Some related thought but not directly to the question - Some people have questioned what they should do with money they saved if the kids then got scholarships and didn't need it. My dad had saved for our college. He then said any scholarships we received, he would put that money toward a car for us. Therefore by working hard and getting scholarships, I could buy a car. For me, college was paid up front. One of my siblings decided not to be serious about school. His deal was then changed to he had to pay upfront for school. For any classes he passed, he would be fully refunded.

Definitely talk to someone on staff. They may or may not be responsive, but they deserve to hear your viewpoint. Also, if your heart rate is really increasing, you should seek out a medical opinion. As others have noted, there can be underlying problems.

She sounds like my son. He did very well with Brave Writer's online MLA Research Essay class. However, it has gone up in price (significantly) and it hard to get into - fills within 15 minutes in the past. It is an excellent class.

Derek Owens.

While College Board has streamlined the accommodation process for public school students, I don't think it has changed much for homeschoolers. In the past you have to have a current (within 5 years for learning disabilities, sooner for others) neuropsych exam with a diagnosis. An IEP didn't matter if you didn't have an official diagnosis with accommodations listed as needed. I"m not sure it hurts to keep the IEP current and it would be helpful if ever returning. However more is usually needed for SAT/ACT and college accommodations. On the other hand, you don't have to ever have had a school IEP as my son has accommodations without one.

Agreeing with Merry. Pray and pursue your own relationship with God. If you have an authentic relationship, I think that is the best model your kids can follow. You can "require" Bible reading, prayer, service or anything else but it can be done in an effective way OR just going through the motions. I am blessed to have kids forming their own relationships with God. I think homeschooling has been a big part of it both by modeling parent faith as well as the kids having time to get up in the morning (or evening) to do their own Bible reading. I've never told them they have to do so, but they all carve out time in their days to do it on their own. Sometimes it's annoying when I feel behind and I'm trying to get school done and they are busy reading their Bible - I have to step back and remember what is important. We do Bible reading as a family as well and discuss that, but it is completely optional to discuss what you are doing on your own.

Windows to the World

Yes, I and many others have gotten accommodations. I filled out the required paperwork, sent in current neuropsych testing and did my own Homeschool Educational Plan. This summarized diagnoses, testing and accommodations used at home. For elementary years, I did a very basic summary. I started listed accommodations by year starting with middle school. I'm not sure you need this but it was my "school documentation" of what accommodations were done on a regular basis.

My dad told me he would pay for my first degree and then I was on my own. I could choose anything though he did advise getting something that would pay. My biggest stipulation is finances. I've told my older kids that they can go anywhere that they can get full tuition - the reality is that they probably CAN get full tuition at many schools. If they can't get the scholarships or if they can make a case for why it is worth paying more to go somewhere else then we will discuss it. My oldest got full tuition plus housing at the school we thought was the best fit. My second is looking at schools now. My last two are younger, but are likely to cost more (I don't see as much scholarships for them). I'll have to see how much my first two will cost to see how much more I can reasonably afford to pay for them. My goal is to pay for college for all four kids without them taking any loans. I will advise them to look at job opportunities when picking a major, but they will have the final choice. I can't think of anything right now that they'd want to do that I wouldn't pay for. I currently only plan to pay for one four year degree. I am willing to pay more for something that is a good fit - whether it be a selective student population, STEM school, Christian school, smaller LAC, etc. No limitation on distance, but of course mom would like them to stay reasonably close and distance plays into finances.

Oops - I have no idea, assumed Vanderbilt Univ. as that's what's on my mind. :closedeyes: As far as if that is enough people to ask to fill out an assessment, I think that is fine.

I assume you've already seen this, but here's the link to the specific requirement for ADHD accommodations at Vanderbilt. (Scroll toward the bottom and open the ADHD pdf). It does require a psych/neuropsych evaluation with both aptitude and cognitive testing along with ADHD specifics. If you are filling out questionnaires as part of an evaluation then you are probably good. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ead/disability_services/students.php#types_of_services If I remember correctly, the deadline for submitting paperwork to the disability office is coming up soon to have accommodations starting at the beginning of the schoolyear. Good luck.

