Other college admissions requirements

[swimmermom3]

I am familiar with the basic requirements that many schools have with regards to math, science, and English classes and with four years in each of those and all science classes having labs, I think we have a safely hedged our bets.

 

Are there other requirements that frequently show up that I am not aware of? Specific types of history of government?

 

I know many schools require world languages and we have that covered too.

 

Fine Arts?

[FaithManor]

I have seen some schools requiring a year of fine arts credit, and some that have specific requirements for certain degrees.

 

For example, when dd was looking at possibly getting a BSRN degree, trigonometry was required though for general admissions to some of the universities, algebra 2 was "enough"...and there a couple of the schools set a score of 25 on the math section of the ACT or the corresponding score on the SAT for entrance to pre-nursing.

 

As music major, I had to have music performance in some capacity each year of high school in order to even be considered for an audition to that major.

 

So, sometimes it's best if the student knows what he or she wants to major in to explore departmental requirements which will not be disclosed in the general admission's requirements for the institution.

[EKS]

I've seen American history specified.  

 

Also, foreign language.  If they have a foreign language requirement, it is a minimum of two years.  Also be careful about the ones that specify two years because sometimes if you only have two years, the college will make you take the third level to graduate.

 

Some schools require 1-2 courses of fine arts.

[Nan in Mass]

I think probably a better question is not what a particular college has as requirements, but what most students applying to that college will have.  Your student needs to look as qualified as his competition, or he won't be picked.  It doesn't have to line up exactly, but there needs not to be a perception that these other students all have these desirable things and your student doesn't.  Our public school has a community service requirement, for example.  If every applicant has that except your son, it might make him stand out in a bad way.  Just in case, I tried to make sure mine had some sort of fine arts, foreign language, and the word "government" somewhere on their transcript, as well, which I glommed it together with US history as US History and Government.  A related idea to beware of is the idea that the requirements listed on an admissions website are the minimum to apply, not necessarily what all their chosen incoming students have.

 

Nan

[Lori D.]

What I've gathered from threads here and my own digging around in the past:

 

ENGLISH

4 credits (I don't tend to see any preferences or requirements here)

 

MATH

at least up through Alg. 2

and very frequently, require a 4th credit of higher math needing Alg. 2 as pre-req

 

SCIENCE

labs required

and often Biology and Chemistry are listed as "preferred"

 

HISTORY

very frequently, specify 1 credit of American History as one of the credits

some schools also want 1 credit World History OR World Geography, and, Gov't / Econ

 

FOR. LANG

at least 2 credits same foreign language

ASL not always accepted as a foreign language

some colleges strongly prefer a modern language

 

FINE ARTS

a small amount of schools (usually small LAC or Fine Arts-based) require 2 credits, esp. if going into a specific Fine Arts program

many colleges waive this requirement

 

ELECTIVES

selective and competitive schools want to see "Academic Electives" (credits in Math, Science, English, Social Science, Foreign Language beyond the requirements)

[swimmermom3]

Hurrah! Multi-quote works again!

 

I have seen some schools requiring a year of fine arts credit, and some that have specific requirements for certain degrees.

 

For example, when dd was looking at possibly getting a BSRN degree, trigonometry was required though for general admissions to some of the universities, algebra 2 was "enough"...and there a couple of the schools set a score of 25 on the math section of the ACT or the corresponding score on the SAT for entrance to pre-nursing.

 

As music major, I had to have music performance in some capacity each year of high school in order to even be considered for an audition to that major.

 

So, sometimes it's best if the student knows what he or she wants to major in to explore departmental requirements which will not be disclosed in the general admission's requirements for the institution.

 

Faith, how do most schools define "Fine Arts?"  By the time ds graduates, he'll have read most of An Introduction to Music and Art in the Western World, watched two TTC lecture series (the one on Understanding Art and the other one on American art), visited several museums and applied what he learned to the art viewed, and attended one symphony concert and one opera. He will not under any circumstances have created his own art.

 

I've seen American history specified.  

 

Also, foreign language.  If they have a foreign language requirement, it is a minimum of two years.  Also be careful about the ones that specify two years because sometimes if you only have two years, the college will make you take the third level to graduate.

 

Some schools require 1-2 courses of fine arts.

