Beyond dual-enrollment, GED? homeschool diploma?

[bluedarling]

My eldest is finishing his dual enrollment at our local community college.  He never took the SAT or ACT (mainly because Mom wasn't on top of getting him accomodations...for ASD...in time for the tests, and he refused to attempt without.)  The college advisor is suggesting my son take the GED so that he can get scholarships???  I thought getting a GED was a bad thing to colleges...how will that help him get scholarships?   I could grant him a homeschool diploma, except he bombed his 2nd semester Jr. year (did pretty much nothing except work a few hours.)   I had told him previously he would have to finish his AA degree to get granted a high school diploma by the community college (an option in our state.)  He may have enough credits, though, especially with a year of dual-enrollment that I could "grant" it, if that helped for scholarships.  I'm very confused by the college's suggestion of a GED.

 

Also, we are looking at his high school courses just now...he only had 2 years of social studies, but he's been really involved with student government/clubs/starting a radio station, and we're wondering if we could creatively count that towards social studies somehow?  He's spent many many hours meeting with different departments discussing licensing, legal documentation, copyrights, etc, and working with various clubs following rules of order, etc.  He has 24.5 credits, but with an obvious weakness is social studies (though its a strength area for him.)

[Julie in MN]

I would ignore that person's advice.  Sounds like he doesn't know anything about modern homeschooling :)

 

And yes, you certainly can grant credit in your school wherever credit is due.  In cases where I wasn't involved in my son's learning, I had him type up a list of what he did, a sort of syllabus, and attached any paperwork, photos, etc., that he picked up along the way.  It sounds like it's also a good time to get letters of recommendation from adults he has worked with, which can be included with the syllabus but also may be needed for scholarships and college admissions.

 

 

[Lori D.]

There are only a very FEW, RARE times when a student needs a GED, and should not be taken lightly, as the GED has distinct drawbacks. The GED also was revamped as of Jan. 2014, and must be studied for and is harder to pass -- so, it's still a test, and if you have to prepare for one, the ACT/SAT would be your better bet, IMO. Howerver, you might want to read through some past threads on the GED to think about the pros and cons -- these are all linked in post #2 of the pinned thread "Starting High School… SAT/ACT...GED -- links to past threads here!" at the top of the High School Board

 

GED? (what is it, how to prep, is it a good idea) 

GED?? (pros and cons)

Pros and Cons of getting a GED

Is it possible to get into the military without a high school education, GED only?

College wants GED from homeschoolers. Do I challenge that?

Has anyone taught/tutored community college GED classes?

Is anyone familiar with the new GED who could answer a few questions?

 

 

The GED is a high school equivalency test for those (usually age 18 and older) who did not complete high school. A GED is required for college admissions ONLY if the student does NOT have a high school diploma -- and if your son completes your homeschool requirements for graduation and you award a diploma, then he is a graduate and not eligible to take the GED. The GED does NOT help with scholarships; in fact, it has nothing to do with scholarships; it is only used by colleges for admission eligibility, if the student does not have a high school diploma. And yes, along with the US military, virtually all colleges accept homeschool diplomas.

 

The ACT/SAT test scores, along with his transcript GPA (both from homeschooling and from his dual enrollment), along with any AP test scores, are what are used by colleges in determining who to award scholarships to. Many colleges also *require* the ACT/SAT score for admissions, which gives them a standardized baseline for deciding whether students have the academics or not to be acceptable to make it at that college. So I strongly recommend looking into getting accommodations and having DS take an SAT or ACT test, not only for potential future scholarships, but also for admission to colleges.

 

Options:

- Graduate DS this year (if his dual enrollment completes your requirements for his homeschool high school) and look into getting the accommodations NOW for taking an ACT or SAT in May or June.

- Or, delay graduation by 1 semester -- or 1 year -- and use the extra time for more dual enrollment to complete the Associate's degree, complete your homeschool requirements, and prepare for ACT/SAT testing.

 

Esp. if your area offers free dual enrollment, I'd strongly consider delaying graduation to at least December 2016 and take full advantage of the free tuition at the CC in order to complete the AA, or get close to completing it -- college gets expensive fast when you have to pay for it yourself! Another possibility is to go ahead and graduate at the end of this spring, but have him start off at the CC and complete the Associate's degree, and any other general ed. credits that would transfer to a university, and then apply to a 4-year university as a transfer student in a year or whenever he has enough credits to reduce the time at the 4-year university. There are scholarships at community colleges for high GPAs. And there are transfer scholarships out there for students moving from a CC to a 4-year university. The extra time might give DS more time for maturing with the ASD.

