Which colleges required extra from you due to homeschooling?

[TravelingChris]

I am trying to start a thread on colleges that have extra requirements on homeschoolers.

 

My list so far: Emory requires 3 SAT IIs (One in math) and one outside recommendation.

[Kate in FL]

I have a list going on my desk.

American University-3 SAT subject tests

University of Delaware-sample of work/research paper

Bucknell-interview required. Mission statement. Two graded papers, one English, one other subject

Columbia-5 SAT subject tests

VA Tech-Transcripts and 2 SAT subject tests

 

Most schools requirements are simply outside letter of recommendation or transcripts. Things you would expect.

 

Several schools we visited or talked to had no added requirements. Univ. of South Carolina is one we are considering that had no added requirements.

 

Some schools really hide this info on their websites, making it tough to figure out what we need to be doing. I found the College Handbook by The College Board to be very helpful. Our library has a current copy and many of the schools in it have the added requirements for homeschooled students. Not every school, but enough to get my list going.

[Gwen in VA]

Why are you asking this?

[TravelingChris]

My dd is a very hard working student and does well on certain tests. But all three of the females in our family have medical issues that take up a lot of time. DD is not very limited by finances, area, or schools with her major since most schools have them. One way of limiting is who gives us a hassle. I am a disabled homeschooling mom who already has a ton of stuff on my shoulders including teaching two sections of one class, coaching, and being often a single parent due to my husband being in the military. DD already found two-three schools she likes that don't require anything else. I would like her to have as a starting point about 25 and then whittle down.

 

I also have a philosophical opposition to some of the requirements since I have observed the education in schools in five states and areas and I am not impressed at all. Unless the school is asking the same requirements of the schools the kids applying attend, (and no, they are not familiar with many schools that kids applying to their schools attend, particularly if you are applying to a small school many states away from your area).

[Blue Hen]

University of Delaware-sample of work/research paper

 

WOW!

 

I'm in Delaware and have been in contact with U of DE since it is my DS fall-back school. I've met with them at homeschool conferences when they talked about how much UDE love hs'er...... I've had several emails with the ADMIN folks too and so far all I've gotten as an "extra" is that they would like to see SAT 2 scores IFFFFF the hs'ed student does not have AP scores.

 

The hs'ers that I know who have applied to U of DE have had an easy time and have not been required to jump through extra hoops to be admitted because they were hs'ed.

 

Home-Schooled Students OR Students from Schools that are not Regionally Accredited

 

 

We expect students to graduate from a regionally accredited high school. Where that is not the case (for example, most home-schooled students and students from regionally unaccredited high schools and cyber schools), we strongly recommend that, in addition to the SAT reasoning test or the ACT with writing tests, students submit officially reported scores from at least three SAT Subject Tests or a combination of SAT Subject Tests and AP examination scores.

 

 

I'd like to know where you heard/got this information so I'm prepared. DS is applying to UDE.

 

thanks,

Carole

[MomsintheGarden]

VA Tech-Transcripts and 2 SAT subject tests

 

 

Wow, the SAT II testing is either a new requirement, or we didn't know about it when ds applied! Thanks for pointing this out. Ds is a sophomore at Tech (he began fall 2008), and was totally homeschooled from a mom-generated curriculum (not accredited). He took the SAT but not any SAT II tests. He did take three APs after he had already been accepted.

 

Here's a link to VA Tech's requirements for Home Schoolers:

http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/freshman/what_do_we_look_for.php

Look at the bottom of the page.

 

Everyone must supply a transcript, so that's not extra. They took my mom-generated transcript without complaint or question.

 

A homeschooled friend of ds's applied for this fall (2009), and was accepted both to Tech and the honors program, but not to engineering. He was told it was because he hadn't taken physics or calculus in high school. These subjects are not a required for acceptance into engineering, but should be taken if you want your student to be competitive.

 

Both dh and I graduated from Tech in engineering, so that probably had a small part in ds's acceptance. We felt comfortable sending our first, totally homeschooled child there.

 

Best wishes in your search,

GardenMom

Edited September 24, 2009 by MomsintheGarden

[Kate in FL]

WOW!

 

I'm in Delaware and have been in contact with U of DE since it is my DS fall-back school. I've met with them at homeschool conferences when they talked about how much UDE love hs'er...... I've had several emails with the ADMIN folks too and so far all I've gotten as an "extra" is that they would like to see SAT 2 scores IFFFFF the hs'ed student does not have AP scores.

 

The hs'ers that I know who have applied to U of DE have had an easy time and have not been required to jump through extra hoops to be admitted because they were hs'ed.

 

 

 

 

I'd like to know where you heard/got this information so I'm prepared. DS is applying to UDE.

 

thanks,

Carole

 

I was going from my own notes so had to go back and look it up. This info was in the book I mentioned in my post, The College Board's College Handbook. I did give bad info though and I apologize. The sample of a paper or research paper is not required, just recommended (according this book, which could be wrong). I plan to send in anything recommended but should have checked my source before I posted.

 

The information on the Delaware website does not match the College Board book completely. It is still on my son's list of possibles so I guess I need to call admissions and clarify.

