s/o…List View of Acceptances…words of wisdom?

[Donna]

It's so cool to see all the WTM forum kids' college acceptances and decisions especially as someone whose dd is "officially" beginning high school in the fall.

 

She will be my first homeschooling exclusively through high school and it has been difficult making decisions because there is so much she wants to learn, stuff she needs to learn to be competitive for college, and only so much time in a day.

 

I was wondering what words of wisdom those of you who have graduated dc who've gone on to college might have for those of us just starting out? I am particularly interested in suggestions/advice from those of you whose dc has not followed a "typical" high school route maybe due to significant time spent on sports, music, acting, or some other time consuming activity they planned to participate in while in college or professionally.

 

Congratulations to all the seniors graduating!!

[LisaKinVA]

My oldest is only a sophomore in high school, so next year I'll have a junior and a freshman, and my oldest is definitely following the path Kinsa is talking about.  My dd has been a bit more vocal about what she wants to do, so her freshman course load is taking her desires into account.  She's also put together a very aggressive 4-year plan (older ds couldn't care less at that point in his education).  My younger son seems to be more like his older sister in how he is looking at his middle/high school years.

 

My oldest is interested in architectural design and several engineering fields -- so there are courses he's taking (either at the school, or I'm creating) to help him develop those interests.  My younger daughter is interested in math/biology/teaching, so her course work will be more of a reflection of that.  Younger DS has expressed interests in Pre-Med and Computer Software Design/Animation, so he's doing more work on those areas.

 

In general, it's good to have a 4-year plan (where you want to end up -- but also that allows flexibility for your child's strengths to shine).  Set the bar for graduation standards (general subject areas)  For us, this is 4 years each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies/History, and Foreign Language, plus 1 Fine Art Credit, 1 Technical Credit and 1 Physical Education/Health Credit.  How this looks from an actual course selections for any one of my kids may differ.  

 

[G5052]

My philosophy was always to keep them very strong in the basics and to let them focus on a few areas later in high school. We went full-bore on math, literature, writing, and Latin. One did two other languages and the other additional art and literature. We had a 4-year plan that was modified some.

 

And be FLEXIBLE. My oldest was on the fast track with competitive college admissions, and ended up at the community college (thankfully an excellent one). He absolutely loves it and is excelling on every front. He's on track to transfer to a top 25 school in his major in 2017-2018. There's a lot of growing up that happens 16-20 that you won't really see earlier.

[snowbeltmom]

 

She will be my first homeschooling exclusively through high school and it has been difficult making decisions because there is so much she wants to learn, stuff she needs to learn to be competitive for college, and only so much time in a day.

 

I was wondering what words of wisdom those of you who have graduated dc who've gone on to college might have for those of us just starting out? I am particularly interested in suggestions/advice from those of you whose dc has not followed a "typical" high school route maybe due to significant time spent on sports, music, acting, or some other time consuming activity they planned to participate in while in college or professionally.

 

Congratulations to all the seniors graduating!!

I have three kids with very different interests  and their high school years all look very different from each other.  For example, my oldest son had 4 credits of English and 12 science credits on his transcript.  My middle kiddo will have 10 English credits, 5 computer science credits, and only 3 science credits on his transcript. 

 

I make sure that my kids have the recommended courses that colleges want to see, but those topics that they are not interested in, those "check the box" topics, are not studied at the same level of rigor as those courses of interests.

 

I also give credit for high school level foreign language, science, and math classes taken in middle school.  My oldest took high school Latin I and II in middle school and Latin III in 9th grade.  Completing this foreign requirement by the end of 9th grade gave my son more time to pursue more topics in his areas of interest during his high school years.   

 

My oldest spent his last 2.5 years of high school conducting research one day a week during our traditional school year and usually three days a week during the summer months.  I considered this an academic pursuit rather than an EC and listed this, along with links to his published research, on his transcript.  My two youngest kids are nationally ranked in their sport and spend upwards of 30+ hours per week on the court. 

 

Since there are only so many hours in the day, and I want my kids to have down-time, my kids homeschool year round in order to accomplish their academic goals. 

 

Good luck planning your daughter's high school years!

