My dd will be applying next school year for summer 2018. We are looking into this right now, because she has a free week before starting a summer internship, then it will be back to school and no time to really check this out again till Christmas break. So, at this point, just trying to learn about the options and get a feel for the application process. She is a rising junior, studying Molecular Biology, and interested in medical research. One of her professors has encouraged to apply. I would be interested in hearing about your student’s REU experience. Which school did they go to? Was it a positive experience for them overall? And about applying…Did they apply to a bunch of these? Seems they are competitive, so she should apply to several, in the hopes of getting one. Any helpful hints on the application process would be appreciated!

What MeaganS said above: "A 1st grader is going to remember very little history in the long run, but they will remember liking history. For me, that is the most important at this age. History should be fun, especially in early elementary." (OK, I need to figure out how to do that quote in the box thing.) Read aloud together, and don't forget your local history sites! Local history field trips are what my college kids remember from that age. Most of us homeschoolers tend to get focused on, say, ancient Egypt, and forget our local historic sites. When we went to visit relatives in SC, we were able to visit the Cowpens battleground site. It "made" our Revolutionary War study that year. It was just so amazing to be where it actually happened! It gave us a "peg" - what led up to Cowpens, what was the aftermath of Cowpens. And we were there! It just all made more sense after that. (This was when they were in middle school.) The funny thing was, I grew up near there and had never been to Cowpens!! See what I mean? We all tend to ignore the local treasures.

I agree with the poster above about getting on board with your local Audubon group. Our group is also mostly senior citizens, and some of them have been birding for decades. They have such a wealth of knowledge, and are so happy to share it with us. The Audubon group plans lots of field trips, even beginning birder classes. My dh is an avid birder, and goes birding most weekends. There is just no substitute for "getting out there." Check out the ebird site - run by Cornell. You can set up an ebird account, log your findings, and be a part of the birding community in that way. Also, ebird is the best way to see what is going on - you can see where the birders are going in your area, what the birding "hotspots" are, and see their lists of what they found there. Then when you go birding, you know where to go and what to look for. We loved (LOVED!) reading the Burgess bird book around here. But the chapters that we could relate to, were the chapters about the birds we had actually seen and observed locally. Again, there is no substitute for simply going birding! Have fun!!

My son had this attitude from puberty on....high school was me pushing and prodding him to get the basics done. He did not have the transcript or test scores to get into university. So he went to community college, then transferred. (Not that this is a bad thing - can be a positive thing all the way around, but depends on the cc.) When he got to university, and realized how much he loved it there - loved the atmosphere, the clubs, the cool classes, watching the football games - he said "I wish I could have been here from the beginning of college, instead of going to community college first." So, too late at that point for him to go back and fix middle school and high school. He finally "got it" - way too late. So, see, I'm no help to you. :) On the other hand, my 7th grade dd, who wants to be a vet, is already working hard at all of her studies. She understands the long road ahead, and is already planning and preparing. I like Lori D's list above - walking them through this list, working backwards from the end goal, is a great idea. I did this, countless times, but somehow this just never worked with my son. Even though I set the facts in front of him, he could not see past the end of his nose. Planning and working towards a long-term goal requires maturity. Until the maturity kicks in, the reason for doing school is "because it's the law." :)

My dd (sophomore in college) received an invitation to join "Phi Eta Sigma" honor society - based on her GPA for her freshman year. Has anyone ever heard of this? Just wondering if it is legit, and, if so, what would be the point of joining. Only $25 to join and get a certificate, but just sounds like a scam to me... Thanks for your input!

My dd did not want to take any SAT subject tests. This ruled out most of the selective schools, which require them. However, she actually did not want to be in a super-competitive college atmosphere. She is now very happy at her not-selective-but-still-very-good college. Her SAT score was on the high side for this college, so she ended up with a magnificent scholarship at a school she loves. So, look at the schools you are interested in, and work backwards from their requirements. If they say "recommended" I would regard that as "required." She did apply to a couple of more selective schools where subject tests were "recommended" and did NOT get accepted, even though she had dual enrollment courses and and an excellent application otherwise. Who knows if the subject tests were the reason, but if your student's heart is set on a particular school where they are "recommended" I would say to do a couple of them. Better to cover your bases, than to wonder later if that was the reason for a rejection.

We did a co-op for one reason only - so they could see the same kids every week and form relationships. This was when my young adult kids were in high school. In high school, it was important for them to have a social "place." If I had done a co-op for academic reasons, I would have been disappointed and frustrated. When they were young, we did not do co-op, because the social reason did not outweigh academics and what they needed to learn at home.

I got this idea from this board years ago - from KPzz (anybody remember her? I wish I could thank her for her many posts that helped me!). You need (1) study cardstock, and (2) wide, clear packing tape. Tape the pieces of cardstock together along the BACK, so the taped-together pieces of cardstock fold up accordian-style. This is a little tricky to do, since the packing tape is just hard to work with. You will get the hang of it, after you mess up a few pieces of tape and paper! Make sure the pieces are not taped so tightly against each other that you can't fold up the timeline. Once everything is taped, fold up accordian-style and put some heavy books on top for awhile. What I like about this (and I have made quite a few of these over the years): --we can actually see the timeline, as a LINE - we can unfold and spread out over the floor or down the hallway, and see the big picture - which parts of our timeline are "busiest"? why? you can see those big-picture trends that you cannot see when you look only at the 2-page spread in a timeline notebook. --when you want to work on a 2-page spread, you can use the timeline at the table, as you would a notebook --it's portable - you can fold it up, and it sits on the bookshelf along with your books --each child can have their own --if you really mess up a page (or the dog chews it), you can just cut that page out and tape in another one --we seem to get more use out of this kind of timeline, because it's NOT so beautiful and perfect - it's just cardstock, so we don't try too hard to make it a work of art, just a place to gather our events, and see how they all fit together - but of course you can make it beautiful if you want

