moki4 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Just reading the latest posts, and just need a reminder that there ARE plenty of hs friendly universities. Is the trend toward "official diploma", which implies hs diploma as unofficial? I've been reading the college board and there has been much discussion on this topic. Please tell me some success stories! Dd is a freshman and has a heavy load (science/math) and an ap class. I don't want to mess up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 There are a few homeschool unfriendly colleges, but even with our experience with Pitt, it's more of an anomaly than common. That's why I'm sharing what I have about Pitt - so others can beware. You do want to be certain your student has solid SAT or ACT scores. Some schools also want to see SAT II scores. Then you want to be certain there are other outside confirmation grades (AP w/test scores, cc classes or similar). You don't need a ton of these, but enough to confirm the rest of the transcript. (For lower level schools you don't always need many of the above either.) Pitt is the only school we've applied to that has given us any issues. We chose not to apply to Emory due to more homeschooling hoops than others. I've heard negative things about GA state schools and CA state schools. None of these places exclude homeschoolers, but they do require extra things one should be aware of if heading toward them. But, the bulk of our experiences have been incredibly positive with colleges. Many have told us they really like well-educated homeschoolers. ;) Washington U in St Louis gets really high thumbs up from us. So does Alabama. Neither required anything extra at all (though the common app - used at Wash U - does have a homeschooling supplement with it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 My oldest is just a junior, but looking to go into computer science. LeTourneau is VERY homeschool friendly and has a strong reputation for STEM majors. My son visited with a Baylor professor on his college visit who was complimentary of homeschoolers and their preparation. They have good STEM programs as well. I don't expect any problems when we apply. Baylor got a bad rap for not being friendly to homeschoolers a little unfairly. I think they had several people who were trying to get their 15 and 16 year olds enrolled as college freshman. They think they will jeopardize their federal funding unless they have have a GED or transfer with at least 60 hours from CC at that age. As long as your child is 17, you shouldn't have a problem. They just require a transcript and test scores like everyone else. They've had countless stories of homeschoolers in their alumni magazine. To be honest, I wouldn't want my 16year old living on the Baylor campus anyway!!!!! It is a Christian school, but life still happens! Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Just reading the latest posts, and just need a reminder that there ARE plenty of hs friendly universities. Is the trend toward "official diploma", which implies hs diploma as unofficial? I've been reading the college board and there has been much discussion on this topic. Please tell me some success stories! Dd is a freshman and has a heavy load (science/math) and an ap class. I don't want to mess up! The University of OK has been very homeschool friendly - probably because OK is a very homeschool friendly state. Ds1 will graduate in May with a degree in Petroleum Engineering and had no problems with transcripts - although I think they mostly focus on ACT/SAT scores, concurrent college courses, or AP as their admission criteria. In some respects I was a little sad that I wasn't asked *how* we homeschooled ;) because it would have been personally validating to hear that he probably did so well because of the way we schooled. Ds2 is a freshman at the same school. No problems with him being accepted either. We didn't have to provide anything extra. I do think that having the concurrent courses on their transcripts - official transcripts sent from the university/CC they attended while in high school - was important for scholarship offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 NCSU is homeschool friendly to all students, including STEM students. I know that at least one Physics professor is a homeschool dad, too. NCSU also hosts the homeschool Science Olympiad teams, making their expertise and facility available for meetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I'm kind of hesitant to post this, but I think I'll say it and then bow out of the discussion. I've been checking a few other local schools, since Pitt isn't too far from here. I think the "official" thing is because of Pennsylvania's laundry list of homeschool regulations. I see an "official transcript" required on the homeschool applicants page for one school, and I think it's required by a second school that offers a weekly class to homeschoolers through its education department. Neither of these are great STEM schools, but they are supposed to be very friendly to homeschoolers. They still list it as a requirement. One school even lists approved programs that can provide an official PA diploma. I think Pitt is awful at communicating. (From my own personal experience with them also.) I think they're worse than usual in this case, so I would probably head elsewhere in creekland's son's shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki4 Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 Thank you! Yes, the Pitt stories really got me nervous. It needs to be placed in perspective, and thanks for the uplift. To read that "the majority were happy to have homeschoolers" put a BIG smile on my face this morning. We are in California, and if you provide high SAT/ACT scores, and other "outside evaluation" such as CC/AP, acceptance to the universities can be anticipated (not sure we will go that route). Sometimes a mom needs encouragement (ha, me!) so that I can project that confidence to the kids. Love to hear of more homeschool friendly universities (stem majors) Thank you:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Thank you!Yes, the Pitt stories really got me nervous. It needs to be placed in perspective, and thanks for the uplift. To read that "the majority were happy to have homeschoolers" put a BIG smile on my face this morning. We are in California, and if you provide high SAT/ACT scores, and other "outside evaluation" such as CC/AP, acceptance to the universities can be anticipated (not sure we will go that route). Sometimes a mom needs encouragement (ha, me!) so that I can project that confidence to the kids. Love to hear of more homeschool friendly universities (stem majors) Thank you:) Keep an eye on the UC/Cal State system as you get closer to high school. They are homeschool UNfriendly in that you have to have a diploma and transcript from an accredited high school. (Except UC Riverside who decided to open its doors to homeschoolers.) Most local homeschoolers I know either have taken the CHSPE, gone to community college and transferred or have gone through umbrella charter schools for high school. My ds did the CHSPE route, but has decided to abandon the fiscally sinking California ship and is applying to private, liberal arts colleges out of state who are all quite happy to welcome homeschoolers. He is going for a STEM degree, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki4 Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Well Dd is a freshman! Ugh, we are there. I know about the UC's, and all the "hype" with a-g approved courses makes me simmer!!! Oh welll, I can not change that! But, if test scores are high enough with some SAT2's, chances are good that the kids can get admission. Not sure I even want that. That will be up to Dd and her major (of course input from parents will be a big influence). I don't want to keep the uc's off our list as some are excellent stem schools with exciting research. Thanks again :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl B in VA Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 A young man that I have known for a long time very successfully applied to the top colleges in our state as a chemistry major. He was homeschooled from the beginning and graduated at the age of 16. He was offered a competitive STEM scholarship at James Madison University, was accepted at VA Tech and VCU, and chose to attend UVA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki4 Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Thank you!!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 The word "official" can mean different things to different people. The 4 schools my son applied to had the phrase "official transcript" in their application materials. When I questioned the admissions counselors, I was told that my transcript had to have the word "official" in there. They were fine with my mommy-made transcript. They did mention that they wanted outside verification of grades, such as SATIIs, APs and/or college classes, which we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susann Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 My dd is a sophmore at a top private engineering school (Rose-Hulman). They have been very easy to work with, provided lots of scholarships/grants, amazing opportunities to dd who had no outside classes and only a "mommy" transcript. Be positive-there are a lot of schools out there wanting homeschoolers-we were swamped with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki4 Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thank you!!! I really appreciate the success stories! Maybe I will invest in a fancy seal with our school name on it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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