 

I did not mean to imply that UDE was unfriendly to hsers. I feel if they have any hs info on their website they are more likely to be hs friendly.

[cathmom]

UNC-CH wanted 2 SAT II tests from homeschoolers. I don't think any other college ds applied to had special requirements.

[Janet in WA]

Christina, keep in mind that colleges regularly change their admissions requirements, particularly as they apply to homeschoolers. This probably accounts for the differences between the information in the College Board book Kate mentions and the information being reported here by others. Nearly all of the colleges we researched when our sons were beginning their high school years had changed their requirements by the time our sons actually applied to those schools. Many of the colleges relaxed or eliminated their extra requirements for homeschoolers (for example, University of Washington at one time required that homeschooled applicants earn a GED, but they had dropped that requirement by the time our sons applied). Some colleges have increased their requirements for homeschoolers in recent years (for example, Washington State University now asks for course descriptions from homeschooled applicants, but they did not when our sons applied there several years ago).

Edited September 24, 2009 by Janet in WA

[Blue Hen]

Mr. Louis L. Hirsh

 

Director of Admissions

 

University of Delaware

 

University Visitors Center

 

South College and Winslow Road

 

Newark, DE 19716

 

louhirsh@udel.edu

 

phone: 302-831-1209

 

fax: 302-831-6905

[Blue Hen]

Rutgers --- from PS and privates they require the kids to only fill out the online application and that's it. No recommendation letters, no test scores until after they are accepted, and no transcript. During our visit they focused upon how they were trying to make it easy for the applicant. They stated: "We trust these kids to supply us with correct information. Of course if we accept you and then find out that your information was incorrect we will resind the offer."

 

Except for homeschoolers. This is what I heard and then got in writing:

Students who are home schooled should submit SAT or ACT scores as well as transcripts, syllabi, and /or other documents relevant to academic work completed. Please also attach an outline of your academic curriculum and indicate whether it has been conducted under an accredited program. Please include your name and nine-digit RUID number on all attachments.

 

Our mailing address is:

 

Office of University Undergraduate Admissions

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Room 202

65 Davidson Road

Piscataway NJ 08854-8097

 

Please note: If you plan to submit results of the ACT in support of your application, your scores must include results from the optional Writing Test.

 

Sincerely,

Deborah Epting

Associate Vice President

Enrollment Management

 

I'm glad the school dropped off DS list. Yea, an accredited program in a state that has very relaxed hs laws.

[Susie-Knits]

I recently saw a link to this page about requirements to several colleges in a chart form (appeals to my mathie-ness!haha) - whether the ACT or SAT is required; SAT 2s and how many; whether superscoring is allowed and so on. Read about it on the homemade-ed blogspot . You may or may not find it helpful - depending on colleges you are looking at.

 

In general, I would say ask the college. When we visited Vanderbilt, they said no SAT 2s required in their group presentation. But when we spoke to the homeschool specific admission counselor, he indicated they like to see 2 from homeschool applicants.

 

Susie

[K-FL]

I recently saw a link to this page about requirements to several colleges in a chart form (appeals to my mathie-ness!haha)

 

In general, I would say ask the college. When we visited Vanderbilt, they said no SAT 2s required in their group presentation. But when we spoke to the homeschool specific admission counselor, he indicated they like to see 2 from homeschool applicants.

 

Susie

One note: I checked the link above & it says U.FLorida doesn't require SATII's (I hope I'm reading the chart correctly), but this is from the UF web-site (bolding mine):

 

Non-Accredited and Home Schools

 

Any student who does not graduate from a regionally accredited secondary school must provide, in addition to a transcript and the SAT or ACT With Writing results required of other applicants, results from the SAT II examinations in mathematics (Level II-C), foreign language, science and social science. For admission decision purposes, the university will use the result of the SAT writing subscore if the applicant has no dual-enrollment or virtual school English composition coursework, since the SAT II in writing is no longer offered.

 

 

 

Applicants who present G.E.D. scores must also present secondary school records and standardized test scores.

[Nan in Mass]

It is the difference between "required" and "would like to see" that worries me. Too bad they don't advertise statistics on who got in having given what.

[Joan in GE]

Here are their requirements for English, Chemistry and Math and their supplemental form for homeschoolers...

 

which is worth looking at well ahead of time....Interesting that they use chemistry as one of the limiting factors. I think it's purposefully intended to keep out homeschoolers if you look at the lab question on the form. And then look at their foreign language questions at the bottom of the form.

Edited September 25, 2009 by Joan in Geneva
more info

[Piano&ViolinMom]

Here are their requirements for English, Chemistry and Math and their supplemental form for homeschoolers...

 

which is worth looking at well ahead of time....Interesting that they use chemistry as one of the limiting factors. I think it's purposefully intended to keep out homeschoolers if you look at the lab question on the form. And then look at their foreign language questions at the bottom of the form.

Very interesting requirements from Georgia Tech indeed. I agree with you on Chemistry matter.

[Murphy101]

Here are their requirements for English, Chemistry and Math and their supplemental form for homeschoolers...

