DD and her roommate began freshman year in honors. They had special/extra classes and special housing (only freshman have this option at their school). The roommate dropped honors because the schedule for honors seminars didn't align with the course schedule for STEM classes. DD continued with honors this year which means some added course work. Her school has 3 types of honors degrees-Latin Honors based on GPA, completion of the Honors Program (which, if successfully completed naturally leads to Latin Honors as well) and departmental honors based on a thesis. I think she has a fairly standard honors program at a small LAC but I would take warning from her roommate's experience. She has the grades and talent needed to complete the Honors Program, this is truly a case where departmental organization/course scheduling doesn't allow her the required hours or time blocks to complete the degree. Which, in my opinion, is a problem I would have liked to have known in advance. Way back in the day as a college student I was offered an honors college at a big state U. It functioned as a living/learning environment with professors, classrooms, and dorms being co-located. It did seem like a great option but certainly not the only path to happiness or success.

Sounds like you have it all under control!! Again, best of luck!

I'm not accusing you of being mean (nor advocating folks should be), I am joking that some might think my realistic view is mean but I didn't sugar coat the admissions process for my kids. I wouldn't necessarily panic about test scores as an indicator of future success, they are but one measure of readiness and may not be the complete picture. I am in no way assuming that you have a C student who expects admission to Harvard nor thinking that is your expectation. But the admissions game, with regard to test scores, is pretty multi-faceted. I think that being realistic about applications includes answering the question, if I am admitted will I be able to be both happy and successful here? That applies to every school from the local community college to Harvard. Another aspect is knowing that every application holds the possibility of "rejection" and that those rejections need to be viewed in the proper light. I would counsel my student that if they cannot cope with the idea of being rejected from a given school or envision themselves being successful at that school, they need to reconsider applying or why they want to apply. Unfortunately too many students (and parents) get wrapped up in and get their sense of self-worth wrapped up in the application process without a thought for what happens after acceptance. I have watched kids be devastated by not getting their dream school without acknowledging the wonderful opportunities that have become available. I think that myself (and probably the other responders as well) are offering our best generic advice and experience on the topic. Some might not apply, some might be thought provoking, and some might prompt action. Best of luck with whichever schools make your final application cut. :)

I think that all sounds wonderful. I think leaving the word recommendation out is probably a good idea. You could still say " I think John Doe would be a wonderful addition to the State U community because..." or "has much to contribute to the State U community" etc. Best of luck!!

Being at the bottom end of the reach statistics--- In both my opinion and experience this is a difficult place to be. You need to decide if the student can be successful at the school. Sometimes a reach school can be very competitive and demanding at a level beyond the student's capability. Some kids rise to the challenge and others can't handle it-academically and/or emotionally. As far as just admissions-I think it is worth applying to a few reach schools. Why not take a shot? However, being at the bottom of their statistics you should be realistic about the possibility of a rejection. Also, being at the bottom of the statistics typically doesn't lead to merit aid in any quantity. Knowing that-I'd say go for it. And if all this sounds a bit mean or harsh, it is actually exactly what I tell my own kids. This is the reality, I believe enough in you that I think you should give it a try, you might or might not be accepted, and if you do attend you need to understand the challenges and rewards of that choice. (I prefer to think of myself as a mean guidance counselor and not a mean mom; mom chews her fingernails off all winter waiting and hoping for acceptances.)

Yup-my college kid was accepted to one of the other 5 colleges-wouldn't have made all the nutty requirements at UMass I'm sure. There are a handful of schools that just can't deal with homeschoolers. Yet plenty of highly selective schools with high numbers of applications seem to have no problem. Go figure... I wouldn't worry about how many schools a kid applies to, unless of course application fees become burdensome or time spent on applications needs to be spent on maintaining senior grades. My oldest applied to somewhere in the teens (maybe 15?) and the current high schooler will probably end up between 5 and 10. It depends on goals, academic interests, financial aid opportunities and so on. One school we lived near when my oldest applied put a cap of 6 schools for their seniors. At the 7th school they would refuse to send any information-transcript, teacher recommendations, counselor letter, etc. I think the most important factor when choosing how many applications to send (beyond budgetary concerns) is to be realistic about admissions chances and keep a good balance between reach schools, likely schools, and safety schools.

I took the opportunity in the counselor letter not to "recommend" my kid but rather to explain. I explained our "school", educational philosophy, special challenges faced, and information about my kid that just didn't fit into any other category. What I didn't do is discuss their grades, performance in class, attitude, and many of the other things teachers usually comment on. IF they took the time to read the letter I think they had a much better picture of who my kid is and how their education developed. Not a run of the mill counselor letter but homeschoolers aren't run of the mill students. Also, there is the possibility that you run the risk of having "missing information" in the applicants file if there is no counselor letter. Missing information can lead to applications not being reviewed. Not always, but sometimes. Best of luck! (Completely anecdotal but a friend's daughter is at Catawba and loves it.)

I'm not normally a huge advocate of Lexile scores as a measure of anything and rarely use them. However, if a college admissions officer or anyone else evaluating a transcript/course description sees Hakim's set as the text and is unfamiliar with it they will probably check a source like Amazon and get the results I listed originally. Based on that one quick search they would probably conclude that this is not intended as high school level reading. Does this mean that you cannot use it in high school, no of course not. For some students it might just be the perfect fit. However, if you expect to have your text book choices critiqued by another party then you ought to be aware of the level they are considered. While some might argue that the process is flawed, it doesn't change the potential positive or negative impact using a book in high school that is typically considered to be written for middle grades.

