College apps for homeschoolers?

[catz]

Can we start a discussion thread on tips, tricks, experiences, pitfalls, discussion, etc on doing college apps for homeschooolers/non-conventional students?  Potentially both from a parent educator and student perspective?  We're just going to be starting here and I admit I'm a bit intimidated.  I do have good starting documentation to work from (class lists with descriptions, transcripts, lists of extracurriulars, etc).  Packaging them nicely to get into the common app (I think that's all we'll have to use) is something else but it would be great to have suggestions for any kind of app.  I was searching around for info here and wasn't finding much. 

I can share one thing I found about writing a school profile I found helpful

http://simplify4you.com/2018/write-your-school-profile-in-6-steps/

[regentrude]

Have you looked in the sticky thread? There are dozens of threads linked, pertaining to all aspects of college applications. 

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by regentrude

[catz]

LOL Regentrude - I was just searching this subforum.  Doh!  Thanks I'll check that out.  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Try searching for threads about the Common a

App. There have been lots of good posts.

 

There isn't a single right way to present your kid's experience. I think what is important is to be clear about what you are presenting. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This includes some if the questions and suggestions from the year my oldest kid applied.  Might give you some jumping off points.  

 

The single best piece of advice for the Common App was to create a practice account so you could play around with things like inviting recommenders and see what happened.  I also really like the Common App guide from College Wise, though that doesn't address homeschool specific questions.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This one has a few other threads linked.  Many Common App specific questions, but I think also some discussions about transcripts, school profile and recommendations.

 

[RootAnn]

So, since I'm going through this process for the first time, I've been collecting some threads. Most of these are probably in the linked threads, but I have been collecting these. Hope they are helpful.

School Profile - Common App questions

Would any one please share school profile and/or counselor letter?

And in conclusion.... (counselor's letter)

Include counselor letter or not?

Anyone else going through the college admissions process for first time?!

Counselor LOR?

Common App:School profile in counselor section and school philosophy in student section

[catz]

Awesome everyone!  Thanks for the great links.  I was just playing around with some practice accounts and that has been helpful.  

[catz]

If anyone is willing to share a homeschool counselor letter via PM/e-mail I would love that.  That has been a bottleneck for me.  

[kokotg]

I just started working on my counselor letter today, so I'm glad to have this thread to follow. I know parents with kids in school worry plenty about the college admissions thing, too, but I can't help but feel a little jealous right now of everyone who doesn't have to write counselor letters or course descriptions!

[catz]

Maybe we can use this thread to bond and commiserate anyway!  I am working on this in fits and starts.  My kid is starting a short essay writing class for the common app as of this week and hopefully will at least have the base essay done soon.  

I am seriously pondering collecting a bunch of info and creating a web page/blog on the process.  There is so much to know and so little cohesive over arching info out there.  I have spent hours perusing here and googling.

I still have not found an example of a homeschool counselor letter.  So I may just jump in on that and see what happens.  I consider myself a decent writer, but this one feels like giving birth.  ??

I'm also not finding good info on including out of the box activities on the common app.  The activities section is so beyond inadequate!?  My kid has an extensive theater and music resume.  But then I read try to avoid including additional info at all costs?  Ad coms hate it?!  I also can't figure out how to attach an extra doc?  I could probably format nicely to a one page PDF with that experience nicely displayed but I don't know where I'd stick it?  

[regentrude]

9 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I still have not found an example of a homeschool counselor letter.  So I may just jump in on that and see what happens.  I consider myself a decent writer, but this one feels like giving birth.  ??

I'm also not finding good info on including out of the box activities on the common app.  The activities section is so beyond inadequate!?  My kid has an extensive theater and music resume.  But then I read try to avoid including additional info at all costs?  Ad coms hate it?!  I also can't figure out how to attach an extra doc?  I could probably format nicely to a one page PDF with that experience nicely displayed but I don't know where I'd stick it?  