 

Thanks, Kai, I wondered about the American history aspect. He's on his fourth year of Spanish, so we should be good to go on the foreign language requirement. Actually, we wouldn't have been okay for our state universities if his language study had all been done at home. Thankfully, years 1 and 2 were done at the PS.

 

I think probably a better question is not what a particular college has as requirements, but what most students applying to that college will have.  Your student needs to look as qualified as his competition, or he won't be picked.  It doesn't have to line up exactly, but there needs not to be a perception that these other students all have these desirable things and your student doesn't.  Our public school has a community service requirement, for example.  If every applicant has that except your son, it might make him stand out in a bad way.  Just in case, I tried to make sure mine had some sort of fine arts, foreign language, and the word "government" somewhere on their transcript, as well, which I glommed it together with US history as US History and Government.  A related idea to beware of is the idea that the requirements listed on an admissions website are the minimum to apply, not necessarily what all their chosen incoming students have.

 

Nan

 

Nan, do you know if US Government is the preferred and assumed flavor or would Comparative Government work as well?  Ds would like to have both, but time is limited.

 

Okay, on the community service, he is not going to have it. Period. He has a solid academic foundation, decent test scores, a varsity sport, plus high school sailing, and a summer job teaching sailing.  There is no more time and I made the conscious decision that we weren't going to manufacture an opportunity for community service. That choice will probably bite me, but there it is.

 

The only thing that he has done that is even remotely close to community service is that he volunteered as a coach-in-training at the sailing club for two summers before he turned 16 and could be legally hired as an assistant coach. He worked anywhere from 10 to 35 hours a week all summer, but that doesn't benefit the community.

[Lori D.]

Okay, on the community service, he is not going to have it. Period. He has a solid academic foundation, decent test scores, a varsity sport, plus high school sailing, and a summer job teaching sailing.  There is no more time and I made the conscious decision that we weren't going to manufacture an opportunity for community service. That choice will probably bite me, but there it is.

 

The only thing that he has done that is even remotely close to community service is that he volunteered as a coach-in-training at the sailing club for two summers before he turned 16 and could be legally hired as an assistant coach. He worked anywhere from 10 to 35 hours a week all summer, but that doesn't benefit the community.

 

That is definitely a BIG volunteering item to include on applications and essays -- frequently, colleges ask about "community service / volunteering". So, I think you are well covered.

 

And, he has some nice extracurriculars (varsity sport, sailing, and a regular summer job), all of which show responsibility and leadership, and development of personal interests -- which is the whole point.

 

You look great to me! :)

[Nan in Mass]

Hmm... I have no idea.  I've never been worried about substiting a more general thing for the US version, but I don't have any where near enough experience to tell whether we just got lucky when it wasn't a problem.  I would make sure I used the word "volunteer" on his transcript in the extra curricular list and not worry about community service. : )  I'm no expert, though.

 

Nan

[Gwen in VA]

I think threads like this can be helpful, but PLEASE please remember that a student does not NEED every single one of these elements to be more than competitive.

 

As one admissions counselor put it in a talk, "If your kid cured cancer, we won't care that he didn't have the fourth year of a foreign language."

 

Well, my kids didn't cure cancer, but --

 

* one of mine got accepted to UVA as an Echols Scholars and to U. Chicago with only two consecutive years of a foreign language and two years' of science labs (and he attended a top-20 LAC on a merit-based full-ride scholarship!)

* one of mine was accepted to W&M as a Monroe Scholar with NO labs whatsoever -- and attended a top-20 LAC on a full-tuition merit scholarship! (She had some seriously amazing strengths, but she did have "holes".)

* one of mine was accepted to W&M as a Monroe Scholar with only ten hours of community service, three years of a foreign language and two years of science labs. (She has other major major strengths and is incredibly active in the community -- but people keep on paying her!!)

 

I mention these just to show that your kid doesn't need to do EVERYTHING.

 

If the admissions people really want your kid on campus, they will not care that he/she lacks a fourth year of a foreign language or labs or community service or physical education or fine arts or whatever.........

 

Keep your eye on the big picture!

 

[Luckymama]

Lisa, in all my funky language searching this past month I have found *one* school requesting one fine arts credit---Princeton.

