I've also used them a couple of times with good results. The diplomas look very professional. Brenda

Wow! I guess I understand the pressure now. Best wishes & prayers for his success on the APs this year! Brenda

Cleo, Does your son specifically need AP scores for your local university? If not, and they aren't as good as you'd hoped, can you just not submit them to the uni? My oldest didn't take any AP exams. He took the ACT and a couple of SAT2s that he did OK in, not great. He also had some CC classes with a 4.0 average. This all got him into a pretty good engineering school (and he's since graduated and did well there). So AP scores are necessarily needed for college success. Best wishes. Brenda

Mine took those 2 exams last year. The Physics B was a real grind -- lots of material to cover. He took AP English Lit this morning and will take Stats tomorrow afternoon, and then he's done!!!! (BTW, if anyone is taking AP Stats next year and wants to buy a used book & fathom software, we're selling ours for $65ppd. I've also got the AP Latin books from last year that I want to sell. PM me if interested). Brenda

My son is just finishing up the PA Homeschoolers AP Stats class this month. He has enjoyed the class and thinks he will do well on the exam tomorrow. If anyone needs the book (ISBN 142924559X) & software (Fathom), I will sell ours for $65ppd -- send me a PM if you're interested. Brenda

What I chose to do was emphasize the importance of scoring well on the exams. I corrected their daily work and made them re-do any they missed, so they did have an incentive to do the daily work well. I did not count their daily work grade as a part of their grade for the course. The course grade was based only on their scores on exams. When it came to exam time, I really hammered home the idea of checking one's work and striving for the highest possible score. Both have gone on to do well in their college courses, so this approach seems to have worked. HTH, Brenda

We opted to use the free score reports to send the scores to my son's safety schools since we were pretty confident they would be good enough for acceptance there. Then once we knew the scores, we paid to send them to his other college choices. Brenda

Highly agree! This has been my best hsing resource over the past 12 years! Thanks to all who share here. Brenda

Pam, Will she be applying through the Common App? The one for next year doesn't go "live" usually until August 1st. Most recommendations are submitted on-line now, although the recommender can opt-out of the on-line process and mail them in. I think what I would suggest is that your daughter speak with the profs she wants letters from and ask them now if they would be willing to write one. If they are, then have her tell them she'll send the invitations through the Common App in the summer. The letters written through the Common App should be generic (not addressed to any one college), and your daughter will be able to "assign" them to which ever colleges she wants during the application process. That's one nice thing about the Common App -- the recommender only has to submit one letter, and then he/she is done. If she'll need snail-mail letters, then I don't see why she couldn't ask for one now (with a bunch of copies in seal envelopes?). Hope all this makes sense. Brenda

Yes, definitely get the passports now. The process can take a few months, and as long as they are at least 16 yo now, the passports will be good for 10 years. Brenda

Not an edition of the book, but I would highly recommend the Great Courses lectures on Democracy in America. The set is called Tocqueville and the American Experiment, and the lecturer is Prof. William Cook. It's on sale now, too. My son and I used this set along with one on the Federalist Papers and the "Idiot's Guide to Gov't" for his 1/2 credit government course. This combination was fairly easy to implement, and we both learned so much. Brenda

Laura, My son took Latin 3 & 4 with Lukeion (finished Latin 4 last year). He actually found Latin 4 to be a bit easier than Latin 3. Latin 3 was more challenging because he was still really working hard to acquire vocabulary, and also, the authors studied switch a lot. In Latin 3, you only spend 3 - 4 weeks on each author, and it seemed that just when you are getting the hang of a particular author's style, you are switching to someone totally new. With Latin 4, you spend the whole first semester on the Aeneid (which was just wonderful), and then the whole second semester on Caesar. My son did have an extensive background with Henle, which made the Caesar semester much easier since he knew most of the vocabulary and was familiar with Caesar's writing style. The course is still a lot of work. I think he spent about 2 hrs/day on Latin 4. The writing assignments in Latin 4 are practice for the essays on the AP exam. As far as study tips -- I would suggest that you make sure your child keeps up with vocabuarly flash cards. There are sight passages on the AP exam, and you need a good vocabulary to tackle these well. Also, some continued practice with scansion is helpful. In addition to Lukeion's Latin 4, we found the Bolchazy workbook that goes with the Vergil part to be very useful. It contained extra practice with sight passages and scansion. Best wishes with Latin 4. Brenda

