My daughter, a homeschool graduate now studying math at Cornell University, attended this wonderful camp several years ago, and it was a great experience both academically and socially. I just received an email from the director that they are running it again this summer. The information and application are here: http://www.math.tamu.edu/outreach/Camp/

We're thinking of using the Universal Application rather than the Common App where we can. About half of my D's schools are on it, her recommenders don't mind submitting her recs twice, and she and I don't mind doing our work in duplicate. It's more user-friendly than the Common App, and provides the option to insert web links in the main application to online art portfolios and such. Has anyone used it? Any downsides of using it in addition to the Common App ?

Thanks so much, all! I feel more confident now going ahead with the tutor's grade.

My daughter worked with tutors and self-studied for AP Lit and APUSH, and got 4s on the exams. I know that lots of people translate AP self-studies to a grade where 5=A, 4=B, etc. When you look at the stats, 7% of the Lit scores are 5s, and 10% 5s for APUSH. I'm sure that there are plenty of kids in bricks-and-mortar schools who got A's in their course but a 4 on the test. Is there a non-sleazy rationale for giving a higher grade than B? And the tutor offered (previously, before we knew the scores) to write evaluations and give her grades. I don't want to anything that would raise questions about her transcript, but it is junior year and Bs aren't ideal.

Well said! Thanks all for your help. I like the idea of speaking with senior admissions reps. I've been asking the regional rep who then consults with someone behind the scenes. Going more directly to the source is a better idea. Thanks again!

It's my understanding that liberal arts colleges are okay with receiving transcripts that don't have a grade for every course, but I'm wondering if that is okay with large state universities. Is the answer different for core course vs electives?

A friend and fellow homeschool parent, Julia Denne, teaches wonderful literature classes online. Here are her offerings for the fall: Tolstoy's Family Happiness and Anna Karenina will be offered as an evening class, meeting once per week for ten weeks from 6 pm to 7:30 pm CT. We’ll start at the end of September 2014 and finish in December 2014. The full description of the class is available here: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/fallwinter-2014-tolstoys-family-happiness-and-anna-karenina/ Russian and Soviet History of the First Half of the 20th Century through Literature and Film will be split into two semesters, covering the time period of 1900-1920 starting in September 2014 and finishing in December, and continuing with 1920-1940 from January through April of 2015 for the second semester. Depending on your interest and schedule, you can join for both semesters or either semester. Classes will meet in the morning from 10:00 am to 11:30 am CT once a week. The full description of the first semester is available here: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/fallwinter-2014-hist-1900-1920/ The full description of the second semester is available here: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/winterspring-2015/ If you are interested in a class, please indicate your preferred day of the week when filling out the registration form. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are now being considered for both classes. The deadline to register for first semester courses is August 1, 2014. The deadline to register for second semester courses is December 31, 2014. Here is the registration link: http://bytheonionsea.com/2014/06/02/registration-open-for-fall-2014/ Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks much for the helpful reply. The longer answer is that she's actually not short on social studies credits overall, but in particular areas that are requirements for various state universities. One wants a year of world geography/global studies. She has a .5 credit for World Geography, and I'm trying to come up with the other half.

My d is a bit short on official social studies credits, but has learned a lot about international relations and global issues through participating in Model UN for three years. I am wondering about packaging some of the materials covered into a course on her transcript. Has anyone done this? Does it sound like a reasonable thing to do?

Julia Denne is a Russia native, homeschool parent, and remarkable teacher. We are lucky to live near her and have my daughter take in-person classes with her, and can't say enough about them. Julia's comments on student papers are the most thoughtful and in-depth that I have ever seen anywhere. Registration is open now for a winter/spring class on War and Peace: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/new-online-class-for-teens-in-2014-tolstoys-war-and-peace/