I only gave 1 credit for all science classes, lab or not. This included AP courses. On the course descriptions, I also noted who taught the course. If it was me, I wrote "Instruction: Taught at home." If it was take from Pennsylvania Homeschoolers, for example, I wrote something like "Instruction: College Board approved AP course taken through the online provider, Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. Instructor was Dr. Terri Kanner, B.S. Biology, D.D.S."

I'd like to thank all of you ladies on this forum for the help that you have given us during the college application process. There were times when I felt overwhelmed by the process: Do I list the transcript by year or by subject? Should we use one of the UC essays to write about homeschooling or not? Just how long should the course descriptions be? What should my counselor letter look like? (Thank you, Luckymama, for sending me yours as an example.) It all seems so straightforward now! That is due, in large part, to the hive mind on this forum. :hurray:

Michael Farris of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association was the founder of Patrick Henry College. We are members of HSLDA, and think highly of Michael Farris. He also founded ParentalRights.org.

We need more judges like this one!

We picked Friday for the interview day. Probably not the best day for a meeting, unless it is after we are all done. You live pretty close, right? We could meet on campus or nearby.

DD got Letter of Acceptance from UC Berkeley too. Also invited to interview for Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship. Got acceptance from Loyola Marymount earlier this week. Relieved is the word!

OMG, Arcadia! You prompted us to read the rest of the letter - DD was asked to interview for the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship too! Lol! She was in the middle of a calculus assignment that was due in 10 minutes when we got the letter, so read the first line, high-fived, and she went back to work!

DD got Letter of Acceptance today! Can't believe it since they weren't supposed to notify until March. So very happy and relieved!

Love, love, love this! Diagramming rocks!

That might have been it. I know the dad of one UCB freshman told me his son got money from two different sources through UCB.

I didn't list piano for school credit. Instead listed it as an activity. My dd, too, participates in adjudication (already maxed the MTAC CM) and has participated in festivals, master classes, MTAC conventions, etc. Even with that, I listed it as an activity. Why? Because most brick and mortar students who take piano are probably at a level such that they are not taking it at school, and instead they are listing it as an activity. I was worried it would water down the transcript. However, I well-known college app adviser had her children list it on their transcripts, so there is a different opinion.

I didn't list piano for school credit. Instead listed it as an activity. My dd, too, participates in adjudication (already maxed the MTAC CM) and has participated in festivals, master classes, MTAC conventions, etc. Even with that, I listed it as an activity. Why? Because most brick and mortar students who take piano are probably at a level such that they are not taking it at school, and instead they are listing it as an activity. I was worried it would water down the transcript. However, I well-known college app adviser had her children list it on their transcripts, so there is a different opinion.

To tell the truth, I never even thought about aid before this year. I just robotically saved for college. I knew a couple of people whose children got some small amount of aid, not much, from Berkeley, and thought I'd look into it - I had no idea what to expect. I did a couple of the online calculators, and didn't qualify for anything, but none of these other families had qualified either. Then I read that the FAFSA must be filled out as part of the process of merit aid as well. I don't know what good this whole process will do. I spoke to my brother-in-law, who has grown children, and he said they went through the whole process with all three kids and never got a cent - and one of his sons went to Stanford plus they had multiple children in college at a time. However, that was a number of years ago. I don't expect we'll get anything, but I've heard some crazy stories, so thought I'd give it a basic try. At least at the private universities dd applied to. Although, today, I saw that USC also wants applicants to fill out the CSS and I've just about hit my limit on paperwork.

Thanks! That was a great article, and reaffirms what I was told yesterday by Vanguard. I decided to call him yesterday shortly before 5:00, as Loyola Marymount's deadline for paperwork is Feb 1. He advised that I could do it all online, except he was not sure that my account wasn't truly custodial. In fact, when I set up this account, I thought I was setting up a custodial. However, when I asked this summer, the credit union told me that it was a joint account, with my daughter as a primary. Our Vanguard rep wasn't sure how that could be, so I went back to the bank right before 6:00, and they verified that it is not a custodial account - UTMA or UGMA. So, I am free to move the money however I want. I'm going to put this bit of money in a 529, but leave the rest of the money alone that I had saved under my name. I'm not sure a 529 will benefit her much at this late date, but we will use that money last and try to earn a little bit on it. A point of information, that might help someone else: if this had been a custodial account, I could still have put it into a 529, but it would have been a 529 owned by my daughter. Right now, the FAFSA rules are such that a 529 owned by a dependent student are treated at the same 5.64% rate as parent assets, but I understand that rule has changed anywhere from 0% to 20% in the last 15 or so years. At any rate, don't be as uninformed as I was. It was only good luck, or God leading the hand of the credit union rep, that the account was opened as a joint and not a custodial. Also, there are rules about how much can be given in a year, and for married filing jointly, it is $14,000 per parent for a total of $28,000. There is also a rule in which $70,000 can be given, but it is a one time deposit, and the parent is disallowed from contributing more to the account in the future. (Not sure if they could get around it by opening up another account.) Disclaimer: I'm pretty confident I have the above info correct, and it seems verified by Maize's article, however please check with someone in the know!

