My D has applied to 18 schools. (She applied to that many because she is auditioning for Musical Theatre BFA.) Out of all of those schools, only one has hassled her about her alternative education background. It is a college that says they require homeschoolers to take the GED. This is not stated anywhere on their website. In fact, up until last week, they had said that D’s file was complete; now, they claim that they need this GED. I had heard of another homeschooler receiving this treatment a few weeks ago; that person withdrew her application.
In our state, we are registered as a private school. There are laws for homeschoolers, and there are laws for non-chartered, non-taxable private schools, which is what we legally are. So, our state recognizes us as a private school and so we fall under those laws, not the homeschool laws even though we follow a homeschool model. I’ve explained this in detail and directly, but to no avail. The college just changed their wording to say that they require all private school students who follow a homeschool model and are not accredited regionally to take the GED. Again, that is written nowhere on their website or in any information we’ve received.
My D’s test scores and grades (including grades from in-class university courses) place her in the top 15-25% of students at this college. She has stellar letters of recommendation from college professors. We provided a transcript, detailed course descriptions, everything. At every other college she’s applied to (except two, both of which let people know academic and artistic results at the same time, and we haven’t heard from them yet), she has been invited to or asked to apply for the Honors Program.
My D is adverse to taking the GED, and I agree. It’s a matter of principle for us (homeschooling does not equal dropping out, for which the GED was created), plus it’s another hurdle to jump, one that is completely unnecessary (especially since D has already proven herself in the ACT and outside grades).
I’ve been emailing the Associate Director of Admissions, but she is not budging.
Sorry, @myloves. I don’t have any idea. But I think the school is making a mistake. It misses out a lot of excellent potential students.
In CA, a person needs to be within 60 days of 18 years old to take GED. Besides “matter of principle,” many homeschoolers finish highschool curriculum well before that age. If all colleges were like the one in question, my D wouldn’t be admitted to any school at the age of 15.
I agree, @Pentaprism! All of the homeschoolers I know–and that is a lot, especially since I run a co-op and also complete assessments for homeschoolers for the state–choose this path for the personal, high quality education that it affords. It is sad that this bias still exists even though homeschoolers have proven repeatedly and overwhelmingly that they succeed in college. Honestly, it is ignorant. Hopefully, these few colleges that demand GEDs and other unneccesary, extra hurdles will soon realize what a mistake they are making.
Do you mind sharing the name of the college, @myloves? It might help other folks to not bother applying Or it would be useful to know if it’s a statewide requirement somewhere. To me it indicates an inflexible attitude that wouldn’t bode very well for the atmosphere, though it could just be that one person or one department … micro-climates can happen. But it sounds ridiculous. Your daughter is obviously a talented student who has done well; they’d really be losing out!
It sounds like her transcript was perhaps not detailed enough. You emphasis the inclusion of grades and recommendations from previous university-level courses – those were taken for credit, not audited? Getting caught up on the fact that you are a non-accredited private school versus a homeschool family isn’t productive. Admission offices care about your portfolio and documentation of what you’ve done homeschooling, whether that’s essays, recommendations, grades, or work samples. Friends and peers of mine who were unschooled submitted huge portfolios to the schools they were most interested – sometimes 30-50 pages.
Myself, having taken the SAT, ACT and GED I’m baffled that you are opposed to one test but not the others. I first took the SAT when I was 14, and then many years later when I was applying to community colleges took the GED and ACT about the same time. The GED is wicked easy, and since she tested the ACT it’s confusing to me how one standardized test is objectionable, but the other is acceptable.
@MikeUnschooler, her transcript was modeled after schools’ transcripts and other homeschoolers’ who have successfully gone before her; it was appropriate and professional. She also had pages of detailed course descriptions.
Yes, the college course were dual enrollment classes taken for credit; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been included in her GPA.
Since this has happened, we have become aware of 2 others just this year who have been faced with this at Molloy. (These 2 happen to be applying for the same major as my D; I’m sure there are others.) All, including my D, have decided to withdraw their applications.
The distinction between our private school and homeschooling is legally relevant in our state. We do not fall under homeschool laws; we are separate. That said, we do consider ourselves homeschoolers and are proud of it for many reasons. So, the fact that this is happening to all homeschoolers applying to this college is irksome to us. Even though D has decided to withdraw her application, we are writing a letter to the President and Dean of Students, hoping to enlighten them for other homeschoolers.