 

which is worth looking at well ahead of time....Interesting that they use chemistry as one of the limiting factors. I think it's purposefully intended to keep out homeschoolers if you look at the lab question on the form. And then look at their foreign language questions at the bottom of the form.

 

 

:001_huh:The language requirement is reasonable for ANY college to ask of a high school grad, imho. MANY high schools now have this as a requirement. 2 consecutive years of the same foreign language.

 

I also think the chemistry question is completely valid when applying to a science-geared college.

 

I don't think they are weeding out home schoolers by asking for what are basic requirements of many graduating high schools and admissions to many colleges.

 

It would appear that these are common questions they need answered by home schoolers so they are asking up-front about it.

 

And they show on collegeboard.com that they require 2 years of science labs and 2 years of a foreign language, so it doesn't seem they are asking more of homeschoolers.:)

[Piano&ViolinMom]

And they show on collegeboard.com that they require 2 years of science labs and 2 years of a foreign language, so it doesn't seem they are asking more of homeschoolers.:)

Yes, I agree that it's common for many colleges to require 2 years of science labs. But is it common also to single out it has to be 'Chemistry' or the lab has NOT to be online?

[Murphy101]

Yes, I agree that it's common for many colleges to require 2 years of science labs. But is it common also to single out it has to be 'Chemistry' or the lab has NOT to be online?

 

yes i believe it is.:)

 

many want 2 labs that are actual doing a lab yourself kind of labs in biology and chemistry.

[asta]

:001_huh:The language requirement is reasonable for ANY college to ask of a high school grad, imho. MANY high schools now have this as a requirement. 2 consecutive years of the same foreign language.

 

I also think the chemistry question is completely valid when applying to a science-geared college.

 

I don't think they are weeding out home schoolers by asking for what are basic requirements of many graduating high schools and admissions to many colleges.

 

It would appear that these are common questions they need answered by home schoolers so they are asking up-front about it.

 

And they show on collegeboard.com that they require 2 years of science labs and 2 years of a foreign language, so it doesn't seem they are asking more of homeschoolers.:)

 

I see your point, but I find GTs form offensive.

 

I've lived in Atlanta. Their schools are some of the worst in the country. You have to go through gauntlets of cop cars and metal detectors to even get into their grade schools. There are classes that don't have a full time teacher for an ENTIRE YEAR (read: they have a series of temp teachers). When I lived there, the district admin was brought in on an indictment because it was discovered that none of the board actually LIVED in the district (they thought it was too dangerous) and were spending the funds elsewhere.

 

But I digress.

 

What *really* burns me up?

 

A high school transcript from an Atlanta school includes NONE of that information. All it says is Name, class, credits. Period. No mention of what books or curriculum was used. No notation on whether or not there was an actual teacher present in the classroom. No mention about the building being cleared out several times (and class being disrupted/dismissed) due to gang activity. No one is asking anyone from these *accredited* schools to PROVE they can write an essay by taking an outside exam that costs $50.

 

Oh... wait... of COURSE they aren't! In Georgia, anyone who manages to graduate from high school with a C or better can get the Hope scholarship and go to college on the gvt's dime! It's a shell game!

 

Does GT want the majority of these kids? Of course not. Are they willing to let some of them in to their frosh classes (to get the funds) and then fail out? I bet they are.

 

The whole process just ticks me off. And my kid isn't even going through it yet.

 

a

[Nan in Mass]

But doesn't GT know this other information from the name of the public school on the top of the transcript? I always assumed that colleges, especially state ones, ask more from homeschoolers because they don't know the school, whereas if the transcript comes from a public high school or in-state private school, the college has some idea of whether students coming from that school can manage the college's classes. I know that when my son gave his college his transcript, they looked at the name of the community college and said, "O yes, we are familiar with them," and didn't ask for much else.

-Nan

[asta]

All they know is that "Atlanta School District" published a curriculum they intended for all of their schools to follow. That's it. Whether a school did or not is never addressed.

 

For that matter, it is never addressed anywhere that I know of.

 

I know that some schools have "better reputations" than others - be it by test scores, athletic teams, proportion of highly achieving students (eg: students who are successful applicants to "good" schools) or whatever, but I doubt it has to do with the state mandated curricula - I suspect it has to do with the kids, and their parents.

 

 

a

[Murphy101]

A high school transcript from an Atlanta school includes NONE of that information. All it says is Name, class, credits. Period. No mention of what books or curriculum was used.

 

but it should say if chemistry was taken and whether SATsub or APs or college dual enrollment was done for it? For that matter, if I am making my son's transcript it will have that information on it. My dh's transcript from over a decade ago has that information on it.

 

No one is asking anyone from these *accredited* schools to PROVE they can write an essay by taking an outside exam that costs $50.

 

WAIT! Are you sure? Given the very high numbers of students that need remedial math and writing, every college I know does have these things as part of the enrollment process at some point in some manner unless there are other things to suggest a student can skip them, such as an AP score. Some want the writing portion of the ACT or SAT, some have an essay as part of the application, some compare courses, some do have exams that new students have to take. And it doesn't even mean you don't get in most of the time. But failure will mean the student has to take remedial courses that cost $ but do not give credits.

