And why is CB doing this? I understand the early registration for them... But why these super secretive codes? Nefarious or no?

OK so walk me through this. My kid is taking both PAH online provider AP class and self-study.... So I go to my local school and tell them he'll be taking such-and-such AP exams. Can you please give me the exam-only code so he can enter it into his CB acct? (And I would include and say both the PAH & self-study exams?) Previously it was just email them, drop off a check for $94, show up the day of testing (or prior if said school does pre-bubbling) and take the test. Please walk me through it. Then when I get these super-secretive exam codes, we have to enter in both the exam-only code (from the school) and if an online provider, the join code also?

I knew that AP exam registration was changing this year... namely try to secure a spot for the exams in September-October, no longer in Jan-Feb. Ok, got that. BUT.... my son's PAH classes are giving him a 'join code' to go to his CollegeBoard account to be officially 'joined' into an AP class, that he can now register for. What is this all about? What about for self-study courses? Can we still take APs even if self-study and given no join code? Help! (I hate CB - why are they making these changes, are they trying to prevent self-study kids from taking AP exams?)

Finally someone who's taken it! I feel I've been asking too about Physics-Prep for the past 3 years and never had anyone pony up to having taken it... Glad to hear it went well! Did he do a full-year Physics Mechanics or did he do Elec/Magn also? We're debating whether to do only Mechanics or both?

we're going for it this year too. the only diff it seems are discussion boards and a weekly chat time. neither do i think my ds needs. he just did hon physics with derek owens, and give him some videos and homework, and he's good to go where math/science are concerned. and for $150 you can't beat it!

Hi! We're UC-hopefuls too - living here in Cali too. I am wondering why you say she is not a UC candidate? Just wondering if maybe you know something I don't... is your dd a rising senior? My ds is as we're about to head down that primrose path.

Very helpful! We chose Khan Academy as (a) it's free and (b) seemed pretty easy to make it work around his already rigorous schedule next year. I didn't even know how the Khan Academy classes were set up - but it seemed pretty good, so happy to just have those details from you, thank you!!

Did you use one of your personal insight questions to reflect on your homeschooling experience? See this from UC website... just wondering if we should allot 1 of the 4 to this kind of prompt. Personal insight questions Like all applicants, you’re encouraged to share information in the personal insight questions that would provide context for UC admissions officers reviewing your application. Specifically, we’d like to know about your home-school environment and experience, particularly if you have been unable to complete our minimum admission requirements: Why did your family choose home schooling? How is your day structured? What extracurricular activities are you passionate about? We’re interested not only in your strengths as a scholar, but also your leadership qualities, passions and contributions to your family and community.

love to hear more about how khan academy worked specifically and what other resources you used/cobbled together. we plan to do the same, but ds (senior) will not be taking the ap exam.

thanks for the responses. this is from a PDF from our local HS 'explaining your high school transcript.' don't know if that means this is what theirs looks like, but you'd sure think it was. it goes over section by section, how to read your own transcript. weird. ok, no photo then. back to regularly scheduled transcript creation for me. whew!

what do you mean that transcript is from 20 years ago? 20 years ago they used photos? do any other public/private high schools use this type of photo transcript anymore then?

I thought I'd seen everything. I've got a transcript template I'm working with, and I'm satisfied. Then I googled my local HS sample transcript and found this PPT explaining their high school transcript... and it has a photo of the student on it! Is that necessary? Will that help in any way for colleges to see the face that goes with the numbers/essays? Something in me thinks it might... What are your thoughts? Seen this one before?

Govt we'll be doing in 11th alongside US History probably or 12th after US History, I think. Thanks for all your replies! We are all good now.

to lori: thanks for your thoughts. we're going the AP route personally as even our backups are UC schools and highly competitive. there aren't many i think she can handle in 10th grade, but she'll be able to pick up a couple more in 11th grade so that will be good (maybe some of these: ap eng lang/apush/ap psychology). she will love AP Macro/micro - she'll love US History too, but too many outsourced core classes is too many, i know. it's hard schooling diff kids though as ds#1 took 11 aps from 9th-11th. different strokes for different folks! i feel better already... no us history this year. ahhh, can breathe a little easier already. 🙂

to roadrunner: you're absolutely right. i just always assumed we'd do 4 english / 4 math / 4 science / 4 history / 4 language to max out and help be competitive for colleges... but even UC A-G says thus. So I think we may need to wait on US History until 11th grade so as not to stress her out!: Two years of college-preparatory history/social science required, including: one year of world history, cultures or historical geography, and one year of U.S. history; or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.

