<p>A few colleges are asking for a variation of a book list or description. Has anybody done this? If so how detailed is it? @warriordaughter did you do this for any of your schools? Thank you.</p>
<p>Two or three of my schools asked for this. If it was just a “book list” I just typed up a nicely formatted list of the titles and authors for all the novels, nonfiction, and reference books I had used for literature, history, and Bible/religion, organized by subject and year. Didn’t include textbooks unless they were requested.</p>
<p>For a course description, I created a document listing every class I had ever taken in high school (yes, this was as painful as it sounds). I included a description of the various online/distance programs I had used and/or schools I had taken the courses through. For each course, I noted how/where I had taken the class, whether the course was honors or AP (if applicable), what textbooks or books were studied, plus a brief course description.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>Honors British Literature</p>
<p>This course focused on critical analysis and discussion of the British literary canon, including poetry, plays, novels, and short stories from ~1000 AD to the modern day. Through weekly analytical essays, the course emphasized the style, structure, and detail necessary to develop an academic voice. Additional assignments included creative writing responses, historical research presentations, and style imitation.</p>
<p>Text/Readings: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Beowulf, Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), The Faerie Queene (Spenser), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare), Paradise Lost (Milton), Gulliver’s Travels (Swift), The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde), Pygmalion (Shaw), Heart of Darkness (Conrad), Lord of the Flies (Harding), Things Fall Apart (Achebe), additional poetry selections</p>
<p>It is a good idea to contact schools you are interested in to ask what they’re looking for. For example, Denison seemed particularly concerned about science lab experience for homeschoolers, so for my science course description I included a brief list of the labs I had undertaken. Other schools may prefer a simple overview of how/where your child took her classes.</p>
<p>wow, okay thank you.</p>
<p>The task was somewhat easier since my mom had been keeping meticulous records of my classes and syllabi.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to have your daughter take at least some, if not all, of the responsibility for writing everything up and figuring out what needs to be submitted where. This is ultimately her application, and it can be very stressful for the homeschool parent to have to manage everything.</p>
<p>@warriordaughter yes, good advice and that was the plan. Did you send these with your app (wheaton and hillsdale ) or did they ask for them? Sounds like Dennison requested them later?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Some schools (like Denison and Claremont McKenna) specifically requested on their websites that homeschoolers submit course descriptions along with their applications. Denison also required an interview and graded science lab, while Claremont McKenna wanted extra subject tests and an interview.</p>
<p>Other schools did not make specific requests, but I emailed the admissions office to make sure. Through email, the St. Olaf rep encouraged me to submit course descriptions and/or a book list, and I did so.</p>
<p>If memory serves, Wheaton required an extra homeschool information form plus a book list, and Hillsdale did not request anything extra or special (which was nice).</p>
<p>I submitted all my apps except Wheaton’s through the Common Application. I usually emailed the extra documents to my admissions counselor if any were required. Some might request that you send hard copies via snail mail.</p>