[GoodGrief]

I've graduated two now. My oldest had a fairly unusual course, with a year of public school, a semester of half time public school/half time homeschool, followed by a semester of full time homeschool, followed by an exchange year to Turkey with a few homeschool courses completed on the side, followed by a year of dual enrollment and homeschooling. She was heavily involved in theatre, and always had late nights of rehearsal with which to contend. She's a junior at Univ of WA now.

 

My second child was exclusively homeschooled, though took three dual enrollment courses and three years of orchestra at the local high school. She is a senior level comp figure skater, and always has 1-2 additional sports going on the side (went to Jr Nats for Nordic skiing this year, does high school track and cross country running, and competes in mountain running.) She heads to Princeton in the fall.

 

My biggest piece of advice is to keep things as simple as possible in regards to curricula. This does not mean the level of rigor is low, but rather to choose things that require minimal planning and transport easily, if possible. Programs that required "live" meeting times via computer did not work for us. We did some dual enrollment, but tried to keep it at a minimum, because the meeting times and due dates are disruptive (though there IS value in having some hard deadlines to meet, and I believe some colleges like to see that.)

 

Tutoring can be a useful resource, and identifying some people that can serve in that capacity is a good thing. I'm a firm believer in some sort of "in-person" program for foreign language if at all possible, and tutoring worked beautifully for us in that regard.

 

Not every college requires standardized testing, but I feel like having some completed SAT subject tests (or AP or CLEP) is useful in validating homeschool grades, especially if you have a kid with consistently very high grades (some people will state outright their skepticism for homeschool grades. Nothing to do about that, but it's nice to have a test score to pull out and show.)

 

I got a bit creative with my older daughter's course names, and I don't think that served her well during college app time. I suggest presenting things in a way that helps colleges/scholarship programs/employers compare apples-to-apples, while perhaps expanding on the uniqueness of the homeschool course in essays or other methods.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

I got a bit creative with my older daughter's course names, and I don't think that served her well during college app time. I suggest presenting things in a way that helps colleges/scholarship programs/employers compare apples-to-apples, while perhaps expanding on the uniqueness of the homeschool course in essays or other methods.

 

What I did with some of my more unusual courses was to give them a Title and a Subtitle or to use one name on the transcript and amplify the course name on the course descriptions.

 

For example

 

Transcript:  English 9

Course Description:  English 9: Roots of Steampunk Literature

 

Transcript:  Classical Greek Lit

Course Description:  Classical Greek Lit (The Lukeion Project, Muse on the Loose, Online Course)

 

Transcript:  Japan Studies

Course Description:  Japan Studies (Reischauer Scholars Program - Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education)

[8filltheheart]

My kids' high school paths are all very different, but the different approaches suit their personalities and their individual needs. My oldest graduated with the most traditional high school path of all my kids, but he was also the least engaged in the process.  He was a strong student, but he just wanted to check off what was required to be done so that he could go out his girlfriend and group of friends. By #3, I learned to shift more of the course selection and design on to them so that they had more ownership over what was studied and how it was studied. From her high school yrs on, I have collaborated with them over each course taken.  B/c we have taken this approach, their individual high school experiences are radically different from each other.

 

For example, my current college student took about half of his courses at home and half outsourced.  He graduated with 11 science credits, 9.5 math credits, 3 years each of 2 foreign languages, 2 philosophy credits, etc.  1 math and 1 science course were followed by AP exams.  He took 5 sequential physics classes and 3 post cal BC math classes dual enrolled at a local university.  He created 3 independent astronomy courses.  

 

My current 11th grader has a very different personality than that ds. She wants to explore subjects her own way without conforming to a college class schedule.  She is a very advanced student, but she is going to graduate from high school without a single AP or dual enrolled class.  She is pretty adamant about the subject. She wants to enjoy the freedom that homeschooling during high school actually allows to her complete advantage.  Her nod to the system is to do targeted study and take CLEP exams for subjects after she has studied them how she wants to.  She will graduate with 13 foreign language credits.  She completed math through cal 1 this past fall.  She will only have 3 lab science credits on her transcript. But she will also have courses like linguistics, Russian history, communism in the 20th century, etc.   

 

I make sure they clearly understand how their choices impact their college application process.

 

FWIW, my kids need merit scholarships to help pay for college.  So high test scores and competitive academic records are a necessity. (There are just more ways to demonstrate that than AP and DE.)

Edited May 14, 2016 by 8FillTheHeart

[Donna]

Write down every book. Keep every paper. Keep a log of all activities. Take photos of every project. Save every program.Then, you can fiddle stuff around to fill "courses" after the fact. File stuff (I like those expando files from the big box store) into courses, realizing that you'll move stuff around later. It gives you some structure to work from, when it's time to make transcripts. Write up a transcript after every semester, but at the least, after every year. Again, you can move stuff around, but it's a starting place. And if your kid is in music, keep a repertoire list. 

 

Everyone has great advice!

 

I love this, Margaret!

 

I bought a huge binder, filled it with pockets, and sectioned it off into general subject areas plus another for "administrative" material (syllabi, course descriptions, reading list, repertoire list, grades, volunteer/charity work, etc…).

 

I do like the idea of having an expando file to put additional records into though. Thanks for the reminder about photographing projects. 

 

I was wondering, for those of you whose dc had completed some high school level coursework prior to high school, did you keep reading lists from 7th and/or 8th grade included as well? Did you keep the reading list by year/date or just a general list of books read? Did you include only "good" books or also books they might have read for fun? (Dd tends to read novels but also often has a "brain candy" or more newly written novel going at the same time for fun.) 

[Donna]

FWIW, my kids need merit scholarships to help pay for college.  So high test scores and competitive academic records are a necessity. (There are just more ways to demonstrate that than AP and DE.)

 

What other ways? Do you mean CLEP?

 

Are CLEP scores looked at in the same way as AP or SAT II?

[Donna]

I have three kids with very different interests  and their high school years all look very different from each other.  For example, my oldest son had 4 credits of English and 12 science credits on his transcript.  My middle kiddo will have 10 English credits, 5 computer science credits, and only 3 science credits on his transcript. 

 

I make sure that my kids have the recommended courses that colleges want to see, but those topics that they are not interested in, those "check the box" topics, are not studied at the same level of rigor as those courses of interests.

 

I also give credit for high school level foreign language, science, and math classes taken in middle school.  My oldest took high school Latin I and II in middle school and Latin III in 9th grade.  Completing this foreign requirement by the end of 9th grade gave my son more time to pursue more topics in his areas of interest during his high school years.   

 

My oldest spent his last 2.5 years of high school conducting research one day a week during our traditional school year and usually three days a week during the summer months.  I considered this an academic pursuit rather than an EC and listed this, along with links to his published research, on his transcript.  My two youngest kids are nationally ranked in their sport and spend upwards of 30+ hours per week on the court. 

 

Since there are only so many hours in the day, and I want my kids to have down-time, my kids homeschool year round in order to accomplish their academic goals. 

 

Good luck planning your daughter's high school years!

 

Thank you!

 

Busy weekend so sorry I am just getting around to this.

 

My dd has also completed some high school level courses in middle school, mostly maths and a music theory course. I know I will give her credits for the maths but not sure about the music theory and also this year's history could possibly be given credit. I am worried about her having too many credits but if things don't go according to my current plan and she decides to graduate early, I will have those prepared.

 

I am also finding the need to school year round to ensure she has some down time and flexibility for travel during the school year but also to get in everything she wants to study. She has some very specific goals in mind and getting a head start during the summer will help her get everything in without stressing her (and me) all school year.

 

Thank you for sharing!

[Donna]

My biggest piece of advice is to keep things as simple as possible in regards to curricula. This does not mean the level of rigor is low, but rather to choose things that require minimal planning and transport easily, if possible. Programs that required "live" meeting times via computer did not work for us. We did some dual enrollment, but tried to keep it at a minimum, because the meeting times and due dates are disruptive (though there IS value in having some hard deadlines to meet, and I believe some colleges like to see that.)

 

This is where I am having the most difficulty…simplicity, finding the appropriate level of challenge, and fitting everything in. Dual enrollment and online courses with "live" meetings just seem impossible with our current schedule.

