My two cents: Go to the least expensive college, full stop. This is a huge blessing for your family! Take the money and run. Like Lori D. suggests above, you could so SO MUCH with $18,000 extra dollars. You could pay down your mortgage. You could put it towards school for your other child. You could buy your daughter a car upon graduation. You could open a savings account for her that she can use to start her life upon graduation. You could send her on a special trip. You could put it towards your retirement. You could just save it.... The line of your post that stood out most to me was this: "Then college number three, my favorite for her, just all of a sudden out of the blue, sent her more money." It seems like you already recognize that this school is the best fit for your daughter. Don't ignore that knowledge! If you need more encouragement about the financials of college, I just read The Price You Pay for College by Ron Lieber and highly recommend it. (College is still four years out for my family, so I am not in this situation yet, but the book has already clarified my thinking about college costs in so many ways.) All that said, I know all of this is way easier said than done! I'm sure it is emotionally wrenching to actually make a decision that isn't your daughter's first choice. But I really believe that a college experience doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

So glad you got it worked out!!

Thank you! And thank you for this feedback about the QSL kits!

Thank you!! (We're certainly planning to do all the labs, but I figure it's probably realistic to assume we might not get to every last one. Your ballpark number is helpful!)

Thank you both for chiming in! This is encouraging! (I've been researching approximately 10,000 biology options over the past couple of days and I'm starting to lose my mind, lol.) It's nice to have someone else look at your plan, to point out issues you might not have considered. And thanks for the feedback about used texts; I think I will definitely go for used. (Another shock of starting high school is the jump in price for many curricula, so I'm trying to trim expenses where we can!)

I haven't yet ventured into the world of APs, but I'm already stressed at the prospect of it. Ugh. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry you're dealing with this; your situation sounds infuriating. I would be livid. I really hope this gets worked out for you. ❤️

I posted yesterday about Oak Meadow Biology. I emailed Oak Meadow and they got right back to me with a materials list! I'm conflicted; now that I've had a chance to see the OM labs list, I agree with the posters who said the OM labs are not super impressive. (I think the labs are completely adequate! But I know my daughter will be much more excited about biology if she'll get to dissect several things and use a microscope, etc.) That said, I do love the general user-friendliness and layout of Oak Meadow curriculum, and I like that the course is based on the Holt Biology textbook, which seems to be a solid biology resource. (I like that the OM curriculum will do the work of selecting the readings, etc. for me, making the huge Holt text much more navigable.) Long story short, what I'm thinking of doing is using Oak Meadow Biology for book work, and the QSL Biology Kit for labs. (I love that the QSL kit comes with a lab manual so I don't have to design any of the labs myself! From the look of it, it's pretty open-and-go.) If I took this approach, I would NOT buy the OM lab kit, and I would not plan to do any of the OM labs. As I said, I would do the Oak Meadow book work each week, pairing it with a QSL lab that relates to the topic being studied. My questions: Is this a terrible idea? Is there a reason you can think of that this wouldn't work? The QSL kit contains 37 labs. We probably won't manage to do them all, but we'd aim to do most. In your mind, how many labs is considered "enough"? Buying a used copy of the Holt textbook from Amazon (or similar) is legit, right? The Oak Meadow price is $160.00, which seems insane to me, especially if we have to budget for a student microscope.... Thank you for any feedback/advice! (And a general thank you to this amazing board! Planning for high school for the first time makes me feel like I'm relearning how to ride a bike or something. I've been a confident homeschooler thus far, but the leap to high school is tripping me up big time. I've been asking lots of tedious questions here lately, and everyone is always so gracious and helpful in their responses. I'm grateful.)

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Oak Meadow was listed in the Biology Motherlode post as an honors level Biology course, so that's why I started my search there. (We definitely need secular science in our homeschool, which limits our curriculum choices a bit.) I'm currently using the Oak Meadow Civics course with my 8th grader and I've been really happy with it! I find it's a very user-friendly curriculum, but still very challenging and thorough and well-written. Very easy to adapt, too. All that to say, I've been happy with what I know of Oak Meadow so far, so I'm inclined to continue using them for additional subjects. We did biology a couple of years ago (middle school cycle) and we did a series of dissections using kits from Carolina Biological Supply (we dissected a worm, crayfish, frog, and grasshopper). So, maybe I'll do the Oak Meadow course and bring in some additional dissections using independent kits from Carolina? (Performing the labs at a high school level, obviously.) I will also check out Home Science Tools, as you recommend. Thanks for that lead.

Oh, that's great to hear (that they got back to you with the list.) Awesome, will do! Thank you for responding!

I'm interested in using Oak Meadow's Biology: The Study of Life course for my 9th grader next year. (I'd be teaching it at home, not taking the class through their online school.) My question: What materials do I need to complete this course beyond the following? Biology: The Study of Life Coursebook Biology: The Study of Life Teacher Manual Holt Biology Lab Kit - Biology: The Study of Life I ask because the lab kit appears to contain necessary tools, but it does NOT appear to contain other essential materials I would expect, such as preserved frogs, samples, etc. What would I need to purchase besides the items listed above to successfully complete this course? (The description for Biology: The Study of Life Coursebook says that there is "a full list of materials in the coursebook appendix," but I can't see the list anywhere online and it is not included in the curriculum sample. Basically, I'm just trying to get a sense of how much this course will cost overall. Is it just a few dollars' worth of additional materials, or will I be spending tons of money at various vendors like Carolina Biological Supply?) Thanks in advance for any help!

