s/o my college ready thread...how to make a strong(er) transcript?

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So, I feel my dd's transcript will be a little weak, as she doesn't plan on doing a lot of dual enrollment, or AP classes.  The ONE AP class that she'd be interested in, she doesn't want to take because she loves her English class and it's a big part of her life.  She plans to take it until she graduates, or maybe take one AP class senior year.  And taking an Online AP English plus a regular English, would really be a lot.  She does extra work for that class and it will be labeled Honors.  SHe will have about 5 or 6 Honors Classes on her transcript, mostly English or Literature, and she will have solid electives as well as solid community service and hopefully a job.

Pretty much every other AP class scares her, and she's interested in a few community college classes, but only a few, I can think of one actually that really would work for her to feel confident and excited about going to.  

Which means, 

1.  Would having accredited classes on her diploma help her?  She likes using AOP Monarch and believe it or not once you add all the reports, essays and special projects it is quite challenging.  She has to study very hard, and also synthesize it since she always has all the essays and reports.  If I signed her up for their academy for some of her classes, then I could make a note on her transcript that such and such classes were "taken through the AdvancED accredite AOP Academy"

2.  That said, would it look good to be taking classes from "Alpha Omega Academy" I mean I hate to say it but that name sounds so fundamentalist I'm afraid the Catholic and secular colleges to which we are applying would be thrown by a loop with that name, or if they looked it up.  I am a Christian but not in the fundamentalist, super far right camp and I definitely wouldn't want people to put my kids in that camp (notwithstanding how it looks for colleges)...would they actually take the time to look it up or just see AdvancEd and think "ok that's good...." and move on?

3,  We know how important the SAT's are and my dd is studying every single day using the Khan academy.  Her pre-study practice was 1180 which is solid considering she's taking Geometry this year and her Alg 1 is super shaky, and she hasn't even taken Alg 2 yet.  I'm hoping she can bring it up to the 1220 range by March of Junior year.   She's really committed to the studying, and is improving a lot with it.

[JazzyMom]

Will the schools she’s applying to want course descriptions?  Only one of ds’ schools requested “brief” course descriptions.  I kept them very brief and all on one page.  For instance:

Geometry - Saxon Advanced Math Textbook

Honors English - Shakespeare and Poetry through Classical Conversations Challenge 3 Co-op

Etc.

I wouldn’t have hesitated to put Alpha Omega Academy on there had we used it.  I seriously doubt anyone at the school looked any of this up.

Ds took no AP or DE courses until senior year and had no grades for them at the time he applied to colleges.

I think all of this depends on what level of college she’s interested in.  Check and see if any of this matters for the type of school she might like.

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16 minutes ago, JazzyMom said:

Will the schools she’s applying to want course descriptions?  Only one of ds’ schools requested “brief” course descriptions.  I kept them very brief and all on one page.  For instance:

Geometry - Saxon Advanced Math Textbook

Honors English - Shakespeare and Poetry through Classical Conversations Challenge 3 Co-op

Etc.

I wouldn’t have hesitated to put Alpha Omega Academy on there had we used it.  I seriously doubt anyone at the school looked any of this up.

Ds took no AP or DE courses until senior year and had no grades for them at the time he applied to colleges.

I think all of this depends on what level of college she’s interested in.  Check and see if any of this matters for the type of school she might like.

 

Thanks! Yes I have a syllabus with description for every single class she is or has taken.  Whether "at home" or at a co-op.  I will keep that in mind re: descriptions

Jazzy, what kind of colleges accepted your ds with no AP or DE? Did he have super high SAT scores? 

My dd is applying to mid and lower tier private catholic or secular colleges such as St. Joe's Phila, Chestnut HIll Phila, Rosemont Phila St. Mary's CA, and Transylvania in Lexington KY- maybe one Christian school Fresno Pacific which I know for sure is homeschool friendly...the rest I have no idea.  All of them have average SATs between 1000 and 1300 ish, so she will be right on target if she can bring it up to a 1220...

[8filltheheart]

Homeschoolers do not have to have AP exams or DE credits to be accepted by most Us.  Goodness. No, your Dd would not be accepted to competitive Us based on your description of her, but her lack of APs and DE and test scores reflect a lack of academic compatibility for elite schools. 

In terms of the majority of schools, those are not going to matter. I have had multiple kids accepted to university with no APs. Only one of my kids has taken APs. My other kids have taken the odd DE class, but not many. My current 11th grader will be taking no APs and no DE. My college sophomore took no APs, and only 1 DE class (spring semester of her sr yr, so after acceptances.)

