Updated: Scholarship hoops as a homeschooler (She got it!)

[RootAnn]

Updated 5/3:  DD received a letter today notifying her that she has received the scholarship this thread was written about. I'm happy to have jumped the hoops for her & hopefully opened some eyes at this organization!

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Weird subject line, I know. Dd#2 is applying for an outside scholarship & it is obvious they don't deal with many homeschoolers. Regardless, I have a headache from thinking about a couple of the requirements.

Under transcripts, it says they must have an official watermark or seal. They can be submitted electronically but must be sent "directly from the applicant's school" and they include the line about the watermark/seal. I have an email that is obviously from our "school" but wonder if it is worth adding a watermark to the PDF because she is obviously homeschooled.

Her essay is supposed to include a paragraph on "school activity involvement" but she's using that paragraph to discuss her hobbies.

We're stymied on the references because they want two "Principal, counselors or advisors who have specific knowledge of applicant's academic qualifications." This kid does DE (as her only outside classes) but the professors only know her as a college kid in their class & they would only have knowledge of that one class (and her grades from DE will be sent directly from the college so they will know how she did in that class anyway). Her art teacher knows her as an art student but doesn't know anything about her academics. The scholarship isn't asking for letters of rec, just contact info of the references.

In an area completely unrelated to being homeschooled, the scholarship requires her to submit the college's letter of acceptance & neither of us have any idea where hers is. (She gets one every semester she does DE so it wasn't a big deal when her official one came for fall. We might have pitched it.)

Thanks for letting me share my ranting. :)

Edited May 4, 2021 by RootAnn
Updated 5/3

[Kassia]

Ugh - no wonder you have a headache!  That's a lot of modifying.

Is there any chance that the acceptance letter came electronically as well as in the mail?  Dd's always arrived both ways - in her college email account and also a hard copy in the mail.  

 

ETA - have any of her professors had her in more than one class?  Even one class could be enough to provide a recommendation on what kind of student she is.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Kassia

[RootAnn]

Some of her acceptance letters have come electronically, but ironically, not the one she needs. Good idea, though!

She's only finished three classes, one professor for each. (She has two more in progress & a third that will start mid-Spring.) If they were asking for a general recommendation letter, we'd go with her art teacher (or the vet that works with her non-profit) but not when they want "specific knowledge of academic qualifications." One professor might remember her enough to write something but she'd only know about that one class & I'm just not sure how that would help.

I am going to call the scholarship officials on Monday & see what they recommend. Thanks for your commiseration.

[fourisenough]

That is so tricky! Good luck. Keep us posted!

[Lori D.]

re: watermark or seal -- one idea:
Custom embosser -- Invest $30 in one of these, and have it customized with whatever you "name" your homeschool, and "crunch" the embosser next to or over your administrator signature, or emboss a gold sticker seal and stick it onto all official records/documents. Use it for all future students. 😉 

re: "two "Principal, counselors or advisors who have specific knowledge of applicant's academic qualifications"
Well one of them can certainly be you! For the other, I'd go with the DE professor that DD feels she can most easily approach and who might be willing to do a letter of recommendation, if it comes to that. Just have DD explain: "I am homeschooled and a dual enrollment student. I am applying for a scholarship that requires two advisors or instructors who have specific knowledge of my academic qualifications. May I provide your name and contact information for applying, as someone who has knowledge of my academic qualifications?" So you could provide the complete picture, and the DE instructor would provide the specific validation for that class. Quite honestly, that is very frequently the case -- that one of a student's letters of recommendation is from a teacher who has only known the student for one class.

[I have written letters of recommendation for my co-op class students, and quite often that is the only contact I have with them and their academics. That never seems to have been a problem for the students for applying...]

re: "the scholarship requires her to submit the college's letter of acceptance & neither of us have any idea where hers is"
You might get onto her "My Page" with the school, which allows you to see and print off Unofficial transcripts -- they may also have that document or that verification on her "My Page" as well, and you guys can reprint it. Otherwise, she may just have to contact the Registrar's office and request that they send a copy of the acceptance to the scholarship application site.