I haven't dealt with ADHD, but just went through the process for my son with learning disabilities attending Vanderbilt in the fall. When I look at the Vandy website for ADHD accommodations, it looks like a lot of it is based on an official assessment by a professional. Do you have that already? Basically, what we found for learning disabilities was that if the professional recommended it then it was done. In speaking to the disability office about our specific concerns they even offered some things I had never thought of. I'd call the Vanderbilt disability office and ask your specific questions. They were very friendly and helpful for me to deal with.

How many total credits do you need? If you've taken more math or social sciences or science, or anything else, then you've already fulfilled the # of electives. You've had lots of good suggestions for electives. My kids have done PE, Health, Personal finance, and fine arts electives. In addition each will have a number of non-required courses in academic areas that they are interested which all count as electives.

My easily bored, hates to write kid is extremely math gifted with writing disabilities. He did all of AoPS orally. I'd sit alongside him and read the problem and he'd work it in his head. We'd discuss anything he had trouble with or if I couldn't keep up with his brain. While learning to write out math is a necessary skill, some kids need to simply learn math without the hassle of writing. Not sure if you have one of those kids, but I do.

Is there a typical sequence for pharmaceutical science? There are six science courses over probably two years for most of the students. How do they recommend pairing them up. If she postpones organic chem until her second year, is she guaranteeing two more years after that? This would make me lean toward going ahead and doing it this year. It also doesn't commit her to four years if she decides not to double major later. A good general chem course should prepare her for organic chemistry, but I certainly understand your hesitation. I don't see a reason why she can't take bio and physics alongside organic chemistry. As far as a second semester of each, I'd let her take the first class and then decide if she wants to continue. She can always come back later and take a second semester if she decides to go to medical school.

I've always done fine ordering from Home Science Tools. My friend that taught a lot of dissection classes managed to order from Carolina Biological, but she had to jump through some hoops.

Be sure not to just ask specific questions, but some open-ended questions. Often you learn more about things you never thought to ask about. It was also very interesting to talk about what students did outside of class for fun - math clubs, competitions, etc. It gives you an idea of how students might spend some of their free time.

Run the net price calculators at the private schools. Some of them give a surprising amount of automatic merit or need based aid and might get the price to more within reason. Extra scholarships are a maybe and very school dependent. I would also make it clear that to go to one of theses schools, he needs to get the price to a specific price range so that it is reasonable and know upfront that it may be a long-shot both to get accepted and to be affordable.

I do hands-on labs and they can get expensive, but I keep doing them as we enjoy them. I also do them as a class so that I actually make money doing it.

I misunderstood the original question. If she is struggling in physical science, I don't think it reflects at all how she'll do in biology as they are very different, unless it's simply study skills she needs to improve at. Physical science, chemistry, and physics are all math based. Biology is not. Earth Science or Astronomy are some other options. What part of physical science is she actually struggling with. The math? vocabulary? science concepts? study skills? Sometimes it is more how the class is taught rather than the specific subject that causes the problem.

I only listed the highest composite on my transcript. As Regentrude says, self-reporting doesn't count anyhow as you have to send the scores.

My STEM kid did not do biology until 11th. He much prefers chemistry and physics.

I think it would be tough. You don't want to spend ALL your free time doing school with the kids, you want to just have fun as a family. LIttles don't need a lot of academic time, but once you work and do a little home management, there is not much time left - and I wouldn't want to spend it all doing school.

I think it is worth it.

No you can't do it yourself. Each teacher rec on the common app has to come from a different email address and has a few simple supplemental questions specifically for the teacher. The student enters the email address for each recommeder. The common app sends the recommenders instructions of how to create a username and each teacher creates a common app username. The teacher has to answer a few supplemental questions like how much to you recommend this student very highly, highly, average, don't recommend, etc. A few questions may not apply depending on the setting, but I've just told my recommenders to put n/a if necessary as it is the letter that really counts. I've done teacher recommendations for my classroom students and it really isn't that hard.