 

If dd should need a fine arts credit on her transcript, I will create one from bits and pieces of history classes over the four years. I make a point to discuss the art and architecture of each civilization we cover in ancient history, for example. All these museum visits last summer would count as well. I could call it "Art Appreciation" or "Survey of World Art" or some such.

[FaithManor]

Lisa, the colleges my ds applied to this year were pretty flexible. Not only were performing arts counted as that is what comes to mind for many people as well as "gallery arts", but also appreciation level courses for students not pursuing instruments, voice, or artistic development. Many colleges themselves have "overview" courses and require one fine arts "ish" course in order to graduate as part of gen-ed requirements, and those are introductory level courses in music and art, or allow students to take courses such as introductory photography. Art History was absolutely accepted.

 

I would put Introduction to Fine Arts on the transcript, and then give a nice overview of what was accomplished in course descriptions. Though some schools did not require course descriptions, we sent them anyway and figured that if the admin looked them over, it would be another feather in ds's cap.

 

Locally, our school district offers both an intro to music class, and an intro to fine arts, as well as a photography course so that those kids who have not pursued arts at a higher level will have an appropriate course to fulfill their fine arts requirement. It's one of the FEW things they've done right in recent years.

 

Some of the larger urban schools that have good theater and dance programs also offer introduction to theater or dance, or have courses such as introductory film. But, those are schools with mega funding. All of that said, we have not found that colleges are picky - though again ds and dd did not apply to Ivies - they just want to see a genuine fine arts course of some kind.

[FaithManor]

Probably starting in 2016, most tier 1 Michigan schools will require that credit of fine arts for acceptance because of the implementation of the Michigan Merit Diploma program. One credit of fine arts will be required for all students, minus special ed students with a demonstrated significant learning disability, in order to graduate and be considered "college ready". Most teachers believe that the Michigan Merit will become the new minimums, and may even be adopted by some of the lower ranked tier 2 institutions.

 

So, that is something to consider if any of you out there have students considering any Michigan uni's and LAC's.

[swimmermom3]

I think threads like this can be helpful, but PLEASE please remember that a student does not NEED every single one of these elements to be more than competitive.

 

As one admissions counselor put it in a talk, "If your kid cured cancer, we won't care that he didn't have the fourth year of a foreign language."

 

Well, my kids didn't cure cancer, but --

 

* one of mine got accepted to UVA as an Echols Scholars and to U. Chicago with only two consecutive years of a foreign language and two years' of science labs (and he attended a top-20 LAC on a merit-based full-ride scholarship!)

* one of mine was accepted to W&M as a Monroe Scholar with NO labs whatsoever -- and attended a top-20 LAC on a full-tuition merit scholarship! (She had some seriously amazing strengths, but she did have "holes".)

* one of mine was accepted to W&M as a Monroe Scholar with only ten hours of community service, three years of a foreign language and two years of science labs. (She has other major major strengths and is incredibly active in the community -- but people keep on paying her!!)

 

I mention these just to show that your kid doesn't need to do EVERYTHING.

 

If the admissions people really want your kid on campus, they will not care that he/she lacks a fourth year of a foreign language or labs or community service or physical education or fine arts or whatever.........

 

Keep your eye on the big picture!

 

Gwen, thank you for the caveat and helping me to "keep it real."  I've been making myself a bit crazy the last couple of months, but have decided that we are on the particular path we are on for good reasons. Classes are taken because they are either a must-have requirement or ds is interested in them, and even then, we try to make the requirements interesting. I also consider his literacy as a citizen and a person.  It is important for me that he not only have the foundational classes, but there be some kind of basic literacy regarding religion and philosophy and fine arts. I was reminded of this when driving through a beach town recently, we encountered "The Deco District," and I discovered I had somehow missed 'Art Deco" when we did European history last year. It's not a big thing, but I do want him to have a basic understanding of what he sees in museums.

 

However, I did start the thread because I was unpleasantly surprised by the way our state schools language requirements needed to be met and was wondering if there was anything else I hadn't thought about.

 

 

[swimmermom3]

Lisa, in all my funky language searching this past month I have found *one* school requesting one fine arts credit---Princeton.

