Okay, another update. Just dropped DD off at airport to return to ballet school for 4 weeks of their summer intensive, after which she flies to another part of the country for another 4 weeks at a different intensive. Shes 2 weeks into Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop and has a pretty good draft of her common app essay. We signed up for 12-15 virtual info sessions at colleges of interest. We’ve completed 3 so far. Glad we took good notes because they’re already starting to run together. My take away at this point: holy moly there are going to be SO MANY ESSAYS to write! Thankfully, DD is a good, fast writer, but she’s busy. This is going to be a marathon. I’m glad to switch hats and become horse show mom for the next couple weeks. I need a break from homeschool/guidance counselor mom!

For those of you who have launched a homeschool grad through the admissions process and into college, do you have any evidence that admissions committees/reps have actually read the course descriptions? I have meticulously crafted them for DD and fully plan to upload as a second transcript, but I’m just a little doubtful they will actually get read in the 5-15 minutes a school spends reading an application. I assume they carefully review the transcript, test scores, ECs, LOR, school profile, and essays. But it seems unlikely course descriptions will get read unless there is an inconsistency or a specific question. But, I admit, I could be totally wrong. What’s been your experience?

What an interesting observation! Were you just watching their eyes tracking or how did you deduce this? I used the Fast Transcripts service to produce mine. It lists: 9th grade on upper left, 10th grade on upper right, 11th grade in lower left, and 12th grade on lower right. The very bottom right is a cumulative summary of total credits and GPA. I wonder if they design theirs intentionally because that’s how Ad Coms like to view them?

I think it’s not terribly uncommon to be a lopsided tester. My girls all score nearly perfectly on reading, writing, and science sections (ACT) and just very well in math.

This is super helpful. Thank you!

But how do you know??? I just ran NPCs for a handful of the schools on the list @NewnameC generated above. Not one of them indicated she would be eligible for any merit scholarship at all. Who has time to apply to dozens of schools in the off chance the student might get a killer merit scholarship offer?

Well, I can’t speak to her AP Stats class, but the same teacher (Porter) was fantastic for Honors Pre-Calc this year. DD loved her teaching style (very warm and kind, but super well-organized).

That’s right— no ballet programs. The only place she might dance if admitted is Duke.

Thanks @lewelma this is very helpful. I need to mull this over a bit.

Warning: zombie thread from 2013.

This is a good clarifying question. The only thing I’m worried the competition will have that she doesn’t is community service and leadership positions (real stuff, not Spanish Club VP). But, I also think it likely that her very high level of commitment to ballet will more than offset this. But honestly? I’m mostly worried the readers will be so used to seeing typical applicants that they won’t know what to make of her.

Well, she re-took the ACT writing section today. She came out feeling great about it. The prompt was something she knew a lot about and had a strong opinion on, so she was able to write 2.5 well-organized pages arguing her position. If she didn’t improve her score I’ll be totally surprised and very suspicious of the test’s worth! In any event, we’ll likely self-report scores and it will be a moot point. Thanks, all, for helping me think this through.

Just posed same question to my oldest DD (age 23). This was her response: “I mean I’m not an expert but it seems to me that these are professionals who do this for a living day in and day out. I’m sure they’re pretty savvy at reading between the lines, inferring context, making sound judgments about a student’s qualifications, etc. Maybe she won’t be liked for being “pointy” by every school but I am confident that there will be at least several who value her for her unique experience. And ultimately that’s the place where she wants to be. I don’t know that explicit mentioning of an obvious fact is necessarily beneficial?” Seems right to me, but just needed a gut check. Do y’all agree?

Okay, an update: I have fairly robust versions of DD’s transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor letter written. DD has created a decent resume and has figured out what her ‘story’ is that she will attempt to tell in her essays. She begins Inspektor’s admissions essay workshop tomorrow. She has identified her LOR writers and gotten their agreement to serve as such. I *think* all of this stuff, together, makes clear who she is and what’s unique about her journey. But I have one question: does someone (me? DD? LOR writers?) need to EXPLICITLY say something like, “Please don’t judge this student’s extra-curricular activities/work experience/leadership positions/service hours, etc. by the same measuring stick as you do typical students?” I hope I don’t sound like a Tiger mom who thinks her special snowflake is different & better than other kids, but in truth her path has looked very different. She moved away from home at 13 to study ballet. There has been no NHS, no Latin Club, no marching band, no model UN, etc. She dances 25 hours a week, period. She’s the exact opposite of well-rounded; she’s as pointy as could be. Will the ad coms be able to infer this? Or do I actually need to say that somewhere?

Excellent point! Knowing formal grammar gives you a vocabulary to draw upon when teaching a foreign language. My 12 year old has just begun studying French and the first thing she noticed is that most adjectives don’t come before nouns like in English. It would be impossible to articulate this concept if you didn’t know what nouns/adjectives were!

This! I think homeschoolers, in general, spend too much time on grammar at the expense of writing; I know I used to do this, so it’s possible I’m just projecting!

Wow, what a great search tool. Thanks so much— this looks like a great list. Off to research...

She adores Jane Eyre! Thanks for your help making the list; some books were entirely unknown to me!

That’s a good point! She’ll do EA everywhere she can. That first acceptance will feel so good! She has 2-3 weeks in August between her summer ballet intensive and when she leaves to return to residential school, so I’m very much hoping she will get at least half of her applications completed/submitted during this window of time.

She has read and loved both Immortal Life... & Man who Mistook... Great suggestions!

Okay, I just spent a pleasant hour perusing your suggestions, asking DD what she’s interested in, browsing book lists, etc. and here’s what we’ve come up with so far. It’s definitely a work-in-progress. Any more thoughts? ✓ Biography/Memoir: Fun Home, Alison Bechdel ✓ Psychology or Sociology: The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, Jonathan Haidt ✓ Science or History: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach ✓ Current Issue: The Sum of Us, Heather McGee World Fiction: Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ✓ American or British Fiction: Wide Saragosso Sea, Jean Rhys ✓ Contemporary Fiction: Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrel ✓ Award Winner or Finalist (Fiction or Non-Fiction): Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel, Bernadine Evaristo

Thank you both for your suggestions. I am not familiar with many of those suggestions at all— I’ve got some googling to do.

DD is taking Blue Tent’s Advanced Senior English (post-AP English class for graduating seniors) next year. We just got the welcome letter for the class. One of two summer assignments is to come prepared with a reading list for the year. Students select their own books in the following categories: ✓ Biography/Memoir ✓ Psychology or Sociology ✓ Science or History ✓ Current Issue ✓ American or British Fiction ✓ World Fiction ✓ Contemporary Fiction ✓ Award Winner or Finalist (Fiction or Non-Fiction) Anyone care to weigh-in? She has taken rigorous English classes since 8th grade, including both AP Lang and Lit, but I wouldn’t call her an avid reader. (She used to be, but sadly her high school years have been pretty intense, leaving little time for pleasure reading). What college-level books would you consider must reads for a graduating senior? She’s pretty easygoing and flexible; if it’s good, she’ll happily read it!

comfortable beds are super important! You’d think that would be an easy fix for them 😬

DD took Stats yesterday. She felt like the MCQ were a little more difficult and the FRQ were a little easier than the digital practice. She’s thrilled to be finished. She says taking the 3rd administration made junior year a month longer than necessary. She’s not wrong! She’ll be super happy when Sunday’s ACT is over!