Jilly6 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I signed my son up for American School. We have received the first book. I have a few questions... How many books do they send at one time? Is primary communication with the school by phone and snail mail? Are there any tips and hints you can give us? I really appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 They will send more than one book at a time if you ask, after your son has done well on at least one test. It's been almost a decade since my boys used AS, but it was phone and snail mail and that worked out well for us. I preferred to do the general diploma and added college prep courses as electives. It gave me a bit more freedom in choosing. I preferred to use AS for mostly review and easier courses, and to do some challenging courses on our own. It wasn't necessary to do much challenging work. It was more efficient to just finish AS and start at the junior college. Underage students with an accreditted diploma can apply for federal grants and loans, and start as freshman, rather than dual enrolled high school students. My oldest graduated from AS at 16 and from the junior college at 19. With the help of grants he paid his own way through college and graduated with no student debt. He also saved $5,000.00 and took off for Las Vegas a couple weeks later. At 24 he is married, owns his own home and is doing well for himself managing a retail store. Don't get too bogged down in AS. Do what needs to be done to get ready for a junior college or a career and move on. The piece of paper opens doors. Being a "college" boy opens up work oppurtunities not available to high school students. It's nice to have 16 year olds graduated and around adults all day at work and school. I never had to battle grown men as high school students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly6 Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thanks so much for answering! He should be sending in his first test tomorrow. I will call an ask late next week or so for another book. Anyone else have anything to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Nothing to add other than I am considering American School for dd also. She will be in 9th grade (yikes) next year. Although since she is a grade ahead for her age, I may wait a year because it seems like it takes quite a bit less than 4 years to complete all the courses. As it is, she is on track to graduate at 17. I am not sure if I want her off taking college classes at 15 or so. On the other hand, she could do some distance learning college courses. I will be checking out my options at convention next year.:) Keystone High School is also a possibility, but it is a lot more expensive than American School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martha in GA Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We paid the whole cost up front, so we were able to get as many books at a time as I wanted. I think I asked for Psychology and History early. If you are paying by installments, I think they are only willing to send you a couple of books at a time. Also, if I remember right, some classes had pre-requisites -- for example, English 1 and 2 -- and they wouldn't send the second course's book until the student only had one or two tests left in the first course. They were very good about getting the books to me in a timely manner. We submitted tests by snail mail, but if I ever wanted anything, I just called them. The people who answered the phone always seemed pleasant and knowledgeable. HTH, Martha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Martha, Can you tell us about how long it took your student to complete the American School courses and receive a diploma?:bigear: I'd like to hear from anyone else also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) sunflowerlady, I used a bit of Blessed is the Man :-) I think you will like AS. I like to use the general program for grades 8-10, and finish up in 3 years and then move onto something else. I think teens do better with smaller and shorter goals, to finish them, and then move onto another one. I think an intensive 4 year plan is just too long for them to fully comprehend. I think they burn out. If starting early, we don't feel so guilty using the easier plan. AS would make a good complement to FAR--or something similar--and stretched out over 4 years, but I think at some point, you will find your teen getting antsy, and wanting to finish up AS. Diplomas open doors and give a feeling of accomplishment. Edited August 26, 2011 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 sunflowerlady, I used a bit of Blessed is the Man :-) I think you will like AS. I like to use the general program for grades 8-10, and finish up in 3 years and then move onto something else. I think teens do better with smaller and shorter goals, to finish them, and then move onto another one. I think an intensive 4 year plan is just too long for them to fully comprehend. I think they burn out. If starting early, we don't feel so guilty using the easier plan. AS would make a good complement to FAR--or something similar--and stretched out over 4 years, but I think at some point, you will find your teen getting antsy, and wanting to finish up AS. Diplomas open doors and give a feeling of accomplishment. Thank you. That helps.:) I do not know whether or not we will continue with FAR after this year for many reasons. We have always been eclectic and I feel that we may need to make a change and be sure basics are covered for high school. Also, I like planning , but I need a break. Honestly, I never thought we would do something like AS, but I can see where it could be helpful in our situation. What you say about teens getting antsy and wanting to move on to something else is good insight and can be true of moms as well.:D I look forward to checking out AS next year at convention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martha in GA Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 he easily could have finished earlier. We added many other classes along the way (Chemistry, Physics, computer programming, economics, etc.). The first several classes were very easy to complete quickly -- say in 4 or 5 weeks? I would say he took about a semester each for American Lit. and British Lit, which were his last two classes. Martha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomad Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I hadn't heard of American School before now. Is it really $1399 for the 4 year 18 credit curriculum including textbooks? I was looking at a few VHS or other online courses to supplement and have my dd interacting with a teacher other than me - but the recommended courses are all $600-800 each. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks, Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 American School is non profit and they have spent decades perfecting their system to be efficient. They are actually able to stay solvent and offer such an affordable program. AS is an amazing bargain. YES! It is true :-) Some of the textbooks are cheap self-written texts, and others are thick colorful textbooks from major publishers. Often the cheap self-written texts were our favorites though, because they were so efficient. AS is not for everyone, but it is an amazing resource for some families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I was considering using AS for my ds entering Grade 9 this year. However, I had seen some negative reviews about tests that were mailed in being lost on several occasions. There also is apparently no consistency in teachers; whoever receives the tests on any given day corrects them, so there is no "assigned" teacher, which I fear would leave room for a wide discrepancy in comments and feedback. Also, a couple of basic math courses are required for graduation, even though ds has already completed Alg. I in grade 8. How do you get around those "too easy" courses? Pay the fee to test out of them, or just fly through them? I would also fear that since AS is so "easy" and "efficient", it would have a negative reputation among colleges/universities. Has anyone found that to be the case? I would appreciate anyone with experience speaking to these issues (and I just realized that I have sort of hijacked the thread; sorry OP :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Here is a recent thread on American School and I tagged this thread and some others about AS. If you scroll to the bottom of this thread you will see a link in the tags area, that you can click on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I would also fear that since AS is so "easy" and "efficient", it would have a negative reputation among colleges/universities. Has anyone found that to be the case? American School's easy courses are easy, and their challenging courses are challenging. They have a reputation for accurately reporting what a student has accomplished. Efficiency is something applauded by all. American School has a good reputation with most colleges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly6 Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 (edited) Oh Wow! I didn't realize this thread was still going! Thanks to all who posted. My son has finished his first test and we mailed it in last Friday. I will give it until mid this week and call them about having more than one book at a time. He is starting at the junior level so I believe they are waiting for "official transcripts." We ended up choosing AS over just start homeschool after the fiasco we had with DD's homeschool diploma and college. In the end, we won but it is not something I want to have to fight again. Edited August 29, 2011 by Jilly6 Typo's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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