[snowbeltmom]

Thank you!

 

Busy weekend so sorry I am just getting around to this.

 

My dd has also completed some high school level courses in middle school, mostly maths and a music theory course. I know I will give her credits for the maths but not sure about the music theory and also this year's history could possibly be given credit. I am worried about her having too many credits but if things don't go according to my current plan and she decides to graduate early, I will have those prepared.

 

I am also finding the need to school year round to ensure she has some down time and flexibility for travel during the school year but also to get in everything she wants to study. She has some very specific goals in mind and getting a head start during the summer will help her get everything in without stressing her (and me) all school year.

 

Thank you for sharing!

 

I know many members of the Hive disagree with me on this issue, but I don't think it looks like "padding" if more credits than usual are listed on the transcript.  The transcript is the primary means of communicating our kids' educational histories, and if I didn't include those middle school courses, the adcoms may think my kids never studied certain topics (i.e, geometry, biology, etc.)

 

I know nothing about music theory, but if your daughter is studying high school level or above topics, I would include it on the transcript even if the topic was studied in middle school.

 

I arrange my transcript by subject, but I also have a column that indicates the year the course was studied.  If the admissions officers want to ignore those classes studied in middle school, they have the ability to do so.

 

Fwiw, while I don't give credit for the English classes taken in middle school,  I do include the classical literature typically read in high school that they read in middle school on the reading list.  I think the books we read help influence our thoughts and opinions, and I want the adcoms to know what literature my kids have read, regardless of when they read it.  Again, I disclose which books were read in middle school.

 

Good luck with your planning!

 

Edited May 15, 2016 by snowbeltmom

[justasque]

I would suggest that you think seriously about how you will use your summers.  Each of my dc used each of their summers differently, but intentionally - classes, jobs, camps, volunteer work, creative projects, etc.  

In particular, we've found that summer college "sampler" type programs for high school students - commuter or residential - were very worthwhile in helping the dc decide what they wanted out of college, and gave them enough experience to have a good lens through which to view various potential schools.  While not cheap, they are significantly less than a semester of college, and give a "try before you buy" experience in both the specific college and the particular major; we've found it to be money well spent.  It's also useful to have had experience with dorm life, navigating classes, cafeteria meals, and so on, both as a data point to which other schools can be referenced, and as a baseline experience so that these things aren't brand when the dc starts full-time college.  

 

 

When I keep book lists, I include everything.  You never know what will end up forming an interesting focus or "unit study" grouping.  As a middle school example, one dc read quite a number of modern takes on the classic Cinderella story.  Just one was unremarkable, but as a group, it showed an interest level and breadth to the topic that many kids wouldn't have.

[8filltheheart]

What other ways? Do you mean CLEP?

 

Are CLEP scores looked at in the same way as AP or SAT II?

I mean in ways beyond test scores. For example, awards or other recognized honors.

 

They can also submit portfolios of work. (My dd is planning on submitting portfolios of her French writing. She is functioning at a high level and has never taken the AP. But her French is beyond AP level.) She was told by one French dept to not DE next yr bc what she was accomplishing with her tutor was amazing and not an opportunity to pass up.

[JanetC]

1. Write your college application essays the summer before senior year

 

2. Fit your plans to the kid you have, rather than trying to keep all possible doors open. Don't get sidetracked by threads like, "My kid really likes ABC, but I hear colleges prefer XYZ instead."

[snowbeltmom]

I mean in ways beyond test scores. For example, awards or other recognized honors.

 

They can also submit portfolios of work. (My dd is planning on submitting portfolios of her French writing. She is functioning at a high level and has never taken the AP. But her French is beyond AP level.) She was told by one French dept to not DE next yr bc what she was accomplishing with her tutor was amazing and not an opportunity to pass up.

 

:iagree:

 

I have an area on my kids' transcripts that lists awards and recognized honors.  I also keep evaluation reports from summer programs.

 

On the application, you have the ability to upload multiple files (can't remember the exact number) under the "transcript" category.  I upload a one-page transcript file, a multi-page course description/reading list file, and a file that contains the evaluation reports from summer programs.