I did something similar to this. For the CC classes, I did what is written above. For my at-home classes, I wrote up a 4 - 5 sentence description of the course and listed the book (or books if I was a literature course) used. The only exception was for at-home science classes. For these, I did say how many experiments were done, and I put a short list of the lab equipment that was used in the course so they could see that we did do actual labs and do own some science equipment like a good microscope, prepared slides, dissection specimens, chemistry glassware, etc. I also included no grades with the course descriptions, and just gave a year-end final grade on the transcript. HTH, Brenda

I've started teaching my children outlining/note-taking towards the end of middle school/early high school. What I've done is basically to sit with them for the first few sessions and either actively direct them what to write down, or have my own paper and show them what would make good notes. Then, I review the notes that they take on their own later to make sure they have the hang of it. I agree with Regentrude that the notes should capture the most important details, and that they should be a good study-aid for review and preparing for exams. One thing I've done with History of the US (which we used in 8th/9th grades) is to teach my children note-taking, and then let them use their notes, but not the book, when they take the multiple-choice quizzes that you can buy to accompany that series. Now, I'm not a huge fan of multiple choice quizzes or open-note tests (for history, especially), but one of my main goals for this course for the kids was to help them to learn to take good notes (and learn some history along the way, which they did). It only took them a few months of note-taking and weekly quiz-taking to figure out which things in the chapters are important and might be on the quiz. I think this process has worked for them, as later into high school, both of them have had courses either on-line or at the CC that required note taking to capture important details, and they both have come home with pretty good notes. Brenda

DE means dual enrollment -- usually a class taken at a local college while the student is still homeschooling for high school. In our experience, DE classes are a great way to ease a child into the college way of life -- get them used to the classroom, dealing with professors, managing assignments for someone else, etc. They can also be a good source of recommendation letters from an "outside the home" teacher. Both of my sons have had positive experiences with DE classes. Brenda

I thought the tests were pretty reasonable. They were MC, some fill in the blank, and a few essay questions. I did have issues with a couple of the MC questions throughout the course of the year, but since I was grading the course myself, I just chose to throw out those questions that I thought were either unclear or just plain wrong. Brenda

My ds will be attending the University of Dallas -- a small, Catholic, liberal arts school in Texas (It's not a Texas state school). He was looking for a small liberal arts environment to study Physics, and we were also looking for schools with good merit aid. He applied to a mix of Catholic & secular schools, and in the past year, he has decided that his faith is very important to him, so that brought his two Catholic college choices to the top of the list. Along the lines of what Laura in CA said, my ds has read a lot of classics along the way, and UD has a very strong, well-known Classical core curriculum that includes lots of the Great Books. He will also be able to continue his Latin studies if he wants to. So UD will allow him to continue with his love of all things classical as well as to study Physics, which he really loves as well. They also have a campus just outside of Rome and a well-established study abroad program, which he is really looking forward to. It's far from home (unfortunately), but the fit seems just right, and it's affordable after the scholarship -- which we knew would not be the case with most any local choices. Best wishes & congrats to all the teens & parents (aka guidance counselors, taxi drivers, curriculum specialists, travel agents, etc.)! I want to make a special thank you to so many of you who have been supportive of me and my sons on this hsing journey. I've been a member here for over 10 years, and the people here are just the BEST! Brenda

A couple of years ago, we used the Dragonfly book with the Kolbe syllabus, and it made for a good course. We did end up covering most of the book. I think the syllabus may have dropped a couple of chapters, but I can't remember which ones they were. I thought the dragonfly book was just fine, and I was able to get it and the TM for a reasonable price used. I did not like Kolbe's suggestion for virtual labs, so I did piece together a lab component for the course using some things I had on hand and other stuff I bought from Home Science Tools. Brenda

Love this! My son also spent a lot of time in Adoration this past year, and it has had a wonderful, calming effect on him. He started the year very agitated about the upcoming changes, and now he seems to be at peace, and even a bit excited about the future. God is good.... Brenda