The counselor letter is very personal, so you are unlikely to find examples out there, and I doubt that another person's letter may  be very useful. You are telling them about your student, how they approached education, how they tick, what kind of person they are, what excites them, what qualities they bring to the college.

For the activities, you just list them and the time they took. If the student wants to elaborate, the school writing supplements or the CA essay can be a place. If theater and music played an important role in your homeschool, you can highlight this in the school profile, or in the counselor letter.

You can upload additional info easily as extra transcripts; I have done that with my course description document.

Edited August 7, 2018 by regentrude

[mom1720]

The counselor letter will be personal -- that's the joy of homeschooling -- but if you want some examples, note, they aren't homeschool specific, MIT admissions has a helpful page -- http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs

Also, the hs2coll yahoo group has an example in the files with a caveat that it was a service academy nomination, but still may give you ideas.

[catz]

Just now, mom1720 said:

The counselor letter will be personal -- that's the joy of homeschooling -- but if you want some examples, note, they aren't homeschool specific, MIT admissions has a helpful page -- http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs

Also, the hs2coll yahoo group has an example in the files with a caveat that it was a service academy nomination, but still may give you ideas.

Ah - those are the best guidelines and direction I've seen on that yet.  Thanks so much for sharing that link.  ?  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Here is another piece about writing these. https://blog.prepscholar.com/writing-a-letter-of-recommendation-how-to-for-student

Someone here sent me a list of several dozen character trait words.  I picked a couple I thought captured a sense of who d's us. Then I shared 2-3 brief stories that demonstrated these aspects.  The whole letter was just over  1 page long.  Because of the traits featured and the stories shared, it is very individual.  For example I told specific stories from scouts and swim team about his interactions with much younger guys as a role model.

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This one is written for professors writing letters for students applying to graduate school and other special programs.  It has a sample list of adjectives.  https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingrecommendationlettersonline/node/151

[regentrude]

8 minutes ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

Someone here sent me a list of several dozen character trait words.  I picked a couple I thought captured a sense of who d's us. Then I shared 2-3 brief stories that demonstrated these aspects.  The whole letter was just over  1 page long.  Because of the traits featured and the stories shared, it is very individual. 

I did something similar. For DD, I focused on three character traits, began the letter with a summary, and then elaborated on each one and shared how they played a role in shaping the student's journey. 

For DS, I focused on his two main interests and wrote about how these interests helped him develop character traits and educational focus.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Fwiw I usually begin a letter of recommendation by describing how I know the student.  Am I a scout leader, coach, coop teacher, etc.

I also did this with the letters I wrote for my own kids.  I indicated that I was both parent and counselor and had taught them throughout their K-12 years.  

I didn't want the reader to think I was trying to obscure our relationship so I made it clear.  But I also made it clear that I was also the counselor.

This unconventional overlap of roles is why I tried to give specific examples rather than just commentary.

[8filltheheart]

I wrote my dd's letter based on the theme of highly motivated, independent learner. It captured our homeschool philosophy and her character while equally explaining that her non-traditional courses were created by us to enable her to pursue personal educational goals at a high academic level. 

[regentrude]

7 minutes ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

Fwiw I usually begin a letter of recommendation by describing how I know the student.  Am I a scout leader, coach, coop teacher, etc.

I also did this with the letters I wrote for my own kids.  I indicated that I was both parent and counselor and had taught them throughout their K-12 years.  

I didn't want the reader to think I was trying to obscure our relationship so I made it clear.  But I also made it clear that I was also the counselor.

This unconventional overlap of roles is why I tried to give specific examples rather than just commentary.

Offering a different perspective:

In my kids' counselor letters, I did not specifically state that I am the parent/home educator, since that was clear from the context of the application. I felt that this is not really an issue, because my counselor letters are not bragging about how awesome my kids are, and they do not laud their academic achievements. They contain specific details about my students' personality and try to be objective.

It may help approaching this as if you would write a LOR for a student who is not your own child. 

