[Who's planning to take Rhetoric 1 at WTMA]

We were considering it until I heard Mr. Hummel isn't teaching the Rhetoric courses for the upcoming year. He was one of the main reasons we were going to sign up. 

[UC a-g online vendors - a lot are being dropped]

There was a discussion on this last week. You can see it here. 

 

ETA: You have to scroll down in the thread to see it. This was an old thread that was updated. 

[Speaking of UC admissions a week ago...]

I've seen many of the weaker (but qualified) students, get into better UCs than my superstars. At first, I thought it was random as to the acceptances. Now, not so sure.  

 

From my experience I have come to believe that the top UCs (such as UCLA and UC Berkeley) are trying to have a more varied incoming class. In addition they seem to let in a lot of low income kids who may not have the resources to have the amazing SAT score or a ton of ECs but who show potential. Because of this there is not a tried and true formula of getting in. These schools try to take a holistic approach (at least as much as they can when reading thousands and thousands of apps). 

 

For students and parents who are playing the admission game this can be a frustrating process as they feel that if they do everything they can to have a high caliber app they should get in. Unfortunately that isn't always the case and I for one am happy about this trend as the competitiveness and craziness of the high school culture in California is too much for so many. 

 

But it does upset teens and their parents. If you read this years UC Davis thread on College Confidential there are many who feel they were passed up for lesser candidates and they are very verbal in their outrage. 

[Who's in planning mode yet for 2018-19? Want to share?]

I'm still in the early planning stages for my very out-of-the-box student. So far we have decided on:

 

ASL 1 at OpenTent Academy

Lights! Cameras! Action! An Alternative Course for High School English: Movies as Literature at Open Tent Academy

Music Theory 2 at WTM academy

Private Voice, Piano, Guitar, and Composition Lessons

 

Math, history, and science are unknowns at this point. We are working with a fairly substantial learning disability and are trying to figure out the best path forward. 

 

[If you plan to apply to UC schools, list your courses here... (another a-g thread)]

Do UC Scout courses require a final proctored exam? I could see how they are uncomfortable with lack of oversight or testing on some of those courses (maybe some kids with mathematician parents help out on homework for example....), but unless all the providers they left are proctoring finals, I don’t see how they are going to go around that issue.

 

Teacher-led Scout courses do have proctored midterms and finals. 

[If you plan to apply to UC schools, list your courses here... (another a-g thread)]

It could be that the vendors themselves did not apply for approval.  

 

From what I have heard that is not the case. 

[If you plan to apply to UC schools, list your courses here... (another a-g thread)]

I have a feeling that grading and who is overseeing the class might have something to do with this. After digging around the site more I saw that Online G-3 still had some approved classes but only if taken through a charter (in this case I was looking at Inspire). In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to push UC Scout as a leading vendor for California homeschoolers although I would note that even their science courses aren't technically a-g approved unless you have access to wet labs through a school. 

 

 

At the end of the day the application doesn't force you to indicate if you chose approved classes. It doesn't force you to indicate if you are applying by test scores or exception. The person reading your application will make decisions based on rigor, quality, and scores and statement. All of that stays the same.

 

Ultimately, for our kids, we concluded that keeping the doors open to UC schools by taking a-g approved courses was likely to have the unintended consequence of making the student less attractive to other colleges. 

 

I agree with both of these statements. I wanted my twins to get a solid education and to be competitive to colleges around the country. Because of this we forgo the a-g requirements and followed a path that was best for them. My son applied to many UC schools and got into a few. What worked for him was a very strong ACT score, solid ECs, and very strong essays. My youngest is just at the start of high school. Again I will be following his lead and exposing him to high school courses that will spur on his love for learning and prepare him to succeed at university. With those goals in mind we will definitely be skipping the a-g courses that are now approved as they do not meet my standards.  

 

[Any reviews? Open Tent Academy...]

No reviews as we just signed up with them but I wanted to mention that they have a very nice payment plan for anyone that has trouble covering the cost of classes all at once. 

[If you plan to apply to UC schools, list your courses here... (another a-g thread)]

😱😱😱 I wonder what happened?

 

Not sure the exact reasons why but many online providers that have been a-g approved for a while are losing that approval. CTY is even on the list which is actually quite shocking to me. 

[If you plan to apply to UC schools, list your courses here... (another a-g thread)]

LanguageBird is a-g approved for Spanish.  We've taken a trial class and it seems fine, but we haven't signed on.  

 

 

This is an old thread but I thought I would add an update. Language Bird and other providers such as Online G3 and AoPS are no longer a-g approved as of 2018. You can see the list here of approved online providers. 

[ACT, Inc. accusing students of cheating]

Many of the students I tutor have not been taught the rules of grammar and usually get a baseline score around 20 in the English. After I work through Erica Metzler's grammar book with them, their scores typically jump up to high 20's/30's.

 

The English section of the ACT is very coachable. The ACT folks have to know this, yet they are refusing to reinstate scores even when students can document that they received tutoring.

 

This is why they need a better system. The change of score could be due to cheating (which does happen) or due to tutoring/studying. When it is due to the student working hard to improve their scores it is highly unfair that they get flagged. And it leads to a very stressful situation for the student (especially if they are flagged during application season which is what is happening to the student on cc). 

[ACT, Inc. accusing students of cheating]

It sounds like the ACT people don't have a good algorithm for catching cheaters, basically.

 

Agreed. There is a recent thread on cc from a teen who took the ACT in April and got a 19 in English. They re-took it in September after tutoring and got it up to a 31. That is a huge increase even with tutoring and I can see why they were flagged.  Unfortunately, until a better system is in place, dramatic increases like this will continue to be scrutinized. 

