Hi CC,
We transitioned out of a brick and mortar public school this year and into a public charter school in CA for my 10th grader. I had assumed (never assume!) that because it is “public” that she’d be viewed as all other public schools in the state, regardless of instruction method. But after chatting with a friend today I pulled up the school profile and realized it’s called an “independent study” program. I don’t have problems with this in principle–it’s not the same format as a brick and mortar school and she does have her classes online. However, it is an issue to me if AOs deem this a negative or lesser than other options, especially as I’ve worked really hard to find vendors that are rigorous.
My kid is happy in this program and, all things being equal, she’ll likely stay with it to graduation, as it gives her a bit more control of her time for her extracurriculars, etc. But we could easily put her back in the brick and mortar, look into “middle college” (it’s a high school/CC partnership where all classes are taken on the college campus), or consider the official switch to homeschooling if need be next year.
Thoughts???
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While I don’t have a student in online learning, I did research it extensively. One public charter that comes to mind is Palisades Charter High in Los Angeles. They’ve offered it for I believe 10 years or longer, and their stats on their site shows that 100% of their students have graduated from university. Even if you’re not in the area, you could reach out and speak or email someone running the program to gain more insights about how it’s viewed. With the new way of things since COVID, I think it adds to a student’s ability to express why they chose an online independent study option. It honestly seemed like a great option for those who qualified.
@MomOfTwo22 , thanks for this! I’ll reach out. I did ask the counselor at D25’s school today as well and she said that it wouldn’t affect college admission at all, so there’s that. I’ll likely call a couple of colleges and get their take to reassure myself.
I’m updating my own question as I learn more. After I wrote this I spoke with a woman who teaches and does some counseling on the side. Her experience was that homeschoolers did better with admissions at UCs, privates, and OOS flagships and poorer with admissions at Cal States. She strongly suggested I homeschool via PSA the last two years of high school unless my daughter was trying to do the Cal State route. I’ve not heard that before, although the school counselor at the charter school did say that some parents pull their kids after junior year to homeschool as seniors, which I found surprising. Can anyone corroborate this, even anecdotally? Thanks! Paging @Mwfan1921 @soozievt @Gumbymom @ucbalumnus @onette
CSUs admit by GPA (used to be GPA and SAT or ACT scores) with a limited number of supplemental criteria (usually the largest is being in the local area), so there is not any obvious reason why home school would be a problem, unless the home school courses and grades were somehow considered invalid or the home school is not considered to be in the local area.
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The UC’s do a comprehensive review on all applicants regardless if they meet eligibility requirements which includes LOR’s/Augmented Review, Personal Insight essays and EC’s/Activities.
The Cal States admit based mainly on academics and some supplemental factors such as Local area, a-g courses beyond the minimum, Educational programs or opportunities. Since essays, LOR’s and a description of EC’s is not part of the CSU application, it can be difficult for AO’s to determine if a student will be successful. By not meeting the a-g course requirements, the CSU’s deem an applicant ineligible.
The UC’s offer admission by exception which is not an option for the CSU’s.
UC admission by exception: These applicants normally include home-schooled, attended unaccredited institutions, athletes, and applications where it appeared A-G subject requirements had not been met. Those applicants in the admissions selection range who showed exceptional promise but did not meet minimum admission requirements based on one of the factors mentioned above were admitted by exception (A by E).
That makes sense. So regardless of rigor (taking APs and doing DE, for example) CSUs would still find an applicant lacking? If I look at D25’s prospective schedule for the next couple of years (subject to the whims of said child, of course) 8/12 classes she’s considering are either AP or at the local CC.
And I’m assuming that having her graduate from a PSA negates any of the a-g courses she took while in a public school (i.e. 9th and 10th grade)? Because I assume I would still have to send those transcripts, right?
But you haven’t heard/seen any rumor the other direction, that homeschoolers are seen in a better light than the public charter school kid might be, for non Cal State schools? This seems like a stretch, but given that I had two people mention it to me in entirely different circumstances, I just wanted to explore. Her classes will look the same, but we would have more flexibility of vendors if I went the PSA route, so that’s why I ask.
The CSU’s and UC’s do not request transcripts at time of application but only if a student ends up enrolling are their final HS transcripts are required. Yes, transcripts from every school attended would be required including DE/CC courses.
DE/CC courses if UC/CSU transferable would be fulfill the a-g course requirements which is an option taken by many homeschooled and non-traditional HS students. The UC’s review an applicant’s HS curriculum based on what is available at that particular HS so as stated, admission by exception can come into play.
The CSU’s seem to offer less flexibility when it comes to their admission requirements and application review especially if missing any of the a-g course requirements since the CSU apply will be flagged for the missing course(s). I know of a couple of instances where by mistake, Senior year English in-progress class was not listed on the CSU application and the student was rejected. Only when the mistake was found, HS transcripts submitted showing the class in progress, was the applicant reconsidered for admission.
As long as she is able to fulfill the a-g course requirements at her current charter school or through Home schooling by taking the AP/DE courses, there should not be an issue or difference between the two if applying to the CSU’s.