<p>I'm the parent of a high school junior who wants to audition for Acting BFAs next year; she's been acting for a pretty long time now, and was homeschooled throughout middle school (because of a show she was on), but then decided to, as she puts it, "have a regular high school experience" (or sort of) and started attending a small private school when she hasn't been shooting anything but has been homeschooled during the periods of working on films.
She's always been a pretty dedicated student and did very well academically, until this year, I guess because she took on slightly harder classes and has had to study for standardized tests as well as managed to get bigger parts, her grades have been suffering. So we have been thinking about going back to just homeschooling next semester, but my daughter then spoke to her guidance counselor, who said it might reflect badly on her college applications because it would show she can't handle academics with acting training, even if their academic load might be proportionally lighter, and it would look like she's being lazy and taking the "easier route" (the counselor didn't use those words, obviously, but this is what he implied). Is her counselor right?
We've also been told that homeschooling shouldn't make that much of a difference or it might be the opposite of help since she would feel like she's got more time to slack off (it's happened to a few people we know, but I don't think it would happen to my daughter, knowing her).
She actually likes going to her school now, and her grades haven't dropped drastically but we would like to act before they do. Especially now, with pilot season coming up.
I realize acceptance to BFAs aren't as based on academics as a non-theatre BA or BS, but they're taken into account for merit aid/scholarships and she would like to save as much of her money as she can for after graduation.
Sorry for the long post. I'm new here, but have read a lot of your posts in my search for a similar question and everyone seems very well-informed, so I would appreciate any suggestions/opinions on this. Thank you.</p>
<p>A great resource for homeschooling high school kids aiming for college is a yahoo group titled “hs2coll”. Go to yahoo groups, and do a search for this group. It has more than 2000 members, with lots of been-there-done-that experience. When we were homeschooling, it was an invaluable resource.</p>
<p>redenvelopes - I want to run one particular concern by you. It might not be applicable in your family’s case, because you homeschooled previously, but I know that when a student “withdraws” from some private schools (including the one my sons attended), that is often done in anticipation of near-certain expulsion. The family is given the option of withdrawing, which looks better on a transcript. They can give an explanation of why they withdrew, even if the situation is fairly obvious. If a college admissions office contacts the school, they will be told that the student voluntarily withdrew, and that any further explanation must come from the family. This obviously doesn’t apply to your daughter, but you should carefully consider the fact that some schools might cast a jaded eye toward her decision to withdraw in the middle of her junior year. This certainly shouldn’t be the deciding factor for you and your daughter, but it’s one you should be aware of.</p>
<p>The “hs2coll” group is a great resource. I was a “charter member” there and followed it for years, until recently (although I do log on once in a while and often refer folks to the CC lists for specific questions about music or theater.)</p>
<p>My 4 kids were in and out of homeschool/private school/public school on and off throughout their precollege years. All of them went to their first choice college. I would make a decision based on what you and your daughter think is best for her development. I can tell you that the auditioned programs are going to accept or reject her based mostly on her audition. Academic-based programs do look more closely at homeschooled students, but that is generally a plus. </p>
<p>If she applies as a homeschooler (unless you use an umbrella program) you will be writing her counselor’s letter so you can explain the decision. You will also include any school transcripts as part of the entire transcript. You can also include letters of recommendation from her schools, so the concern that she “was about to be expelled” should be a non-issue.</p>
<p>The counselor’s thoughts, that homeschoolers are considered to be “taking the easier route” are a bit off-base. Some colleges will demand more documentation from hs’ers, but generally it seems to be recognized by adcoms that a hs’er who has a solid transcript and outside documentation is well-organized and self-directed young person. </p>
<p>3 of my kids went to auditioned programs, so their transcripts were probably not an issue anyway. My one daughter, who applied to academic programs, had excellent admissions, and I do think that she benefited from being a homeschooler because the adcoms spent more time looking at her application than they would have for a kid with similar scores coming out of a regular school.</p>
<p>If, as I am hearing in your post, your daughter is enjoying school, then no reason not to stay.</p>
<p>redenvelopes,</p>
<p>The timing of your post is spooky to me and I’m hoping it’s a sign. My son and I just came home from a directors meeting for a feature film that would mean if he got the part, withdrawing him from high school and homeschooling him. My thoughts were to reinstate him once the movie was over. Could you do that for just the third marking period during pilot season and then reinstate your daughter before the end of the year.</p>
<p>There are private online schools like Laurel Springs that you might be able to enroll her in for one semester and then get the transcripts to send to her private school.</p>
<p>Hey, I have another idea. Could the school she is in now let her do a independent study during pilot season Feb to April? At the very least it would mean less of the rush to and from school to auditions. That’s the part that really gets tricky.</p>
<p>Shacherry, a lot of this is dependent on where you live and the flexibility of your school district. In my urban district, the schools would not be accommodating <em>at all</em> and leaving for a while would jeopardize one’s slot in a magnet school (the “comprehensive” local schools are not an option.) But in a suburban district, or another city, it could be possible-- varies from locale to locale.</p>
<p>Something that occurs to me is that you really need to think about why exactly it is that your daughter is having more trouble in school this year, and whether or not these same problems are going to happen in college. You are saying that she may be having trouble because her classes are now more academically demanding, she has to study for tests, and she has to balance this all with large acting roles that she has been cast in–but this is exactly what life is like in many colleges. You and your daughter maybe should (as I did) find a college program that emphasizes the acting work instead of the academics. You are going to need to find the sort of program where they welcome child actors, and where they understand when your D says “Oh I was mostly homeschooled because my acting career didn’t allow me to go to school a lot.” And your daughter is certainly not the first child actor for whom that is the case.</p>
<p>Another question I would have is, since your D is clearly already a working actor, does she really need a degree? Or if so, is this really the best time for her to take a break from her career to get the degree?</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>shacherry, first of all–best of luck to your son in possibly landing this film! Thinking positive thoughts 
My own son is homeschooled because of theatre commitments. It got to be impossible balancing with the schools. I agree with glassharmonica – how accommodating the schools are depends on the school, but I have to tell you, lately the pressures from the state are such that most schools have very little flexibility and autonomy any more. You could possibly work something out with a powerful guidance counselor who is willing to cover for you, if you already have a relationship with him, but even there, you will still have to work out each class teacher by teacher, and some teachers will be flexible and others won’t.</p>
<p>Private schools can be more flexible so I don’t know how a leave would work there. </p>
<p>As far as applying for BFAs–the other thing you can do to boost your application is to take standardized tests such as the SAT II Subject tests and, if you can, AP tests. You can also take online community college classes or online high school programs. Some states are far better than others with available free H.S. online programs (NJ stinks). If you can pay, there are many online options. An online class - depending on how it’s structured - can be much more easily balanced than a physical school. However, some online classes are poorly written and structured, so make sure you choose good ones if you go that route–this may be something the guidance counselor can help with. My son is planning on taking a couple of community college classes in January, so I can report back how that works. :-)</p>
<p>I am inspired by others who have gone the homeschooled route. I do hope it works for my son, but from what I hear, many colleges are very receptive to strong independent homeschooled kids.</p>