Acceptances by School Name Allegheny College - son of Brenda in MA (merit scholarship) Alma College - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarships/dance company/performing arts scholarship) American University - son of Hoggirl (merit scholarship, acceptance into Global Scholars Program) Auburn - son of 8filltheheart (presidential scholarship) - daughter of MrsDarcy (honors college, merit scholarship) - daughter of Martha in GA (merit scholarship) Austin College - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship) - daughter of Elisabet (merit and music scholarship) - son of beachmom (merit scholarship) Azusa Pacific University - son of Running the race (merit scholarship) Baylor University - daughter of Elisabet (merit scholarship and honors college) - son of beachmom (merit scholarship and University Scholars) - daughter of MrsDarcy (merit scholarship) - daughter of Martha in GA (merit scholarship) Bellarmine University - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship/honors college) Belmont University - son of Susan in TN (merit scholarship/School of Music) - daughter #1 of Galtgrl Benedictine College - son of Brenda in MA (honors program, merit scholarship) Berry College - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship) Biola University - son of Running the race (merit scholarship) Boston University - daughter of Margaret in CO (merit scholarship for DMA) California Baptist University - son of Running the race (merit scholarship/Honors) California State University - Long Beach - son of Running the race Case Western Reserve University - son of 8filltheheart (merit scholarship) Catholic University of America - son of Brenda in MA (honors program, merit scholarship) Cedarville University - son #2 of Kinsa Clark University - son of Myra (merit scholarship) College of Wooster - son of 8filltheheart (college scholar award) Colorado School of Mines - son of Margaret in CO (merit scholarship/AFROTC scholarship) - son of Sue in St Pete (merit scholarship/athletic scholarship) Concordia University Irvine - daughter of CAMom (merit scholarship) Cornell College - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship) Cornell University - daughter of Regentrude Covenant College - son of 1bassoon (winner of competitive scholarship) Dordt College - son of 1bassoon (merit scholarship) Eckerd College - son of Creekland (merit scholarship) - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship/honors college) - son of Sue in St Pete (merit scholarship) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott - son of Running the race (merit scholarship) Florida International University - son of imeverywoman Florida Tech - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) - son of Sue in St Pete (merit scholarship) Furman University - daughter of Gwen in VA: (merit scholarship -- full-ride + $4) Geneva College - daughters of Galtgrl George Mason University - son of Zoorho Georgia Tech - son of Laura in CA - son of 8filltheheart Georgetown University - son of Hoggirl Grand Canyon University - son of Lori D. (merit scholarship; work study) (transfer as junior to complete BA, after earning AAS at CC May 2014) Hendrix College - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship) Hiram College - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) Hofstra University -son of imeverwoman (merit scholarship Hope College - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) Illinois Tech - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) Illinois Wesleyan University - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) Indiana University - daughter of mom2att - daughter of Margaret in CO Ithaca College - son of Myra (merit scholarship) Jacksonville State University (Alabama) - son of Blue Hen (merit and athletic scholarship) Juniata College - son of Brenda in MA (merit scholarship) Kalamazoo College - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) Lawrence University - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) LeTourneau University - son #1 of Kinsa - son of Running the race (merit scholarship) - son of 1bassoon (merit scholarship) Long Island University - Post - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship/honors program/accepted to musical theatre BFA program) Manhattanville College - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship) Marist College - son of Myra (merit scholarship) Marymount Manhattan College - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship/honors program) Middle Tennessee State University - son of Susan in TN (Honors College, School of Music) Morehouse College - son of imeverywoman (Dean's Scholarship) Murray State University - son of Blue Hen (merit and athletic scholarship) North Carolina State University - son of 8filltheheart Northern Illinois University - son of Rivendellmom Nova Southeastern University -son of imeverywoman (Dean's Scholarship) Ohio State University - son of Blue Hen (merit and athletic scholarship) Oklahoma City University - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship) Olin College of Engineering - daughter of angela in ohio Pacific University - daughter of CAMom (merit scholarship) Patrick Henry College - daughter of CAMom (merit scholarship) Purdue - daughter of GailV Queens University of Charlotte - son of Zoorho (dean's scholarship) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - son of Margaret in CO (merit scholarship) - daughter #1 of Galtgrl (merit scholarship) - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) Rice University - son of Hoggirl (merit scholarship) Rochester Institute of Technology - son of Laura in CA (honors program; merit scholarship) Rollins College - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship) Rose-Hulman - daughter of angela in ohio (merit scholarships) St. Edward's University - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship/honors college) St. Lawrence University - son of Myra (merit scholarship) St. Olaf College- - son of Dirty Ethel Rackham (merit scholarship) -daughter of Elisabet1 (merit scholarship) Southern Methodist University - son of beachmom (merit scholarship and honors college) Stanford University - son of Hoggirl Stetson University -son of imeverywoman (Dean's Scholarship) Tennessee Tech University - son of Susan in TN (Honors Program, School of Music) Texas A&M - daughter of Elisabet (honors program) Texas Christian University - daughter of GailV - son of beachmom (merit scholarship and honors college) Trinity University - daughter of Elisabet (merit scholarship) University of Alabama - son of Hoggirl (Honors College, merit scholarship) - son of 8filltheheart (honors college, presidential/engineering/physics scholarships, CBHP) University of Alabama at Birmingham - son of 1bassoon (Honors College, full tuition merit scholarship) University of Arkansas - son of Hoggirl (Honors College, Fellowship) University of California, Berkeley - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) University of California, Irvine - son of Laura in CA University of California, Los Angeles - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) University of California, San Diego - son of Laura in CA (merit scholarship) University of Chicago - daughter of Regentrude University of Colorado, Boulder - son of Margaret in CO (merit scholarship/AFROTC scholarship) - daughter of Regentrude University of Dallas - son of beachmom (merit & departmental scholarship) - son of Brenda in MA (merit scholarship) University of Denver - son of Hoggirl University of Durham - son of Laura Corin (conditional offer) University of Evansville - daughter of GailV University of Exeter - son of Laura Corin (conditional offer) University of Florida - daughter of mom2att University of Georgia - daughter of mom2att - daughter of MrsDarcy - daughter of Martha in GA University of Illinois - daughter of GailV University of Kansas - daughter of GailV University of Kentucky - son of Blue Hen (merit scholarship) University of New York - Oswego - son of Myra (merit scholarship) University of Massachusetts Lowell - son of Brenda in MA (merit scholarship) University of Michigan - daughter of angela in ohio University of Minnesota - daughter of Regentrude University of Mississippi - son of Hoggirl (Honors College, merit scholarship) - daughter of MrsDarcy (Honors College, merit scholarship) University of North Florida - daughter of mom2att University of North Carolina - son of Pawz4me University of North Carolina (Greensboro) - son of Susan in TN (Honors College, School of Music) University of North Carolina (Wilmington) - son of Pawz4me University of North Texas - son of beachmom (merit scholarship and honors college) University of Oxford - son of Laura Corin (conditional offer) University of South Carolina - son of Pawz4me (merit scholarship) University of South Dakota - son of MysteryJen (merit scholarship/honors college) University of Tampa - son of Jenny in Florida (merit scholarship/honors program/performing arts program) University of Texas Austin - daughter of Elisabet - son of beachmom (Plan II, LAC Honors) University of Texas Dallas - daughter of Elisabet (AES scholarship) University of Virginia - DD of Regentrude University of Warwick - son of Laura Corin (conditional offer) University of York - son of Laura Corin (conditional offer) Villanova University -son of imeverywoman Wake Forest University - son of Pawz4me Wagner College - son of Jenny in Florida Washington University in St Louis - son of Hoggirl - daughter of Martha in GA Waynesburg University - daughters of Galtgrl (merit scholarship) West Chester University - son of Zoorho West Virginia University - son of Blue Hen (merit scholarship) Westminster College PA - daughters of Galtgrl (merit scholarship) Youngstown State University - daughters of Galtgrl (merit scholarship) Acceptances by Boardie Name 1bassoon (son): Covenant College, Dordt College, LeTourneau University, University of Alabama at Birmingham 8filltheheart (son): Auburn, UAlabama, CWRU, GA Tech, NCSU, College of Wooster angela in ohio (daughter): Olin College of Engineering, Rose-Hulman, University of Michigan Beachmom: Austin College, Baylor, SMU, TCU, UD, UNT, UT Austin Blue Hen (son): Ohio State University, WVU, U of KT, Murray State University, Jacksonville State University Brenda in MA (son): Allegheny College, Benedictine College, Catholic University of America, Juniata College, University of Dallas, University of Massachusetts Lowell CAMom (daughter): Concordia University Irvine, Pacific University, Patrick Henry College Creekland (son): Eckerd College (only place he applied) Dirty Ethel Rackham (son): Hiram College, Hope College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Kalamazoo College, Lawrence University, St. Olaf College Elisabet (Daughter) Austin College, Trinity University, Baylor University Honors College, Texas A&M Honors, UT Austin, UT Dallas, St. Olaf GailV (daughter): Purdue, TCU, Univ. of Evansville, Univ. of Illinois, Univ. of Kansas Galtgrl (daughters 1 & 2) : Belmont U, Rensselaer (d#1), Geneva College, Westminster College PA, Waynesburg University, Youngstown State University Gwen in VA (daughter) Furman University Hoggirl (son): University of Alabama, American University, University of Arkansas, University of Denver, Georgetown University, University of Mississippi, Rice University, Stanford University, Washington University in St Louis imeverywoman (son): Florida International University, Nova Southeastern University, Stetson University, Hofstra University, Morehouse College, Villanova University Jenny in Florida (son): Alma College, Manhattanville College, Marymount Manhattan College, Long Island University-Post, Oklahoma City University, Rollins College, University of Tampa, Wagner College Kinsa (son no. 1): LeTourneau University (Longview, Texas) Kinsa (son no. 2): Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio) Laura Corin (son): Universities of Durham, Exeter, Oxford, Warwick and York (all conditional offers) Laura in CA (son): Florida Tech, Georgia Tech, Illinois Tech, Rochester Tech, RPI, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego Lori D. (son): Grand Canyon University (sole application) Margaret in CO (son) Colorado School of MInes, University of Colorado, Boulder, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Margaret in CO (daughter) Boston University for DMA, Indiana University for DMA Martha in GA (daughter) Auburn, Baylor, University of Georgia, Washington University in St. Louis Mom2att (daughter): Indiana University, University of Georgia, University of North Florida, University of Florida MrsDarcy (daughter): Auburn University, Baylor, University of Mississippi, University of Georgia Myra (son): Marist College, Ithaca College, SUNY-Oswego, Clark University, St. Lawrence University MysteryJen (son): Austin College, Bellarmine University, Berry College, Cornell College, Eckerd College, Hendrix College, St. Edward's University, University of South Dakota Pawz4me (son): University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina (Wilmington), University of South Carolina, Wake Forest University Regentrude (daughter): University of Colorado, Boulder; University of Minnesota, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Chicago, Cornell University Rivendellmom (son): Northern Illinois University Running the race (son): Azusa Pacific University, Biola University, California Baptist University, California State University - Long Beach, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott, LeTourneau University Sue in St Pete (son): Colorado School of Mines, Eckerd College, Florida Tech Susan in TN (son): Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University, University of North Carolina (Greensboro) Zoorho (son): George Mason U, Queens University of Charlotte, West Chester University - PA

