Course Syllabi for the college?

[Blue Hen]

Twice now I have encountered colleges requesting a course syllabi for all high school courses----Cornell and Rutgers----from homeschoolers.

 

When I've looked at public school course syllabi on the web some are just a listing of classroom policies (get to class on time, have your homework, lose one letter grade if your paper is turned in late) while others give a day-by-day listings of what pages are to be read, homework assignments,.....

 

Most, well, no, all the classes DS has done at home have been at his own pace so I rarely put a syllabi together and if I did, it was a waste of time. He never followed it sometimes working faster, sometimes he was 'behind' but then he did a week's worth of work in a day. I don't see the reason for the colleges to need one but maybe I don't understand their request. I have supplied the textbooks and supplemental materials used within the course description document I'll be sending to the colleges. I explain our grading policy in the Homeschool Profile document. Is that sufficient?

 

How do you define course syllabi?

 

Carole

[TravelingChris]

I think what you did is fine. Obviously these schools don't have much familiarity with homeschooling. I would also make sure he is apply to more homeschool friendly schools.

[choirfarm]

My son is starting 9th grade on Monday. I printed out the class planner ( which is really a syllabus) from this site.

 

http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/garamond.htm

 

I'm filling out one of these for each subject. I figure it will be easier to do now as we are doing it rather than trying to re-create it. Baylor probably won't need it, but I'm prepared.

 

Christine

[Brenda in MA]

Twice now I have encountered colleges requesting a course syllabi for all high school courses----Cornell and Rutgers----from homeschoolers.

 

I have supplied the textbooks and supplemental materials used within the course description document I'll be sending to the colleges. I explain our grading policy in the Homeschool Profile document. Is that sufficient?

 

How do you define course syllabi?

 

Carole

Carole,

 

I never came across the specific request for a syllabus for ds's courses. I put together a document with course descriptions, textbooks, and literary titles for each course. The course description was 3-4 sentences explaining the topics covered. I think the schools are asking for a syllabus because they want to know how much of a textbook was covered. When you list Physics, for example, they want to know if you covered some or all of the following: Mechanics, Optics, Electricity, Magnetism, Waves, Sound, Modern Physics, Thermodynamics, etc. Some high schools might call the course Physics, but only cover Mechanics. I think they want a sense of the depth & breadth of your courses since they aren't already familiar with your school.

 

I think they would be happy with a few sentence description of what was covered, but since they specifically asked for syllabi, you might want to call up the admissions office and tell them what you were planning to send and ask them if it would meet their needs. You might also put a statement at the end of your course descriptions saying that if they require more details about a particular course, then you would be happy to provide them.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[readwithem]

Will you possibly be visiting these schools before the application is due? (Or are they coming to your area for an open house, etc.)

 

- could you show them your documents then and ask whether they're in acceptable form?

[Blue Hen]

Carole,

 

I never came across the specific request for a syllabus for ds's courses. I put together a document with course descriptions, textbooks, and literary titles for each course. The course description was 3-4 sentences explaining the topics covered.

 

I just finished putting the final touches on our 16pg course description document and did just what you suggested for each course. What a lot of work! But it is finished.

 

I'll also do as has been suggested and talk with the Admin person directly if we do visit these schools in the fall.

 

 

Carole

[Michelle in MO]

I just finished putting the final touches on our 16pg course description document and did just what you suggested for each course. What a lot of work! But it is finished.

 

I'll also do as has been suggested and talk with the Admin person directly if we do visit these schools in the fall.

 

 

Carole

I did something very similar to this when we enrolled our girls in a private school after seven years of homeschooling. Each document ended up being over 14 pages long and took me quite a bit of time to put together---that plus a transcript. The school we enrolled them in did not require the course description (but they did require the transcript, however). I took it upon myself to do so, but I wanted the school to have a better understanding of what type of work we did at home.

 

I'm saving all of that paperwork, just in case colleges should request it. :) However, I wonder why Cornell and Rutgers would require this paperwork. I guess part of me can understand their reasoning behind this (i.e., not all homeschoolers take the same approach, if you kwim), but part of me wonder if it isn't an unfair policy on their part??

[Janice H]

Regarding Cornell, if you remain serious about the school find out where the nearest alumni group is that has a committee that does area interviews for applicants. Maybe a person from that committee can help blaze the homeschool trail that is apparently not well marked yet.

[Brenda in MA]

However, I wonder why Cornell and Rutgers would require this paperwork. I guess part of me can understand their reasoning behind this (i.e., not all homeschoolers take the same approach, if you kwim), but part of me wonder if it isn't an unfair policy on their part??

 

My son did not apply to either of these schools, but I do not see their request as unfair in any way. I really think they are trying to figure out what kind of education a homeschooled applicant has had (depth & breadth), and the only way they can find this out is to ask the parent to provide this info. Most colleges have lots of history on the public & private schools from which most of their students apply, so they know how strong a math, English, etc. background the student has and how he/she is likely to perform at their institution given the courses they took in high school and the grades they earned.

 

It was a lot of work to pull together all of this info to submit with ds's transcript, but I think it was definitely worth it because it allowed me to showcase the educational path that we followed and to show how unique his education was. The admissions folks could not glance at his application and think, "Oh, another applicant from XYZ school." They had to read it and form their own opinions. I felt like it was a gift in a way to be able to provide the specialized education and showcase my son's unique interests and talents before the admissions folks.

