GED question

[JennifersLost]

If a college your child is applying to asks for a diploma from a registered high school or a GED, would you have your child take the GED? Why or why not?

 

I know that some people are really against GEDs

[coffeegal]

My oldest is 8th grade, not high school, but I would not have them take the GED. Listening to the been-there-done-that crowd I learned that a 'mommy-degree' is fine, but a GED gives the impression of having been a high-school drop out even years later. :001_huh:

 

Have you run into a school that requests a registed high-school or GED? Dh and I are debating the merits of a 'mommy-degree' versus an accredited diploma, and that would make a difference in our decision.

[elegantlion]

I would NOT apply to a college that required my ds to obtain a GED. It's a personal issue for us. My dh has a GED because he dropped out. While it hasn't been a stigma in the traditional sense because he's self-employed and been out of school for 30+ years, we both want something different for ds. From my understanding a GED test skills at a 10th grade level, quite different than four years of high school.

 

Maybe there's a touch of pride too, but if I go through the 12 years of educating my son to the fullest, I don't his education to be thought as of as "less than" in the college's eyes. Testing scores and a personal essay or interview, okay. A GED, nope.

[Corraleno]

:iagree:

 

Currently, our state university doesn't require it from homeschoolers, but the lottery scholarship board does (grrr!). I'm hoping that will change by the time we get there, and that they will accept SATII scores, CC coursework, or other forms of assessment. However, even if the scholarship board refuses to change the rule, I would rather pay the fees at NARHS or Clonlara or some other accredited school to get an acccredited diploma than have my kids saddled with a GED on their transcripts forever.

 

I would think that any college that requires a GED from all homeschooled kids is not going to be very homeschool friendly, and probably not somewhere my kids would want to go anyway.

 

Jackie

Edited August 10, 2010 by Corraleno

[Hunter]

On of my son's took the GED so he could start earning a degree at a junior college, on government grants, while still underage. It was the only way to be able to do all 3 of those things at the same time.

 

Both my boys attended junior college, while underage, as degree seeking students on grants (not loans) from applying for FAFSA. They then had to earn the rest of their tuition.

 

The other son had a diploma from American School.

 

Options for accelerated, low income students are less than, for those students with parents who can pay for college.

 

Neither of my boys has faced any stigma that I know about, but being grown now and living across the country, and I don't hear about everything. My oldest who calls me the most, just talks about how positive people react to his schooling history. They could care less about his high school credentials as long as he has a college degree, and was ambitious and street smart enough to be financially independent at 19, and have managed to graduate with no loans to pay back and enough funds to finance his relocation.

[oldskool]

I would not because there seems to be a stigma attached to it. Years down the road being stuck with a GED may matter more to your child than what the requirements of this particular college are. Instead I would find a college that would not need a GED. I dropped out of high school and worked for two years afterward transferring community college/correspondence courses to my high school in order to get my diploma. I am very glad that I decided to do this instead of getting a GED.

 

Lesley

[mschickie]

Sd just graduated and we did not have her take the GED. A Homeschool can be considered a registered high school. As long as the child has met state requirements no school can really insist that they get a GED. If that were the case I would be on the phone with HSLDA in an instant.

[holdoll]

I would not have our dd's take the GED.

 

We have come up against this recently at a very good private college we visited. They said they needed it in order to award scholarships. I had just read an article in the HSLDA magazine a few weeks before that said they helped a family with this situation in Mass. HSLDA sent a letter and explained how they had misunderstood the Fed laws and that they did not need GED's from home schooled students. The college changed their admittance policies for home schooled students at that point.

 

In addition, I've been told that there are some scholarships that your student would become ineligible for after having taken the GED. I need to research that.

 

I think it's a slap in the face. After doing the SAT, ACT and SAT II Subject tests - that should be enough.

[Hunter]

I believe junior colleges, in some states, have the right to require GEDs and accredited diplomas from UNDERAGE students, who are starting a degree program, as opposed to just having the classes taken while underage, counted as high school.

 

I heard it has to do with things the teachers unions fought for :-0 To prevent families from using junior colleges as a high school.

 

It's easier to fight the GED requirements for older students, starting college at the traditional age.

[JennifersLost]

Why is it that teachers don't want kids using community colleges as high schools? You pay (usually) for junior colleges.

 

I always have problems understanding why people don't want there to be more choices.

 

One thing that bothers me about the unions, teachers' colleges, etc., is the mind-set that they are there to mold children's world view as well as to teach them the subjects.

 

I was once invited to speak to a class of 2nd year teacher trainees to give them the perspective of "what parents want" from teachers. They all listened respectfully when I asked them to challenge the kids who were doing well and not hold them back, but when I said I wanted them to teach the subject and not the world view, they all started looking down or away, shifting in their seats, etc. It was very obvious that teaching world view was crucial to them.

 

 

That's the only reason I can see why teachers want to make all kids do the whole high school "program" rather than just letting them pick and choose classes.

Edited August 12, 2010 by JennifersLost
to add more

[Keniki]

Getting a GED doesn't mean you have to advertise it. You can still check "yes" to "High School Diploma?" on applications. You can pick and choose who you tell. ;) If the school was *asking* for it, I would try to fight the issue. If it's a *requirement* and it's a school the student really, really wants to attend, then I'd follow the school's requirements.

 

We did have friends whose dd graduated from high school (home) with an AAS from a community college. She chose to attend a state university (big name) because they were the best choice for her field (optometry). She HAD to get the GED (since she did not have an accredited high school diploma) in order for them to give her junior status even though she had her AAS.

[Chris in VA]

Wanted to add that ds actually has both--:D

He can check "High School Diploma" b/c we gave him one.

 

As long as the child has met state requirements no school can really insist that they get a GED.

 

And in our state, there are NO state-required subjects or times or anything, except test results (and not even those, depending on which option you choose as a homeschooler here)--so his college degree will be his "ticket," and that's fine by me.

[Moni]

Getting a GED doesn't mean you have to advertise it. You can still check "yes" to "High School Diploma?" on applications. You can pick and choose who you tell.

 

This is my first thought too.

How would anyone know you sat for a GED exam unless you Told Them ??

;)

 

Grant a homeschool diploma. There, they are graduated.

 

If they need the GED as a prerequisite for something, sit for that exam *in addition to* the diploma.

 

Who are all these people "asking" in the future?

I think in reality there are very few "askers"

:seeya: