Transcript Questions

[Blueridge]

Greetings. I finally got off square one today with dd's transcripts. I am using the WTM suggestions for course names and organization. Can you please help me combine a few of these 11th grade courses into fewer course titles? Right now, although she has done sufficient work to earn these course credits, it looks too long and jumbled to me. (Brief explanations in parentheses will not be on the transcripts). Thanks for your input!

 

Victorian Lit (TOG year 3 and additional SL books)

American History (TOG, SL, books, books, more books)

Chemistry (She also conducted weekly chemistry lessons with experiments with her younger sisters.)

She also spent over a hundred hours reading 20 or so books on herbs, botany, gardening, and herbal medicinals...I want to give her some credit for that.

English 3 (AG, vocab, writing extensively)

Physical Education (various daily activities but no group sports)

Home Economics (CLA)

Latin 2 (Cambridge)

Intro to French (Rosetta Stone-completed first half of that course)

Fine Arts 3 ( an art course and a music course)

Geometry AND Trig (LOF)

Junior Thesis (she wrote a novel)

She spent a lot of time at the local theater, touring with a performing group, helping with skits and stories at the library, etc.)

SAT Prep...do you give credit for those huge books when studied all year?

She did lots of blogging, learned how to do basic web page design, and contributed writings to various small magazines...would that be a course or extra activities?

 

I think that's all, besides her extracurricular activities that I didn't list but will on her transcripts, but it looks too long and disorganized to me. Suggestions?

[Mad Jenny Flint]

My inclination would be to give credit for the more academic-sounding courses, like lit. and history, even if you have more than one of that type course, if the work was done and time put in.

 

If it is more of a studying thing, like SAT review, you could take that one off, or if it is just something she is interested in, you could list it separately as an extracurricular activity rather than a course.

 

I am interested to hear what other, more seasoned, board members have to say, though!

[Gwen in VA]

1) Save some of these achievements to list as extracurriculars! Colleges do want to see lots of outside involvement, and listing extracurriculars in the academic part of the transcript clutters up the academics and deprives your child of an amazing list of extracurriculars!

 

(I would definitely count her theater work and her volunteer work at the library as extracurricular; I would NOT list them in the academic part of the transcript)

 

2) Reading by itself, with no discussion and no reports/essays, should probably just be listed on a reading list. (All the colleges my kids looked at, even the big state schools that didn't want any extra paperwork, wanted LOTS of paperwork from homeschoolers -- and providing an interesting booklist will certainly make your daughter stand out!)

 

3) The first half of Rosetta Stone probably isn't a whole credit by itself. Why don't you have her finish it her senior year and then give 1 credit for French 1 then? (I put an asterisk next to courses that extended beyond the traditional school year and explained that at the bottom of the transcript)

 

4) Don't give any credit for the SAT prep stuff. You want the colleges to think that your dd got that great score on the SAT just because she is brilliant, not because she studied like crazy for it! :)

[Blueridge]

Wonderful suggestions, thanks so much! I've been just starting to type a few things into TranscriptPro this morning. I did put all her theater stuff, volunteer things, contests, magazine articles, etc. in the extracurricular section. I was coming here to ask another question that's now on my mind. :) Should I list dates along side the extra activities, or just the activities themselves? And should those dates (2008-2011) and the corresponding activities be in order on the list? I know...I worry too much, but I struggle with these things! Thanks again for your help!