College admissions asking for official transcripts?

[mckive6]

Has anyone else encountered this at any college?  

 

"Temple University requires all students to receive a high school diploma conferred from either their local school district or an accredited home school agency. We would need official transcripts from either. If you do not fall into one of those categories you will be required to sit for the GED test."

 

In the email he actually said "Your mother signed your transcript."  But, it does not state any requirements on their website, about homeschoolers or anything about transcripts.  My daughter would not have applied and paid the fee if we knew her transcript was not going to be accepted.

 

This is the only school that this has happened.   My daughter will be calling them tomorrow.

 

Thanks.

[Lori D.]

:grouphug: SO sorry you are having to go through this!

 

This is becoming increasingly rare, as most universities are reaping tremendous benefits of having homeschoolers as students and many schools are actively seeking out and recruiting homeschoolers. Unfortunately, PA seems to have several behind-the-times schools. Penn State has the same requirements as listed in your post, BUT their special additional homeschooler requirements are clearly stated on the school's admission website page.

 

The only information I was able to find about Temple and homeschoolers is from articles dated July 2014, which discuss how Temple was dropping the requirement of SAT/ACT scores for admissions, except for "athletes, homeschoolers, and international students not enrolled in a US high school for at least three years." This would suggest that the only extra requirement homeschoolers have is submitting a test score, further making this a gross oversight to not list additional requirements anywhere in the admission information.

 

Just me, but I'd fight this one, or at least work hard to get my money back:

 

Temple listed NO special requirements for homeschoolers on their website or in the application process. To suddenly pull out a requirement in mid-process borders on a form of fraud. If Temple wishes to require an accredited diploma from homeschoolers, they are free to do so, but they must include any special or additional requirements for the application process UP FRONT.

 

I would call and request to speak directly to the Director of Admissions about this matter.

 

- If you are in PA, please check out post #30 of "Does anyone receive a diploma from the state?", in which the poster MaryAlice discusses a homeschool law passed in Oct. 2014 which the parent issued diploma receives all the rights and privileges of a public school diploma -- the supervisor (parent) must get a standardized form from the PA Department of Education and the 12th grade evaluator signs it. This will provide your student with a diploma that has been awarded via state-approved process. Because your diploma has been legally authorized through the PA Department of Education process, your homeschool transcript (which is the record of coursework proving completion of requirements for graduation) by extension is accepted by the PA Department of Education. If your official homeschool transcript is accepted by the PA Department of Education, then it should be accepted by Temple.

 

- If you are not in PA, you will want to let Temple know that a state-issued diploma is an impossibility for any homeschooler. No state awards diplomas to homeschoolers, because NO local school districts and NO state board of education oversees home education. The only thing remotely close to this is if you are a NY resident homeschooler, for the purposes of applying to a NY college, you can obtain a letter from your school district superintendent stating your student has received the substantial equivalent of a high school education -- a document specifically requested by the SUNY schools from NY homeschoolers. But this is only due to the fact that the superintendent has okayed the homeschool student's annual portfolio. And, it is not a diploma or a transcript.

 

- For your student, a diploma from an accredited homeschool agency is not a possibility. Participation with an accredited homeschool agency must be initiated at the beginning of the school year. Your student is too far into the school year to be processed by such an agency, so a diploma from an accredited homeschool agency is not a possible option for any homeschool student already into the senior year of high school. You would have needed to know before the start of the senior year that Temple would require this possibility; they did not post this information anywhere, so Temple itself makes this option not possible for your student.

 

- A homeschool graduate is not eligible to take the GED. See requirements of the GED eligibility here -- requirements #1, 2, and 4 make your student ineligible. (#1 = your student IS enrolled in your homeschool, #2 = your student IS in process of graduating, #4 = your student has NOT left school i.e. dropped out). Your student is completing high school graduation requirements and is not a drop-out, so, your student is not eligible to take the GED, and so a GED test score is not an option for your student.

 

 

Temple may or may not allow you to continue with the admission process, and they may or may not refund your money, but at least you bringing this matter to their attention should cause them to address their policies, and publish their policies prominently on their website and in the admission process in order to benefit future homeschool students considering Temple. 

 

BEST of luck! And best wishes for DD for being admitted to the school that will welcome her and be and excellent fit for her! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by Lori D.

[hopskipjump]

Was this information just spontaneously emailed to your daughter? Or was it in direct response to her application? I'm asking because my dd also applied to Temple and hasn't received any communications like this ... yet?

 

As Lori D. posted above, I only remember that they did require an ACT/SAT score for homeschoolers and nothing more than that. We purposefully only applied to one university with "annoying homeschooling rules" - and Temple was NOT that school.

[regentrude]

We encountered wording at one college's website: " "If transcripts from an accredited home-schooling  program are not available, an official copy of a GED certificate must be submitted for consideration for admission. "

Upon emailing the admissions counselor, we were informed that "the wording can be confusing to all of our homeschool applicants.  We take homeschool transcripts.  The student does not have to take the GED if complying with state law. " (Now why the heck they continue to have this on their page I don't understand)

 

Your DD should call. It may be that one particular person is uninformed at this office. Best of luck.

 

[RootAnn]

This does still happen, as HSLDA said they recorded 232 "instances of [post-secondary] discrimination". They say that most are instances where a parent-issued diploma is challenged by a college admission officer.

 

So, your daughter is not alone. Hopefully, a couple of phone calls will be enough to straighten it out. If not, HSLDA might be able to help, if you want to ask them for help. (Some people really dislike HSLDA. I am including this suggestion if you are ok with their actions and Christianity.)

[SkateLeft]

At the bottom of our transcripts, just above the signature line, I put "Registered homeschool in accordance with (our state) statutes X and X."

 

That negated some of the weirdness we encountered when my kids applied to schools in states with more restrictive homeschool laws. They really seemed to just want assurance that we were legally compliant with our state laws.

 

Any school that absolutely insisted on a GED was immediately crossed off our list. Fortunately, those are few and far between.

[mckive6]

Lori D., thanks for all of the advice.  I have never looked into the law about GED's, so thanks for filling me in.  I will definitely use that information in my conversation with the director of admissions.  Actually, this was a last minute application, primarily because my dad went to graduate school there and really liked the school.  My dd acually prefers a smaller school, and has been accepted to 4 of that size.  

 

I'll let you know how my phone call goes.

 

Pauline

[mckive6]

Hopskipjump,

This was in direct response to her application. It was from an admission counselor.  Did you use an accredited homeschool agency or organization, or did you make your own transcript?  I made my dd's but it was professional looking, with official at the top, and all the required information, and signed.  I'm going to call them now.

 

Thanks!

[mckive6]

Hopskipjump,

Your dd was accepted, correct?  What was your transcript like?  My dd's application was still being reviewed.

 

Thanks,

Pauline

[Lori D.]

Lori D., thanks for all of the advice.  I have never looked into the law about GED's, so thanks for filling me in.  I will definitely use that information in my conversation with the director of admissions.  Actually, this was a last minute application, primarily because my dad went to graduate school there and really liked the school.  My dd acually prefers a smaller school, and has been accepted to 4 of that size.  

 

Technically it's not a *law*. It is the GED's *rules* for eligibility requirements -- the GED was designed for those who left high school prior to completing graduation requirements and did not earn a diploma, to be proof of high school equivalency. It is a great thing for so many people who left school early and later on want to move on with their lives and careers, but it does still carry the stigma of "drop out". And in NO WAY can a homeschooler who complies with state regulations and completes high school requirements for graduation be considered a "drop out" just because the student did not attend a traditional school or complete high school in a non-traditional manner. Grrr...  :tongue_smilie:

 

I'll let you know how my phone call goes.

 

Please do update us! :) Wishing you the BEST with this call. Hopefully it will be as Regentrude above suggested -- a college admission officer who is unfamiliar with homeschool transcripts. It is possible Temple doesn't even have a formal homeschool student admission policy, since there is no information about homeschoolers anywhere in their admission information.

[mckive6]

The admission counselor I spoke with sent me a link with the informationl.  This is it: The university requires that students hold a diploma from an accredited high school with the following recommended distribution of courses:

 

It is at the top of the page for general admission for freshmen.  That is all it says.  75% of their students come from  Pennsylvania, so they are used to what is required in PA.  I didn't get very far on the phone.  Guess I'll try again tomorrow.

It is very frustrating.

 

 

[Nan in Mass]

Hugs.  I got nowhere on the phone a few years ago with UMass Amherst, also.  Fortunately, they weren't my son's first choice.  (This year, they have modified their stance somewhat.)  It is indeed frustrating.

 

Nan