[8filltheheart]

17 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Offering a different perspective:

In my kids' counselor letters, I did not specifically state that I am the parent/home educator, since that was clear from the context of the application. I felt that this is not really an issue, because my counselor letters are not bragging about how awesome my kids are, and they do not laud their academic achievements. They contain specific details about my students' personality and try to be objective.

It may help approaching this as if you would write a LOR for a student who is not your own child. 

I couldn't possibly take this approach bc I am very far from being objective. ? Just being honest! But, I definitely do not even think of clarifying that I am parent, teacher, or guidance counselor. My kids' applications scream "homeschooled" so there is no point. I write about my kids with a very personal POV of having watched who they are as students growing and developing passions/interests and how homeschooling has allowed them to run with them and who they are now as facing high school graduation.

I read one mom's counselor letter and thought it was wonderful. Then, she had others tell her to make it less personal and less about the student's growth and pursuits as child into teenager. I read the new version (the one submitted) and I liked the original so much more. The latter one was far less "mom-ish."   Mine are "mom-ish" all the way. ??

[RootAnn]

Some posters in the threads I linked above offered to share their counselor letters. (They asked that the request PM them, perhaps with an email address? Kareni, EKS, Jenny in Florida were all ones who had offered in previous years. I find that those who just went through the process the year before are often the first ones to speak up since they remember the pain still rather vividly.) You could try to PM those if you want to see how other people wrote theirs. Each one is very personal, but you can get a sense of style & content (says the person who has only seen two).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

3 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I couldn't possibly take this approach bc I am very far from being objective. ? Just being honest! But, I definitely do not even think of clarifying that I am parent, teacher, or guidance counselor. My kids' applications scream "homeschooled" so there is no point. I write about my kids with a very personal POV of having watched who they are as students growing and developing passions/interests and how homeschooling has allowed them to run with them and who they are now as facing high school graduation.

I read one mom's counselor letter and thought it was wonderful. Then, she had others tell her to make it less personal and less about the student's growth and pursuits as child into teenager. I read the new version (the one submitted) and I liked the original so much more. The latter one was far less "mom-ish."   Mine are "mom-ish" all the way. ??

 

4 hours ago, regentrude said:

Offering a different perspective:

In my kids' counselor letters, I did not specifically state that I am the parent/home educator, since that was clear from the context of the application. I felt that this is not really an issue, because my counselor letters are not bragging about how awesome my kids are, and they do not laud their academic achievements. They contain specific details about my students' personality and try to be objective.

It may help approaching this as if you would write a LOR for a student who is not your own child. 

 

And we all three have had multiple kids accepted by colleges even with different approaches.

 

[8filltheheart]

9 minutes ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

And we all three have had multiple kids accepted by colleges even with different approaches.

Yes!  Like all things homeschooling, there is not a single path or anything even close to resembling a right answer.  

My thought is to go with your gut feelings about what you think best represents your student and definitely what allows you as the writer to create the image of your student that you want to project.  If you are more comfortable writing formally, then take that approach.  If you are more comfortable writing about your student more personally, take that approach.  Whatever approach you take, you want to project a clear picture of your child as a student/learner/active participant.  

[catz]

A few things I haven't seen anything specifically on.

Is it ok for me as the GC to attach an official electronic transcript from the CC my kid is dual enrolling?  Or does that need to be sent individually from the institution?   I'm not seeing obviously how to do that.  It also costs me $7 every time I order an electronic version to send.  Which is fine, I'm willing to do that if it's necessary but it's not like he can assign another GC?  

When my kid asks someone to be a recommender via the common app do they all need to create an account to do that?   Or are they uploading to a page? Just curious.  None of my kid's potential recommenders are probably regulars at writing college recommendation letters.  I just want to make sure my kid gives them a heads up about what it will look like.

My class description document is currently 13 (!) pages long.  That's crazy right?  I should  pare it down?