Homeschoolers can do school at home without outsourcing and be accepted to college.

[Julie of KY]

I would do what you think is best for her academically. I wouldn't go out of my way to do APs or dual enrollment just for her transcript. As others have said, you can certainly get into colleges with no outsources classes. Her ACT or SAT score will matter.

Also, I wouldn't worry Alpha Omega Academy - take the classes if that's best fit otherwise don't. 

[JazzyMom]

He did not have super high SAT scores, but his score of 1380 was in the top 25% to top 10% of all of the schools he applied to except UT Dallas where he was right in the middle.

The 3 most well known schools he was accepted to are Texas A&M (SAT score higher than 1360 makes you auto admit), Southern Methodist University, and University of Texas at Austin (both reaches for ds).

His transcript did show 1 full year AP course and 2 DE courses per semester for senior year, but I don’t see how that could matter much since there were no grades yet.

Again, I think it really matters what level of school you are applying to, and I have to keep reminding myself of that because for some reason I feel the need to do more with dd, even though ds got into all 8 of his schools.  When ds started high school, I didn’t know to be stressed about all of this so we just did what seemed right for him.

Looking at each school’s common data set helped a lot.  I also spent a lot of time on each school’s website.  Many of them offered scholarships at ds’ level of SAT score.  I also looked at College Confidential’s message boards to see what kind of students were getting accepted.

I think some AP or DE can be good if your student is ready for it and wants to do it, but I don’t think it’s anything to stress over if you’re not going after elite schools.

Ds’ first SAT score was 1050 in spring of 9th grade.  He had never taken a timed test before.  In addition to naturally progressing in math, he brought his score up using Erika Meltzer’s SAT grammar book and College Panda SAT math.  He also took all 8 SAT practice tests.

Edited February 7, 2019 by JazzyMom

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12 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Homeschoolers do not have to have AP exams or DE credits to be accepted by most Us.  Goodness. No, your Dd would not be accepted to competitive Us based on your description of her, but her lack of APs and DE and test scores reflect a lack of academic compatibility for elite schools. 

In terms of the majority of schools, those are not going to matter. I have had multiple kids accepted to university with no APs. Only one of my kids has taken APs. My other kids have taken the odd DE class, but not many. My current 11th grader will be taking no APs and no DE. My college sophomore took no APs, and only 1 DE class (spring semester of her sr yr, so after acceptances.)

Homeschoolers can do school at home without outsourcing and be accepted to college.

 

What were their SAT's and EC's like?

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11 hours ago, JazzyMom said:

He did not have super high SAT scores, but his score of 1380 was in the top 25% to top 10% of all of the schools he applied to except UT Dallas where he was right in the middle.

The 3 most well known schools he was accepted to are Texas A&M (SAT score higher than 1360 makes you auto admit), Southern Methodist University, and University of Texas at Austin (both reaches for ds).

His transcript did show 1 full year AP course and 2 DE courses per semester for senior year, but I don’t see how that could matter much since there were no grades yet.

Again, I think it really matters what level of school you are applying to, and I have to keep reminding myself of that because for some reason I feel the need to do more with dd, even though ds got into all 8 of his schools.  When ds started high school, I didn’t know to be stressed about all of this so we just did what seemed right for him.

Looking at each school’s common data set helped a lot.  I also spent a lot of time on each school’s website.  Many of them offered scholarships at ds’ level of SAT score.  I also looked at College Confidential’s message boards to see what kind of students were getting accepted.

I think some AP or DE can be good if your student is ready for it and wants to do it, but I don’t think it’s anything to stress over if you’re not going after elite schools.

Ds’ first SAT score was 1050 in spring of 9th grade.  He had never taken a timed test before.  In addition to naturally progressing in math, he brought his score up using Erika Meltzer’s SAT grammar book and College Panda SAT math.  He also took all 8 SAT practice tests.

 

This helps...so my dd's SAT scores will not be anywhere near the 1380 range, but on the other hand, she's not applying to schools nearly as hard to get into as SMU or Texas A&M.  ....so I think the idea is that the SAT's really support the transcript, at least that's my take-away.  If her SAT's are on-par with the other applicants, she should have a good chance?

Edited February 7, 2019 by Calming Tea

[8filltheheart]

7 minutes ago, Calming Tea said:

What were their SAT's and EC's like?