Hakim is intended for a late elementary and middle school audience. Here is what Amazon lists in their info: Age Range: 11 - 14 years Grade Level: 5 - 9 Lexile Measure: 820 I don't think it would be part of a college bound high school student's program as a Lexile score in the 800s works out to about a fifth grade reading level. A ninth grader would want to show a more challenging text.

Depends on the kid-- I keep a record for myself of due dates for outsourced courses, then I can remind (or nag depending on who you ask) at the proper times. I also ask for a copy of my kids' master list of passwords/user names for the various websites. Not because I'm checking up on them but because it saves time and pain when a password goes missing as something is due. For those kids not inclined to be super organized this is a great opportunity to train them to used a planner/calendar, learn to read a syllabus, have reminder alarms on electronic gizmos-whatever works in your family dynamic and for them. In most kids (in my experience) this is not an innate talent and takes a bit of instruction. Use of online submission tools and "classrooms" can also require some assistance in the early stages. I recommend working with kids who are doing this for the first time-perhaps a weekly meeting, check grades, be sure all assignments submitted properly (this is actually an issue-even for otherwise great kids who are conscious of deadlines, etc.--those computer systems are fussy and each is different). The idea of all this being that before the end of high school they should be able to manage this all for themselves due to early, guided preparation.

For what its worth-- Lukeion Latin: Lukeion 3 used to be labeled by them as "Honors" on the course description provided with final grades. Latin 4 should be AP Latin-College Board approved. Latin 1&2 didn't carry the honors designation on any of our grade reports so I didn't list them as honors. AP Courses: ONLY courses that have been approved by College Board may carry the AP designation. Other courses could be listed as "honors" or "advanced" or even described as being conducted at the AP/college level with the student being required to take the AP exam at the end, or even just "XXXX with AP exam". If the course were truly conducted at the level of difficulty described by CB I would give it the same weight as an AP course. Be sure to describe the situation in your counselor letter/course description. Please don't hesitate to submit syllabi to College Board, the process it not that difficult. Weighting: For kid #1 (and now for #2) I weighted honors and AP the same. On transcripts I provided both weighted and unweighted GPAs and designated which courses carried a weighted grade and why. (So far no DE courses so I haven't had deal with that for weighting purposes.)

I don't know because so much else plays into it...top athlete, student government leader, impressive volunteer record, etc. I don't think admissions is a one to one set up. I do know there is a lot of assessment of if a student can fit into the campus environment/culture and can they add to it, especially for smaller (not small but not enormous state school either) and more selective schools.

I think there are two different things accomplished with AP classes. First, taking AP classes shows the level at which the student is willing to challenge themself academically. Second, the AP scores can provide a validation of grades or provide college credit. Official AP scores are typically only sent to the school ultimately attended and only if you wish to be granted credit based on those scores. At that point only the registrar cares what credit is granted but doesn't stop to analyze scores that don't grant credit. In my experience, admissions folks read the two separately. Taking the classes show the level of difficulty and challenge the student pursued. A lack of high test scores to self-report will not give you the added "points" for having them; I'm not sure there is an automatic deduction of "points" for a low or absent score. That said, I think low or absent scores (prior to senior year) might come into play when comparing applicants head to head-a good score vs no score...

Yes, I think the student can as the FAFSA is technically in their name not yours (if I recall correctly).

That is what I suspected-the extent to which they can be programmed and download information from a computer would make them helpful for cheating.

Brag worthy-Congratulations!!!

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And it only gets better-students are now on campus and trading stories-turns out this new health center doesn't accept the insurance most of the students hold through their parents and the school doesn't offer a policy either... (yes, we sorted this out before freshman year but telling us about the switch the weekend she arrived on campus for the following year doesn't leave much room to fix things) Please let this story highlight the importance of checking on the campus medical system and insurance specifics for your kid before sending them off. Also-limitations like this are often part of the small LAC experience.

I think I would either upload it as part of high school documentation or as a second transcript. I would be sure in my counselor's letter to explain the gap year documentation and provide contact information for the host nation school. Sometimes it can be difficult to get high schools in foreign countries to send the correct information to a university in the US, especially if you are no longer in the same location as the school. If needed, I guess I would say that my "home school" provides college counseling services and supervision for graduates who take a semester/year abroad program prior to higher education.

I agree, I'm hoping as this change is implemented they will begin to figure these things out.

They did offer some transportation assistance but not guaranteed. I think they are still trying to figure out that issue.

Ugh! Just received notice that they are changing the medical system at dd's college. They are closing most on campus facilities and moving to an off-campus provider that can provide more services. Sounds good right? Except that dd attends school in a semi-rural area without public transportation. She no longer can walk to medical. We have no idea how our insurance will apply. And to top everything---they announced this the day before freshman arrive for orientation (Athletes and some student staff are already on campus)!!!! Argh! Thank you for letting me vent/rant.

My kiddo (girl) has been using a Day Designer planner for college. There are time increments on half the page for 6am to 9pm and a to-do list on the other half.

If one were going to apply to W&L, they should be considering the requirements for homeschooled applicants early on in their high school years. W&L suggests results from 5 AP or SAT subject tests from homeschoolers be included on their application. This testing burden is far beyond what many other schools, including selective schools, even discuss. This is a burden that is difficult to produce at the last minute if you feel you need to check all the boxes on the suggested list of supplements for homeschoolers. Don't take this as a negative review of W&L, just a warning that if you are seriously considering them you may need begin testing before senior year.

I think it is hard to look at acceptance rate alone as a measure of selectivity. If a school is currently very popular then sometimes the number of applicants goes up dramatically but those applicants are not necessarily all qualified. I think it was Sewanee that went through this recently-sudden popularity that led to lower acceptance rates.