 

Oh... wait... of COURSE they aren't! In Georgia, anyone who manages to graduate from high school with a C or better can get the Hope scholarship and go to college on the gvt's dime! It's a shell game!

 

Does GT want the majority of these kids? Of course not. Are they willing to let some of them in to their fresh classes (to get the funds) and then fail out? I bet they are.

 

I think that is true of EVERY college in existance. They all get a lot of money from every student in some manner, a huge chunk of it gov't funds in various forms, but the majority of students do not get a degree with a huge percentage not making it to 2nd year.

 

I'm guessing that they are asking for curriculum info to give those who do not have outside scores a chance to show the comparitve studies they have done.

 

Now, I'm willing to admit that they might have an "attitude" towards homeschoolers. Not there, so don't know.

 

BUT, so far, I don't think they are asking for info that I wouldn't have readily available to give anyways or that they are not asking of other grads in some manner.

 

JMHO.

 

The college system in general irks me most of the time, so you have my understanding regardless.:D

[In The Great White North]

I found GT's supplemental form for homeschoolers offensive also. Why should I have to justify to them why I chose to homeschool??? Why does it matter what my relationship to the state dept of education is? Whether or not your state recognizes you as a high school graduate is a function of where you live, not the quality of your homeschool.

 

There is a great deal of difference between "taking two years of the same foreign language" and "evaluating the fluency" of that language. No one should be under any delusions that two years of high school French results in fluency of any sort, whether you homeschool or go to the best prep school in the country.

 

And, no, I've not seen any other college specifically require chemistry, just two (or three) years of a "lab science." Not to mention requiring the SAT II or AP for chemistry.

[Janet in WA]

 

And, no, I've not seen any other college specifically require chemistry, just two (or three) years of a "lab science."

Some of the more selective colleges to which our sons applied did specify that one of the required lab sciences had to be a physical science -- either physics or chemistry.

[Murphy101]

I found GT's supplemental form for homeschoolers offensive also. Why should I have to justify to them why I chose to homeschool??? Why does it matter what my relationship to the state dept of education is?

 

Now, THAT part I agree with. I was really rather astonished to see people thought they were excluding hs-ers b/c of the chem and foreign lang questions. That seems standard to me, but yeah, why I choose whatever school, in this case hs-ing, is not relivant or any of the business. Unless they are asking parents who sent their kid to private school those same questions? Doubt it. And still wouldn't think it appropriate.:glare:

 

There is a great deal of difference between "taking two years of the same foreign language" and "evaluating the fluency" of that language. No one should be under any delusions that two years of high school French results in fluency of any sort, whether you homeschool or go to the best prep school in the country.

 

true. but it is a basic requirement by most schools.

[Piano&ViolinMom]

I was really rather astonished to see people thought they were excluding hs-ers b/c of the chem and foreign lang questions.

You must have mis-understood here. If you are referring mine, let me say this. I was agreeing with Joan in Geneva at that moment. Her post was "......Interesting that they use chemistry as one of the limiting factors. I think it's purposefully intended to keep out homeschoolers if you look at the lab question on the form".

 

I do not think her concern is something to do with her caring less 'science with 2 labs' policy which we often see as common requirments. Certainly I am not the person goes with discription who cares less in science either. My son has completed Calculus 1, 2 and 3 at the college as a 9th grader at age 13 last year. He is doing entire science courses along with almost 3 hours labs each at the college now. However, I do have some uneasy feeling like Joan regarding this Tech policy. Chemistry with Live Lab a must? Getting 5 in AP Chemistry a must? I think 'requirement' should be set at the minimum with less specific. Certainly they eventually find many qualified students with those descriptions through the process, but preventing some candidates from applying in the first place because of online lab?

[asta]

but it should say if chemistry was taken and whether SATsub or APs or college dual enrollment was done for it? For that matter, if I am making my son's transcript it will have that information on it. My dh's transcript from over a decade ago has that information on it.

 

 

 

WAIT! Are you sure? Given the very high numbers of students that need remedial math and writing, every college I know does have these things as part of the enrollment process at some point in some manner unless there are other things to suggest a student can skip them, such as an AP score. Some want the writing portion of the ACT or SAT, some have an essay as part of the application, some compare courses, some do have exams that new students have to take. And it doesn't even mean you don't get in most of the time. But failure will mean the student has to take remedial courses that cost $ but do not give credits.

 

 

 

I think that is true of EVERY college in existance. They all get a lot of money from every student in some manner, a huge chunk of it gov't funds in various forms, but the majority of students do not get a degree with a huge percentage not making it to 2nd year.

 

I'm guessing that they are asking for curriculum info to give those who do not have outside scores a chance to show the comparitve studies they have done.

 

Now, I'm willing to admit that they might have an "attitude" towards homeschoolers. Not there, so don't know.

 

BUT, so far, I don't think they are asking for info that I wouldn't have readily available to give anyways or that they are not asking of other grads in some manner.

 

JMHO.

 

The college system in general irks me most of the time, so you have my understanding regardless.:D

 

No, I think you're missing what I'm saying (and I'm *really* spacey today - so I'm relatively sure I'm not explaining myself well, either ;) ).

 

My gripe is that a standard high school transcript ONLY says "Mary Smith, Address, #153 out of 2342 students, SAT 1530, GPA 3.25"

Courses:

Eng 1, 2, 3, 4

Foreign Language: French 1, 2

Math: Alg 1, 2, Geo, Pre-Calc

Science: Bio, Chem, Physics

Social Studies: World History, American History, Multi-Cultural Studies, American Government, Civics

Electives: PE, Model UN, Band, Jr ROTC, Etc.

 

That's it.

 

It doesn't say jack about what any of those courses included. Mary's mom isn't required to submit a booklist, syllabi, science lab examples - ANYTHING. And neither is the school. For all any college would ever know, Mary's biology lab could have consisted of her sitting in the corner protesting with a PETA sign while the ACLU backed her up while her classmates dissected Frogs.

 

Yes, Mary has to do the SAT. So do our kids. Yes, she has to write an entrance essay. So do our kids. They both have to get letters of recommendation. They both have to pass their classes. Why do our kids have to submit documentation that they actually had books and syllabi and DID THEIR WORK, yet these kids don't?

 

 

a

[Piano&ViolinMom]

I found GT's supplemental form for homeschoolers offensive also........ And, no, I've not seen any other college specifically require chemistry, just two (or three) years of a "lab science." Not to mention requiring the SAT II or AP for chemistry.

Exactly ! By the way, look at required scores in tests for homeschoolers: SAT Chemistry(score >= 540) or AP Chemistry(score = 5)? Those testing scores are not matching right. How can these scores be equivalent in Chemistry by the way?

[Murphy101]

My point there was simply that GA Tech does require biology and chem. It says so right on college board.com That particuliar requirment is NOT just for homeschoolers.

[Joan in GE]

Why I found the chem and language requirements excluding to homeschoolers is because those are probably - in general - two of the harder areas to gain proficiency at home.

 

If one does not live near a CC, it would probably be difficult to have a lab evaluated in a manner which they would consider sufficiently rigorous.

 

And evaluating fluency of a foreign language? I live overseas and even with all our experience, this is not an easy question to answer!

 

My ds2 is a mechanical engineering major in a good school here. He did not like chemistry. Would have have gotten a 5 on an AP chem test? I don't know. Why use chemistry to evaluate the capacity of an engineering major?

 

For us, chem and language probably are not so difficult but I found the whole form intimidating.

 

My relationship between my homeschool and the state department of education?? Is my state going to recognize my son as a graduate?? What kind of questions are these?

 

On the regular applicant page here I cannot find them asking regular applicants for a 5 in chemistry. Maybe I'm missing something.

[In The Great White North]

My point there was simply that GA Tech does require biology and chem. It says so right on college board.com That particuliar requirment is NOT just for homeschoolers.

 

The requirement to take bio and chem course is not just for homeschoolers.

 

The requirement to take the Chem SAT or AP is just for homeschoolers (and actually just for homeschoolers without an umbrella school - you could use the very same Apologia text with Seton and not be required to take the SAT II or AP test, whether you did labs or not.)

[MomsintheGarden]

Exactly ! By the way, look at required scores in tests for homeschoolers: SAT Chemistry(score >= 540) or AP Chemistry(score = 5)? Those testing scores are not matching right. How can these scores be equivalent in Chemistry by the way?

 

I agree that these don't match up. After finding that GT only awards Chemistry credit for an AP score of a 5, it makes more sense. They want homeschoolers to get either:

An SAT II score of 540, to show high school-level proficiency in Chemistry.

or

An AP score of 5, to receive credit.

 

I guess their thinking is that you shouldn't bother taking the AP if you don't think you'll get a 5. If you don't know enough Chemistry to score so well, then take the SAT II test.

 

I'm not saying this is a fair policy, nor is having an extra "hoop" to jump through is a good thing, but I'll bet that's what they were thinking when they wrote the policy.

 

Also, I'll bet that doing labs such as those in the MicroChem Kit or a standard homeschool curriculum such as Apologia would be just fine. High school chemistry labs don't have to be fancy.

 

Their questions seem to be a blend of curiosity and a concern about preparedness. Perhaps they have had some homeschooled students who struggled? Whatever the reason, if your heart is set on GT, I don't envy the extra stuff you have to do!

 

GardenMom

[Mary in GA]

I'm posting to this thread after reading through the posts regarding GT. Georgia public university admissions are not generally home school friendly. If the student is not from an "accredited" background, many SAT II's are required--Georgia State is even worse than GT. Home schoolers can get their courses of study "sanctioned" by accrediting bodies, but not all accrediting bodies are recognized by all public universities. In my experience community college or smaller university experience as a dual enrollment student is the way to go for admissions here. Ds went to a smaller university for 2 years then transferred. During his jr year ds went through a few SAT 2 books in comp, math, physics, and he was absolutely not going to pass those tests!

