I would get a copy of LIal's Basic College Math if he is having trouble with math skills and needs review. It is CHEAP and covers all math topics. Test him through it and find the weaknesses and cover just those chapters/sections. Also, you can use it for spot learning if he needs to review a concept.

I looked at the ones at HomeschoolDiploma.com and HSLDA. I also did a google search for high school diploma and looked at images to see lots of options. From there I made my own taking my favorite wording and arrangement.

Dd has taken a few online classes. She has had similar experiences to those above. Quizes, and some tests are online, but some tests, midterms, and finals are done at the testing center. If students cannot get to the testing center, they can arrange for the exam to be proctored at another location (libraries, colleges and testing centers like prometrics often offer this service for a fee).

Time is a huge issue here. My kids have a 10 point difference between their ACT scores so far. The main reason, ds qualified for extended time due to disabilities. When dd takes a practice test with no time restrictions her scores are in the same range as ds's. However, with time restrictions - 10 point difference. Who will do better in college? I have very little doubt that dd will. Ds is a smart guy, but dd has time management, organization, communication, and people skills he struggles with. Her score doesn't reflect who she is as a person or who she will be as a college student. She has done enough dual enrollment to prove that.

All the schools my kids have looked at so far (a small sample but both private and public) have wanted housing deposits early, but state that it is fully refundable until May or June. Look at the college's policy. If it is refundable, they expect changes. Non-refundable housing deposits would say to me that they are looking at it as a serious commitment.

For ds, I mailed the transcript and course descriptions. At his first choice school, they were received, but then lost. I emailed a pdf to the admissions person we were working with and she said she preferred the electronic version, they scan the print version anyway. I'll check with dd's first choice school when we're there in a couple of weeks and see if I can just send pdfs.

They distinguish honors from standard by how much of the book you cover. Honors covers the entire book. The TM gives 3 paths through the book as I recall, below level, on-level, and honors, each covering different amounts of material. There are no honors level materials to add. We didn't use the student workbook, so I can't comment on that, but in the tests, A was harder and B was easier. If you are going to use the workbook, you probably want the A version.

The problem with that is that their Algebra 2 is very standard, equivalent to Lial's Intermediate Algebra (I have both). Their Pre-Calc only adds trig. This really leaves out some more advanced algebra topics that normal come in College Algebra or Pre-Calc classes and means she can not easily move to another Pre-Calc, because she doesn't have the Algebra 2 pre-requisite that other Pre-Calc classes have. I bought the CD's for Thinkwell's Pre-Calc and found it to be accurately labeled, algebra 2 and trig. I don't think that is what most pre-calc classes are though. Most take up after Algebra 2 with more advanced algebra topics (college algebra) and then move into trig. Since she is struggling, I'd back up and fully support the Algebra 2. Using Lial's Intermediate Algebra + Thinkwell should work. Using LIal's as your primary text and Thinkwell videos for support might work better but whatever she is comfortable with. When she finishes the Algebra 2, go ahead and do the Trig, but you may very well want to pick up a college algebra book to work through somewhere along the line.

I didn't include my grading scale or weighting, but I really like how clear and concise this is. Thanks for sharing it Julie. I added 1 pt for CLEP, AP, and Dual credit.

My ds did NaNo every year in high school (5 times total). We never started before mid October, so that isn't a big deal at all. He set varying goals each year and wrote between 35-50,000 words in each of his high school nano novels. Now as a freshman in college he is part of the writing club and they are planning to participate in NaNo at the adult level. I think it is great she wants to do it and I hope she has a great November.

I'd revisit it a lot less than that :). My 16 yo decided last spring, she'd like to graduate this year. She has the credits. We totally missed the PSAT. She started taking the ACT in the summer after what we now refer to as her junior year. It really isn't something you have to spend that much time stressing over. Let her grow. Keep challenging her academically. Don't think twice about it before high school. Make sure you keep records on everything that you think of as a high school course and when she (and your dh) are ready, put it all together.

I think you are already getting a handle on this, but you asked what else to add to this year. At the CC she is taking: Currently in College Algebra (4 units), Astronomy (3 units), and Social Problems (3 units) Then at home you are adding: World History and English. Unless it is CA specific, I wouldn't add more PE since she already has 3 semesters. If you are calling her a Junior (and I think you can) I would look at adding a foreign language at the CC. Otherwise, I would say she is on track and you're doing fine. You may have to run into summer to finish World History and English started this late in the year, but no big deal. You could also add an elective. My kids never took World History in high school. It's completion doesn't have any bearing on grade placement.

