Attention California folks! Am I doing the right thing?

[McLinda]

This is my daughter's first year at Connections Academy.  The rug was pulled out from under me last week.  I received an email stating that none of their Honor's courses were approved as a-g courses!!!!  They didn't meet the September 15th deadline.  My daughter has 4 honors courses.  Honors Biology, Honors English 9, Honors Algebra 2, and Honors Government.  They will change Honors English 9 to AP Language and Composition.  They will switch Honors Government to AP Government, at the beginning of the 2nd semester.  Apparently, Honors Bio will simply not be counted anyway, since it is not a laboratory science course.  She plans to take AP Bio in the future, however.  This will meet the prerequisite for that.  I plan to drop her to Algebra 2.  The standard version of the class is a-g approved.  Am I doing the right thing?  Her other courses are Spanish 1, AP Computer Science, Health, and PE.  Will this all be too much for her?  She is EXTREMELY bright and could easily do college work right now.  Help!  I'm making the schedule changes today.  

[Susie in CA]

You know I may be totally off base but this all sounds complicated to me. My son is in 9th grade this year and we are just completing the A-G courses at the community college over the next 4 years. It just seems so much simpler. Maybe I am missing something. So sorry I am no help at all.

[Laura in CA]

 

I don't know either -- I was going to reply just to give this a bump, but Susie posted in the meantime!

[Nart]

Here it the link to the what classes from any high school / online school/ institution are a-g approved for the UC's.

 

http://www.ucop.edu/doorways/

 

 

 

I wouldn't trust what the school told me, I would double check to make sure.  

[Jilly]

Here is a link to what tests meet the a-g course requirements. According to this she would be fine with the AP classes. My only concern would be with her taking three APs in her freshman year of high school, especially the AP Language and Composition. If you feel the AP classes are too much she could always take the SAT subject test instead. 

[Guest Workl8]

We are in exactly the same situation with our 9th grader at CCA.  I am electing to keep her in the Honors 9th Grade English because it is fairly easy to make up the missing year of English by meeting the UC English requirements in other ways.  You can find the equivalency information at:   admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html. 

 

You should keep in mind that the AP English class is ordinarily taken by HS Juniors and the AP Government class is ordinarily taken by HS Seniors. The AP classes are alot of work.  That would be my concern about all those AP Classes.

 

My research found that many out of state schools require a year of cultural geography so we put our daughter in AP Human Geography which, again, is not UC approved but will meet the requirements of those schools that want to see a year of cultural geography.   Additionally, APHG is supposed to be one of the easier AP courses and is a good introduction to AP classes.

 

The piece to the puzzle I still have not solved is the math issue.  Even the honors math is not that difficult and any college looking at her transcript is not going to know this. I am open to any suggestions on what to do with this.  We have even considered using Laurel Springs for just math because their honors courses apparently were UC Approved.  Unfortunately that one class comes with a pricetag of $1200.00.

[McLinda]

I PMed you, Workl8.  :)  We're in the same boat for sure!  

 

[busymotherof4]

I just got a phone call yesterday that my daughter's biology isn't a-g approved. Nice to know after she did 6 weeks of work. This CA system is dumb. We might be looking at out of state schools.

[elfgivas]

trying not to be hysterical here.  how come this wasn't even on my radar, i ask myself?!!!

 

sigh....

 

dd will definitely have a well trained mind, and be well educated.  clearly, the trick is to do this in a way that makes her eligible to go to a university in-state. 

 

where to begin? 

she is in grade 10 now.  arrrghhhhh....

 

(from reading, it appears that SAT subject tests can work, but she is so dyslexic it seems almost cruel....)

 

this just became a No-good, Very-Bad day

 

ann

[JennW in SoCal]

Easiest, cheapest solution is to do 1-22 years of general ed @ CC or even get an AA and then transfer into a UC school if that's where you want to go.

 

 

LOL -- it can be hard to get the classes you need at the CC, but it won't take 22 years!  I know Laurel meant 1 to 2 years, but it made me laugh!  :laugh:   I know many kids who have done the CC then transfer route, and who got into either the UC or Cal State school of their choice. I know one who went onto grad school and is now a physical therapist.   It is a good alternative.  The CCs have excellent services for kids with LDs, many of the instructors also teach at area UCs and Cal States, and it is cheaper.  