[CAHSEE]

I feel the message the UC is sending is that approved A-G courses is the only thing they accept and they’re sending the message loud and clear.

 

This is the message they sent for a very long time and it is hard to move on past that. I actually didn't even want my son to apply at first but he insisted on it. I have since heard of many more homeschoolers getting in but it hasn't been happening for long enough that people are convinced it is changing. And because the a-g requirements are still such an important part of the application process it feels like they are not welcoming at all. 

 

The only thing I can say is that if anyone's student wants to apply they should just try. You never know if you will get in or not but it seems to be worth a shot today. And definitely discuss the educational history in the essays or additional comments section and make it clear the student's path was a unique educational path that does not fit into the typical a-g path. 

[CAHSEE]

So how is it that you made this clear given that the drop Down menu boxes are your only option?

 

And thank you! I will pass along the encouragement.

 

My son wrote about it in the additional comments section of the application. This is where he discussed homeschooling, his classes, and his educational path. 

[CAHSEE]

I was also reassured over and over again that I could still go to high school after the test. (If I recall I took and passed the test during the school year, and I finished the year, so it’s not like you get booted out the second you pass.) I took the test so that I could start full time college early. The UCs did not care at all about the CHSPE, my high school very much did.

 

This was my experience too. I took the CHSPE but stayed in school until the end of the year. 

[CAHSEE]

My son applied to a few UCs without meeting the a-g requirements. He also did not take any SAT subject tests and no community college classes. He did have a fairly high ACT score and very strong essays. Honestly we were surprised that he got into so many UC schools but were happy that he took a chance and applied. The UC schools are becoming much more flexible and welcoming to homeschoolers so if anyone has a student who wants to apply but hasn't met all the a-g requirements I would say go for it. The schools that seem to be most welcoming at this point are UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, UC Davis and UC Irvine. 

 

As far as auditing we would not have been worried about it. We would have just supplied the information asked for as it was clear in the application that my son was a homeschooler and that he did not meet the a-g requirements with their approved classes. 

[CAHSEE]

So why are they insisting them in their forms that either a child needs to be 16 or in 10th grade? It’s so confusing.

 

 

I am a little afraid to do something hat might have some unknown ramifications in the future.

 

This is an old rule that was mostly put in place so teenagers didn't leave high school too early. I actually took the CHSPE when I was a teen so I could leave high school and go right to community college. For traditionally schooled kids they want you to be either 16 or in 10th grade. When homeschoolers started to use the test it was for different goals and the 10th grade/age 16 rule didn't seem to be important. And over the years homeschoolers have discovered that no one really cares about the rule and taking the CHSPE is a great way to get the classes you need at the community college level. 

[CAHSEE]

My son will most likely take the CHSPE sometime in the next year. He will not be ready to graduate for 3 or 4 years. I am having him take the CHSPE early to have better access to classes at the community college. You can have your student take the CHSPE and still have them as part of your homeschool. Just continue to file the PSA and graduate them when they are ready. 

[Is the CurrCLick ASL teacher going to another platform? Any other ASL options?]

Open Tent Academy has ASL. You may want to check them out. 

 

[Blue Tent Reviews Anyone?]

My son is taking Honors English 1 this year. He loves so much about the class, the teacher, the format, and the feedback on essays has been wonderful. The downside though is the workload. It is so much work and it has been hard for him to balance this class with everything else. After much debate we have decided not to sign up for Honors English 2 next year.

[Is there a Rick Steves for the study abroad crowd?]

Andy Steves, Rick Steves son, runs a website and wrote a book aimed at college-aged adults. It might be worth checking out. 

[PLEASE HELP! Common App... School Profile, Course Descriptions Questions]

And that is part of my point... are the course descriptions required? 

 

 

Course descriptions aren't required but they do help colleges get a full picture of what your student has done. If you feel you have covered it already then you don't need to do it again. However if you haven't, you may want to consider writing something up. 

 

Also, is it necessary to include the additional description of homeschool philosophy in the profile?

 

I would either copy your homeschool philosophy from the document you created or add more detail about your philosophy and put it there. Remember that any additional info you give the colleges about your homeschool approach can only help them get a better picture of your student and the educational environment of their homeschool. 

[How do you decide whether to bother applying to Ivies? (includes URochester discussion)]

Having the stats to be competitive is really a given in the Ivy admissions process. I would actually focus on ECs and crafting his story. Why him? What does he bring to the school? Why is he a fit for this school? Why should they not pass him by? Because he is really smart and does well in his classes is not the correct answer. You need a theme that flows naturally through his activities, achievements, LORs, and essays. 

 

:iagree:

 

If you have the stats for the Ivies, this is what you really need. A story, a hook, great ECs - this is what will make the application stand out. 

[Science+Lab Credit - Help me think this through (and some CA a-g talk)]

Speaking as an East Coaster, California just thinks they're special.  :tongue_smilie:  

 

Wait, are you saying we aren't special?  :lol:

[Science+Lab Credit - Help me think this through (and some CA a-g talk)]

No there’s not. Private Homeschoolers cannot count A-G labs on their transcript unless they’re with a charter school I actually called the UCs and verified this. You would THINK they could, but, they can’t.

 

This is true but it is worth noting that several of the UC schools are becoming more holistic and moving away from being as strict with the a-g requirements. My son applied to a few UC schools last year with hardly any a-g courses and was accepted to UCLA and UC Irvine. His transcript was full of homeschool courses including science courses with labs done at home. And he didn't take any AP or SAT subject tests to fulfill the requirements. He did have a strong ACT score and very strong essays.