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by FuzzyCatz

[Sebastian (a lady)]

25 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

A few things I haven't seen anything specifically on.

Is it ok for me as the GC to attach an official electronic transcript from the CC my kid is dual enrolling?  Or does that need to be sent individually from the institution?   I'm not seeing obviously how to do that.  It also costs me $7 every time I order an electronic version to send.  Which is fine, I'm willing to do that if it's necessary but it's not like he can assign another GC?  

When my kid asks someone to be a recommender via the common app do they all need to create an account to do that?   Or are they uploading to a page? Just curious.  None of my kid's potential recommenders are probably regulars at writing college recommendation letters.  I just want to make sure my kid gives them a heads up about what it will look like.

My class description document is currently 13 (!) pages long.  That's crazy right?  I should  pare it down?

 

Yes recommender will have to create an account with Common App - if the college used that for applications.  Some other schools just send a link or use their own system.  When ds2 applied a 2 years ago, the student had to "invite the recommender within Common App by putting in their contact info. But a link prompting them to create an account and write a recommendation didn't go out unless that recommender was assigned in the App to a specific college.  Also some colleges only want recs from particular groups like teachers. So if someone is listed as a coach or religious advisor,  you might not be able to assign them to all colleges. 

I got a lot of mileage from making a practice account. I could go through the motions with it and and see what happened.

The guide to the Common App from College Wise was really helpful for these non-homeschool questions.

My son's did send official transcripts to every school they applied to.  I also used one of the CA transcript slots for scans of the college transcripts.  I know some people have just done scans with a note that official transcripts were available upon request. Most of the schools my kids applied to had official transcripts listed on the admissions website, so we just went ahead and sent them.  It did add up. Ds2 attended 3 different colleges with non-overlapping transcripts.  And he sent a second batch out in January after fall semester grades were finalized.  His colleges didn't use electronic transcripts so I don't have insight on those.

13 pages for course descriptions is a little long. I was able to get mine down to about 8. I did use a pretty small font.  One thing to think about is that you may have to turn this into a pdf to submit it. Some fonts take more memory to convert than others. I ended up using Candara at an 8 or 10 pt. Times New Roman took more memory and made files that were too big to upload to Common App.

[catz]

I did create a practice student account and a practice gc account but I've been lazy about creating a practice recommender account.  LOL.  I might try it though just so we can give those people a clear heads up since an actual account is required.  That seems fairly ridiculous to me.  It should really be as simple as possible for someone willing to write a recommendation letter or there should at least be a simpler option.  It would be nice if they could just submit a single time to a form we link to them and we could assign it after the fact to schools that need that rec without being able to see it.  

 

[regentrude]

2 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

Is it ok for me as the GC to attach an official electronic transcript from the CC my kid is dual enrolling?  Or does that need to be sent individually from the institution?   I'm not seeing obviously how to do that.  It also costs me $7 every time I order an electronic version to send.  Which is fine, I'm willing to do that if it's necessary but it's not like he can assign another GC?  

When my kid asks someone to be a recommender via the common app do they all need to create an account to do that?  

My class description document is currently 13 (!) pages long.  That's crazy right?  I should  pare it down?

The official transcript is sent directly to the college. 

The student needs to invite the recommender. The recommender then receives an email with instructions how to create her or his account.

My course descriptions were 8 pages total. Longer for the home designed classes, short for classes that followed a standard scope&sequence, minimal for DE classes (I copied the short description from the college's catalog)

[regentrude]

14 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I did create a practice student account and a practice gc account but I've been lazy about creating a practice recommender account.  LOL.  I might try it though just so we can give those people a clear heads up since an actual account is required.  That seems fairly ridiculous to me.  It should really be as simple as possible for someone willing to write a recommendation letter or there should at least be a simpler option.  It would be nice if they could just submit a single time to a form we link to them and we could assign it after the fact to schools that need that rec without being able to see it.  

