How many high school credits did your dc graduate with?

[Sharon77]

I just saw Susan Bauer's kid's transcript on her website. I was shocked to see how many credits s(he) had each year! Over 30 credits for high school.

 

She said that the child got into all colleges including first choice. 

 

Most public school kids can only get 6-7 credits per year, so are colleges ok with hsers claiming so many credits? 

 

I could see the less selective colleges not really being concerned but how about the selective and ultra selective schools?  My one kid is interested in Dartmouth and UVA. Will they look like a loser hser by only having 7 credits per year?  :lol:

 

How many credits have your homeschooled college students finish high school with?

[Julie Smith]

To graduate from a highschool in Ontario Canada a student needs 30 credits.

 

I know of another province that counts credits differently than us and students need something like 100 credits to graduate.

[Sharon77]

To graduate from a highschool in Ontario Canada a student needs 30 credits.

 

I know of another province that counts credits differently than us and students need something like 100 credits to graduate.

wow, 100 credits would definitely not be possible in the US!

[Lori D.]

Many public high schools do block scheduling, so students do fewer classes a day, but for longer periods of time, so that they accrue 4 credits per semester, or 8 credits per year. After 4 years of high school that would total 32 credits.

 

Average DSs here. They were not able to handle more than 6 credits per school year, but one DS had a credit that was brought up from 8th grade, and each had 1 credit accrued over several summers, and then both DSs did dual enrollment in 12th grade for their foreign language, which counted as 1 credit for each SEMESTER of college level coursework -- so 2 credits for 1 year of foreign language.

 

DS#1 = 26 credits

DS#2 = 25 credits

 

I would guess that high-achiever homeschoolers accrue so many credits because they are able to handle 7-8 credits each year. They may school year-round, so they are accruing credits over the summer. And esp., they take a large number of dual enrollment college courses for 11th and 12th grades.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

To graduate from a highschool in Ontario Canada a student needs 30 credits.

 

I know of another province that counts credits differently than us and students need something like 100 credits to graduate.

 

wow, 100 credits would definitely not be possible in the US!

 

I think a credit there equals what is frequently called a quarter (9 weeks) here. So 100 credits would mean about 25 quarters per school year, which comes out to about 6.25 courses -- very similar as to here in the U.S. ;)

[Sharon77]

Many public high schools do block scheduling, so students do fewer classes a day, but for longer periods of time, so that they accrue 4 credits per semester, or 8 credits per year. After 4 years of high school that would total 32 credits.

 

 

 

I did not know this! Good grief, I'm out dated! wow, that is a crazy amount of classes! 

[Sharon77]

 

 

I would guess that high-achiever homeschoolers accrue so many credits because they are able to handle 7-8 credits each yea. They may school year-round, so they are accruing credits over the summer. And esp., they take a large number of dual enrollment college courses for 11th and 12th grades.

 

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

Here many kids take summer school in order to get ahead or lighten their load during the school year.  So summer credit would be very normal.

 

Also the university offers an outreach college through which high school students may enroll in college classes over the summer.  In some cases these would count for high school credit too.

 

One kid had 26.5 and another will have 29-30.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Lori D.]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

Agreeing with Sebastian that public schoolers DO have opportunities to accrue a large number of credits. Between block scheduling, dual enrollment, and summer school, MANY public high school students have 28-32 credits.

 

I know several public and private high school students (friends of our DSs) who took summer school.

 

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

Outsourced courses, dual enrollment, and esp. test scores (AP and SAT Subject tests, as well as ACT/SAT test scores) all "confirm mommy grades" and level of work. And if your student has a legitimately high number of credits (say, 28 or more), you don't HAVE to include everything -- things like Driver's Ed can look like "padding", and many people do not include it on the transcript, as it is often considered a life skill. Similarly, if your student takes AP courses and dual enrollment and has high grades on those, you probably can drop a Study Skills credit -- it will be very clear the student HAS study skills in place if scoring high on advanced level of work. ;)

Edited October 19, 2016 by Lori D.