BEST of luck in the scholarship hunt! 😄 Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Lori D.

[teachermom2834]

Ugh. That is so frustrating. 

I don't know but I tend to be a bit skeptical anyone is actually calling these references to discuss the candidates. Maybe if it is a huge prestigious scholarship? So I might use one professor from de and the art teacher you mentioned. That is really annoying. My ds had a big scholarship I thought he had a chance at that required an academic recommender (and only one allowed). He had impressive leadership recommenders (and it was supposedly a leadership scholarship) but only a de professor for academics. I felt like we were trying to decide if it was best to disregard the instructions and use the awesome leadership recommendation or follow the rules and use the professor who he had only known for a semester. We are rule followers so we did that. He didn't get the scholarship. So there is that. It is hard when students are filling out these things and following the instructions puts them in a box but you have no way of knowing how rigid or flexible that box is behind the scenes. Grr.

I would probably jump through the hoop of adding a watermark just to check the box. But Grr.

My oldest was applying for a large outside scholarship and one question was how many AP classes the student had taken. There was no question about de or IB that is usually lumped in there. Just AP. He had 2 official AP classes from PA Homeschoolers and like 10 de classes from a four year school. He put 12 as the number of AP classes. He then was supposed to list them and he listed them and they were clearly college de classes, not AP. It wasn't following the instructions but just listing the number of AP classes didn't tell the story or ask the question I felt like they were trying to ask. He did win that scholarship. 

So, mostly just commiseration but also a vote that if you really can't make the questions make sense for your student I am comfortable with bending the answers a bit. I would certainly have no qualms about answering the school activity question by discussing her hobbies. 

 

 

[Kassia]

15 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

re: "two "Principal, counselors or advisors who have specific knowledge of applicant's academic qualifications"
Well one of them can certainly be you!
 

 

As always, Lori gives amazing advice.

I was thinking the same thing about you being one of the references - especially if you put your function (principal, counselor, advisor, etc.) alongside your name.  

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

...you being one of the references - especially if you put your function (principal, counselor, advisor, etc.) alongside your name.  

Exactly! 😄 

[theelfqueen]

My son is applying for a flight scholarship right now that requires recommendations ... it has similar suggestions of school administrators and has a specific rule that students (including homeschooled students) May NOT use a relative as a reference even if that person is their primary educator -- verify that there are no such limitations! ... we have two flight instructors, his volunteer coordinator at the museum, his master smith  and his Sensei as references. (For this we are asking the two flight instructors first, but if they don't come through... the volunteer coordinator is next).  

For the "extra curricular activities" we listed some co-curricular activities (ie his flight school and blacksmithing) for which he both receives credit and does additional hours beyond credit. Things like that... he's a nontraditional student whose answers don't fit neatly in the boxes on the application and it requires some interpretation. 

Edited February 6, 2021 by theelfqueen

[RootAnn]

I'm calling on Monday to see if I can be one of the references. I just don't think they deal much with homeschoolers because it doesn't mention no relatives! If they won't let me be one, we'll see If they'll accept her art teacher. If they need an instructor, DD will email a professor from last semester. 

Dd has emailed her admissions counselor to ask for a PDF of her admissions letter. 

She's explained in her essay that her "school activities" as a home educated student are a combination of her hobbies and her service to church & community. They don't use the term "extra curricular" and specifically ask for school, church, and community service. She's good for the latter two & has plenty to list under hobbies. 

If I need to watermark the transcript, I will. Everything will be submitted digitally. :) 

Again, thanks for the commiseration, the advice, and the stories!