It is fairly simple for the recommender. The upload their letter only once. The student decides which recommenders to assign to which schools

[Sebastian (a lady)]

49 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I did create a practice student account and a practice gc account but I've been lazy about creating a practice recommender account.  LOL.  I might try it though just so we can give those people a clear heads up since an actual account is required.  That seems fairly ridiculous to me.  It should really be as simple as possible for someone willing to write a recommendation letter or there should at least be a simpler option.  It would be nice if they could just submit a single time to a form we link to them and we could assign it after the fact to schools that need that rec without being able to see it.  

 

It's not much harder for them than what you describe.  Once they are assigned as a recommender for a specific college they receive a link directly from Common App. They follow the directions in the link, which aren't that tough.

My caution about the two step process is because a couple years ago the verbiage on Common App made it seem like a recommender had been aren't an invite even though there was one more step needed. 

The good news is that once a recommendation is in the CA system, it can be applied to additional colleges.

[catz]

53 minutes ago, regentrude said:

It is fairly simple for the recommender. The upload their letter only once. The student decides which recommenders to assign to which schools

Oh good, I misinterpreted that.  That's much easier!

[catz]

I'm just going to do a little private celebration because I have a first draft gc recommendation letter. ??

These links and thoughts really helped me hone to a few character elements and come up with some working examples that there are hints of through his academics and extra currics.  I'm sure I'll mull it over and slightly modify over a few weeks but I think I have a good basis here without sounding like a mom letter.  It's just slightly over 1 page in 12 point font.  

Anyway - thank you!  It's helpful to have this thread to vent and celebrate upon if nothing else.  Fellow parents feel free to share your application joys and sorrows!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

3 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I'm just going to do a little private celebration because I have a first draft gc recommendation letter. ??

These links and thoughts really helped me hone to a few character elements and come up with some working examples that there are hints of through his academics and extra currics.  I'm sure I'll mull it over and slightly modify over a few weeks but I think I have a good basis here without sounding like a mom letter.  It's just slightly over 1 page in 12 point font.  

Anyway - thank you!  It's helpful to have this thread to vent and celebrate upon if nothing else.  Fellow parents feel free to share your application joys and sorrows!

Good going.

You can review and change things until very far down the line.  There was Sven a button that let you see how the full report looked with questions answered and documents uploaded.  

[Woodland Mist Academy]

On 8/4/2018 at 6:51 PM, Sebastian (a lady) said:

This includes some if the questions and suggestions from the year my oldest kid applied.  Might give you some jumping off points.  

 

The single best piece of advice for the Common App was to create a practice account so you could play around with things like inviting recommenders and see what happened.  I also really like the Common App guide from College Wise, though that doesn't address homeschool specific questions.

How does one create a practice account? Is there a place to do that or did you just make a regular account using an alias?

Apologies if it's been discussed and I missed it.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

11 hours ago, Woodland Mist Academy said:

How does one create a practice account? Is there a place to do that or did you just make a regular account using an alias?

Apologies if it's been discussed and I missed it.

It was one of the options within Common App. I used an email account that wasn't going to be used for either the real app or my counselor stuff.  

https://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/college-counseling/whats-common-app-practice-account

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Woodland Mist Academy]

2 hours ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

It was one of the options within Common App. I used an email account that wasn't going to be used for either the real app or my counselor stuff.  

https://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/college-counseling/whats-common-app-practice-account

 

I'm still not quite sure I understand. Is it the same as a parent/other adult account? I keep looking for an option that says "practice account"  but maybe it's just referring to the parent/adult account.  Sorry if I'm missing something totally obvious!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

16 minutes ago, Woodland Mist Academy said:

I'm still not quite sure I understand. Is it the same as a parent/other adult account? I keep looking for an option that says "practice account"  but maybe it's just referring to the parent/adult account.  Sorry if I'm missing something totally obvious!

