When a community college or other university doesn't understand homeschooling in your/their state

[6packofun]

Have any of you had to deal with this?  Educating someone in education who should probably know more than they do about home education?  

 

For example, the community college my daughter wants to go to says that an admissions requirement for homeschoolers is to submit a transcript and "letter from the school district in which you reside in which the school district acknowledges your home schooling completion."

 

Ummm, the school we reside in is not the one in which dd graduated.  Ummm, public schools in Ohio have nothing to do with "acknowledging" that any homeschooler has graduated, they only excuse us from public education each year after we properly notify them. (I have letters of excuse and test scores that we send in for notification, of course.)

 

Is it just common for the wording to be much more expansive than...well, reality?  (i.e. incorrect  lol)  I'm going to call or email to ask about this and want it to go well.  Is it usually no big deal to get them to accept what is actually reasonable?

Edited September 9, 2017 by 6packofun

[regentrude]

Email. They may not mean what they say.

 

A college my DS applied to had wording on the website that homeschoolers need a GED. We emailed and explained that students completing highschool homeschool are not actually eligible for the GED in our state (it is only for students who have not completed high school), and we got the reply that "many homeschoolers find the wording on the website confusing; we accept homeschool transcripts.". OK, so why not fix the website if you know that students are confused? (I think it has been removed since)

 

Email and ask.

Edited September 9, 2017 by regentrude

[Lori D.]

The New York SUNY and CUNY schools are notoriously difficult to deal with, whether a NY resident, or wanting to apply/attend from out-of-state. Some of the PA universities are difficult, too. And many of the CA schools have special requirements about having proof of completion of the A-G high school courses or equivalent.

 

Agreeing with Regentrude about directly contacting the school to find out what really is the policy, but in the meanwhile, you might post what school this is, as someone else on these boards may have already forged a trail there before you and can give you the benefit of their experience with that school to help you more quickly cut through the red tape. :)

 

 

And finally -- meaning this very gently, when applying to a university or community college, you are now moving onto THEIR turf... their school, their rules. So having a polite and helpful attitude in dealing with them will get you a LOT farther in their admissions office's willingness to help you, than coming in with an attitude of exasperation or that they are idiots who don't know about homeschooling. ;)

 

You can vent your annoyance here. ;)

Edited September 9, 2017 by Lori D.

[Rebel Yell]

Are you applying to a school in a different state?

 

My state has some weird laws that don't correspond to other states, and so some requirements of PA colleges would be impossible for homeschool grads from other states to fulfill. And that's assuming the requirements are possible or even reasonable from grads homeschooled IN PA, LOL!

 

A fun example: Diamond graduated prior to the current law specifying that a parent-issued diploma is valid high school diploma (apologies, not clear on the legal wording or distinctions at the moment) She already had an associate degree, but the school she was transferring to wanted to see her original diploma. Not a copy, but the actual diploma. The counselor said something about needing to see that it wasn't just something we made up (apologies, it was more professionally worded. I can't brain very well tonight) so the counselor took a photo of it on her cell phone to print or whatever for the records. Which makes us giggle like crazy because we literally designed and printed the diploma at home, so we actually did "make it up ourselves" ;)

 

Anyway, a PA college might ask for proof of a state-certified diploma, but not all states provide for that.

 

It the community college my girls use only wants to see a placement and test and a check, so nothing complicated there. :D

[G5052]

I've been teaching in the state community colleges for almost twenty years. I started with my oldest (now a junior in college) was a toddler. When I began homeschooling him, I investigated and was horrified at what I found, so I met with one of the counselors and explained the state homeschooling laws. She was so concerned about what I said that she then met with three different homeschool groups and started writing a homeschooled student policy for both dual enrollment and graduates. Not long after that, I met the college president at a reception and pitched him as well. He had been a teacher in a Catholic high school, so he was very sympathetic. Between the counsellor and him, the school got a clear, separate policy for homeschoolers.

 

Now some 15 years later, that college seamlessly handles homeschoolers , and there is even language in the state community college policy manual that applies only to homeschoolers. One of the counsellors we met with when my son was there commented that 7% of their enrollment across all campuses came from the homeschooling community. Ten years before, it was just a handful.

 

When I attended my son's graduation in May, the top graduate from his campus was homeschooled. My son was recognized as the top business graduate across four campuses, and he was homeschooled the whole way. They also recognized 10 homeschooled kids who were graduating from high school with an associate's degree. 

 

So yes, it can indeed change. Because of demographics and the way they are set up, I suspect that community colleges are a bit more accommodating than some though.

[6packofun]

 

 

 

And finally -- meaning this very gently, when applying to a university or community college, you are now moving onto THEIR turf... their school, their rules. So having a polite and helpful attitude in dealing with them will get you a LOT farther in their admissions office's willingness to help you, than coming in with an attitude of exasperation or that they are idiots who don't know about homeschooling. ;)

 

You can vent your annoyance here. ;)

 

Oh yes, my tone when I contact them will NOT be like the one I'm using here!  lol  Point well taken!