 

If dd should need a fine arts credit on her transcript, I will create one from bits and pieces of history classes over the four years. I make a point to discuss the art and architecture of each civilization we cover in ancient history, for example. All these museum visits last summer would count as well. I could call it "Art Appreciation" or "Survey of World Art" or some such.

 

Well, he's not going to Princeton. :D

 

What we have done here is very similar to what you've done in bold. I just add in the art/music stuff when we hit that point in history, so acquiring the credit over four years is relatively painless. I just have to remember to do it.

 

I like "Art Appreciation."  I think we'll run with that. Thank you!

[swimmermom3]

Lisa, the colleges my ds applied to this year were pretty flexible. Not only were performing arts counted as that is what comes to mind for many people as well as "gallery arts", but also appreciation level courses for students not pursuing instruments, voice, or artistic development. Many colleges themselves have "overview" courses and require one fine arts "ish" course in order to graduate as part of gen-ed requirements, and those are introductory level courses in music and art, or allow students to take courses such as introductory photography. Art History was absolutely accepted.

 

I would put Introduction to Fine Arts on the transcript, and then give a nice overview of what was accomplished in course descriptions. Though some schools did not require course descriptions, we sent them anyway and figured that if the admin looked them over, it would be another feather in ds's cap.

 

Locally, our school district offers both an intro to music class, and an intro to fine arts, as well as a photography course so that those kids who have not pursued arts at a higher level will have an appropriate course to fulfill their fine arts requirement. It's one of the FEW things they've done right in recent years.

 

Some of the larger urban schools that have good theater and dance programs also offer introduction to theater or dance, or have courses such as introductory film. But, those are schools with mega funding. All of that said, we have not found that colleges are picky - though again ds and dd did not apply to Ivies - they just want to see a genuine fine arts course of some kind.

 

I had completely forgotten that my older kids were required to take 2 credits for the arts. They each took a semester of drama and then I don't remember what else. You know, I think the high school actually no longer has that requirement.

 

My course descriptions are nearly done, but they need some revision, such as slightly sexier titles for our homegrown classes. We look a bit a bit dull on paper for what has been fairly satisfying educational experience.

 

 

[swimmermom3]

Probably starting in 2016, most tier 1 Michigan schools will require that credit of fine arts for acceptance because of the implementation of the Michigan Merit Diploma program. One credit of fine arts will be required for all students, minus special ed students with a demonstrated significant learning disability, in order to graduate and be considered "college ready". Most teachers believe that the Michigan Merit will become the new minimums, and may even be adopted by some of the lower ranked tier 2 institutions.

 

So, that is something to consider if any of you out there have students considering any Michigan uni's and LAC's.

 

You have a bit of sailing in Michigan, don't you? ;)

 

[elegantlion]

The only thing I might add is to consider if there are any state public school requirements for the states in which he is applying. For instance, Missouri public high schools require personal finance instead of any type of economics. So I made sure ds had personal finance on his transcript - which was more relevant to us anyway. 

[Running the race]

California State University schools require a credit of fine arts.

[Hoggirl]

The only thing I might add is to consider if there are any state public school requirements for the states in which he is applying. For instance, Missouri public high schools require personal finance instead of any type of economics. So I made sure ds had personal finance on his transcript - which was more relevant to us anyway.

I agree with this. Our state requires a semester of Fine Arts and a semester of health. Some states require a basic computer class (usage of).

 

However, I will say that ds applied to an OOS public that had a high school requirement (the computer class) that our state did NOT have as a high school requirement. Because our state public schools don't require it, that OOS public waived that requirement. But that might not be true for all OOS schools. Hope I am making sense!

 

I would definitely have whatever public school high school graduation requirements there are for your OWN state's public universities - if he is applying to any of those.

[Pawz4me]

I agree with this. Our state requires a semester of Fine Arts and a semester of health. Some states require a basic computer class (usage of).

 

However, I will say that ds applied to an OOS public that had a high school requirement (the computer class) that our state did NOT have as a high school requirement. Because our state public schools don't require it, that OOS public waived that requirement. But that might not be true for all OOS schools. Hope I am making sense!

 

I would definitely have whatever public school high school graduation requirements there are for your OWN state's public universities - if he is applying to any of those.

 

We had the same experience. DS applied to an OOS public that had a fine arts requirement.  Our state doesn't have that requirement and DS had no fine arts credit.  He was accepted anyway and offered a generous merit aid package.