[bettyandbob]

Many public school students get credit for math above algebra and foreign language taken in middle school. Ds was homeschooled before high school. He brought in 3 French credits, 2 Latin credits and 2 math credits. DD only brought in 4 credits, but her freshman year she took 7 classes, plus an online class. The public schools in Virginia have an online campus available to all students.

 

In Virginia many public schools offer 7 periods a day. That's 28 credits. Taking middle school, a summer school and after school opportunities it is not hard to get over 30 credits.

 

That said I think it depends what the contents of the credits are. UVA will expect to see Calculus on the transcript. They will expect advanced language. But if you have some other subjects that show advanced study that may help.

 

ETA it is not unusual for top students in my district to graduate with Calculus III. That course is taught at my neighborhood school. UVA sees more than a few applications with math beyond AP. However I believe the majority have just AP.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Diana P.

[creekland]

At the high school where I work, 28 credits is needed to graduate and no credits from middle school are allowed, even if it's the same class (like Alg 1) offered at the high school.  We're one of those on block scheduling, so kids will have between 28 and 32 credits - pending if they take a lighter schedule senior year.  (Seniors are allowed to take as few as 2 classes per semester if they are on track to graduate.  Some use this to get jobs, some use it to pursue hobbies, some use it to sleep in or enjoy and early afternoon off - or both.  They can also take all 4 fall semester and graduate early if they prefer.)

 

I forgot how many credits my homeschooled lads had, but it would have been close to 28 because we worked to keep up with their peers on things like that.

[Luckymama]

D will graduate with 31: 10 language (mostly DE), 6 social science, 2 history, 5 math (including 2 .5 credit AoPS), 4 English, 4 science.

[snowbeltmom]

 

How many credits have your homeschooled college students finish high school with?

 

My oldest graduated with 38.  My current senior will graduate with 37.  I did not include driver's ed, physical education, or health on the transcript as I view those classes more as necessary life skills than academic in nature, but I did include high school level classes taken in middle school on the transcript.

 

[Guest]

The top students here do take 9 credits a year, and they usually have an addl three from middle school. Their senior year is a lot of DE, which is given seat time, so for ex. Calc 1 in one semester is a half credit. In addition, per state law, they can transfer in five credits from accredited providers (such as JHU-CTY), take a credit in summer session from the district, and self study for AP tests. Drivers Ed is not worth anything. Students tend not to be racking up the max, but doing what they need to do to prepare for their future. The last few non-urm ivy leaguers from here dont stand out in terms of credits and none accelerated beyond Calc 2; their time went to their hook, perfecting their SAT scores, and achieving on the national level. The students who are double accelerated or more tend to go to techie schools...their time goes to their sport, music, and their online math/sci classes.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Heigh Ho

[Jenny in Florida]

Each of my two chose to do high school in three years, rather than four. My daughter finished with 24.75 credits (including a couple of small electives with partial credits), and my son did the 24 required minimum.

[regentrude]

It is not "homeschoolers claiming" many credits - if a student takes college courses, most semester courses can count as one high school credit, and it is easy to rack up a large number of credits.

My DD graduated with 32 hs credits. We did not count any credits from middle school (listed math and bio on the transcript, but did not include credits in the count) and did not include drivers ed. From DE she had 5 credits in French, 2 English, 3 physics.

Edited October 19, 2016 by regentrude

[regentrude]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

 

Ps students can do summer school at their high school or take college courses.

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

That is entirely separate from the issue of credit numbers. You want to make sure your student's mommy grades are backed up by external validation like standardized tests (ACT, SAT, SAT2 subject tests, AP) or dual enrollment grades.

 

[i'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

[teachermom2834]

High achievers from the public high school in my previous town had a lot of credits. They used block scheduling, dual enrollment, and summer honors programs that granted credits to get there. A friend had 39. These kids have the test scores to back it up so no problems.

