DS took US History through the University of Missouri on-line. The class was thorough. The UM staff was helpful and prompt when we had questions. I would certainly use them again.

In Illinois we were able to use a bank statement with ds name and address as proof of residency.

I think you need to look at history in a wider context. It is not just what happened, but WHY. There are very big concepts in that. There are thousands of pages that have been written on the whys of history. I think the major point of studying history is to understand the why.....those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it.....as they say. I think you will be short changing your education if you just memorize dates and names. Cat

My town library has online access to the Rosetta Stone language products for free. All one needs is a valid town library card. Perhaps your local library has such a resource. Cat

Many colleges do what is called "Super Scoring". If you submit multiple tests to them they will pick the highest subscore from each and recalculate the composite score. The FAQ at admission sites usually will tell you if the college does this. So maybe you son can just "replace" his science!

I don't know about the Florida Virtual School but the University of Missouri has an online high school that allows students from any state to take courses. There is no cost different for out-of-state students. Here is the link. http://cdis.missouri.edu/

Thanks for the info everyone. Weather isn't that much of an issue as we are in the suburban Chicago area. We know snow and high winds here too. But $$ is definitly an issue. I wonder if Chicago is geographically diverse enough? Not anything I can do to make him ethnically diverse. Good undergrad research opportunities are a must for ds. A small school feel is important too. It seems hard to get those two features in one school. Ds is a junior and we are getting into the search in earnest now. Thanks, Cat

Hi, Does anyone have any info about the University of Rochester in NY? They seem to have a different curriculum with no required core. DS is specifcally interested in physics, astronomy and math. Thanks, Cat

My son took physics at the local cc last year. His professor was a retired MIT physics PhD who had worked at Fermi Lab and Bell Labs. Also, he instilled a sense of wonderment about physics to my son, who now says he "feels" physics all around him all the time. I can't say that that is the caliber of all the teachers at this cc, but I can't express how glad I was that my son was in his class.

JFS - That is wonderful! Are those scholarship amounts for the first year or for 4 years? I am not sure how colleges offer these scholarships. I have a junior and will need to understand this very soon.

Has Celiac's been ruled out? My cousin had many many problems throughout her childhood. Fibromyalgia was a "default" diagnosis that they worked with for years. She is now in her 30s and a new doctor diagnosed Celiac's Disease. She is on a new diet and since then is a whole new person. This was most likely her only problem since childhood. Cat

Knox College in Galesburg IL is a good LAC. Cat

Labs are not just for learning the specific concept that is being tested. Labs help you learn to hypothesize, organize, observe, come to conclusions. They teach you the importance of detail, the importance of patience, the importance of thinking logically. These are important things in all areas of life, not just science. What is learned by performing labs is multi-diciplinary.