Maura in NY Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Original thread here -- http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/546625-umass-amherst-transcripts-anyone-have-a-success-story/ And my follow-up, as promised: The director of admissions at UMass Amherst responded to my letter on behalf of the chancellor, and said that after reading my letter "it is clear we need to undertake a review of how we evaluate and select homeschooled students like your son." They are willing to accept the "letter of substantially equivalent education" from our district superintendent in lieu of an official transcript or GED. So, a win for us. And hopefully a win for future homeschool applicants to UMass Amherst, if they revise their requirements. We left it up to Brody whether we keep them on the list, and he says yes, so the visit is back on. I honestly did not think I would get a response to my letter...I'm glad my cynicism was misplaced. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on this. Peace, Maura 37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 OH WOW! That's awesome. Thank you for updating and I'm so happy for that outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Wonderful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 So stinkin' proud of you, my friend. CONGRATS and THANK YOU for sticking it out and writing such an amazing letter. :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 So stinkin' proud of you, my friend. CONGRATS and THANK YOU for sticking it out and writing such an amazing letter. :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: Agreeing with Jen. You are forging a path. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Original thread here -- http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/546625-umass-amherst-transcripts-anyone-have-a-success-story/ And my follow-up, as promised: The director of admissions at UMass Amherst responded to my letter on behalf of the chancellor, and said that after reading my letter "it is clear we need to undertake a review of how we evaluate and select homeschooled students like your son." They are willing to accept the "letter of substantially equivalent education" from our district superintendent in lieu of an official transcript or GED. So, a win for us. And hopefully a win for future homeschool applicants to UMass Amherst, if they revise their requirements. We left it up to Brody whether we keep them on the list, and he says yes, so the visit is back on. I honestly did not think I would get a response to my letter...I'm glad my cynicism was misplaced. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on this. Peace, Maura :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :party: :party: :party: :party: Well, that's wonderful news!!!!! Thanks so much for bumping this up the chain and persisting - this really gives me hope! And THANK YOU from me and on behalf of all those who come after you! Any idea if this director of admissions is on the new side - just wondering if there had been turnover since Nan tried this... new blood is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Good for you, Maura! I'm glad that your letter generated such a positive response. And best wishes to your son in his college search. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 You are one of the homeschooling pioneers! Awesome! Maura in NY will go down in infamy for clearing the way to UMass for NY homeschoolers without any GED required! Maybe soon they'll join the other 3000+ colleges which accept just the homeschooling transcript from all 50 states. :hurray: :party: :hurray: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 This is great. Because as it was before, I wasn't willing to even bother with the school. It's still probably too pricey for oos, but now I'm at least willing to look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maura in NY Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :party: :party: :party: :party: Well, that's wonderful news!!!!! Thanks so much for bumping this up the chain and persisting - this really gives me hope! And THANK YOU from me and on behalf of all those who come after you! Any idea if this director of admissions is on the new side - just wondering if there had been turnover since Nan tried this... new blood is good! He's been the director since 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Congratulations. Thank you for working this all the way to the possibility of a change/improvement. In my state I wouldn't even have that letter, so thanks for starting the ball rolling in their review of policy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 :hurray: Thanks for your pioneering work! This is great news for future homeschooling applicants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Wow! Good job! Definitely think you should go down in homeschooling history! For the record, I only exchanged emails with one admissions councelor. I pushed hard and quoted stuff at her, but I did not try to going over her head. This is great news, and not just for NYers. The phrase "equivalent education" gives Mass homeschoolers something to take to their school departments. The school departments are already approving our plans yearly and checking on our yearly assessments with an eye to whether we are providing this. It is a very short step from those approval letters to a "substantially equivalent" letter, one that hopefully either our school departments will be willing to make or UMass Amherst will be willing to make. Wonderful! Nan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maura in NY Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nan -- the other key phrase they are looking for is that you have homeschooled in accordance with your state regulations. Thanks for the kind words, folks. Blushing here. I really just wrote the letter so I could stop gripping about the unfairness and move on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Yes, from those of us behind you - thank you! Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Terrific job, Maura. That took some time and effort to accomplish. Nan -- the other key phrase they are looking for is that you have homeschooled in accordance with your state regulations. :iagree: This makes the transcript look official. For the school on my transcript, I used: Homeschool, operated in accordance with Florida Statute 1002.41 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nan -- the other key phrase they are looking for is that you have homeschooled in accordance with your state regulations. Thanks for the kind words, folks. Blushing here. I really just wrote the letter so I could stop gripping about the unfairness and move on. Ok, so - an official letter from your school department containing the phrase "substancially equivalent education" and "in accordance with your state regulations". Is that right? This should be doable if you are on good terms with your school department. I guess the next step is for somebody to tell the people who run that website for Mass. superintendents about homeschooling laws. Maybe they would be willing to include the information that UMass Amherst would like to see this information. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 This is a great step forward. Unfortunately for those in NY not all superintendents will sign off on a home schooled student. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 This is a great step forward. Unfortunately for those in NY not all superintendents will sign off on a home schooled student. I asked around about this. Not a lot of people had an answer, but nobody mentioned that their super would not give them the letter. So I'm trying to be hopeful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Yes, be hopeful and start now with a plan. Once again, we may have lucked out. Ds homeschooled 9 and 10 in TX, 11 and 12 in NY. I don't believe the school district here has encountered a high-school homeschooler before, but they do have several in the early grades. After hearing all the horror stories about rules and regs, I made sure those silly quarterlies and IEPs followed as close as possible( and beyond) to what the local school was doing. We even forced ourselves to read some of the books they were .You don't really have to copy their curriculum, just find an effective way of presenting yours as something they can relate to,lol. He could have taken the Regents, but didn't. Instead, I made sure to write about his SAT/ACT/SAT2 scores.( We chose all three primarily for this reason). I was sickeningly polite when I hand delivered each quarterly. The super wasn't in his office when I asked for the letter( emailed him, then showed up in person) so I left a note with the exact words needed. I handed the last folder with his final grades and university acceptances to some secretaries. They were quite curious; one claimed it was best if Walt took the GED( as in, poor kid doesn't stand a chance). I told them that wasn't true according to NY law, and especially if they saw his last report...I could see them scrambling for it as I walked out. The super wrote his note exactly as I had instructed him to. :laugh: Yeah I've been extremely careful with my paperwork. Everything is thorough and submitted early. Honestly, my plan is to bitch to the state education department if they don't give me that letter because there will be no good reason not to. I've been in the same district for going on 8 years now. Unfortunately, we've been through three supers in that time and at least as many contact people. At this point the district does not even respond to the parts they are supposed to respond to. But I'm assuming they at least shove my paperwork into a folder somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yeah I've been extremely careful with my paperwork. Everything is thorough and submitted early. Honestly, my plan is to bitch to the state education department if they don't give me that letter because there will be no good reason not to. I've been in the same district for going on 8 years now. Unfortunately, we've been through three supers in that time and at least as many contact people. At this point the district does not even respond to the parts they are supposed to respond to. But I'm assuming they at least shove my paperwork into a folder somewhere. My district went through a number of supers. I had to resend all my older one,s paperwork at one point, several years worth of plans, approval letters, and portfolios. In theory, they keep them, but when I called to check, they were unable to track down the bits from one of the supers. Make and keep copies of everything. I have copies at my parents' house as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I honestly did not think I would get a response to my letter...I'm glad my cynicism was misplaced. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on this. Peace, Maura Congrats to you for taking the time, despite your cynicism, to write the letter. I'm glad it will work for your son, and am hopeful the school will change the policy for everyone soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maura in NY Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 If any New Yorkers are interested in the letter I sent to the superintendent for ds #1, I'd be happy to send it to you. We have a pretty friendly district, but I do think we may have been the first to request the letter. I sent my request in the fall of his senior year, asking that they let me know if there was anything they would need from us in order to provide the letter in the spring. (YES - keep copies of everything! Backup your backups.) Rather than be confrontational, I laid out the regs and why it was a no-brainer for them to provide the letter. I basically quoted Section 3.47(A) of the Rules of the Board of Regents along with the NYSED Q&A question 35. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Yeah I've been extremely careful with my paperwork. Everything is thorough and submitted early. Honestly, my plan is to bitch to the state education department if they don't give me that letter because there will be no good reason not to. I've been in the same district for going on 8 years now. Unfortunately, we've been through three supers in that time and at least as many contact people. At this point the district does not even respond to the parts they are supposed to respond to. But I'm assuming they at least shove my paperwork into a folder somewhere. So we are now on our third state for high school alone. I realized last week that while I had gotten a letter back for my middle schooler, I'd not had a response on my high schoolers. When I called I found out that the school couldn't find our paperwork or any record of receiving it. And of course it was the first time I'd ever not sent it return receipt required. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 So we are now on our third state for high school alone. I realized last week that while I had gotten a letter back for my middle schooler, I'd not had a response on my high schoolers. When I called I found out that the school couldn't find our paperwork or any record of receiving it. And of course it was the first time I'd ever not sent it return receipt required. Sigh. I hand delivered my packets of paperwork every year because it seemed like a bad idea to mail it. Return receipt required would have been a good idea. In general I tried to be glad that we weren't high priority when things like that happened. When we hit high school and began looking at the college application process, I began being glad we lived in a state that required yearly paperwork. Funny how your perspective on these things changes. I,ve always wondered how Mass. state colleges handle students from no paperwork states like Texas. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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