My son decided on Hillsdale. It was between a full ride at Bama and a basically equivalent offer at Hillsdale with some outside scholarships he earned added in. Other options just cost so much more they didn’t make sense for him. He got invited to a scholars weekend at Hillsdale and the rich conversations with other students sealed the deal.

DS got accepted to UVA in state.

DS also got accepted to Texas Christian University with a scholarship and was invited to interview for the full tuition Chancellor's Scholarship. As the homeschool mom, I am feeling a huge sense of relief that I must have gotten a passing grade on my end of the homeschool documents. DS is waiting to hear from his reach tonight, but at this point he has great options that are affordable and we are both really happy with that.

DS got accepted with a merit scholarship to Hillsdale! So excited for him.

Ds got into Baylor, University of Alabama with scholarship, and got a scholarship added to his Cedarville offer.

My ds also got accepted to Cedarville. My dd is there and loves it! My son is applying to other schools but it feels good to have such a great option available.

My dd was accepted to Cedarville. She knew that was where she wanted to go so we are done.

We are only half way through and we haven't used any other curriculum so I can't compare it, but both of my kids are happy with it as is my husband, an MD. One is spending about 5 hours a week and my fast worker spends less. The book is clear in its' presentation of the material and has reasonable and clear expectations of learning. This year's science has been a breath of fresh air for my dd who normally says she doesn't like science. I will be using it again with future children!

If you do a fifth year, could your child commute just for T/Thursday classes to the preferred college and enjoy the discounted tuition rates for dual enrollment? That might save some money, provide rigor, and give a transition to living at the school.

I graduated from Baylor and recently did a campus visit with my junior. She went in expecting for it to not be a favorite but she really enjoyed her visit and it moved up her list. The class she sat in on was interesting and the prof was very warm and easy to talk to. It seemed like a casual and friendly campus environment. As for the location, Waco isn't my favorite town, but it really isn't far to go to get to lots of interesting things. I would frequently take weekend trips to Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio and stay with friends at someone's house and fill our weekend with theater, shopping, restaurants etc. I was even coming from DC and didn't find Waco to be too isolated. Waco has also improved a lot since I was there. If your child is interested in the honors program, I highly recommend it. It was fabulous when I was there and they have improved upon it tenfold. I received tremendous mentoring that helped me get into all but one grad school I applied to. Baylor felt like a small school in terms of the level of investment my professors put into me. I didn't realize how special that was until I started grad school at a large state flagship campus and realized that the undergrads didn't know the professors at all.

My son was sooo excited to hear this!

My oldest did Center for Lit when she was in 6th grade before starting the Great Conversation series at WHA. That was before CFL offered writing so I can’t comment on that. I haven’t used WHA for their grammar language arts so I can’t speak from experience there either. My oldest two have loved their GC courses and my oldest preferred it greatly to Center for Lit. Nobody is allowed to be a wall flower at WHA because you lose participation points. The conversations also tend to be more about ideas and less analysis of plot structure. The schools have very different vibes so I can see different kids having different opinions. If your child is enjoying Center for Lit, I would be inclined to stick with it. You can always jump into WHA in a year or two. If however, you think your child needs more assignments, WHA will likely fit that bill. The grammar teachers have described a very Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum with dictation, poetry memorization as well as Shurley style grammar. I think it depends on what you are looking for. I hope this helps.

The absence of vector based physics is where my dh’s frustration with Novare comes in. I agree with Ibell that lab reports are a major strength of WHA’s science.

ds 3 is taking Language Arts 2 at WHA next year. It will be his first online class and he is excited to get his chance.

None of my kids have taken AP Art History but my daughter picked the class for two reasons. One is that she is enjoying rhetoric with Mr. Colvin. He is a very knowledgable teacher who brings a lot to the class. He also seems to genuinely care for the students and care about their success. The other reason she picked the class is because she has friends taking it this year who are really enjoying it. These friends tend to share her opinions on their favorite teachers and classes so she is trusting them. The class apparently does more than just prepare for the AP exam. He covers some works of art he thinks are significant and worth discussing but won't be on the test. The homework load according to her friends sounds reasonable and not on the high end for AP classes (certainly not like AP Latin).