[Kassia]

@RootAnn good luck to you and dd!  🙂

[Clemsondana]

I'm intrigued that they think that most students would have 2 guidance counselors or principals who knew anything about them.  My high school counselor basically did what I asked her to do (copies of transcripts, etc) but never did any counseling.  And, about 2 months before I graduated my principal fussed at me for being in the hallway when I should have been somewhere else, blah blah blah, Susan, you need to be... and I confusedly asked if he thought I was Susan and he said 'Aren't you Susan H?' who looks nothing like me (one of us was tall, athletic build, dark blond/light brown shoulder length hair, the other was short, petite, long dark brown hair...), was a year younger, I was in the band and played a sport, she did neither...  Two weeks later, at a reception for all of the National Merit recipients in the county, he put his arm around me and asked my mom 'Aren't we proud of our girl?'.  Anyway, I can't imagine what he would have said had they asked about me. 

Good luck - that sounds crazy!  

[lewelma]

I so remember the frustration of trying to fit homeschooling into all those little boxes that never seem to fit.  For recommendations my son was required to have a STEM, humanities, and counselor rec.

Counselor: Me. My goal was to demonstrate that my ds had taken advantage of every opportunity available to him. I focused on why he did each activity he did and what I thought he had gained from it.  I also discussed that he had used homeschooling as a way to direct his own learning, showing him as focused and proactive. 

STEM teacher: His chemistry teacher was in the hospital with chemo, so she was out. And with that exception, my son is completely self taught in math and physics. We ended up using the 23 year old kid who traveled with the team to Hong Kong for the IMO.  This kid had never taught my son, and had never written a letter or recommendation so asked what he should write!  We suggested writing about ds's maturity and being able to handle himself under pressure. So this rec that was supposed to talk about his academic capability in STEM, didn't. 

Humanities: We were very lucky that ds had a writing coach who was willing to write one. But here in NZ, there is what is known as tall poppy syndrome, so people don't brag. She point blank asked me if she needed to give him the top mark (part of the application was a tick list). Gulp. I said yes. 

Extra: The teacher that knew the most about my ds was his violin teacher who had been teaching him for 6 years. So we got an extra rec from him that focused on maturity, commitment, persistence, etc. 

DS did get a top scholarship to CM with these recs.

 

[RootAnn]

Welp. I don't have much hope but we're going to try anyway. I had to laugh when I got off the phone because it was just so ridiculous.

They have had "a few" homeschoolers apply in the past but all who had umbrella schools. They've never dealt with a homeschoolers who issues their own transcript. Yes, it has to be watermarked. I can't be one of her references; they need "as many as [I] can list" (because this lady is flabbergasted that I don't have "oversight" to "verify" my kid has "met high school requirements." 

Dd has already received notice from a professor from last semester that she will serve as a reference. We'll list her art teacher, too. I am going to include our school profile, a copy of our state's acknowledgement letter  (which we receive every year), & a letter where I explain my state 's homeschooling laws and that we are serious academic homeschoolers. The woman on the phone said I needed to explain everything I explained on the phone and they would need to "verify everything, you understand." And "we will see what happens." 

We're going to follow through on this scholarship mostly to make the process easier for whoever comes after us because the amount isn't really worth all this trouble on its own and it sounds like there is a lot of doubt that my paperwork will be considered real/valid.

[Lori D.]

Good luck RootAnn!

Maybe all that extra documentation will blow them away with what a terrific student your DD is, and it will nail the scholarship for her! 😄 

[RootAnn]

Lol. She's an awesome person but an average student. 😉

Edited to add a little update for those who see this later. Two days after the scholarship application was submitted, I received a call from the same person I spoke to earlier. She was confused that my daughter was saying she was applying for a Freshman scholarship but they had received a college transcript for her. I explained that she is "dual enrolled" (not the same wording the college uses, but pretty commonly known). After some confusion on the scholarship woman's part, she figured it out.

She then wondered out loud if she'd received my daughter's "transcripts from her high school." I helpfully explained those were sent on Monday (three days prior). She said, "The school sent them on Monday?" I said, "Yes." She found them and said things should be all good.

It was VERY obvious she did not remember that my daughter is homeschooled. I got a good laugh over that when I hung up.