I shouldn't be disappointed because, really, my dd got "textbook" results. "Reach" schools are by definition schools where you might not get accepted, since they are, after all, reaches. She did not get accepted at any of her reach schools. "Match" schools, where you can probably get accepted, but probably won't get scholarships - she was accepted at her match schools but no scholarship money at all, so not a financial possibility. At her "safety" schools - she was accepted at all 3, with generous scholarships at all three. She will be going to one of her safeties. Which is fine, really. I should be proud of her, and I am proud of her for these 3 scholarships. These are schools she really likes. So the end result is, she will go to a school she likes, with a really nice scholarship. Why do I feel so disappointed? Well, I guess it was fun to dream. And I really thought she MIGHT get into one of the reach schools. OK, thanks for listening. I just needed to say that to somebody, that I'm disappointed. And I don't want to say it to her. I don't want to tell my amazing daughter who has 3 scholarships in hand, that I am disappointed that she is not going to a big-name school. So I am telling you guys. :) There! I said it! I'm over it! Now, I can just forget about all of this crazy college stuff, and get on with life!!!! All the best!!

I shouldn't be disappointed because, really, my dd got "textbook" results. "Reach" schools are by definition schools where you might not get accepted, since they are, after all, reaches. She did not get accepted at any of her reach schools. "Match" schools, where you can probably get accepted, but probably won't get scholarships - she was accepted at her match schools but no scholarship money at all, so not a financial possibility. At her "safety" schools - she was accepted at all 3, with generous scholarships at all three. She will be going to one of her safeties. Which is fine, really. I should be proud of her, and I am proud of her for these 3 scholarships. These are schools she really likes. So the end result is, she will go to a school she likes, with a really nice scholarship. Why do I feel so disappointed? Well, I guess it was fun to dream. And I really thought she MIGHT get into one of the reach schools. OK, thanks for listening. I just needed to say that to somebody, that I'm disappointed. And I don't want to say it to her. I don't want to tell my amazing daughter who has 3 scholarships in hand, that I am disappointed that she is not going to a big-name school. So I am telling you guys. :) There! I said it! I'm over it! Now, I can just forget about all of this crazy college stuff, and get on with life!!!! All the best!!

I can't figure out how to do this quote thing...hope the quote shows up... This is something I am wondering about for my dd. She wants to major in Biology, and hold onto her Creationist beliefs. I am thinking that it is possible to study, learn, and understand material, knowing that you are learning what is believed and accepted by the scientific community, yet still hold onto personal beliefs - what do you think? (edited to get the quote I wanted)

Well, we thought we were all done....however, dd is considering one more application. She did not do any subject tests - absolutely refused as she was sick of testing and test prep. This has ruled out many options for her, which she is regretting. We were able to use ACT for a couple of schools that asked for "either ACT, OR SAT plus subject tests." She is considering a school that "recommends" 2 subject tests for homeschoolers. She has test scores comfortably in their middle range, and some CC classes and accredited online classes to verify her academics. In your opinion, is it a waste of money to apply to this one? I am thinking her application would not make it past the first round - they would most likely say "well, here's a homeschool application with no subject tests" and toss it aside and move on to the next one in their stack. However, it does say "recommended" as opposed to "required." What do you think? Worth the app fee?

My dd has been accepted (with nice scholarships) at her 2 safety schools, which both happened to be rolling admission. Now, we are waiting till March/April to hear from the rest...On the one hand, I'm so relieved all the applications are DONE! I pictured in my mind that when they were all done, I could put all this out of my mind, and just enjoy our ordinary life once again. But somehow, I can't seem to do that. I wish I could just let this go. Obviously, I am going to make myself miserable for the next 3 months if I don't just get a grip and stop my worrying. I don't even know why I should worry. My dd has worked so hard in high school - I think she is extraordinary. If she doesn't get accepted somewhere, then in the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter at all! She is still extraordinary! Also, if a college thinks that, for whatever reason, she is not a good fit. Then it's all for the best anyway that she does not go there. Because maybe it would not be a good fit. So, I'm now going to get myself a glass of wine, watch a movie with my hubby tonight, and forget about this college craziness!!

My dd may have to interview for one or two of the colleges she has applied to. She is bright and capable - she is organized, diligent, and quite simply manages her life so well. But, she is also a quiet soul. I think she will come across in an interview as a stereotypical "unsocialized" homeschooler, to an admissions counselor. Her interviews will have to be on skype, which I think makes it even harder. I am thinking that we can google a list of typical interview questions, so she can think ahead about answers and practice - in front of the mirror, with friends, with family. How did your student prep for interviews?

Here's an article about writing the counselor letter: http://www.aiminghigherconsultants.com/the-counselor-letter/ Mine is done and submitted - I am too scared to look back at it again. It took me weeks of writing and rewriting. I still wonder if admissions people roll their eyes when they read counselor letters written by mom...probably they do. But I did the best I could to sound positive, yet balanced and professional.