 

In our new town no one really exceeds to maximum requirements so credit counts are in the low to mid twenties. My first ds graduated with 32 I think and local folks thought that was crazy. My next ds will have 30, I think , and he is just an average student. The credit count is a result of dual enrollment and state required electives like PE, wellness, personal finance, type lighter courses.

 

It will vary by region but these days I think a higher credit count is expected and I don't think admissions would think anything negative unless test scores were not in line.

[whitestavern]

My kids' high school requires a minimum of 24 to graduate, but with additional years of language, history, and science, as well as electives, it's fairly easy to get to 30. DD will probably end up with 28 or 29.

[bettyandbob]

I think most places count credits like this:

 

Year long course 1 credit

Semester course .5 credit

Typical 3 hour DE semester course 1 credit

 

I looked at transcripts from all over the country in my last job. A few places counted per semester. That's OK as long as you make it clear that's what you are doing.

 

Counting middle school math and foreign language is variable. This is only a problem if you move from a place where a course like algebra in 7th grade is not given credit to a place where a verified algebra credit is required for graduation. That happened to a student I dealt with in my last job.

 

Anyway I was counting year course as 1 credit.

[EKS]

My son had 32 credits and that was with me counting the college courses as 0.5 credits each.  If I had given a full credit for those (as is required by state law for public high schools here), he would have had 37.  FWIW, he did way more work for his homeschool classes than he did for the high school classes he took at a "rigorous" private school.

[Janice in NJ]

My youngest ds had 25 high school credits; however, he graduated a year early, so the twenty-five were earned over three years of high school. Six of the twenty-five were college courses taken via dual-enrollment. 

 

My dd had 36 high school credits; thirteen of those were earned through dual-enrollment.

 

Oldest son had 30 high school credits; one of those was earned through dual-enrollment.

 

As you can see, once I discovered how good the local college was, we stopped taking homeschool classes (online, both live and asynchronous). 

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by Janice in NJ

[Guest]

Meh. My last graduate had only 22 credits. He was accepted into the honors college at his university.

 

My first two graduates had 26 credits. Both were accepted into colleges and are doing well.

[Nan in Mass]

I think it is important to explain how you assigned credit in the high school profile. That way, universities will be able to compare your child to their other applicants.

 

Mine had over 30. I counted a bunch of independent projects that if they had been public schooled, would not have shown on their transcripts at all. I did not count anything that did not have a sizable academic componant. They did plenty of those, too, but if it didn,t involve reading, research, and documentation, I didn,t include it in their transcript. These projects tended to be all-consuming when they did them, using up every minute that wasn,t devoted to sleeping or other classes. In including them on their transcripts, i felt I was taking advantage of the advantages of homeschooling. I think that looks good to universities. Mine also had community college classes. I counted those as if they were high school classes, for the most part, since I felt most of them were roughly equivalent to the high level classes at our very good public high school.

 

I think there are two approaches to making a homeschooler,s transcript - you can try to make it look just like a public school transcript or you can try to make it reflect the your child,s unique education at home. I chose the second, but they both have advantages and disadvantages. The colleges mine applied to did not complain about our transcripts, but I think that might be because I was very careful to explain in the school profile how we homeschooled and how I had assigned credit.

 

In our school district, a full year course is 5 credits. I chose not to use thos system and put a note at the bottom of the transcript itself saying that 1 credit = the equivalent of one year,s high school level work.

 

Nan

[8filltheheart]

My older kids had around 24. My current college student had over 40, but he DE at the university taking multiple 200-300 level college classes and carried up multiple math credits from middle school.

 

My current high school sr will have 38.5. 15 of those credits are foreign language credits: 4 Latin, 7 French, and 4 Russian. She carried up 4 foreign lang (2Latin and 2 French), 2 math (alg and geo), and 1 science (ecology) from middle school. 1 French credit was from a summer immersion camp at BYU. All the other kids were public/private school kids earning high school credit for their high schools.