 

Ds was "accredited" at the 11th hour so he could enroll for his sr year in highschool in a local small university by a school that offered accrediting services to home schoolers but is primarily a school for at risk youths! The transcript does, however, list the locations for courses taken.

 

Mary

[Mary in GA]

OK. After reading through some of these posts more carefully....

 

Chem has always been a "weed out" course at GT. Before the days of widespread AP or home schooling, CHEM was one of the means for weeding out freshmen who weren't going to hack it. Next was physics.

 

I agree that a student needs actual lab experience. If you have no experience with a triple beam balance, don't know all the lab equipment by name, how can you analyze your compound for the unknown, etc? You must know all these things going into a rigorous chem class. And I beilive you must learn by doing. Freshman 1st semester chem at GT is certainly the equivalent to or even more rigorous than high school AP chem which is an entire year's course.

 

SAT 2's are generally regarded as more objective and uniform measurements of performance than AP's from what I've been told by admission officers.

 

To the poster discussing Atl public schools: I am not a fan of public education at all hence I am home schooling, but I hope you are restricting your comments

to city of Atl. schools. They are horrible. However, not all the schools in the burbs, where GT would draw most of its ps applicants from, are nearly so horrid. HOPE scholarship in GAis for B students or better. Yes it does lead to grade inflation, and that is a topic for an entirely different discussion yet it is another reason for some of the more punitive admissions requirements of GA public universities. It sounds as if you or someone close to you had a really bad experience in the Atl school system.

 

I found the GT home schooler form offensive. I don't remember seeing it on the website 2 yrs ago or so when we first looked into that school. As I mentioned earlier, prior college experience is the way to go for admission to top universities in GA.

 

Mary

Edited September 28, 2009 by Mary in GA

[asta]

To the poster discussing Atl public schools: I am not a fan of public education at all hence I am home schooling, but I hope you are restricting your comments

to city of Atl. schools. They are horrible. However, not all the schools in the burbs, where GT would draw most of its ps applicants from, are nearly so horrid. HOPE scholarship in GAis for B students or better. Yes it does lead to grade inflation, and that is a topic for an entirely different discussion yet it is another reason for some of the more punitive admissions requirements of GA public universities. It sounds as if you or someone close to you had a really bad experience in the Atl school system.

 

Mary

 

My bad on the C vs B thing - I was thinking grade inflation. I remember reading stories in the AJC about kids who were actually getting "Cs" that were inflated to "Bs" so that they wouldn't "lose" their Hope scholarship.

 

And yes - bad, bad, bad experience with da' ATL school system.

 

When you live in da' hood, it is your only option unless you go the homeschool route. Sometimes it isn't an option to move to the burbs to take advantage of the "good" schools out there. (not saying you did that, but I knew lots of people who did)

 

 

a

[Joan in GE]

(and actually just for homeschoolers without an umbrella school - you could use the very same Apologia text with Seton and not be required to take the SAT II or AP test, whether you did labs or not.)

 

Interesting point...

 

Correction on my part about chem - I try to reassure myself about the lab part since dh is a chemist but other times I feel weak-kneed since it was me doing the labs with ds3.

 

I do see posts on the engineering thread about chemistry needs, though there still seems to be a leaning to being prepared with physics, computer programing and math for engineering preparation and nothing about foreign language.

 

But if someone looked at the requirements after 11th grade had begun, and they had done chemistry in 10th grade but not taken the SAT II then, they'd be in trouble as they would probably be doing physics in 11th and would not have SAT II grades of chemistry to turn in with their application. So I think I'll add this to the engineering thread of preparation....

 

There is a great deal of difference between "taking two years of the same foreign language" and "evaluating the fluency" of that language. No one should be under any delusions that two years of high school French results in fluency of any sort, whether you homeschool or go to the best prep school in the country.

 

Yes when they ask how do you evaluate "fluency" it implies that the student is "fluent" which as you say does not come with 2 years of high school foreign language. So that implies that a homeschooled student is to be "fluent" in a foreign language, while institutionalized students only have to spend time studying a language.

 

My point there was simply that GA Tech does require biology and chem. It says so right on college board.com That particuliar requirment is NOT just for homeschoolers.

 

I agree that hs'rs should have to take these sciences but find it unfair that the proof of achievement in the subject is not what is required of institutionalized students. I agree that hs's should do lab work. But the level of lab experience is another matter. I'm pretty sure that not all public schools in the US provide a good lab experience for their high school students.

 

A question for those who say that GT requires chemistry for other students. I was never arguing subjects studied only the level of achievement required. Where does it say they have to do the SAT II chem/ or AP chem test on the GT site? I don't mean that rudely, I just don't like info that doesn't fit to get resolved.

 

I have compared the Georgia Public Broadcasting program of physics with Giancoli subjects and there is only about 1/2 of the material covered. Giancoli is supposed to be the book for SAT II physics. If their chemistry program is similar in coverage, I would tend to agree with Asta and think that they are not requiring of their own state residents what they are asking from us if they are not asking that they take the SAT II chem test.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Joan in Geneva

[Bev in B'ville]

Chem has always been a "weed out" course at GT. Before the days of widespread AP or home schooling, CHEM was one of the means for weeding out freshmen who weren't going to hack it. Next was physics.

