You might want to do a bit more research and/or call College Board just to see their perspective on this.

I haven't read the responses, as I'm headed out the door to co-op this morning. However, I wanted to reply quickly. I received the same paperwork approximately 4 weeks ago. I simply checked that we are homeschoolers and our state does NOT require an evaluator each year. I also checked that I am including complete course descriptions, etc. I sent the letter along with our course descriptions (I did not include a syllabus for each course...only the complete course descriptions), along with another copy of our transcripts (both homeschool and FLVS for AP Courses). This was very easy to do, and dd just received her acceptance letter to Pittsburgh last week, so it must have been enough! I will read through the entire thread when I return, and answer any other specific concerns, and see if I have any helpful information to add. Blessings!

Yep. We made it a point to call all schools dd applied to and confirm that the applications were complete (transcripts, recommendations, etc. received).

Yes, this! I second the idea that perhaps the school has a designated "homeschool" admissions officer. We experienced this at one school to which dd applied. I might call the admissions department and ask if there is such a person. We had absolutely NO problems submitting our homeschool transcript to any of the colleges to which dd applied. There were, however, two schools which required complete course descriptions in addition to the transcript.

My oldest dd has taken most of her AP classes through Florida Virtual School. The way they handle grades is they allow assignments to be reworked for new grades. Tests, quizzes, and oral evaluations, however, are not allowed to be retaken...one submission only. I think this is rather fair, as the assignments are the very tools to lead to mastery in a subject. I've tried to implement this system in all of the courses in our homeschool resulting in "mommy grades" as well. My kiddos are alllowed to rework assignments several times, if necessary. The goal is mastery. However, when it comes to tests and quizzes, I allow one attempt only. Also, tests and quizzes are worth a lot more, percentage wise, than assignments when calculating the final grade.

I just signed the transcript, put it in a sealed envelope, and signed over the seal. I used a mailing label on the front/center of the transcript that listed our homeschool name, and the words Official Transcript. No problems with any schools dd applied to.

I wanted to add dd's acceptances to the list. She is planning on majoring in nursing (going for BSN), followed by graduate work in midwifery. At this point, dd has been accepted to: University of Alabama University of South Florida University of Alabama Birmingham East Carolina University She is still waiting to hear from: University of Pittsburgh Drexel Florida State No rejections to date:) DD is VERY excited. She was planning on applying to UNC-CH and Appalachian State as well, but since she received the acceptance to U. of Alabama, she decided not to. Alabama is her 1st choice and offers a full ride plus (provided she earns finalist in the National Achievement competition, which is likely since she is a semifinalist and has met all of the other requirements). We are feeling a certain level of relief at this point. I grossly underestimated how tedious and stressful college application season would be. We finally see a dim light at the end of this long tunnel! Cheers to our wonderful high school seniors!

I'm due to deliver in approx. 4 weeks, and I will be doing it alone. DH is in Afghanistan, so we don't really have much of a choice. My dh also missed the birth of ds14, so I've BTDT. Truth of the matter is, I don't really mind having this baby alone. I actually somewhat prefer it. I don't do epidurals... I'm one of those "go into my inner self...find my deep, happy place" kind of laborers. Having someone there to talk to, etc. is somewhat of a distraction. To each his own I guess.

Both my husband and I are Wake Forest graduates. We are African American and I can tell you there is, indeed, racial diversity! If you research attendance by race, you will see that the breakdown is similar to what you would find at any other small, private LAC. We LOVED our time at WFU, and our dd would definitely have applied if her intended major (nursing) was offered at the undergraduate/BSN level. The campus is incredibly beautiful, and very contained. It is not like most large universities where the campus is spread throughout/bleeds into the city or town... at WFU you are clearly "on campus" or off. Do you have any specific questions?