[MysteryJen]

My first two had 26-28 credits. That was the norm at the district we were in. Ds2 might end up with more as he will have the opportunity to take more classes at the cc. Dd2, at the ps high school, will end up with 29-ish. Again, the norm here. I am not sure how much it matters if the classes are strong and the test scores match up with the grades achieved. I had no trouble with any college or NCAA clearinghouse.

[Julie Smith]

When I was in highschool (not homeschool) I could have graduated in three years with 30 credits.

 

In Ontario Canada you need 30 credits to graduate, with a bunch more specific requirements (so many English, so many French, ... ) For awhile the government actually talked about putting a cap on credits since a number of students where sticking around in highschool for a 5th year and it was costing the government a bunch of money they didn't except to spend. I think they were talking about capping it at 35 credits. But they didn't do so since people complained about it.

 

To be considered a credit I think 120 to 180 hours of work is required.

 

Students have the option of summer school, night school, and co-op placements. To my knowledge drivers education has never been offered through the schools and have never received highschool credit.

[TammyS]

If your kids are already schedule for 28 credits, then getting to 30 is hardly a leap.  That is only 1 semester-long class each year. You could easily add that in, if it's important to you, by having an extra class 1 semester per year, or taking a semester's worth of work and spreading it out over the course of the year. 

 

Also, credits do not necessarily equal rigor.  You could easily make that extra semester an easy class (for your student) with relatively low output requirements.

 

I'm not suggesting that you need to do this, and I personally think that what credits you assign will end up being less important than standardized test results and essays.  My point is that you could, if you wanted to. It's not that hard.

[TammyS]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

Just stick a year next to it.  I have never heard of a college caring at what time of year a student earned a credit. 

 

Also, there is nothing stopping a public school student from taking college courses in the summer.  I also don't think the colleges are at all interested in equalizing things between public and homeschoolers.  I doubt it would even cross their minds.  If it did, it would be a college worth skipping anyway.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

As others have mentioned, this isn't about the number of credits.  My kids have a mix of home based and outside courses.  Several of the home based courses have some kind of an outside validation of the work.  

 

There isn't one right way of doing this.  SAT/ACT scores are very important, but AP exam scores, Subject Test results, and Dual Enrollment grades all contributed to the whole picture my kids are presenting.  If they have an A from a home based English lit course and a high score on the reading section of the SAT or on the English Lit AP exam, it supports the grades not only for that year, but also previous years.

 

Similarly, I have only home based math grades until junior year, when they went to the CC for pre-calc.  The A in the DE course supports the As I gave for home based work.

 

There are other instruments you can use too.  I have National Latin Exam scores on our course descriptions.  Some people prefer CLEP tests.

 

Some schools won't look past the SAT.  Some are looking for lots of evidence of high level work and are still very competitive within that realm.

[bettyandbob]

 

Some schools won't look past the SAT. Some are looking for lots of evidence of high level work and are still very competitive within that realm.

One of the schools the OP mentioned, UVA, required SAT subject tests last year. So, if her child applies there she will have to provide outside measures.

[Lori D.]

...I could see the less selective colleges not really being concerned but how about the selective and ultra selective schools?  My one kid is interested in Dartmouth and UVA. Will they look like a loser hser by only having 7 credits per year?

 

Sharon77: And just to encourage you, yes,  your student with 7 credits/year will be absolutely be competitive applying to Dartmouth and UVA. :) The key is to see what specific *kinds* of credits they want, and if they expect to see some AP courses/tests, and if they expect to see a certain GPA. And, they will want to see some extracurriculars that show personal strengths and interests and make the student "interesting" and a "good fit" for their campus culture.