Yay, Ohio! lol. This information is very helpful, especially about your experience with OSU. I definitely agree that chem and physics are part of a good education. My aim is not to dumb down the sciences for her (she's an excellent student all around), but I am struggling with what will be the most relevant and helpful to her. Maybe it would be wise to bio/chem/physics and then in her senior year anatomy or botany (or both, as I might be able to do them DE). Or maybe do several of them DE.... Like you suggest, doing at least 4 sciences would put her in the 88% for OSU.... So much to think about. I'm in the struggle space of not wanting to educate solely for the purpose of college admissions, but....also concerned about college admissions, lol. Anyway, thank you for your feedback!!

It's interesting that you report this! I grew up in NY state, and we all took Earth Science in 9th, followed by bio and chem in 10th and 11th. Then, people who were super into science took physics in 12th grade. So, it's interesting to see the different requirements state to state....

Thank you; this is helpful! I am reading through TWTM and it points out that Earth Science is typically not considered high school level science. That made me a little nervous. (I'd love to consider these other sciences, but I was scared they wouldn't be considered high school level.) I will definitely read through these other posts; thanks so much!

Hi all! I'm doing big-picture planning for my rising 9th grader. (I'm using my state flagship's admissions requirements (OSU) as my main guide, for general purposes, as I make a very rough outline of her high school plan.) The site says it expects 3 natural sciences "with significant lab." Does this mean we have to take biology/chemistry/physics in 9th/10th/11th grades? Are any other sciences acceptable here? (For instance, when I was in college as an English/Education double-degree student, I was required to take one science with a lab, but it could be any science I wanted. I chose botany and I loved it.) My daughter is an extremely dedicated artist and will almost certainly be a painting or illustration major in college. She's on board for taking biology in high school, but she is much more interested in taking anatomy and botany as her subsequent sciences, as these would both strongly benefit her drawing and painting skills. (For instance, she's interested in studying anatomy because knowing the specific bones and muscles of the face and body would improve her portraits. Same goes for botany; knowing the structures of plants and studying them in detail would only enhance and reinforce her botanical illustrations.) But it seems like colleges expect the biology/chemistry/physics series? Would love any advice or insight from others. (I'm having a tough time "following my child" at this stage! We've always followed our interests academically--and I'd love to continue doing so at the high school level--but I also want her to be able to get into our state university, know what I mean? Granted, she's most likely going to go to attend an art school or small LAC--and few of the art schools have specific course requirements--but for us, college will likely come down to money/affordability, so I want to keep her options open.) Thank you for any help or suggestions!

Thank you! I appreciate the help!

Wow, this is interesting! Yes, I got it here, from the ODE site (it's then linked under District Superintendent Responsibilities). This is SO interesting! Back in Maryland, the homeschool laws (known as COMAR) were very explicit and the same info was presented on all the various sites one might check (the county's site, the state's site, etc). It didn't occur to me--even after a decade of homeschooling!--that the ODE site wouldn't have the law presented correctly. I guess I should know better by now, but it just didn't occur to me. As you can tell, I had been interpreting the law differently than it is written, and it makes a huge difference! I just Googled "Ohio Administrative Code section 3301-34" and found it worded the way you said. Is there a better "official" resource than ODE you use as your reference that you could link to? (What source do you use to stay up-to-date on Ohio law?) Thanks for you help!

I sent you a message. Thank you so much! 🙂

Thank you! Yes, I am slowly working my way through the all the Motherlode posts! They are SO helpful but also kind of overwhelming (just because there's so much info there!). But I love knowing they're there as I go along!

This is such a helpful response, thank you so much!

Your post, mom2scouts, made me really curious that I've been misinterpreting the law, so I went back and looked at the requirements here. It says: The parent’s notification of home education must include: Name, address and signature of the parent or guardian; Name and birthdate of the child; An assurance that the home education will include 900 hours of instruction in the following, unless the topic or practice conflicts with the religious beliefs of the parent: Language, reading, spelling and writing; Geography, history of the United States and Ohio, and national, state, and local government; Mathematics; Science; Health; Physical education; Fine arts, including music; and First aid, safety and fire prevention. A brief outline of the intended curriculum (informational only); A list of teaching materials (informational only); Assurance the home teacher has a high school diploma or the equivalent or is working under the guidance of a person holding a bachelor’s degree; An assessment report, if the notification is a continuance from the previous year So, to me, it sounds like each year's "900 hours" needs to include all of those subjects in some capacity. But it sounds like others interpret it differently?

This is really helpful, thank you! (Yes, I am in Ohio, but we have been here for less than a year. We homeschooled in Maryland for nearly a decade, so I am still getting used to the new laws!) Your interpretation on this is helpful, because I was definitely reading the law as though we have to do all the subjects every year. (I've only met with my reviewer once so far, so I look forward to discussing this with her in more detail.)

I'm curious how other home educators went about preparing for the high school years. I'd love to know how everyone approached it. Did you read certain books? Establish certain routines in your household? That sort of thing. Also: Looking back, are there things you wish you'd done? Thanks!

This thread is great! My question: How hard is it to actually get into/register for the classes? Do they sell out super fast? Are there lots of sections of each class offered? (I'm likely not going to take advantage of APs until 11th grade or 10th at the absolute earliest, but I'd love to know how to plan for registration, etc.)

This is extremely helpful. Thank you!!

Thanks for this! I love your idea of making a sheet that they check off as they go. That feels super doable.