 

I agree that a student needs actual lab experience. If you have no experience with a triple beam balance, don't know all the lab equipment by name, how can you analyze your compound for the unknown, etc? You must know all these things going into a rigorous chem class. And I beilive you must learn by doing. Freshman 1st semester chem at GT is certainly the equivalent to or even more rigorous than high school AP chem which is an entire year's course.

 

SAT 2's are generally regarded as more objective and uniform measurements of performance than AP's from what I've been told by admission officers.

 

To the poster discussing Atl public schools: I am not a fan of public education at all hence I am home schooling, but I hope you are restricting your comments

to city of Atl. schools. They are horrible. However, not all the schools in the burbs, where GT would draw most of its ps applicants from, are nearly so horrid. HOPE scholarship in GAis for B students or better. Yes it does lead to grade inflation, and that is a topic for an entirely different discussion yet it is another reason for some of the more punitive admissions requirements of GA public universities. It sounds as if you or someone close to you had a really bad experience in the Atl school system.

 

 

Mary

 

Georgia Tech actually has a limit as to how many students from our state that they will take. We visited them last fall and received lots of good information. My dh also graduated from GT. They do NOT have remedial classes offered at Tech. Calculus is a freshman class taken first semester (Now, does that apply to athletes? Who knows). A student I know who began GT last fall tells me that calculators are NOT allowed in Calculus. Now, they do have math labs and such to assist students (and labs/tutoring not just for math), which is a far cry from when my dh attended. The first year was the sink or swim year for students when my dh attended and the professors seemed to take a perverse pleasure in flunking students and weeding them out. (All 4 of my dh's friends flunked out the first year). GT now boasts a higher retention rate due to the labs and tutoring offered.

 

Given the grade inflation due to HOPE, GT as well as UGA and other schools are now having to use SAT II's, AP, SAT and/or ACT scores as a more reflective measure of a student's knowledge. What I don't find fair is having HS'ed students requirements more strict, and that is not limited to GT in the state of GA. For example, the CC my dd is currently dual enrolled at requires only a 920 on the SAT for admittance from the traditionally schooled student whereas a HS'ed student must score in the top 10% nationally. Where's the logic there? The CC's requirements are much tougher tha GT's. :001_huh: There are also several other hoops HS'ed students must jump through. That, and the fact that dual enrolled HS'ed students don't have access to ACCEL funds (basically HOPE for dual enrolled students), made me go through the (relatively simple I might add) process of getting accredited for my dc. Currently, my dd attends a CC and has it paid for through ACCEL and I only submitted a one page transcript for admission purposes. When she does attend a college/university later on there will be no waiting period for the HOPE funds (currently, HS'ed students have to show proficiency - i.e. maintain a 3.0 for the first year - before they are eligible for HOPE funds and reimbursement).

 

Given that one of the counties in GA lost their accreditation, the Board of Regents is having to struggle with college entrance requirements for those students too (at least four high schools lost accreditation), which is a good thing for HS'ed students since most are also not accredited. They've already changed the ruling to allow HS'ed students to participate in dual enrollment (which wasn't allowed until this year, yet another reason I sought accreditation), although they specifically state that HS'ed students are not eligible for ACCEL funds. Access to dual enrollment was a direct result of that particular county losing accreditation. Hopefully, we'll see more changes for the better soon.

[lmrich]

My husband is a GT grad (master's degree) and it is a rigorous school. My neighbor's kid is there now and has lost his Hope scholarship because of Chemistry and Calc. It is a tough, tough school in a state that performs among the lowest in the country. If you find them offensive, don't go there!

 

I would love to get back to the orginal OP's request - colleges that do not require a lot of extra testing for admission.

 

Have a great day.

[Gwen in VA]

If you are interested in GT and you think you (your child) is a strong applicant, apply even if you are missing one of the requirements.

 

One person once commented to me -- "If your child has found a cure for cancer in high school, she won't get rejected solely on the basis of lacking a year of French (or whatever)."

 

Our experience dealing with a college that had a bizarre requirement -- College X told us that it only accepted homeschoolers who have taken lab classes from the local CC. Dd didn't want to take a lab class from the local CC; she also only had one year of a lab science! She applied anyway -- and she was not only accepted but offered admission into their program that is only open to the top 4-5% of appplicants!

[patchfire]

My husband is a GT grad (master's degree) and it is a rigorous school. My neighbor's kid is there now and has lost his Hope scholarship because of Chemistry and Calc. It is a tough, tough school in a state that performs among the lowest in the country. If you find them offensive, don't go there!

 

I agree with you in principle. However, as both dh & I went to Tech for undergrad (and dh would like to apply for a master's there someday), it's really disappointing to find that attitude on their part. Yeah, I knew a lot of people that lost HOPE. I also knew people that kept it all four(ish) years. It's not impossible to do well there, and I definitely met people who didn't do well solely because of the rigor of their (public) preparatory level. It comes out in the wash; they don't have to be so antagonistic.