The GED is not the same as the ACT/SAT. It was not created for the same purpose, nor is it used for the same purpose. Some have had great success after taking it (sincere congratulations to you), but I have also seen people denied positions because of it. Besides, it’s a hoop to jump through that we view as unnecessary (one that also costs $140 and time), especially considering my D’s academic background. And, actually, my D is not able to take it in our state because she would have to officially withdraw from school (remember that we are a legal private school), which she is not going to do.
@myloves are you a member of http://www.hslda.org/ ? I would contact them and see if they can help, if they can it might be worth the $120 membership fee.
@myloves Ah, okay sounds like the school and perhaps this particular department needs to improve their communication with non-traditional applicants. Quite frustrating for them to change their requirements for the application mid-way through! Glad to hear that you are sending them a letter for those who come after.
I’ve not encountered any stigma associated with the GED, but my resume also makes no mention of it since I graduated from homeschool in 2004, and it was seven years before I took the GED for community college. I was interested to hear how they significantly revised the test last year; when I took it I think it was like a $25 fee (perhaps subsidized by that municipality?) – my apologies for my flippancy, I didn’t realize it was so expensive to sit for it now!
It’s okay, @MikeUnschooler! I didn’t take it as flippant at all–just wondering! I’m so glad you haven’t encountered any stigma or had to list it or check off that box. That’s where I’ve heard issues can arise; I’ve also, though, heard a couple great success stories! In my opinion, it is just so unnecessary either way, though.
For me, I took it because I was curious how I’d do, and the community college wanted something – I probably could have submitted a hastily prepared homemade diploma with anything on it and they would have accepted it. And it only took about 3 or 4 hours as I recall; I’d spent about 10 hours brushing up on Algebra and Geometry only to find that really none of that was tested!
Altogether it seemed not much more challenging than what I recall of the Minnesota 8th-grade Basics Standards test I took.
"It is a college that says they require homeschoolers to take the GED. This is not stated anywhere on their website. In fact, up until last week, they had said that D’s file was complete; now, they claim that they need this GED.
If this school really changed their requirements midway through the process, I would contact the HSLDA. Tell them the situation and see what they can do. They consistently fight against these types of situations and usually win. There’s a whole bunch of articles and webpages about the controversy behind homeschoolers taking the GED. There is actually legislation that says colleges requiring homeschoolers to take extra tests (GED, SAT Subject etc.) is discriminatory.
“The college just changed their wording to say that they require all private school students who follow a homeschool model and are not accredited regionally to take the GED. Again, that is written nowhere on their website or in any information we’ve received.”
Sounds discriminatory to me. Your daughter sounds like a stellar student who does not deserve this type of treatment. If you have been contacting the associate director and she is not budging, you have options from here. Either A, you tell her you are contacting legal counsel and see where the “talk” gets you. Or B, you just let legal counsel handle it. Either way, if your daughter really wants to attend this school (although do you really want to go to a school that doesn’t even respect your education method as legitimate?), get outside help. Otherwise, withdraw your application.
NYS colleges aren’t permitted to award degrees to homeschooled students unless those students meet certain requirements set by the NYS Board of Regents. [Section 3.47(a) of the Rules of the Board of Regents](Education Law, Rules and Regulations | New York State Education Department) outlines those requirements. The reason you may get different answers from different NYS colleges is that the regs don’t require proof of high school completion for students to GET IN to college, they require it for them to GET OUT. So colleges can admit students without the proof, but they’re required to obtain it before they can award a college diploma.
According to [page 57](404 | Molloy University) of the admission’s catalog on Molloy’s website, “Molloy College requires applicants to have a high school diploma to be accepted and matriculated in a program of study.” As a NYS homeschooler, I have several ways to show high school equivalency (the GED is one, but not one we used). Check the Rules of the NYS Board of Regents to see what the requirements are for “Graduates of a high school located in another state or a high school program of correspondence study” and ask the college what you can do to show you’ve met them.
Or it would be useful to know if it’s a statewide requirement somewhere. To me it indicates an inflexible attitude that wouldn’t bode very well for the atmosphere, though it could just be that one person or one department … micro-climates can happen. But it sounds ridiculous. Your daughter is obviously a talented student who has done well; they’d really be losing out!