I’m currently a junior and in fall of this year I will start my applications to college process , does anyone have any tips , I have some colleges in mind already such as UC boulder , Indiana U Bloomington, u Wisconsin-Madison, u Washington, u Illinois Urbana-Champaign , does anyone know homeschooled students who got into these universities.
And my stats in the moment are a 3.8 gpa and I didn’t take the act or the sat yet , but plan in taking them , any tips for books prep for them ?
My homeschooler will be attending UW-Madison in the fall. He was accepted EA. He had a ACT 34/4.0 duel enrollment transcript. He is out of state.
My biggest recommendation for that school is that you have to apply for merit scholarships after acceptance if you think you might be eligible. My kid did get a very nice music scholarship but next year I am going to have him dig around for other scholarships.
The other thing is for competitive flagships, don’t assume another state’s flagship is your safety. I’ve seen really weird admissions stuff this year.
He used a variety of resources for high school - online classes, co-op classes, classic lit, self guided classes, lab science, etc.
I’d take a sample timed ACT and SAT cold at home and see what works for you. Maybe plan on taking July or first one in the fall? Your time is kind of limited now. My kid didn’t prep a ton but doing timed tests and just going through your wrong answers and reviewing anything that needs it was his strategy.
@MusakParent I started homeschool/online school at sophomore year , and I’m taking online classes, will start going to clubs in senior year, and I do allot of community service, at the end of senior year I plan in having a total of 30 credits , 6 AP classes, I have a part time job , will take the act and sat July for the first time, and I will apply for financial aid in every school. I’m the first person in my family as a homeschooler so I’m really scared of the process and application, and if being a homeschooler is worst or if it make you stand out .
My S was a homeschooler in high school and he took several classes at our local community college before applying to college. I think his strong transcript from CC probably didn’t hurt in creating a more complete picture of his academic ability for potential colleges; I would recommend. He didn’t have any AP courses but he got almost all of the schools he applied to, including reaches.
I felt like my kid as a homeschooler was evaluated similarly to a cheap private school or suburban public school kid in this area. I don’t think it helped or hurt him. He didn’t get in everywhere he applied, but where he didn’t get in acceptance rates are < 10%, probably more like less than 7% RD and we could not apply ED. And he did get into a couple competitive schools (like 20%acceptance). We’re from a major metro and my kid does not bring any sort of interesting diversity to campus.
Does your online classes generate a transcript for you? My kid’s transcript document was a traditional transcript, a credit breakdown work sheet, and many pages of class descriptions (with teacher names, resources, book lists, work completed, etc).
My biggest regret is sweating it so hard and my kid’s too. Trust that you will end up where you need to be. It’s ok if you don’t get into the most competitive school you applied to. Ratings frankly are over rated. The US really is over run with MANY fantastic schools. What I was most impressed with was how amazing faculty was pretty much everywhere he applied. Faculty positions are highly competitive, especially at large research universities. If you are high stat for where you are applying, check out honors programs. They can make a big school smaller and give you unique opportunities.
University of Minnesota twin cities might be another to consider if you are high stat. My kid got generous merit and honors there and it’s a very neat campus urban area. Just make sure you have a safety option you know will be affordable for your situation and is a slam dunk for admissions. Your own state’s flagship or a directional may be a good starting point there.
Good luck with your standardized testing!
@MusakParent Okkk thank youu