<p>It looks like I'm doing this a bit late, so I want to make sure I don't miss anything.</p>
<p>I've been homeschooled since kindergarten, and in the fall semester of my 10th grade year I began taking courses at the Pennsylvania College of Technology as a non-degree student. When I graduate high school I'll have 19 college credits completed (GPA is 3.7 there, and I don't intend to let it drop). Basically I'll qualify as a college transfer student before I graduate from high school, and I'll have a GED. I'm not sure what my high school GPA will be yet.</p>
<p>I'm pursuing a bachelors in accounting. I planning on applying to four colleges: Penn State University and Grove City College are my top two choices, followed by continuing on at PCT. I'll also be applying to Lockhaven University. I considered Lycoming College, but the tuition costs were rather restrictive.</p>
<p>There are a few things bothering me though, mostly since I hit the ground running to catch up and I'm trying to figure this out as I go. For one thing my extracurricular activities list looks particularly scant. I fenced for a year in high school, this year I participated in a Ultimate Frisbee League at PCT, and I'm a certified member of [URL="<a href="https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/%22%5DCERT%5B/URL">https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/"]CERT[/URL</a>]. This is particularly annoying since I might be taking EMA training and participating in a law-enforcement awareness program, but I won't know for sure about either one until after the applications have been sent out.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are some other things I'll be able to dig up, but those are the three off the top of my head. Another thing is that I've never held a "job" per se. This was a complete oversight on my part. I had intended to seek employment this year, but didn't take it seriously enough and now I'm filling out college applications. Will either of these situations hurt my applications severely?</p>
<p>Roughly this boils down to the fact that I feel insecure about doing something unless I know it backwards, forwards, and sideways in four or more dimentions. Does it look like I'm overlooking anything that I should be addressing?</p>
<p>ps: Also, should I go out of my way to figure out a weighted GPA? If so, in homeschooling what qualifies as an AP/Honors course?</p>
<p>i wouldn't suggest doing "weighted" gpas because colleges don't really care about homeschoolers' gpas at all.</p>
<p>you can't really have an ap course, since ap is a trademark of collegeboard that should only be used if everything meets their standards (e.g., labs for sciences). you can however, self study and take ap tests.</p>
<p>The colleges we have looked at don't even take weighted GPA, they convert all to unweighted GPAs. </p>
<p>The first thing you really need to do is to contact the colleges that you are interested in attending. Find out what they want to see from home-school students regarding admission. This can vary widely, depending on the school. Many require SAT II tests, but since you have already taken many college courses, it might not be required. A talk with the admissions counselors at the colleges might help a lot as far as how you should apply (as home-school grad, or transfer student - I just don't know, given your situation). </p>
<p>As far as extra curriculars , it might not matter too much - you have done a few things. It will depend on the school (the more selective school, the more ECs matter because they have so many students to choose from) Something that is missing is volunteer work, but they won't be looking for a laundry list of ECs. Mostly, they look for something that shows that you are passionate about something in particular. Since you want to major in accounting, I"m thinking that passion should be shown as an interest in business. Perhaps volunteer with a local chamber of commerce. Find part time summer work at a tax office or for an accountant. You get the idea. Good luck.</p>
<p>will you be applying as a freshman (with dual enrollment college classes) or as a transfer student?</p>
<p>That may make a huge difference in what colleges want in the way of transcripts, tests, ecs, etc. It also can make a difference in what merit and financial aid is granted.</p>
<p>Sorry I didn't specify that, none of the college courses I took were dual enrollment. I received college credits for all of them; I qualify as a sophomore.</p>
<p>so you are applying as a transfer student? sorry to have to ask again -- but as a homeschooled student, many kids take only college courses the last couple of years of high school. However, if you officially graduated and entered college and accepted financial aid from the government -- you will be required to apply as a transfer student.</p>
<p>From what I know, transfer students have much different requirements than freshman applicants -- you need to check with each school on this.</p>
<p>It's fine, the more questions that are asked the easier it is to make sure something isn't overlooked. I didn't receive any financial aid since I haven't graduated from high school yet. I'm currently registered as a non-degree seeking student, I got college credit for the courses I took part in (which my parents paid for).</p>
<p>wayne -- it sounds to me like you attended college classes while still a high school student. whether you counted them for high school credits or not, that makes you eligible to apply as a freshman (and still transfer applicable credits). That is good news -- there are generally more spaces and better financial aid for incoming freshman than transfer students.</p>
<p>If you have not graduated nor earned your GED, you are a dual-enrolled high school student. You do NOT want to apply to GCC as a transfer student--they take very few. My oldest had 31 credits--she was still a high school student and all transferred. My next had 45 credits--she was still a high school student. Don't automatically write off the more expensive colleges. We found, with scholarships, that a private school was more affordable than our state college.</p>
<p>I'd like to comment on the following statement:</p>
<h2>"However, if you officially graduated and entered college and accepted financial aid from the government -- you will be required to apply as a transfer student."</h2>
<p>I have never heard a single set criterion applied to all freshman/transfer situations before. Is there a source you have that indicates the above is always true?</p>
<p>My recommendation is to check with the schools you are interested in. I've seen transfer students defined by a university as students who have graduated high school and enrolled full-time in a college. It appears at this definition, it would be possible to graduate high school, attend college part time for an unlimited number of credits, receiving financial aid from the government, and still enter this particular university as a freshman. </p>
<p>Another university website indicates that even one college class after high school graduation (even if not enrolled in a degree seeking program, even if no financial aid is accepted) kicks you into transfer status.</p>
<p>So definitions seem to vary widely by school. You need to check with the universities you are interested in to find out if you'll be considered transfer or freshman due to their specific definition. That's how it appears to me after reading admissions policies from a number of schools. If someone does have the source for a single policy that applies to all universities, please share it.</p>
<p>LSC -- that is true, you do need to check with the universities you are applying to. </p>
<p>My understanding is that the term "first time freshman" generally indicates a student who has taken college classes while still a high school student -- dual enrolled, classes during the summer, etc. Many schools even require that you get permission from them before taking classes the summer before college in order to maintain that freshman status (which is important for admissions, scholarship and financial aid opportunities).</p>
<p>Transfer students are generally those who have previously attended college as a regular student (degree seeking, federal financial aid used, major declared). There may be some exceptions -- but that is a good, general guideline.</p>
<p>Many schools use the number of credits to indicate transfer status -- over 30 credits is usually a sophomore, so the applicant may have to apply as a transfer student.</p>
<p>I would not believe that a student could take unlimited credits part time (possibly amassing quite a few) after graduating high school, use federal financial aid and then apply as a transfer -- that seems a little suspect to me. My guess is that if asked, the university meant that a few courses were taken, but less than a semesters worth total.</p>
<p>As far as financial aid -- federal financial aid (and most state financial aid programs) required students to have graduated from high school in order to access aid. This includes Pell grants, stafford loans, etc. You can't use financial aid while dual enrolled -- so the use of federal financial aid is generally a clue that the student will need to apply as a transfer student.</p>