[FaithManor]

You have a bit of sailing in Michigan, don't you? ;)

 

:smilielol5:  :smilielol5: :smilielol5:  Uhm...yes! We have lakes that are "seas" so yes, sailing is HUGE here as are other water sports.

 

Lol, you cracked me up!

[MBM]

Some universities are specific about what they will accept as visual or performing art. For example, all public Ohio and U of California universities and Illinois State require one full year of the same visual or performing art. These can include art history, dance, music and theater. If anyone is interested in these schools, check to see what is accepted and what's not. (Some Ohio schools might waive this.)

[swimmermom3]

:smilielol5:  :smilielol5: :smilielol5:  Uhm...yes! We have lakes that are "seas" so yes, sailing is HUGE here as are other water sports.

 

Lol, you cracked me up!

 

Sailor Dude got to go to Traverse City last summer and loved the sailing. The event organizer keep a tight rein on the kids so he didn't get a chance to see more than water and the short drive to the host family's home. The host family told him about ice sailing. He's quite intrigued. :tongue_smilie:

 

[FaithManor]

Traverse is gorgeous! I love traveling in that area.

[Nan in Mass]

Lisa, a bit of important, going-away-to-college information for your son.  Like, could save his life important.  In an iceboat, you do not "land" by coming up into the wind next to the "dock".  You land by luffing way, way before the "dock" so that you "drift" to a stop next to the dock.  We learned this the hard way in a borrowed iceboat.  All's well that ends well and the boat actually stopped in the desired spot, but people in the area are still talking about it ten years later.  It was that spectacular. - Nan

[FaithManor]

Oh Lisa???? Hear ye, hear ye! U of MI, Western Michigan, and Hope College all have sailing teams.

[Matryoshka]

 

Are there other requirements that frequently show up that I am not aware of? Specific types of history of government?

 

 

My state does not require gov't, econ, or civics for graduation from high school.  I know your question was whether colleges require it, but I'm having a hard time thinking of most US colleges dismissing most MA grads out of hand because they're not taken much here...  I don't think my high school even offered any of those.  Dd's high school does offer gov't and econ, but I don't think they're routinely taken unless a kid has a specific interest.

[Matryoshka]

Some universities are specific about what they will accept as visual or performing art. For example, all public Ohio and U of California universities and Illinois State require one full year of the same visual or performing art. These can include art history, dance, music and theater. If anyone is interested in these schools, check to see what is accepted and what's not. (Some Ohio schools might waive this.)

 

Wow, guess it's a good think my engineering-oriented dd isn't interested in going that far away - I don't think she's taken any art class, performing or otherwise, of any kind, and she's already a junior (although she's been taking piano lessons since she was 5, and sings in the school's a capella group - do they require that you take it as a class, or is extracurricular okay?)  She thinks she might take "piano lab" next year as an easy class (apparently if you can already play they just let you practice whatever), but that's only a semester class.

[Nan in Mass]

Matryoshka, I'd be surprised if any of this were a problem for your daughter. I've heard of lots of cases where students were accepted without everything on the requirements list. Youngest didn't have everything for some of his colleges and they accepted him. (For example, we ignored UMass's homeschooling requirement for a dated transcript.) I put "gov" in the title with the US History credit I gave him because he had read the foundation documents recommended in TWTM as part of great books and he had done some field trips to the UN and our state house. It probably wouldn't have occured to me to include it otherwise, not having had anything like that in my own high school. My oldest didn't in public high school, either. Mine had art and/or music because they (and I) wanted them to. That wouldn't have occured to me as a college entrance requirement, either. None of the schools we looked at required them, but we didn't look outside of the northeast. The perils of living in Mass. lol. Actually, I think a worse peril is the one that requires one to have approved paperwork or a GED in order to matriculate at UMass Amherst. Maybe they've straightened that out this year. I haven't heard any chitchat about it. -Nan

[Matryoshka]