Edited February 11, 2021 by RootAnn
updated with post-submittal phone call...

[teachermom2834]

We have abandoned applications in the past because they just weren't homeschool friendly and the chance of winning or amount at stake deemed it not a worthwhile way to spend our time and aggravation. But good for you for jumping the hoops. It really might make a difference for your dd and those who come after. 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, RootAnn said:

 

We're going to follow through on this scholarship mostly to make the process easier for whoever comes after us because the amount isn't really worth all this trouble on its own and it sounds like there is a lot of doubt that my paperwork will be considered real/valid.

That's really nice of you.  I'm sorry for the hassle!  

[RootAnn]

She did it! Dd#2 received a letter today from the Board of Directors of this Ethnic/Religious Organization Group [not to be named] that she is one of the recipients of their incoming college Freshman scholarships!

A win for independent homeschoolers, mom-added and mom-issued transcripts, and for not-super-academic-but-great-kid students!

[theelfqueen]

That is totally AWESOME! Way to go Kiddo! And way to go Mama! 

[KSera]

Congratulations! Awesome accomplishment for you both! Extra kudos for your perseverance.

[Hadley]

Wonderful news!  Persistence pays off!  Congrats to you both!

[fourisenough]

Congratulations! 

[Miss Tick]

9 hours ago, RootAnn said:

A win for independent homeschoolers, mom-added and mom-issued transcripts, and for not-super-academic-but-great-kid students!

Go team!

[Roadrunner]

Congrats!!!🎉 

[Kassia]

What a great update!  Congratulations!!!

[Aloha2U]

Congratulations to both of you! And on behalf of other homeschoolers after you, well done in your efforts.

Now, I have to ask... did you end up going with an embosser or watermark or... something else entirely?

[RootAnn]

@Mom21I watermarked it. It turned out to be easy to do. Just searched for how to do it inside my word processing software. Easy peasy... and suddenly "official." Ha!

[fourisenough]

Serious hoop jumping! It’s funny what seems to satisfy people’s need for things to be official, legitimate, documented, etc. I’m learning I need to be a very flexible thinker to contort myself into traditional expectations/‘boxes’. We just had a similar situation with auto insurance/good student discount. I finally said, how about a 34 ACT score, will that work? (After they declined my homemade report card). Never mind that an ACT score might measure a lot of things (including a student’s race and income level), but it probably is not the best measure of whether a student is a ‘good student’. And is there data to show good students are necessarily safe drivers?! Perhaps there is, but I digress...

[Aloha2U]

4 hours ago, RootAnn said:

@Mom21I watermarked it. It turned out to be easy to do. Just searched for how to do it inside my word processing software. Easy peasy... and suddenly "official." Ha!

Which leads to my next question. What text did you designate (e.g., “official transcript”, homeschool name or perhaps a logo) as the watermark?

Edited May 5, 2021 by Mom21

[klmama]

2 hours ago, fourisenough said:

Serious hoop jumping! It’s funny what seems to satisfy people’s need for things to be official, legitimate, documented, etc. I’m learning I need to be a very flexible thinker to contort myself into traditional expectations/‘boxes’. We just had a similar situation with auto insurance/good student discount. I finally said, how about a 34 ACT score, will that work? (After they declined my homemade report card). Never mind that an ACT score might measure a lot of things (including a student’s race and income level), but it probably is not the best measure of whether a student is a ‘good student’. And is there data to show good students are necessarily safe drivers?! Perhaps there is, but I digress...

Wow.  Our agent just takes our word for it that dc has a high GPA.  I knew she was flexible, but I didn't realize how inflexible others could be. 

[RootAnn]

29 minutes ago, Mom21 said:

Which leads to my next question. What text did you designate (e.g., “official transcript”, homeschool name or perhaps a logo) as the watermark?

I don't remember but probably "official transcript."

Our insurance takes our word for our kids' gpa, too. I have a friend whose didn't & she had a heck of a time with them.

Edited May 5, 2021 by RootAnn