As long as their scores are solidly in the middle 50%ile and their transcript covers all the pre-req courses and the school is not competitive, then you shouldn't have any major concerns. Most non-competitive schools don't care about ECs at all. That is a holistic, competitive admissions or scholarship concern, not a general, avg admissions concern.

My Dd who is currently a college sophomore who had no APs/1 DE class had high SAT scores and high level awards. That earned her one of 20 OOS scholarships. She would have been admitted with far, far less.

My current 11th grader is an avg student who has not taken any standardized tests yet (she is entirely unmotivated) and will most likely have very avg scores. She will have no APs and no DE.  She is not motivated enough to compete for scholarships, so she just wants to commute to the local U. But, even if she wanted to apply elsewhere and we were willing to pay, I still wouldn't be concerned. For non-competitive schools, the application hype is way overblown. 

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1 minute ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

As long as their scores are solidly in the middle 50%ile and their transcript covers all the pre-req courses and the school is not competitive, then you shouldn't have any major concerns. Most non-competitive schools don't care about ECs at all. That is a holistic, competitive admissions or scholarship concern, not a general, avg admissions concern.

My Dd who is currently a college sophomore who had no APs/1 DE class had high SAT scores and high level awards. That earned her one of 20 OOS scholarships. She would have been admitted with far, far less.

My current 11th grader is an avg student who has not taken any standardized tests yet (she is entirely unmotivated) and will most likely have very avg scores. She will have no APs and no DE.  She is not motivated enough to compete for scholarships, so she just wants to commute to the local U. But, even if she wanted to apply elsewhere and we were willing to pay, I still wouldn't be concerned. For non-competitive schools, the application hype is way overblown. 

 

This is good to know.  I mean, I am definitely doing my research and choosing schools that are either safety or targets, for her SAT score, and I am looking at their freshman profiles and reading college confidential.  I also plan to look ahead and see which ones are homeschooler friendly, becuase my dd will probbaly only have the desire and stamina do apply to about 4 schools.  SO I really need to pick ones that have a good possibility for her 🙂

 

[teachermom2834]

My dc have de because it is free/cheap and ten minutes down the road and maybe an odd AP class here or there. I would never recommend anyone take those classes just to look good on a transcript. Typical schools without super competitive admissions won't care and those schools with super competitive admissions will be looking for something special. Every kid will have AP at that point and having an atypical transcript (as long as it is still strong) would likely be better than the standard lineup of AP classes all the other applicants have. 

My college dc applied to about ten schools between the two of them including a couple of top 100 state universities and several of the "Colleges that Change Lives" schools. Nothing super competitive but some good schools and some that were somewhat or moderately selective. Not a one of them asked for course descriptions and I really don't think any cared about extracurriculars. I think ACT/GPA were the determining factors in admissions and automatic scholarships. In fact, some of the decisions came back so quickly I am sure an admissions officer glanced at the application/ transcript for a couple minutes and was done. They got scholarships everywhere. Not one school had any idea what curriculum we used or that courses were outsourced besides the de.

Have your child take the courses and use the curriculum that serves to provide the education and high school experience you want for them and they want for themselves. Participate in activities and community service to enrich your life, not for a college application. There are scholarships that consider activities and service, for sure, but if you are doing things just to plunk on an application you won't rise to the level to win those. They are highly competitive and go to those who have been very exceptional in pursuing their passions.

OP- your dd should be fine at those colleges as long as she meets the admissions requirements and has the right test scores. 

(I will say that when I express this opinion locally people scoff at me and think I am dead wrong about not needing a bunch of activities and service or dual enrollment. People simply think I crazy to suggest it is just ACT/GPA and that the vast majority of colleges don't seek outside verification besides the test scores. But I really believe it and have seen it play out that way over and over.) 

[JazzyMom]

1 hour ago, Calming Tea said:

 

This is good to know.  I mean, I am definitely doing my research and choosing schools that are either safety or targets, for her SAT score, and I am looking at their freshman profiles and reading college confidential.  I also plan to look ahead and see which ones are homeschooler friendly, becuase my dd will probbaly only have the desire and stamina do apply to about 4 schools.  SO I really need to pick ones that have a good possibility for her 🙂

 

 

Yes, just make sure her SAT scores are within range and she has all the check boxes the school wants in terms of math credits, English credits, etc.  Structure the courses according to your needs and do activities she enjoys.