Matryoshka, I'd be surprised if any of this were a problem for your daughter. I've heard of lots of cases where students were accepted without everything on the requirements list. Youngest didn't have everything for some of his colleges and they accepted him. (For example, we ignored UMass's homeschooling requirement for a dated transcript.) I put "gov" in the title with the US History credit I gave him because he had read the foundation documents recommended in TWTM as part of great books and he had done some field trips to the UN and our state house. It probably wouldn't have occured to me to include it otherwise, not having had anything like that in my own high school. My oldest didn't in public high school, either. Mine had art and/or music because they (and I) wanted them to. That wouldn't have occured to me as a college entrance requirement, either. None of the schools we looked at required them, but we didn't look outside of the northeast. The perils of living in Mass. lol. Actually, I think a worse peril is the one that requires one to have approved paperwork or a GED in order to matriculate at UMass Amherst. Maybe they've straightened that out this year. I haven't heard any chitchat about it. -Nan

 

I worry about this quite a bit, as that would definitely be our back-up plan for my homeschooled junior if everything else is too pricey (in fact, I even think it would make a great fit for her interests, but she pooh-poohs it 'cause I went there - apparently that makes it 'lame').

 

I have a friend whose ds is in the honors program there, and apparently they 'forgot' to insist on the paperwork or GED (I think it helped he entered with a ton of CC credits), but I'd worry they'd suddenly 'remember' it right about graduation and screw things up...

 

Right now I'm in a bit of denial about them needing this stuff (sooo stupid!).  I've thought about getting NARHS to retroactively put together 'official paperwork' if UMass ends up being where she ends up...

 

[MBM]

Wow, guess it's a good think my engineering-oriented dd isn't interested in going that far away - I don't think she's taken any art class, performing or otherwise, of any kind, and she's already a junior (although she's been taking piano lessons since she was 5, and sings in the school's a capella group - do they require that you take it as a class, or is extracurricular okay?)  She thinks she might take "piano lab" next year as an easy class (apparently if you can already play they just let you practice whatever), but that's only a semester class.

 

I believe the schools look at the official transcript, so for B&M kids, extracurriculars might not work. I imagine homeschoolers could  them, though. My son's high school requires students to take two semesters of fine art or performing art to graduate.

 

This is information I'm passing along from my son's high school college counselors. We were given a notebook of information explaining how to go about applying to colleges and this requirement was mentioned quite a few times so it seems important. They did mention that Miami U in Ohio will waive the requirement but that the student would have to fulfill the requirement at Miami.

[Nan in Mass]

I worry about this quite a bit, as that would definitely be our back-up plan for my homeschooled junior if everything else is too pricey (in fact, I even think it would make a great fit for her interests, but she pooh-poohs it 'cause I went there - apparently that makes it 'lame').

 

I have a friend whose ds is in the honors program there, and apparently they 'forgot' to insist on the paperwork or GED (I think it helped he entered with a ton of CC credits), but I'd worry they'd suddenly 'remember' it right about graduation and screw things up...

 

Right now I'm in a bit of denial about them needing this stuff (sooo stupid!).  I've thought about getting NARHS to retroactively put together 'official paperwork' if UMass ends up being where she ends up...

 

 

Yup.  I STILL worry about this.  That's where youngest will go if he decides he no longer wants to be at his current private school.  Youngest was also accepted to the honours program with a scholarship.  I exchanged a bunch of disconcerting emails on the subject of that paperwork.  I suspect they would have conveniently forgotten to ask for it, too, considering all his cc credits, but there is no way I would have let the issue go at that because of the possibility of it coming back to bite him when they were doing their final check before handing him a diploma.  Youngest was totally unconcerned.  He said so what, he would just take the GED if that happened.  He has a point.  It might be just as easy to do that as it is to do a retroactive NARHS thing.  If I could do it again, I probably would do some sort of cover school, not because of UMass but because my children turned out to be more internationally oriented that we ever guessed they would be and I am afraid it will somehow be an issue with international job applications.  I'm probably being silly.  I have much more immediate and important things to worry about.  But still...  For what it is worth, my school system investigated this a little bit for me and said that the four yearly approval letters we are given SHOULD be enough.  It was for other colleges.  (Even the private school and community college wanted them for financial aid purposes.)  Those are supposed to be the thing that says we completed a program that was approved by the school department.  For some unknown reason, UMass Amherst won't accept that.  I specifically asked.  The other state colleges I asked said they would.  Very strange.  I also asked our school system what would happen if a college or employer called asking about a former homeschooled student.  I was told that the school answer that the student had been an "unenrolled student of that school district".  As far as I can tell, that means a student that made other arrangements for his education with the school system than attending the regional public high school.  Probably not terribly helpful, but at least it acknowledges that the education was legal and the student did not drop out.