 

We know several families who had their younger teen students "walk" the homeschool high school graduation ceremony, but not award the diploma until the end of the following year, which allowed their students to take advantage of another full year of dual enrollment. Might that work for your DS??

 

re: testing accommodations

Do you have a paper trail already started with an official diagnosis of DS's special needs? Not only is that needed for getting the special helps for ACT/SAT testing in high school, in order to take advantage of FREE helps offered at *colleges*, you MUST start that official paper trail by no later than the senior year of high school. Once a student has graduated, if there has been no official diagnosis and paper trail, colleges will not grant the FREE accommodations and helps -- the student has to pay for any extra helps that would have been free.

 

re: credits

Most second-tier colleges and (non-selective/non-competitive) public universities require the following credits for admission:

4 credits = English

3-4 credits = Math (up through Alg. 2, some require a 4th math with Alg. 2 as the pre-requisite)

3 credits = Science, with labs

2-3 credits = Social Science

2-3 credits = Foreign Language (same language)

1 credit = Fine Arts

4-8 credits = Electives

 

If the Social Sciences is the only area is he a little light in, I think you will probably be okay, as many colleges only require 2 credits of Social Science. His overall credit total is great.

 

JMO, but those extracurriculars are GREAT, and will stand out FAR more as extracurriculars, esp. showing leadership and personal passion (the starting a radio station is fabulous!) -- these activities would really end up hidden as part of a credit.

 

 

Just my 2 cents worth! BEST of luck in deciding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by Lori D.
remove extra spaces

[Ellie]

My eldest is finishing his dual enrollment at our local community college.  He never took the SAT or ACT (mainly because Mom wasn't on top of getting him accomodations...for ASD...in time for the tests, and he refused to attempt without.)  The college advisor is suggesting my son take the GED so that he can get scholarships???  I thought getting a GED was a bad thing to colleges...how will that help him get scholarships?   I could grant him a homeschool diploma, except he bombed his 2nd semester Jr. year (did pretty much nothing except work a few hours.)   I had told him previously he would have to finish his AA degree to get granted a high school diploma by the community college (an option in our state.)  He may have enough credits, though, especially with a year of dual-enrollment that I could "grant" it, if that helped for scholarships.  I'm very confused by the college's suggestion of a GED.

 

Also, we are looking at his high school courses just now...he only had 2 years of social studies, but he's been really involved with student government/clubs/starting a radio station, and we're wondering if we could creatively count that towards social studies somehow?  He's spent many many hours meeting with different departments discussing licensing, legal documentation, copyrights, etc, and working with various clubs following rules of order, etc.  He has 24.5 credits, but with an obvious weakness is social studies (though its a strength area for him.)

 

The college adviser is SO wrong. Homeschoolers have been fighting that battle for many years, and in most cases have won the right to enter college with transcripts and diplomas issued by their parents.

 

In fact, if your ds earns an AA, that would be enough for you to also issue him a high school diploma. You don't need to community college to do it. For myself, I would have no qualms about doing that.  Clearly, if he is able to take c.c. classes, he had enough preparation "in high school," and it doesn't seem fair not to graduate him from your homeschool. :-)

[bluedarling]

Thank you.  I feel better now about granting the homeschool diploma.  A part of me resists it because I am mad him for refusing to work for me at all for a whole semester, but he has demonstrated he was adequately prepared, anyway.  (I just hope younger siblings don't try to follow suit!!)  So, his high school transcript will show things like English 3, grade A, 0.5 credit (just not show the incomplete semester?)  Or should I record Fs for his incomplete semester, and average the grade?

[DebbS]

I wouldn't show Fs nor would I lower his semester grade by averaging an A and an F.  If he did A level work for a semester, then I would give him an A for 1/2 credit and leave any incomplete work completely off his transcript. 

 

It's not unusual at all for a young man to resist his parents for a time. It's part of growing up and claiming independence. Immature, but normal. So you don't have to be mad at him anymore. And yes,  there's a good chance that his younger siblings will follow suit. Don't worry though,  it's easier the second time around because of BTDT.