I am filling out the forms for financial aid. I know we don't qualify for anything through FAFSA, but understand it needs to be filled out even for other aid. In looking at things, I saw that money saved under the child's name is counted at up to 20% compared to the 6% under a parent's name. At one point in time, I put some of dd's college savings under her name. About $40,000. I realize that was not a good move. Can I now move it (like today or Monday) to a 529 plan? We are in CA, so there is no state tax benefit, and at this late date, what kind of tax benefit would there be at all. The point would be to remove it from her name. Thoughts? Advice? She plans on attending vet school, so we want to lower costs now any way that is legal.

I never gave any AP or other course more than one credit. I did have an issue in 9th and 10th grade, in that dd did both a traditional English class at home and did one of the very reading-heavy Great Books Literature classes online. At first, I just sucked it up and combined them into one class with 1 credit. I did that on the transcript we turned into the UCs. However, for the two Common App schools she applied to, I listed them as the two different classes, giving 1 credit each. In truth, that was exactly what happened, so it was right to reflect it on the transcript that way.

My daughter asked for, and received, letters of recommendation from two instructors at PAH. One of them was even from a class she took in 10th grade.

French in Action is great! You are watching it for free, right? Workbooks are available - I remember seeing them but we were in the last few episodes by then, so don't know how good they are. FIA is good for exactly the reasons you say. Canal Academie has very good audio. If your children are using a French tutor, it is good to listen to speakers with a wide variety of intonation.

We opted to wait and see what the scores were. My dd ended up taking it twice - May of junior year and Oct of senior. Her second test was a little better, so we sent those scores to colleges. HOWEVER, many schools require students to send ALL scores. The UCs for example. So, we ended up having to send both to them. Yeah, I'm betting a lot of students don't send all of their scores, especially the ones that take the SAT a zillion times, but that is dishonest. So, my advice would be to check the requirements of the schools he is applying to. If they require all scores, then you can go ahead and send them the scores. If they don't require all scores, you should wait until he retakes it.

While it may be true that they *can* end up in the same classroom come junior year, this child may be missing out on learning valuable study habits. She may also be missing out on the intellectual satisfaction that comes from taking challenging coursework. CC is definitely a better choice from a $$ perspective. The amount of money that can be saved makes it tempting. For some degrees, however, it is important to start making those UC connections early on, as research positions necessary to gain admittance for advanced degrees can be limited and students who have already proven themselves have a better chance at getting them.

We feel the same way. I LOVED homeschooling our own way all through elementary and early junior high, but by 8th grade... same thing. My dd has thrived on the AP courses she has taken, and I even ended up designing and teaching a couple of her AP courses as well. Mind you, this is coming from someone who greatly resented the intrusion of the college board and college application requirements. Okay, still not a fan of the college board, BUT taking the AP courses and having to take the SAT tests has given my dd a chance to rise to the occasion, something I could not have provided her alone.

Well... not doing Stanford after all. As the day went on, dd decided that, while she would like the challenging academic environment, she didn't feel the community is a good fit for her...

Has anyone had a late recommendation letter? One of our teacher recommendation letters is going to be late. Not the teacher's fault, but mine. Also, for Stanford (deadline today) we are adding the optional third recommender letter, which will also be late. We will have my counselor letter and one teacher (English) letter on time. How bad will this be? Any experience? Trying to get the other letters by the end of the week.

I put 2004, the year dd started kindergarten. I also used the title director in the spot, but, obviously, used the title guidance counselor on the counselor letter.

Whew! Glad I asked. My transcript is 1 page, my school profile is 1.5 pages, my counselor letter is 1.25 pages (I'm not quite done, but with our school letterhead taking up some room at the top of the page, I think it will be 1.25), and my course descriptions document is 10 pages. I found the other thread with a topic search, and it had me alarmed.