 

Edited May 15, 2016 by snowbeltmom

[Donna]

I would suggest that you think seriously about how you will use your summers.  Each of my dc used each of their summers differently, but intentionally - classes, jobs, camps, volunteer work, creative projects, etc.  

 

In particular, we've found that summer college "sampler" type programs for high school students - commuter or residential - were very worthwhile in helping the dc decide what they wanted out of college, and gave them enough experience to have a good lens through which to view various potential schools.  While not cheap, they are significantly less than a semester of college, and give a "try before you buy" experience in both the specific college and the particular major; we've found it to be money well spent.  It's also useful to have had experience with dorm life, navigating classes, cafeteria meals, and so on, both as a data point to which other schools can be referenced, and as a baseline experience so that these things aren't brand when the dc starts full-time college.  

 

Right now most of dd's summers are taken up with...

 

-Travel for gigs at festivals and other venues with one of a few ensembles she performs with...most weekends through the summer when not at one of the other things listed.

-Music camps for her particular music interest. One camps puts together a dance production similar to Riverdance with live music in a week then performs. This involves learning the music, working to arrange the music with other musicians, learning about life in a production, etc… like an internship for this type of work. The other is a general camp and she currently volunteers in two classes to pay her way there because she is beyond taking classes but loves to go for the interaction with other musician friends. She will eventually teach classes once she is old enough.

-Travel to Ireland to compete.

-Extra classical practice and lessons…more intensive learning than the school year allows.

 

In the travel time to other things and those few days she is home, she will do some schoolwork to get a head start on next year. She also has a project she is working on getting going which may take quite a bit of time…depends when the permissions to begin come through as she has already completed the planning phase.

[angela in ohio]

We sat down when they were beginning high school and figured out goals. Then we figured out how to pay for those goals:The only option based on our situation was for dc to get into highly selective schools which meet full financial need and to get scholarships. So they worked up to that standard, based on their own talents. For older, with fairly severe test anxiety, it meant winning some international awards in other areas to make up for lower test scores. For middle dd, a crack test taker and math whiz, it meant taking a ton of college math classes in HS and studying for her ACT and SAT very hard and making National Merit Scholar. We worked very hard on college applications and record keeping. They never did anything solely for college admissions, but we always had that in the back of our mind as they chose how to spend their time. It seems we will have a great return on the investment. They have had some amazing experiences, and they will graduate debt free from excellent schools.

 

The biggest thing to remember is that the college admissions process starts well before senior year, and the busiest part of it is also when dc are the busiest in their lives. So do as much ahead of time as you can: college visits, starting to gather thoughts for essays, doing research. And as far as doing research, whatever you read, investigate a bit. A lot of the "homeschool high school" experts who write books have very different goals than we do, so their advice was useless to me. The same goes on here... figure out who has similar goals or results and read with that filter in mind. There are tiers of colleges, and the requirements vary so much that it's almost like completely different processes.

 

As far as competitive college admissions (ignore the rest is that doesn't apply): We homeschooled so that academics could be efficient, leaving time for other things. They went through all the high school requirements in 7th-10th/11th grades and then got at least a year of college-level work under their belt at the end of high school for their transcript. That's pretty much the standard for the competitive private school kids they were competing with for admissions. I've talked to a lot of college admissions folks who say homeschoolers underestimate what is required for admissions and they get some mismatched applications; spending time with kids from very competitive high schools during science fairs and such was very helpful because it raised our standards. 

 

Dc all play instruments, take art lessons, and have several areas of community service. Both of my girls did a major project near the end of high school: it was sort of like a large Eagle Scout project... we asked them to start a sustainable program that required fund raising, recruitment, management, media, etc. Ds will do an Eagle Scout project when his time comes. We wanted them to leave home with the skills to start things and be leaders, and as a bonus, colleges loved it. You can definitely accomplish plenty academically while still spending significant time on other pursuits.

Edited May 15, 2016 by angela in ohio

[Grantmom]

There is so much helpful info here.  Thanks to everyone for sharing!

 

(Sorry to barge into the thread to ask this, but angela in ohio, would you be willing to PM me?  I wanted to ask you a question but couldn't send you a message.  Thank you.   :001_smile:)