This is completely your decision. Some people give 1 credit for each, some .5 credit for a standard 3 hour class and 1 credit for 4-5 hour classes. Some people vary it depending on the topic, for example, English Comp and English Lit are both necessary to have a full credit of high school English. OTOH college Biology typically covers as much as a full year of high school biology. All of these methods are acceptable. Public schools use all of these methods (different districts). The choice is yours.

I would contact them only if you are trying to confirm they have received everything. If you can see that online, then I wouldn't bother the admissions person.

I very strongly (pretty much made) ds apply to a financial safety. He wanted to attend college locally. There are two universities that have his desired major and would have worked. He much preferred the small private U, but the price tag was prohibitive. I made him apply to the State U that we could afford as a safety because his scholarship $$ at small private U weren't released until after the application deadline for the State U. It turned out the scholarship was enough and he went to preferred private school and is very happy there. For those months of waiting, I'm glad we had a backup.

To do DO PreCalc, you first need Algebra 2. Thinkwell Pre-calc is a combination of Algebra 2 and Trig. Algebra 2 is normally a stand alone year long course. I would think she is in trouble here because she is moving through a class that is actually 2 classes and trying to do it at a one year pace. I'd get another Algebra 2. You could pick up a copy of Lial's Intermediate Algebra inexpensively from Amazon. It has very solid explanations of everything Thinkwell has in Algebra 2.

This is what I did as well. I included math, science and foreign language done at a high school level.

Use the CD after the test if your child has any confusion about missed problems. We've never used an edition new enough to come with a CD.

I strongly encourage online systems. Proof it because it is your responsibility not the systems, but they are huge time savers. DH did all his grad school papers using online assistants with excellent results. Ds's AP English teacher recommended them too.

I just did a quick skim of previous replies and I may have missed it if someone already suggested it, but PA Homeschoolers maintains a list of schools where their students have taken AP exams. You can ask them for referrals in your area. They ask all of their students to tell them where they will test, but they don't require it. It isn't comprehensive, but it is probably the best list of schools friendly toward AP tests for homeschoolers out there though. It is a good place to start. One thing I found that helped in securing a seat was saying that my child was taking an online AP class. The school where we tested, would only let a child who had been through an approved AP course test (I have no idea why).

No, MUS Geometry stands alone. It doesn't require any of the manipulatives and isn't at all "different". My kids used MUS for several years, switched to Lial's for Algebra, but came back to MUS for Geometry. There are several levels of MUS that I don't recommend jumping into, but Geometry is no problem at all.

The fish is a bit personified. It takes days to catch it. The man respects the fish and as I recall gives it credit for some emotions. However, you certainly don't see things from the fish's perspective, and other than the fish, no animals and no children are harmed :).

I agree with Notgrass being get 'r done. We only used it for Government, but it was so easy and straight forward. Ds did it completely on his own (which he did with very few things). I just graded the tests. We found Excellence in Lit to be very easy to get done too. The reading and writing assignments were clear and clearly scheduled with samples of each type of paper to be written. Apologia Science works well for get 'r done. Again, clearly scheduled, reviews cover everything that will be on the test, you grade tests and call it good. Those are the only things I have personal experience with that I consider to be solid get 'r done, scheduled, easy to manage, and complete.

With all that I recommend Lial's even more. It is great about teaching every concept from the beginning, no prior knowledge assumed. My kids came from MUS to Lial's. There was a lot that they hadn't covered that they would have in a typical Pre-Algebra program. We just took it slow and Lial's filled in all the gaps. It did make for a long year of Algebra, but it worked beautifully and they were both able to go on from there without a struggle.

I recommend the student solutions manual, but you don't need a teacher's manual. The regular book has all the teaching and the answers to odd problems, all review problems and the test. The solutions manual gives full solutions instead of just answers to all those same problems. You don't need it if you are confident in being able to figure out the work based on the answers alone. I'm not sure what the TM gives. It is expensive and more difficult to find. I've never actually seen one.