Also, the year we did US Government and Comparative Government was one of my favorites.

There is also the issue that there is more contemporary literature than ancient to early modern lit. And some of those older works can be tough to access. (SWB once mentioned that some books were hard to read and others were easier to read but harder to digest because of content. ) Putting some period literature in with history, then allowing more freedom in the English Literature box can be nice. (Realizing some classical curriculum explicitly ties literature and history together) We did a year of literature I called Roots of Steampunk, which included works like Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, Dracula, and then contemporary books that drew on those periods like Diamond Age, Hungry Cities, and a Steampunk anthology.

You could include financial literacy with economics if you want to cover that topic. I don't think many colleges will base admissions decisions on PE or financial literacy credits. Even for in state applicants.

I was also wondering about the content of an English class in addition to a literature course. I'd say most schools incorporate writing into a topical literature course.

I'd say there's a good chance mid year grades will be considered, if only for confirmation the student is continuing to achieve academically senior year. Lots of students have a drop in gpa senior year, as coursework gets harder and they get busier. A highly selective college is choosing between a lot of well qualified students. I'd especially say yes, given that one grade is in a DE course, which reflects college level work in a course that is probably worth a full year credit.

Can you remove info that is submitted elsewhere, like test scores? How big is the section at the top that has student and school info? Can it be edited down to essentials or use a smaller font? Do you have tables that could be a line of running text? Ex, grading scale could be a line of text, especially if it's a simple grading scale like A: 90-100, B: 80-89 etc

Look at their overall CC account vs the Canvas page for the course. There ought be a section with a record of their CC academics. I think you're in Virginia? This is info for NOVA, but would be similar for other VA CCs . https://www.nvcc.edu/novaconnect/students/tuts/academics/unofficial.html

That sounds like a great elective to add. My youngest did something similar with an engineering senior project course.

Which math classes are you planning? For a student interested in STEM, will that interest and experience be clear on applications? Will they complete calculus or higher? Will they have lab sciences (including chemistry and physics for prospective engineers)? Will they have hands on STEM activity experiences?

If he applied to schools through Common, you can report this on the mid year transcript report or the optional report from the counselor side. What I did was update the transcript to show the semester grades as appropriate, add course descriptions just for the new courses, and include a cover letter that summarized the changes (one basic paragraph). I suggest assigning a grade to the one semester of chemistry with half the planned original credit. I'd revise this description to remove reference to content he didn't get to. He should also send a basic update to his admissions reps at each college explaining the changes.

Both sound like nice options. The button down is not too much.

Have her look at local parks districts and conservation districts for volunteer programs. In Virginia there is an annual summer conservation camp with students nominated through their local Soil & Water District. This might also be of interest. https://smconservation.gmu.edu/programs/high-school-summer-programs-for-college-credit/

I was looking at our shelves last night. Ordinary Men might be another good title. It's the account of a reserve police battalion and their participation in crimes against humanity. Also, the movie Conspiracy, about the Wannsee Conference is well done.

Remove items that don't have to be on the transcript. Examples: Test scores (sent via official score report or self-reported on application), SSN or Common App number (if the student's full name and date of birth is on the transcript, that is enough to connect it with an application file should that be necessary). Consider if grading scale info needs to be in a table or if a sentence conveys the info adequately. Grading scale: A - 90-100%, B - 80-89, C - 70-79, D - 60-69, F - <59. IP - In Progress, PL - Planned.

For my kids, bolding or an asterisk didn't work as well as a superscript code, because they had many different outside providers, including multiple colleges. I like the idea of bolding or an asterisk if there is only one source other than home based coursework. Often the simplest format that conveys the necessary information is best. @regentrudeDid you have a full line for each course? I had two columns, so space for course names was limited. I'm not sure I'd do it the same way if starting from scratch.

Is your transcript organized by semester or year? I usually put the DE course in the appropriate section on the transcript (grade or subject). I have a column to indicate the grade when taken if it's a subject organized transcript. Each outside course has a superscript annotation that corresponds to the source of the class. For example HCC might be Honolulu Community College. There is a key either in the footer or in a box towards the bottom of the page. Yes, I assigned a full high school credit for a college course of 3 college credits or higher. I usually merge lab and lecture credits for the high school credit (ie, 3 cr lecture and 1 cr lab sections are listed as 1 high school credit). If the student took sequential courses over multiple college semesters, I do assign multiple high school credits. For example General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II were a total of two high school credits. For the course name, I usually use the college name (English Composition not ENG 100). Finally on the course description I put all the info and context. Course name, course number, college credits, college name, online or in person, on campus, course content, and any extra context. For example, a couple of my kids took a course named College Algebra, which was the first semester of a two course sequence in Precalculus. So the description said that, because College Algebra can refer to many things including remedial courses.

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer is excellent, but long. Berlin Diary is just that, Shirer's diary of experiences as a radio correspondent in Berlin.

The DE vs AP discussion isn't a simple this or that. What is available? What is the intended course of study? Quality of instruction? Which courses? There are some lower level college classes that aren't moving the student forward. (I didn't have my middle kid do DE English after seeing the coursework his brother did. I quite literally taught a better course at home and he got a 5 on the AP exam.) There are other DE classes that are outstanding, especially when the prof is invested or lab equipment is expensive.

BTW, if you are sending DE transcripts, you might want to check if the college has an option to put in an order for after fall grades are available. We did that with one kid, who had a lot of colleges that needed midyear updates. He was able to order the transcripts when he had time before finals, check a box that indicated he wanted to to include that term's grades, and didn't have to remember to do it later in December, when he was busy.

My kids took DE classes junior year, so those transcripts were included with fall applications.

It would show up in many portals. Can't say all colleges would flag it. Would suggest checking college websites and sending a brief email to colleges. That is the only source of "for sure" in situations like this. ETA: I don't think California public colleges look at any transcripts during application review.

In my experience, admissions reviews often take AP and DE into account, but don't give CLEP the same consideration. Even at colleges that give some credit for CLEP, admissions reps were mostly confused by the question of if they would use CLEP in admissions. Whether it reduces total time in college depends on the intended degree and courses taken. But that is true of AP and DE as well. I don't think CLEP is a negative signal that sends a red flag. I think it's less of a signal overall than some sectors of homeschooling suggest and that there can be an opportunity cost to focusing on it.

What policies do the colleges he applied to have? Has he checked the applicant portal for each college? That would likely show if they consider anything missing, including if they want to see DE college transcripts.

Rather than crowd source this, I suggest checking the admissions page for each college and emailing if their policy is unclear. In the email, identify yourself as a homeschool parent acting in your role as counselor, and specify that the courses are regular college courses taken before high school graduation. Be sure to specify you are asking about admissions, not just for transfer credit or placement. Dual enrollment doesn't have a firm meaning. It can mean the student is taking courses on a college campus (including vocational courses) or taking a course at their high school taught by a college instructor or even a high school teacher authorized by the college. Requirements for transcripts may vary depending on how they perceive the situation.

I like the Facebook group Understanding College Aid for questions like this. There was a recent discussion of valuing small businesses for financial aid purposes. I don't think the cash would be ignored. It's an asset of the business. If you'd extract cash one direction and also sell other assets to someone else, the cash held by the business now would still be part of it's current value. Beyond the cash in bank value, would there be a client list worth selling to another company?