[Murphy101]

My husband is a GT grad (master's degree) and it is a rigorous school. My neighbor's kid is there now and has lost his Hope scholarship because of Chemistry and Calc. It is a tough, tough school in a state that performs among the lowest in the country. If you find them offensive, don't go there!

 

I would love to get back to the orginal OP's request - colleges that do not require a lot of extra testing for admission.

 

Have a great day.

 

:iagree:

[Janet in WA]

 

...I found the whole form intimidating.

That might be their intention.

[Nan in Mass]

How different is this form from the common application's homeschooling suppliment? I didn't fill it out, so perhaps I'm off the mark here, but I thought that asked similar questions about why and how you homeschool?

[Joan in GE]

I just want to thank all the Georgia residents and people with GT experience of one form or another for the info. It has helped me look at the GT requirements differently.

 

While it does seem that there are more stringent requirements. I now see them as a

 

"blessing in disguise".

 

Prices for school are high. What if ds enters and wastes a year because he's not ready? All the info about the difficulties of passing made me realize that when they don't have those requirements and the students aren't ready, they're the ones who lose out.

 

So thanks again!

[Guest Political Mom]

One note: I checked the link above & it says U.FLorida doesn't require SATII's (I hope I'm reading the chart correctly), but this is from the UF web-site (bolding mine):

 

Non-Accredited and Home Schools

 

Any student who does not graduate from a regionally accredited secondary school must provide, in addition to a transcript and the SAT or ACT With Writing results required of other applicants, results from the SAT II examinations in mathematics (Level II-C), foreign language, science and social science. For admission decision purposes, the university will use the result of the SAT writing subscore if the applicant has no dual-enrollment or virtual school English composition coursework, since the SAT II in writing is no longer offered.

 

 

 

Applicants who present G.E.D. scores must also present secondary school records and standardized test scores.

 

 

Just visited UF today with ds. Yes, you have to take SAT II's, unless you have taken 2 years in each subject area from an accredited school (FLVS, local high school, local cc).

 

We are trying to get an exemption. Ds is National Merit Semi-Finalist with SAT/ACT scores (above 90%) that will get him into their honors program. Very frustrating!

[LynnG in Arizona]

Just visited UF today with ds. Yes, you have to take SAT II's, unless you have taken 2 years in each subject area from an accredited school (FLVS, local high school, local cc).

 

We are trying to get an exemption. Ds is National Merit Semi-Finalist with SAT/ACT scores (above 90%) that will get him into their honors program. Very frustrating!

 

I would be frustrated too! My student is NMSF and you want me to prove he has been well educated?! :glare:

[Tullia]

I thought I'd posted in this thread earlier, but don't see any indication on the main page that I followed through...

 

New Mexico offers a lottery-funded scholarship covering tuition at all state colleges and universities for a maximum of 8 terms. There are several requirements including a minimum gpa requirement, and you must be a high school graduate. The catch is that a parent-issued diploma/transcript is not sufficient. So, you can be admitted to NM public colleges and universities on the basis of test scores (ACT/SAT), but hs students who don't have an accredited degree must take the GED to be eligible for the scholarship.

 

This is an extra administrative requirement that is not really consistent with a plain reading of state law, but since no one's been willing to challenge the law it's an extra requirement for hs'ers to meet. As for whether or not my son will regret having the GED on his record we'll cross that bridge later on. In the meantime, 8 terms worth of tuition will stretch his college savings account. And, if asked, he'll have some impressive SAT/ACT scores, and (I hope) a decent college transcript to help establish his credibility.

 

Our taking the GED story is another thread. :D

[newbie]

Bryn Mawr requires a lot.

[Puma Mom]

Wow, the SAT II testing is either a new requirement, or we didn't know about it when ds applied! Thanks for pointing this out. Ds is a sophomore at Tech (he began fall 2008), and was totally homeschooled from a mom-generated curriculum (not accredited). He took the SAT but not any SAT II tests. He did take three APs after he had already been accepted.

 

Here's a link to VA Tech's requirements for Home Schoolers:

http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/freshman/what_do_we_look_for.php

Look at the bottom of the page.

 

Everyone must supply a transcript, so that's not extra. They took my mom-generated transcript without complaint or question.

 

A homeschooled friend of ds's applied for this fall (2009), and was accepted both to Tech and the honors program, but not to engineering. He was told it was because he hadn't taken physics or calculus in high school. These subjects are not a required for acceptance into engineering, but should be taken if you want your student to be competitive.

 

Both dh and I graduated from Tech in engineering, so that probably had a small part in ds's acceptance. We felt comfortable sending our first, totally homeschooled child there.

 

Best wishes in your search,

GardenMom

Ds19 is also a sophomore at VA Tech. I spoke with the person in charge of homeschool admissions before he applied. She said that, since he had some community college courses, he only needed to take the SAT Math subject test. He did not have any AP tests.

 

We LOVE their Galileo/Hypatia program for freshman male/female engineering students. It was a great transition situation for ds. (Minus the horrible first roommate.)

 

Dh and I both attended Tech as well. I'm not sure we allowed ds to know there were any other schools!:D