They are the very definition of a monopoly. They have no incentive to improve customer service. We can take heart that some private schools are pulling out of the AP business. Good for them.

Wisdom. I find so much wisdom on this forum.

Thank you for doing your part to chip away at untrue stereotypes of homeschoolers!

Even at public high schools that are not so great, if it's big enough, there is often informally a school-within-the-school where the "cream rises to the top." That's what I experienced at my okay public school. I was in a class of 450 students, but really my class consisted of 12 high achieving students who ended up at places like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. We nerds kinda ruled the roost. (Not really, but we liked to think so.)

That's awesome. It's always a tough call on whether to continue or drop a class and I'm glad you stuck it out AND it worked out.

No kidding! I would love to have someone do this for us. I hope those other parents are grateful for what you contribute.

Don't blame yourself. If you have 2 people proofreading and it still gets missed then the problem is with their user interface not you. This is unconscionable. I wonder how many other families are in your boat?

THANK YOU!!! I'll bring my books for his autograph! How cool is that? PM me and we can meet up IRL.

Okay, you can NOT just write that without a detailed explanation of how it came to be that The Man Himself autographed your geometry book. I mean come on. Out with it. :)

Yes, thank you! This was perfect. I can really blank on these kinds of questions, and it really helps to have existing verbiage to edit.

"yes, please!" Lol! That's awesome, and congrats to you and your son. (I wish I could have heard that phone conversation...)

I'm going to take issue with the bold. I have the aops geometry book in front of me, and in 5 minutes I have found several unproven assertions, in particular the volume of a pyramid, volume of a sphere, and surface area of a sphere. However, I think being able to quickly derive most formulas is extremely helpful if only because I so often forget them, and my only recourse (other than the internet) is to re-derive them on the spot. For example, I ALWAYS forget the formula for the sum of a geometric series (finite...infinite is easy). So I just rederive it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And it still won't stick.

Yes, this. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...you don't fool me twice!" I organize a lot of math events. I had one parent complain about the seating arrangement. I had another email me repeatedly asking about dates and times, when they have already been sent out. (This sends me into a panic, thinking I've made an error, and I waste my time tracking down sent emails to make sure everything was correct.) But most other parents are very, very nice, show their appreciation to me in a quick thank you email (or sometimes chocolate!), or at the very least, do not cost me additional work. These are the folks that get more invitations from me.

"Please describe the type of academic evaluation or grading scale used during your homeschooling." My kids use a variety of sources (see signature for details). They study AoPS with me at home, she's taking AP Chemistry with PA Homeschoolers, she works with a tutor for writing. She takes AMC exams, and took the SAT for admission to Duke TIP and for practice. She's taking a Coursera class.

I really wanted a 4th person on our MathCounts team, and I couldn't get anyone to join us. So I offered free math tutoring to a girl (who really doesn't like math) in return for having her on my team. Win-win. (I think?)

Maybe it will help to keep this attitude: I organize events and classes and clubs solely for the benefit of my own kids. If you, another homeschooler, would like to join us, then pay me $X and you're in. If you aren't sure, and it's a year long class, you are allowed to "try before you buy," that is, you and your student can sit in on one class and see if it's a good fit. $X = my costs and hassle minus the benefits my kids get from having them join us. As the months and years pass, I get to know the other low maintenance families who share our interest and I can contact them directly instead of broadcasting to who knows in the wider community. As Ann Landers used to say, "No one can take advantage of you without your permission." ETA: $X can be negative, that is, I have been willing to pay others to join my group because I needed them more than they needed me, lol!

I had a professor who would toss a candy bar to any student who raised their hand to participate or answer a question. I'm certainly not a literature person, but maybe make your questions closer to true/false or multiple choice. "If you were to make a bet, would you bet the character would lie or tell the truth about her situation?" "Do you think the character was motivated by (A) greed, (B) indifference, or © vengeance?

Hooray for girls doing hard math!

lololol!

Keep trying. Eventually you may find some kindred spirits who enjoy the same things you do, and who have a sense of responsibility. Eventually, you can call on those folks without needing to broadcast to a wider group. (I'm shocked you couldn't get others to join your science class. I know so many moms who feel incompetent to teach science, they would jump at the opportunity to have you do it for them.) Also charge money.

Has anyone participated in ACSL? What was the experience like?

Hi: Can you tell me a bit about USACO, what you thought of the experience?

Have you been involved in USACO? What did you think of the experience?

Make sure to keep your recommenders apprised of their acceptances and plans.

I remember seeing my own public high school transcript and I cringed. The course titles were riddled with weird abbreviations that obscured what the class was about. The formatting was pretty lousy too. Knowing what I know now (and based on the OP), I could have rewritten my official transcript in a more readable format with nice course descriptions. Of course, I only had a typewriter back then, so maybe not.