 

Just to help you look ahead, here is college profile info on Dartmouth and UVA:

 

University of Virginia

- GPA = 94% of incoming freshmen have a GPA of 3.75 or higher

- Test Scores =

    67% of incoming freshmen scored 30-36 on ACT (with 36 being perfect)

    29-33 is the *average* ACT score for incoming freshmen

- student body = 72% in-state / 28% out-of-state

- fairly selective = 30% acceptance rate

- actual freshmen enrollment = only 11 out of every 30 student accepted actually end up enrolling

- important in applying (what the school lists in order of importance that they look at):

GPA

alumni relation

class rank

race/ethnicity

rigor of high school work

a state resident

- credits for admission: 4 credits each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, For. Lang. -- recommended: 5 credits each of Math and For. Lang.

 

 

Dartmouthe

- GPA = 94% of incoming freshmen have a GPA of 3.75 or higher

- Test Scores = 30-34 is the *average* ACT score for incoming freshmen (with 36 being perfect score)

- student body = 3% in-state / 97% out-of-state

- very selective = 11% acceptance rate

- actual freshmen enrollment = only 5 out of every 11 student accepted actually end up enrolling

- important in applying (what the school lists in order of importance that they look at):

GPA

application essay

character

class rank

extracurriculars

rigor of high school work

test scores

- credits for admission = 4 credits each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, For. Lang.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Lori D.

[Melissa B]

My daughter graduated with 24.5 high school credits, but 118 college credits.

FL awards less high school credit per college class than most other states.

Being a college admissions officer must be interesting!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I had no idea other places assigned high school credits by the year instead of the semester.  It seems like there would be a lot of fractional credits that way.  All of the schools I have encountered in Indiana do it by semester. 

 

Of course, I went to a high school that assigned GPA on a 12pt scale instead of a 4pt scale so i guess we just did some strange things lol.  All of the schools

 

I've mostly seen 1 credit per year of study, but I think schools in California did 10 credits per year of study with 5 credits for a one semester class.  Which would mean those students would have something like 250-300 credits at graduation.

 

It's another example of why it matters that you explain what you did with counting credits and calculating gpa.  There isn't a definitive right or wrong answer.  Explain what your school policies were and then let the admissions office assess it.

 

FWIW, I realized shortly before uploading documents that one set of online courses was quarter credits, not semester credits.  So I had to refigure the credits earned and gpa.  

[quark]

.

Edited October 20, 2016 by quark

[quark]

.

Edited October 20, 2016 by quark

[vonfirmath]

Yes, but are colleges ok with hsers assigning credit during times like summer when public schoolers don't have that opportunity?

 

I'm afraid of being dismissed as having just assigned mommy grades and inflating my child's work

 

I took Geometry in Summer between 9th and 10th grade, as a teen.

[Sharon77]

Thank you all for your answers. It has been so helpful!

 

Also, then, when you submit the transcript with the application during senior year, I should not count the senior classes in the credit count, correct? Since they didn't earn them yet...

[Luckymama]

^^ Just use something like IP for in-progress classes and PL for planned second semester classes (if different) either where you'd put the credit value or the grade. When you send the final transcript you'll replace those designations w the credit/grade.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you all for your answers. It has been so helpful!

 

Also, then, when you submit the transcript with the application during senior year, I should not count the senior classes in the credit count, correct? Since they didn't earn them yet...

I did IP and PL for in progress and planned. I did count the course summer of senior year in the credit count and gpa.

[Kareni]

I just saw Susan Bauer's kid's transcript on her website.  ...

 

I'd appreciate it if you would provide a link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Job121]

Thank you all for your answers. It has been so helpful!

 

Also, then, when you submit the transcript with the application during senior year, I should not count the senior classes in the credit count, correct? Since they didn't earn them yet...

 That is correct. You have to send student's Mid Year Reports by Dec. or Jan. That is the time you include their grades/ credits for senior year. 

[Sharon77]

 That is correct. You have to send student's Mid Year Reports by Dec. or Jan. That is the time you include their grades/ credits for senior year. 

 

I do add their senior year credits to the credit count? Although they are not completed classes?

[Sharon77]

I'd appreciate it if you would provide a link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

https://welltrainedmind.com/wp-content/uploads/Sample-High-School-Transcript.pdf

[Job121]

I do add their senior year credits to the credit count? Although they are not completed classes?