 

A lot of work -- yes, definitely worth it -- you betcha!

 

Brenda

Edited July 29, 2009 by Brenda in MA
typo

[readwithem]

My son did not apply to either of these schools, but I do not see their request as unfair in any way. I really think they are trying to figure out what kind of education a homeschooled applicant has had (depth & breadth), and the only way they can find this out is to ask the parent to provide this info. Most colleges have lots of history on the public & private schools from which most of their students apply, so they know how strong a math, English, etc. background the student has and how he/she is likely to perform at their institution given the courses they took in high school and the grades they earned.

 

It was a lot of work to pull together all of this info to submit with ds's transcript, but I think it was definitely worth it because it allowed me to showcase the educational path that we followed and to show how unique his education was. The admissions folks could not glace at his application and think, "Oh, another applicant from XYZ school." They had to read it and form their own opinions. I felt like it was a gift in a way to be able to provide the specialized education and showcase my son's unique interests and talents before the admissions folks.

 

A lot of work -- yes, definitely worth it -- you betcha!

 

Brenda

:iagree:

 

I'm in the middle of working on all the documents but as I typed my little fingers off last week, I had the same idea that this is a gift I can give my dd. She has worked so hard and done so well - and proved her "mommy grades" with her test scores - how can I do anything less? :001_smile:

[Michelle in MO]

My son did not apply to either of these schools, but I do not see their request as unfair in any way. I really think they are trying to figure out what kind of education a homeschooled applicant has had (depth & breadth), and the only way they can find this out is to ask the parent to provide this info. Most colleges have lots of history on the public & private schools from which most of their students apply, so they know how strong a math, English, etc. background the student has and how he/she is likely to perform at their institution given the courses they took in high school and the grades they earned.

 

It was a lot of work to pull together all of this info to submit with ds's transcript, but I think it was definitely worth it because it allowed me to showcase the educational path that we followed and to show how unique his education was. The admissions folks could not glance at his application and think, "Oh, another applicant from XYZ school." They had to read it and form their own opinions. I felt like it was a gift in a way to be able to provide the specialized education and showcase my son's unique interests and talents before the admissions folks.

 

A lot of work -- yes, definitely worth it -- you betcha!

 

Brenda

I have no problem with their request either, as long as they have that same request of students who are not homeschooled. The document that I put together when we enrolled our girls in school was done of my own accord, and not required by the school. I had had them tested every single year (either the ITBS or the Stanford Achievement Test, depending on which test was available) and kept track of their grades. I also had my oldest take the PSAT and ACT in her sophomore year, and she scored very high on both tests. Plus, I hired a writing tutor for their last year of being homeschooled, and her grades helped verify the grades I had also given them.

 

I think my objection is based upon stories which I've heard in the past about schools which have unfair policies towards homeschoolers who show the same standard of work. For example, there was a college or university in California which required homeschoolers to score at least a 23 on the ACT, whereas kids who had been educated at either public or private schools were required to score only a 20 on the ACT.

 

I'm not just talking about "mommy grades", but parents like myself who have kept records of independent testing, and have also had their children take AP courses and AP tests, SAT subject tests, the SAT, the ACT, the PSAT, etc. etc. Plus, most college applications require a personal essay. I would think all of that would be sufficient outside documentation to compare a homeschooled child with a child who had been enrolled in public or private school.

 

Just my .02 worth. FWIW, I do think it's a great idea for parents to write such a document (I did) and keep a portfolio of their students' work, but I balk when it's a mandatory requirement for homeschoolers who exhibit enough outside verification of the same standards that are achieved by public or private school kids.

[Gwen in VA]

I also don't want to see undue burdens placed upon homeschoolers -- but I think that colleges that request extensive info from homeschoolers are not necessarily placing an undue burden.

 

If my kids went to a local public or private high school, the high school would be able to provide the college with --

 

1) Online course descriptions. (Many high schools have them). Proof of accreditation (which does indicate what the high school says that it covers). Average SAT scores from prior years. # of Natl Merit Finalists. Average scores on AP exams. And much more.

 

2) Students from prior years who may have attended the same college, thus making the college more comfortable with the "product" of the high school.

 

3) Meeting time with the guidance counselors when the college admissions folks do their high school visits. Again, this gives the guidance counselors time to showcase their high school and discuss the program in detail. (One ad coun we talked with mentioned that he even knew which English teacher at a certain high school was known for giving low grades! The ad couns DO take advantage of their tours to get to know the high schools.)

 

4) Lists of colleges the previous graduates have attended. That does give an indication of what other colleges think of the "product" of the high school.

 

As homeschoolers, we can NOT provide that kind of information. We don't have a "track record" of prior graduates, we don't have average test scores, we don't have the time to meet with ad couns from numerous colleges, and we are not "accredited".

 

So what can we do? We can provide the colleges with extensive records that showcase the education our children have received.

 

If I want my kids to get into hard-to-get-into colleges, I expect to give the colleges "proof" that my kid has had an excellent education and that he has every chance of success at the college. I consider the opportunity that homeschoolers have to "toot their own educational horn" a blessing, not a discriminatory burden.

 

If you don't want to provide extensive info about your child's educational experiences, you don't have to, but the more elite colleges will probably be more reluctant to accept your child.

 

I consider providing extensive records to colleges as part of my job as guidance counselor and as a gift to my kid.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Gwen in VA