 

Nan

[Matryoshka]

Yup.  I STILL worry about this.  That's where youngest will go if he decides he no longer wants to be at his current private school.  Youngest was also accepted to the honours program with a scholarship.  I exchanged a bunch of disconcerting emails on the subject of that paperwork.  I suspect they would have conveniently forgotten to ask for it, too, considering all his cc credits, but there is no way I would have let the issue go at that because of the possibility of it coming back to bite him when they were doing their final check before handing him a diploma.  Youngest was totally unconcerned.  He said so what, he would just take the GED if that happened.  He has a point.  It might be just as easy to do that as it is to do a retroactive NARHS thing.  If I could do it again, I probably would do some sort of cover school, not because of UMass but because my children turned out to be more internationally oriented that we ever guessed they would be and I am afraid it will somehow be an issue with international job applications.  I'm probably being silly.  I have much more immediate and important things to worry about.  But still...  For what it is worth, my school system investigated this a little bit for me and said that the four yearly approval letters we are given SHOULD be enough.  It was for other colleges.  (Even the private school and community college wanted them for financial aid purposes.)  Those are supposed to be the thing that says we completed a program that was approved by the school department.  For some unknown reason, UMass Amherst won't accept that.  I specifically asked.  The other state colleges I asked said they would.  Very strange.  I also asked our school system what would happen if a college or employer called asking about a former homeschooled student.  I was told that the school answer that the student had been an "unenrolled student of that school district".  As far as I can tell, that means a student that made other arrangements for his education with the school system than attending the regional public high school.  Probably not terribly helpful, but at least it acknowledges that the education was legal and the student did not drop out.

 

Nan

 

Yep to the bolded as well.  This is the kid that wants to head overseas at some point.  She's the one I'd really hoped would stay in school because it would have made all this so much easier!   I'm hoping, though, that if she does at least a year of college here she could always transfer abroad and they wouldn't care anymore???

 

[Nan in Mass]

Yep to the bolded as well.  This is the kid that wants to head overseas at some point.  She's the one I'd really hoped would stay in school because it would have made all this so much easier!   I'm hoping, though, that if she does at least a year of college here she could always transfer abroad and they wouldn't care anymore???

 

 

I have no idea.  The perils of homeschooling lol.  You homeschool so they can do things they couldn't if they were in public school, so they will be free to explore their interests, and this leads to your children venturing beyond what you had so carefully planned for lol.  It would be so very funny if it weren't so scary.  I'm sure all the people who didn't think it was a good idea in the first place are now saying, "What did you expect when you didn't make them sit in a seat all day, 180 days a year, for theri entire childhood and instead let them traipse around the world and pushed all that foreign language?  Well, I guess I didn't think it would actually WORK...

 

I think the answer to your question is that it depends on the school and country.

 

Nan

[nancy in nj]

My dd's EC's/Volunteer activities were almost completely centered around the local non-profit sailing and rowing center, including huge rowing practice commitments and summer volunteer instructor hours.  I was really worried about the community service "weakness" in her college app's.  But, when the common application was completed, the first 4 or 5 items on the EC portion of the application showed a clear focus that encompassed her college years and looked far more impressive than I would have thought possible.  It clearly showed a kid who was following her passion and not just going through the motions of volunteering for the sake of enhancing the college app.  It sounds to me like your son has very strong EC's and volunteer experience--including responsibility for sailing students on the water in potentially dangerous situations.  This is a much bigger deal than spending the summer re-shelving books at the local library.  He will be fine--just make sure you package it in a way that shows the true breadth of his commitment to sailing rather than minimizing it. You should have separate EC's listed for his training hours/certifications to become a volunteer instructor, his volunteer instruction as community service, his weekly sailing practice and racing hours, his paid employment position, etc.  It is not one thing, it is many different types of EC that happens to be centered around his sailing passion.   When the time comes, if you need any ideas, I can share by pm the EC's section of my dd's application.