 

Getting into one of the UCs as a freshman doesn't have to be the only path you consider.  There aren't even spots for every qualified high school grad in the state as it is.  And, with all the increases in tuition and fees the last several years, it isn't necessarily any cheaper than attending school out of state or attending a private school. There are tuition agreements with Arizona, Oregon and I believe Utah where you can apply to pay in state tuition. (There is an acronym for the program but it escapes my mind at the moment.  WUE?  Western University Exchange??)  I know many, many kids from the San Diego area who are at Northern Arizona University and at U of Arizona.   My youngest is attending an out of state LAC and with his merit scholarships we are paying exactly the same as if he were attending a UC and living in the dorms.

 

Personally, I decided to ignore the UCs and their precious a-g requirements and instead just focused on giving my kids an excellent, personalized, homeschool education.  I also had worked at a UC before kids and simply do not see them as all that special.    

[learners4life]

I feel so out of it!  Elfgivas, you are not alone.  I'm not sure I wanted my daughter to go to a UC, but I always wanted to keep it as a possibility.  I feel like the carpet just got pulled out from under us.  So, now what?  I've been working hard for so many years, trying to give my daughter a good education, and now she will have to take an SAT class for every single subject?  As in four different tests for history/social studies, four different tests for math, four different tests for science, etc? I had planned on her taking a couple of online AP classes next year - does AP Biology justify the credit for two biology classes?  

 

I have to say, I'm getting really sickened at the whole college application game.  The College Board runs the entire thing!  And, in my opinion, is ruining it.  But, I digress...

[learners4life]

I hadn't even looked that closely at the SAT subject tests.  Now I can see that it would be impossible to take a test for every class she takes over the four high school years - especially English.  Can anyone tell me how this works?  I looked at the UC website, but they just say homeschoolers must test, but don't specify how.  Just what do they want to substantiate credit for a-g courses?  

 

EDIT: I found this link that was helpful: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/freshman/minimum-requirements/subject-requirement/index.html

 

EDIT II: Oops, just reread and saw the same link above in Jilly's post.  

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm repeating myself here, but it seems it should get repeated.  The UC system is not the Holy Grail of college education.  Freshman admittance to a UC is not the ultimate reward to homeschooling.  IF you have a child who tests well, who is set upon attending a UC then by all means go ahead and jump through those hoops.  Someone from this board got a kid into one of the UCs through the testing route.  It worked for them -- it would have been a nightmare for my kids.

 

Yes you are closing one door if you choose not to go the testing route.  But there are hundreds of colleges and universities in the country. There are dozens here in California.  Life is a series of choices and compromises -- let your teen share in the decisions on what doors to close.  UCs are STILL an option through transfer from a community college.  Many homeschoolers start CC while still in high school, accruing transfer credit while still in high school.  

 

Private liberal arts colleges and many other state university systems recognize and value the excellent education we are giving our homeschooled kids.  Focus on all the real possibilities out there and don't let the absurdity of the UC requirements derail you.  

[Arcadia]

I hadn't even looked that closely at the SAT subject tests.  Now I can see that it would be impossible to take a test for every class she takes over the four high school years - especially English.  Can anyone tell me how this works?  I looked at the UC website, but they just say homeschoolers must test, but don't specify how.  Just what do they want to substantiate credit for a-g courses?  

 

EDIT: I found this link that was helpful: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/freshman/minimum-requirements/subject-requirement/index.html

 

 

 This 2 page table "CSU-UC Comparison of Freshman Admission Requirements for 2014-2015 Applicants" list a summary of the requirements. 

http://www.calstate.edu/sas/publications/documents/csu-uc-a-gcomparisonmatrix.pdf

[Susie in CA]

Yes, I agree with Jenn. Thanks for posting again!

 

Our plan is to transfer into a UC if this is what my students want. I have one who says he wants to go to a UC school and one who doesn't. Ds who wants to go to a UC school just started at the CC to get accustomed to the courses. He is in 9th grade and is taking a non-transferable Math class. This is perfect for him to get used to the pace. The plan is that in 10th grade he will start taking some transferable courses and we'll go from there. This does seem to be the most painless way to cover the requirements while getting a solid education. For us it means that the UC door is open as well as other options if we need them.