Maybe I wasn't clear. 

 

I counted total credits that my student will earn when he graduates. So yes, that includes senior credits. As for on going courses, I marked differently. You can use a footnote to explain.

 

You can report his/her grades in Mid Year Reports depends on your school's term.(quarter, semester...)

 

Hope it helps.

[Heather in VA]

Sharon77: And just to encourage you, yes,  your student with 7 credits/year will be absolutely be competitive applying to Dartmouth and UVA. :) The key is to see what specific *kinds* of credits they want, and if they expect to see some AP courses/tests, and if they expect to see a certain GPA. And, they will want to see some extracurriculars that show personal strengths and interests and make the student "interesting" and a "good fit" for their campus culture.

 

Just to help you look ahead, here is college profile info on Dartmouth and UVA:

 

University of Virginia

- GPA = 94% of incoming freshmen have a GPA of 3.75 or higher

- Test Scores =

    67% of incoming freshmen scored 30-36 on ACT (with 36 being perfect)

    29-33 is the *average* ACT score for incoming freshmen

- student body = 72% in-state / 28% out-of-state

- fairly selective = 30% acceptance rate

- actual freshmen enrollment = only 11 out of every 30 student accepted actually end up enrolling

- important in applying (what the school lists in order of importance that they look at):

GPA

alumni relation

class rank

race/ethnicity

rigor of high school work

a state resident

- credits for admission: 4 credits each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, For. Lang. -- recommended: 5 credits each of Math and For. Lang.

 

 

Dartmouthe

- GPA = 94% of incoming freshmen have a GPA of 3.75 or higher

- Test Scores = 30-34 is the *average* ACT score for incoming freshmen (with 36 being perfect score)

- student body = 3% in-state / 97% out-of-state

- very selective = 11% acceptance rate

- actual freshmen enrollment = only 5 out of every 11 student accepted actually end up enrolling

- important in applying (what the school lists in order of importance that they look at):

GPA

application essay

character

class rank

extracurriculars

rigor of high school work

test scores

- credits for admission = 4 credits each of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, For. Lang.

 

I don't know where the OP lives, but if you are out of state these states for UVA are way below what you will need to get in. You will need multiple AP exams and at least 2 SAT subject tests. If you are in-state you will still need these things but admittance chances will vary depending on where in the state you live.

[magic]

My oldest attended public high school.  The district transitioned from 7 to 8 credits a year between his freshman and sophomore years.  28 credits were required to graduate- he graduated with 31 plus an additional 6 college credits.  My 2nd son was homeschooled for high school and graduated with 34 credits.  We aim for 7-9 credits depending on the intensity of the course load and other commitments.

Edited October 21, 2016 by magic

[bettyandbob]

Keep in mind what colleges list as required for admission represents minimums. Additionally, listing only 4 credits of math as required to apply makes it so people who live in places that don't count middle school credits are not penalized.

 

The average person who has 4 credits of math starting with algebra 1 is not going to have a competitive application for UVA. There may be applicants who gave those math credits, but have extraordinary circumstances and/or experiences that make their application competitive. However their won't be many who have that extra special thing.

 

Those application requirements colleges list on their website and in literature often don't give a good picture of what a student needs.

[GoodGrief]

I think quality is more important than overall numbers; I think my daughter had 30+, though some of that was several PE credits from freshman year, and music credits. That said, she just took what she wanted to take. We didn't think about number of credits so much.

[GoodGrief]

I'll add, for Dartmouth (no experience with UVA), past a certain minimum level of academic achievement, which is relatively high, of course, I'm not sure that they are terribly concerned with the number of credits. They will be looking at what makes your generally high-achieving student unique, and a fit for their campus community.

 

As others have said, testing (AP, SAT subject tests) and dual enrollment are some ways to confirm "mommy grades". I do think it is fairly important for certain schools.