 

I made mine a few years back when my first kid applied.  So I'm not sure if the phrasing has changed.  What I remember was that a couple steps in there was an option for first time applicant, transfer student, or counselor curious about Common App. 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

21 minutes ago, Woodland Mist Academy said:

I'm still not quite sure I understand. Is it the same as a parent/other adult account? I keep looking for an option that says "practice account"  but maybe it's just referring to the parent/adult account.  Sorry if I'm missing something totally obvious!

Looking at the current options, I think I would pick education professional.  That might have more detailed help screens designed to assist counselors in advising.  If you want to be able to send yourself a counselor request or recommendation request you will want to use an email that is different from what you will use as a counselor. 

[alewife]

Maybe I am not remembering correctly, which is entirely possible, but the Common App seems to be more user friendly this time around than it was when I first encountered it 4 years ago.  I am not sure that it is necessary now to create a practice account like it was in years past.  Now there is a video help lecture at the beginning of every section that walks you through the process.  

Also, if you make a mistake, you can make as many changes as you want before you actually hit the submit button.  Even if after uploading a file, you decide you would like to make yet another edit, you simply delete the current file and replace it with the new one.  Nothing is set is stone until you hit the button to submit it to colleges.

For me, the biggest stumbling block was forgetting that I couldn't create the recommender account until my daughter created her student account and listed me as the recommender.  Once she did that, I received an email from the Common App asking me to set up my account.

Good luck to everyone!  This is my last rodeo.  While I will be sorry to see my homeschooling days end, I won't be sorry to never have to deal with the application process again.

[lisabees]

On 8/10/2018 at 12:19 PM, Woodland Mist Academy said:

I'm still not quite sure I understand. Is it the same as a parent/other adult account? I keep looking for an option that says "practice account"  but maybe it's just referring to the parent/adult account.  Sorry if I'm missing something totally obvious!

 

Yup, you sign up as a parent or other adult. 

Maybe this post will help? It hasn't been updated since last year, but...

https://medium.com/@lisa_davis_21488/how-to-navigate-the-common-app-as-a-homeschool-parent-6bcb809da016

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Having gone through this process twice, I can say with confidence it was different each time.  First kid applied to many schools and most of them Common App, but kid number two applied to a small handful of schools of which only one was Common App (so we skipped that and went with the school's own application).

No matter which route you take I think there are a few keys:

1)Apply early. You can then return to focusing on family, high school, and having fun together before they depart for that shiny new university.  Plus, if there are questions or problems in the process then you have time to fix them.  If a test score is required (ie SAT/ACT) then I would plan on having the application in as soon as you have a test score.

2) If things haven't changed, Common App will make available their essay topic before they open in August for application season.  This gives your kid time over the summer to work on that essay. 

3)Build a solid and easy to understand transcript. Include key words like "official transcript", "expected graduation date", "weighted" or "unweighted" GPA, be sure to include contact information, credits granted, credit totals, and a notation for which courses have been weighted.  If you find extra room on the page include major test scores-SAT, ACT, AP, and so on. Remember this is not where to list extra curricular activities.  There will be a place for that. 

4)While it is not absolutely necessary and may go ignored at some schools, I am a firm believer in preparing course descriptions. A brief paragraph on what was included in the course and major texts used.  This would also be a great place to reference any outside instructors (ie co-op class, online class, community college class, etc.) While many schools didn't mention this document, between my kids, we did have several who expressed their gratitude for it as it made them able to understand what the kids had studied and at what level. I think it helped not only admissions committees but scholarship and merit aid committees as well.

5) The counselor letter is a great place to complete the picture they have of your kid from other documents.  This is the place to extend and elaborate, not just reiterate. This is where you have the opportunity to explain any circumstances that may not be obvious elsewhere. No where else to discuss how your kid has been running marathons for the last 5 years and how this level of training has impacted their character? You can add it here. 

