Common App - Other high schools

[emberandash]

Hi! My dd17 is a senior and has been homeschooled since kindergarten. The information I've found here has been so helpful over the years! I'm hoping you all might be able to answer a question for me. When she fills out the Common App and it asks for other high schools she's attended, should she list places she's taken online classes (PA Homeschoolers, CLRC, Wittenberg Academy)? And does it make any difference if it's a place like Wittenberg that offers the option of enrolling full time and earning a diploma through them (which she will not)? Thank you for your help!

[cintinative]

I am by no means the person to answer this question.  This site might help:

https://fearlesshomeschoolers.com/blog/common-app-for-homeschoolers

I personally would not be listing the other online class providers as "other high schools" but you can include them on your school profile in your outside providers section. I would think this is if you are a public or private school student and you attended multiple schools.  

If you have official transcripts from any of the providers, those can be included with your transcript on the counselor side.

 

[Roadrunner]

We included providers on the transcript so it was clear if the course had been taught at home, at CLRC, or in college. 
 

We didn’t list them as separate schools. We only provided official transcripts for our home school and dual enrollment colleges, not from PAH or CLRC (unless you are doing DE through CLRC in which case you will get St. Katherine transcript).

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Roadrunner
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[Farrar]

Yes if the student was enrolled full time. No if not. Do not add places where the student took individual courses, even if they're accredited. Do include outside transcripts from accredited providers with yours. Don't include non-accredited provider transcripts. 

[emberandash]

Thank you all very much! I had been leaning toward not listing them, but I really didn't want to tell her the wrong thing. 

[madteaparty]

8 hours ago, Farrar said:

Yes if the student was enrolled full time. No if not. Do not add places where the student took individual courses, even if they're accredited. Do include outside transcripts from accredited providers with yours. Don't include non-accredited provider transcripts. 

So, asking for a friend (true story, my next one is on school full time and in 6th grade): if her senior “enrolled” in local zoned public high school and didn’t take a single class there but did this so he could play soccer (guidance has apparently approved this), they don’t list it, yeah? I was concerned she’d have to list it and then have to explain away even more homeschool weirdness. 

[Farrar]

21 minutes ago, madteaparty said:

So, asking for a friend (true story, my next one is on school full time and in 6th grade): if her senior “enrolled” in local zoned public high school and didn’t take a single class there but did this so he could play soccer (guidance has apparently approved this), they don’t list it, yeah? I was concerned she’d have to list it and then have to explain away even more homeschool weirdness. 

I would say no, though I guess it could depend on how the school handles it?

Honestly, no one is checking. I think this is one of those things where it’s kind of fuzzy and as long as a student is being honest as they understand things, it’ll be fine. There are a few schools like the UC’s that want I’s dotted and T’s crossed or else, but that’s rarer.

[stripe]

On 8/2/2023 at 3:04 PM, Farrar said:

Yes if the student was enrolled full time. No if not. Do not add places where the student took individual courses, even if they're accredited. Do include outside transcripts from accredited providers with yours. Don't include non-accredited provider transcripts. 

Oh, that’s interesting. The Ontario Universities’ version of the common app directs students to list anywhere they have taken one or more class including “private virtual schools,” and have them directly send transcripts. For Form 101 (for those attending an Ontario high school), though, it notes, “You do not need to include institutions where your “home” school registered you for courses (e.g., board virtual school, dual credit, Specialist High Skills Major, e-learning through a consortium).”

[Farrar]

5 hours ago, stripe said:

Oh, that’s interesting. The Ontario Universities’ version of the common app directs students to list anywhere they have taken one or more class including “private virtual schools,” and have them directly send transcripts. For Form 101 (for those attending an Ontario high school), though, it notes, “You do not need to include institutions where your “home” school registered you for courses (e.g., board virtual school, dual credit, Specialist High Skills Major, e-learning through a consortium).”

That's useful that it clarifies it. I wonder if this may be more common in the future here, honestly. More and more students have outside courses, whether it's credit recovery or summer "enrichment" or something else.

Other homeschool college counselors in our little group ended up having a conversation about this very topic this week... with no clear agreement about the rules. In the end, I stand by the idea that virtually no one is double checking this and that as long as everyone is super clear in your documentation overall, it'll be fine. And keep it uniform in how you fill it out - either ALL the accredited schools, or ALL the schools that provide a transcript for colleges that are also accredited or ALL the schools that a student was enrolled in as seeking a high school diploma. I like that last one best because I do think choosing too many other schools there can be confusing for colleges but... I think it's all good in the end. Again, as long as the documentation makes it clear.