GED req'mt for UMass Amherst only - follow-up to old thread

[Yolanda in Mass]

There was a thread back in April of this year regarding public colleges in Mass requiring a GED or other "official" proof of high school graduation. This would apply to freshman applicants only. Specifically this is what UMass Amherst has on their website:

 

Home-schooled students who are admitted are required to provide the university with proof of graduation in one of the three following ways:

 

• An official final transcript from the local school district.
  
• An official final transcript from a home school association or agency.
  
• An official GED score report.
  

I have since learned that this applies only to Amherst. A good friend of mine spoke with admissions officers at UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst. UML said they certainly did not require any of these while the admissions officer in Amherst told my friend that, yes, those were their current requirements. My friend asked if her son, age 16, who had 40 credits at a cc with a 4.0 GPA, would be required to take a GED and she said yes. She said it would be, get this, a good exercise.

 

I wonder why on earth they now have this requirement. Just thought I'd pass on this information.

 

Yolanda

[rockala]

Yes, and some privates need this too. I have a friend whose child scored in the 2300 range on the SAT, but is going to college in New York. New York requires a GED for everyone.

 

This child was offered a full ride, but last minute- a few weeks ago, after all was done and he is heading there in August, they called to say they needed him to do this!

 

Obviously, with his SAt score this is silly, but still that is what they are requiring him to do. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Kathy

[Brenda in MA]

New York requires a GED for everyone.

 

 

Kathy,

 

Is this a new requirement for all colleges in NY? I know several hs'ed kids who are attending NY colleges, and they were not required to take a GED or produce an "official" diploma. If you don't mind, which school in NY is this boy attending (so we can avoid that one as well)?

 

Also -- Yolanda -- thanks for the update on the issue re: UMass Amherst. If they keep this policy in place, I don't think they will be on my next child's college list. What a shame... We support this school with our tax dollars, and we are treated like second class citizens.

 

Brenda

[creekland]

Thanks for the notification. Personally, we choose to stay away from schools with such requirements, but should anyone really like those schools, it's definitely helpful if they know what they'll need ahead of time and not get surprised.

[creekland]

 

Is this a new requirement for all colleges in NY? I know several hs'ed kids who are attending NY colleges, and they were not required to take a GED or produce an "official" diploma.

 

I suspect it might be SUNYs as my guy is going to U Rochester (private) and certainly doesn't have to do anything so silly.

[Gwen in VA]

I was reading this thread and it suddenly occurred to me -- my son is heading off to a college in NY in two weeks....

 

He is going to a private college, and no one has made any noises about his homeschool diploma being insufficient in any way.

[Hunter's Moon]

They had this same requirement last year when I spoke with them, though it wasn't stated on their site.

 

Actually, not everyone at the admissions office knew of this requirement so I got "yes, you need a GED" and "no, a letter from the school district will be fine."

 

I decided to stay away from schools with this requirement.

[Yolanda in Mass]

My friend, doing her due diligence, explored the whole GED process and found the person she contacted very informative and helpful. My friend said the test is quite thorough and could be a good exercise for her son. Towards the end of the conversation, however, the woman asked my friend in a very sympathetic tone, "So, when did your son drop out?". It was at this point my friend realized there remains such a stigma attached to the test that there was no way she would have her son take it and have it on his record for the rest of his life. I have no idea of the stigma is comparable in other parts of the country or just here.

[Myra]

My son was accepted to several colleges in NY state. The SUNYs (Binghamton, Geneseo, Oneonta) didn't need verification during the acceptance process but did say they would want from homeschoolers who reside in NY State one of the 4 ways required by the state: GED, regents exams, 24-hour college credit, or letter from the local school district stating equivilency. None of the private colleges in New York state asked for anything (Fordham, Union, Skidmore, Siena)

 

Myra

[TravelingChris]

Yes, GED implies dropping out. None of my kids will ever take this (two have HS diplomas and third is working on hers now:001_smile:)

[snowbeltmom]

... Towards the end of the conversation, however, the woman asked my friend in a very sympathetic tone, "So, when did your son drop out?". It was at this point my friend realized there remains such a stigma attached to the test that there was no way she would have her son take it and have it on his record for the rest of his life. I have no idea of the stigma is comparable in other parts of the country or just here.

 

There is a stigma attached to the GED in my area as well. I wonder if at some point one of these colleges that require the GED for homeschoolers will be sued? Homeschoolers are not high school dropouts and should not be treated as such.

 

There may also be negative consequences for the student later in life if he takes the GED. I had some classmates join the military after receiving their engineering degrees. Had they had a GED, they would not have been eligible to appy for the program. I am not sure if this is still the case or not.

 

The NCAA requires all athletes homeschooling in NY to take the GED in order to achieve clearance through the NCAA Eligibility Center. I would be investigating legal action against the NCAA if I lived in NY.

[FaithManor]

The stigma is HUGE in our area. We are in Michigan and the GED is billed as testing to a 10th grade level, but the local CC told us that it is remedial only. No algebra, no difficult math problems of any kind, and the reading level is supposedly at 6th/7th grade. Now, I've never seen it so I can't say what is or is not on it, but I know it's reputation in this area is that it is definitely not the equivalency of a high school diploma.

 

My dad won't hire anyone with a GED. He is afraid they won't be able to read and understand his technical manuals. But, then he doesn't take high school graduates period unless they've had two years of college classes or completed Vo-Tech/professional licensing programs. Too many of our local high school grads can't read for beans either! :001_huh:

 

We did not have a problem here in the Midwest when DD applied to college. We aren't anticipating any for the boys, but we aren't looking at any East Coast schools with that requirement and the Midwest schools seem to be pretty used to homeschoolers...transcripts with course descriptions and curriculum lists are all that I've been asked to supply. I had a sweet portfolio of dd's work that I kept together thinking someone would request that I'd have a chance to show her off...nope! They never needed to see that either.

 

Faith

[LibraryLover]

Interesting.

Edited August 18, 2012 by LibraryLover