6) Approach your recommenders early in the year and follow your applications closely to be sure they have responded.  Give sufficient time but sometimes a gentle reminder is necessary.  Be prepared to hand recommenders copies of your transcript and student resume or list of extracurriculars, awards, and activities.  They may want to see this to help them frame their letter.

7) Be sure you change names, college names, and amend any information as necessary in your generic template.  Nothing worse than a letter to Harvard that in the body discusses how much you've always wanted to attend Yale.  Also be sure you actually answer any questions asked directly in the application.  Not all schools have a generic set of question. Some want specific pieces of information either from the student, "counselor", or recommender.

? Get in the habit of having your kids be the ones to make contact with the admissions department with questions not you.  My contact was strictly conversations about financial aid or how to best supply a document (ie mail vs. email).  (Fun fact-the numeral eight followed by a closed parenthesis becomes a smily face with sunglasses.  I did not know this and I can't make it stop.  It's an 8-as in the eighth point on my list. No secret, weird message.)

Relax and breath. Most importantly best of luck to all of this year's applicants!

I have sent two through the process and one to go, but not for another 7 years.  I think by then everything will have changed 5 times, at least! ?

 

Edited August 13, 2018 by JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst

[RootAnn]

Someone help me out -- "school's passing mark"??
Is that the lowest percentage the kid could get & not get an F? or it is "D"? or what exactly?

[regentrude]

10 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Someone help me out -- "school's passing mark"??
Is that the lowest percentage the kid could get & not get an F? or it is "D"? or what exactly?

The lowest letter grade that is considered passing. The standard would be "D". Classes in which a grade of D is earned are considered passed.

You may choose to have different standards for your home school and require a "C" as a passing grade.

Edited August 13, 2018 by regentrude

[lisabees]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

The lowest letter grade that is considered passing. The standard would be "D". Classes in which a grade of D is earned are considered passed.

You may choose to have different standards for your home school and require a "C" as a passing grade.

 

I chose C.

[regentrude]

2 minutes ago, lisabees said:

I chose C.

It is only relevant for students with low grades anyway. If the student has only As and Bs, the "passing grade" question is completely moot

[RootAnn]

Thanks, regentrude. 

On a completely unrelated note, I was checking to make sure the transcript course names matched the transcript course names when I saw that I'd removed the wrong 8th grade foreign language class from the course description document. The course description for Latin 1 (a 9th grade class) was missing, but it showed Spanish 1 (an 8th grade class not listed on the transcript). Ooops. I only sent the course descriptions to one college so far & I doubt they'll even look at it. Since both languages have a later class listed, I don't think it'll be an issue. And, at least I caught it before uploading/submitting it on the Common App. 

[catz]

5 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Thanks, regentrude. 

On a completely unrelated note, I was checking to make sure the transcript course names matched the transcript course names when I saw that I'd removed the wrong 8th grade foreign language class from the course description document. The course description for Latin 1 (a 9th grade class) was missing, but it showed Spanish 1 (an 8th grade class not listed on the transcript). Ooops. I only sent the course descriptions to one college so far & I doubt they'll even look at it. Since both languages have a later class listed, I don't think it'll be an issue. And, at least I caught it before uploading/submitting it on the Common App. 

I spent many hours today formatting and cleaning up our course description document and then cross checking it with the transcript and our school profile to make sure everything was consistent.  It was pretty crazy how many errors there were! 

I'm sorry something snuck by you!  Glad it didn't get to the common app.  

[RootAnn]

Another Common App funny. DD filled in her secondary school (home school). The very next question is, "Is this a boarding school?" 

Um, well, kinda! 

Same section, "Counselor Job Title" ... Dictator was a very tempting option, but went with Kareni's Educational Facilitator

[alewife]

6 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Another Common App funny. DD filled in her secondary school (home school). The very next question is, "Is this a boarding school?" 

Um, well, kinda! 

Same section, "Counselor Job Title" ... Dictator was a very tempting option, but went with Kareni's Educational Facilitator

Yeah, my daughter actually answered yes to that question.