Hi, Have you looked at Labpaq? We used PK-01 in conjunction with the Giancoli Physics book, and it worked out well. The kit comes with everything you need plus the lab instructions on CD-Rom. I have our gently used set for sale if anyone is interested. Brenda

Sue, For subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while the student is in school full-time. On unsubsidized loans, the interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed. I believe that to qualify for subsidized loans, you have to have "financial need", so the Cost of Attendance - free aid (e.g. grants) - your EFC must leave some money still owed that would be your need. When the direct federal loan is used to meet part of your "need", then some of it can be subsidized. If you fill out a FAFSA, and don't have "need" after scholarships and EFC are subtracted, then you wouldn't qualify for the subsidized loan but could still take out the unsubsidized loan. Brenda

I used Apologia Bio with my oldest son. The chapter on creation/evolution was OK, but I did prefer the Catholic content specific to the Kolbe syllabus. I thought the Apologia course was OK; it was very much how I remember high school biology when I took it. I did like the M & L book sooooooo much better. It covered more and had more of a focus on more modern topics, like DNA synthesis. It was just deeper in almost very content area. It also included several chapters on human anatomy that are missing from the Apologia book (you have to use their 2nd book to get that). The book itself is more colorful and has much better/more detailed diagrams, too. Best wishes in making the best choice for your family. Brenda

I used Kolbe's Biology syllabus with Miller & Levine a couple of years ago. I just bought the syllabus from them and used it with a copy of the book I already had. My son and I liked the course and the book a lot. As a Catholic, I enjoyed the extra material in the syllabus about Church teachings on some topics, but those could be skipped if you don't want to cover that material. The M & L book is secular. They recommend a virtual lab CD that I didn't want. I made up a lab component for the course using a lot of materials I already had from when my older son did Biology. If you want a "purchased" real lab component, you might check out labpaq or those Landry lab intensives. HTH, Brenda

I agree that up through Unit 7 with Henle would be high school Latin 1. You could also look at Mother of Divine Grace School, which sells syllabi for Henle that cover more than the Memoria Press ones do. Brenda