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).

I'm not sure of everything yet, but here is what I have so far: WHA GC 3 WHA Logic 2 Integritas Academy Lit and Comp 1 Chemistry (Clover Valley or Discovering Design) AoPS Intermediate Algebra Latin Readings at home with some tutoring support????

My rising 11th grader is planning to take From Wilson Hill: GC 5 Advanced Latin Readings Pre-Calc AP Art History From Integritas Academy: AP Lit At Home: Chemistry (Wile's Discovering Design)

I’ve heard that Mrs. Jester from WHA is going to be teaching at a brick and mortar school next year. As for Jetta’s class, the live meetings are optional but I do understand having a kid who likes live classes. My son is in 8th grade and plans to do AP Chem, AP Bio and AP Physics in high school.

I hear and read lots of good reviews of the Novare textbooks so I know I am in the minority. I haven’t seen the chemistry book but we have not loved the honors physics book. My daughter is taking honors physics at WHA and my son is taking Jetta’s physics class this year. My son has learned so much more. They are both physics first options so that isn’t the issue. My daughter works very few problems each week and spends time memorizing history of science. My son’s class is what I would expect of a physics class. And his class looks like more fun too! My daughter is a humanities kid so it doesn’t bother me that she has learned substantially less physics than her brother but I’m really glad my son gets to be more challenged. If AP science is your goal, you can get there with WHA (based on their track record) so I don’t mean to sound too negative. The teachers have great reputations for sure. I just wanted to offer my observations.

My dd didn’t take Latin Readings at WHA but she does have Vine for a Latin course this semester. She likes her and her friends do as well. Latin Readings does have a reputation as far as I can tell for having lots of homework. Of course, everything is relative. I’m sure it is less intense than Lukion. Schole Academy’s Latin Readings seems to cover less of the book and give less homework. WHA seems middle of the road to me.

I agree! After my daughter had Vierra for Logic 2 I thought I would only have a child take Logic 2 with Vierra but we also have a schedule conflict with the Vierra section for ds2. However, my daughter has Colvin this year for Rhetoric 1. He is outstanding as well and I am now perfectly happy signing my son up for his Logic 2 section. I think Colvin is right up there with Vierra in that top echelon. Before this year, I wasn't sure if my second child would go the Rhetoric route for high school English but Colvin's Rhetoric 1 class has convinced me (if he is still teaching that class when my son gets there).

My dd has GC 4 with Vierra. It has been a great year. She had him for Logic 2 and so she knew she liked his teaching style. He is gifted at leading discussions and holds the kids to a high standard. Mrs. Vine hasn’t taught GC at WHA before that I know of.

In rereading some of these posts, I wanted to add that both of my kids currently taking GC classes had Mrs. Lange for English in the 7th grade. She used to teach at WHA, but now teaches at Integritas Academy. She did wonders for my children's confidence and ability to write in GC classes. I have no experience with the current Language Arts 1-4 teachers at WHA. Mrs. Lange was very efficient with time (no busywork) and gives incredibly detailed feedback. Her classes are small and she tailors the experience to the individual students in her class. In thinking through my kids' enjoyment of the GC series, I think it is due in part to how Mrs. Lange prepared them. I'm wondering now if we might have had a different experience without that preparation.

I think using GC 2 or 3 to enter GC is perfectly fine. There is nothing assumed regarding previous books read in other years. It would be hard to enter at the GC 4 level with Dr. Vierra though. By that point, the kids are expected to have a mature level of participation in class. Another thing that makes GC 2 an easier entry point for a Tolkien loving kid is that the early essay is on The Lord of the Rings. My oldest loves the humanities and has loved the whole sequence 1-4 so far. My next child is a math kid all the way but still looks forward to GC. GC does take a lot of time, but it also covers 2.5 credits and given that, it seems efficient to me for a kid who is stem focused. After watching my first go through the series I did do a little bit of coaching on how to write a discussion board post before the class began for the second child. I made sure that skill was in place so that wouldn't be stressful when the class started. There is a wide variety in writing skills and length of posts.