Help please! Planning for my 2nd in line is presenting its challenges. This dd cannot handle quite the workload her older brother could... so what do I do? She is college-bound, so it is important for us to have her take APs as we can. So here's what I'm wondering. 9th - AP Human Geography (could not take the AP exam due to illness, will try to brush up and take it this year) 10th- AP Macro / AP Micro - (I was planning on USH with Macro/Micro, but that pushes her to 7 credits. Can Macro/Micro count as her 'history'?) 11th - Hon US History - planned to do in 10th - not sure if she can handle with Macro/Micro - but these are 2 APs I think she can handle 12th - Hon World History This is what I wanted for 10th grade but don't think she can handle it - it would be 4 core subject outsourced courses (Math/Sci/Hist/AP Macro): Eng - Lightning Lit + WAH Math - Alg II (Myhomeschoolmathclass) Sci - Physics (Clover Creek) Hist - US History (Funda Funda) Lang - Span 2 (HomeschoolSpanishAcademy) Elec - Intro to Photography (1/2 credit) Elec - AP Macro (fall) / AP Micro (spring) **and in case you're wondering why I'm jamming in AP Macro/Micro instead of leaving that off - it's because I'd like her to have a handful of APs under her belt by end of junior year, and these 2 I feel she can handle. APUSH on th other hand, she could not yet.

https://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/Senior/sLightning.aspx This is what Lightning Lit does for British Lit. There are 2 sections (early-mid / mid-late) and then I think 8 novels between the both. We'll use this as our Lit spine and then also add in some Shakespeare (likely in one of Roy Speed's intensives)

we are going to use khan academy... no help there. what grade's your ds again?

DS took Geometry with Leslie Smith in 9th grade. Good class, rigorous, learned a lot. 2x weekly live instruction is good. Teacher was not my ds's favorite, but not really sure why. He adored Mr Reini (Alg II) and liked Mrs. Stublen (no longer there) better than Mrs. Smith. Like Rootann said above, prices have gone crazy high so we've now changed providers for same ds's upper math courses and for his younger sibs... (Geometry with Myhomeschoolmathclass for my dd & now next year, my next ds). Same ds moved to AP Calc with Derek Owens (fantastic!)

Here are the classes we have liked so far - all fresh in my mind as i'm knee deep in HS transcript & course descriptions: PAH AP Macroeconomics - great class, fave of my son's AP Microeconomics (semester class) - good prep for AP AP Chemistry - hard but thorough. great class, not for the faint of heart AP Comp Govt - prepared well for AP exam, liked the 1x weekly live meeting AP Eng Lang (Walker) - but may wait on that until 11th grade... Edhesive - both are great and more reasonably priced AP Computer Science A AP Stats Derek Owens - awesome for math & physics AP Calc AB Hon Physics Thinkwell AP US Govt / coupled with at-home text reading - very cheap and covers the bases Wilson Hill Academy - prices have gone up a lot, so we've veered away from them, but we've found them to have great math classes. live instruction. Geometry, Alg II, Pre-calc Well Trained Mind Academy - with registration fees, still a bit on the costly side, but good instruction. live classes a plus Biology US History (this was ok) Homeschool Spanish Academy - love this program, one on one skype classes 2x weekly. but a bit pricey if you're trying to be frugal Span 1-4 WriteatHome - good writing instruction/feedback. can take a full year/semester long or multiple 8-week essay workshops. helps writing with very detailed feedback Roy Speed - great Shakespeare literature intensives. Live classes - short workshops MyHomeschoolMathClass - from a fellow board member, turned instructor - great math instruction esp for my math-loathing dd ETA - PS we're trying a few new ones this year and I have high hopes they'll be great. Clover Creek Physics (fellow board mom - all sections are full currently for this year though) FundaFunda US History, Biology, Intro to Photoshop & Photography (another board member founded this - i hear great things)

i've heard of things like this, or an activity guide. some use these, some don't. did you upload this doc as an additional transcript in transcript section? do you have sample to look at for this?

I know it seems so overwhelming to begin with. When my ds started 9th grade just a few years ago, I thought I'd never be able to homeschool through high school... even after hs'ing him since K. But after much research, much advice on these boards, we got it all together - and now that same ds is about to start 12th grade. I've just completed my school profile and course descriptions (about to tackle the transcript and counselor letter) and he's cruising toward college apps in the fall. 1. How difficult was it to make sure all classes were accredited? I know there are online course that are accredited (like Derek Owens), but I’m not sure if they exist for all subjects. We had both home-brewed and online (mostly - as this child thrived on accountability). We never worried about 'accreditation' - just found the best classes that fit our needs. We used Pennsylvania Homeschoolers, Derek Owens, Edhesive, Well Trained Mind Academy, Wilson Hill Academy, WriteatHome, & Homeschool Spanish Academy. (Those were our hits - we had a couple misses). He also took AP exams and SAT II tests whenever possible for outside testing validation (but this is my test-hound kid - not all will be like this, even of mine!) 2. How hard was it to create a transcript for your child? Working on it now. Have a few templates I'm working from - pretty easy to do. The school profile+counselor letter are far harder. 😉 3. Did your child have a hard time getting accepted into a college? Don't know yet... I'll let you know come spring-time. 4. How did you keep up with everything? Meaning, what was or is the most efficient way of making sure all is completed as it should be throughout these years. I was and am his admin/counselor. Since he outsourced nearly all classes after 9th grade, it was my job to keep him on task. Every Sunday, I go through each class' syllabus and lay out what he should do day-to-day Mon-Fri. And he was then accountable to me each day. So far, so good. And age helps. Maturity and responsibility (for completing assignments/studying) I have found have come more with age.

Congrats! I know it can be hard surrounded by the many beyond-brilliant kids on these boards... 😉 So exciting for your dd! YAY!!!

NM