<p>Why is this thread so dead? Are there so few homeschooling families out there interested in discussing topics pertinant to our situation?</p>
<p>lealdragon, thank you for trying to encourage discussion. I have not been a member very long. I would offer that homeschoolers by their very nature are self-sufficent. Also, given the amount of effort in a homeschool week, many are just out of time and energy to participate. Finally, this forum appeals to the needs of the homeschool family that seeks admission information beyond community college or religious college and who cannot get information from their local homeschool support group. This is a small sub-set. Have a great year with your children, lealdragon.</p>
<p>There are other active discussion forums out there about homeschooling and college. I've seen far more people on them -- and very few get much of use from their local homeschool support group from what I can tell. (Of course, maybe those who do, don't go to the discussion forums!) I know I learned what I needed by talking to colleges and participating on other boards.</p>
<p>I don't know that it is only a small subset of homeschoolers that go elsewhere than community or religious college. I certainly know of many that have. Where would one find reliable statistics on such a thing? Ransom, your experience may be different since you are in California and the UCal system is particularly obnoxious when it comes to admitting homeschoolers. For you, a local support group probably IS the best source of information and many probably chose to go the community-college-then-transfer route as the easiest way to get into the state system. </p>
<p>For the CC forum to work, it needs more people. It doesn't get more people because everyone looks and sees the place isn't very active and chooses to participate elsewhere. I don't know the answer! I know I mention CC on other boards, but I haven't seen movement here. I guess the last thing people need is another board; they have enough problems keeping up with the ones they have.</p>
<p>Diane, your points are well taken. I am unaware of other boards and the lack of my posting experience (on any board) will cause me to bow to your history. </p>
<p>I am familiar with the UC system and going from homeschooling into a UC. California has been a great place to homeschool. Our experience with our first son into a UC has been relatively smooth. His experience thus far as a sophmore is positive. I will conceed that any experience is dependant on people/attitudes and those will vary greatly in the same organization. Hence, our experience could easily have been reversed. </p>
<p>Finally, you are correct when you say that the community-college-tranfer-route is easier as is to a small religious college</p>
<p>I'm curious how your son got in -- was it by examination, a portfolio, or were the home courses somehow certified as meeting the UC req's? I remember when we were looking at Berkeley for my nonhomeschooled son I asked the question about homeschoolers from another state. The woman looked at me as if I said I was from Mars and said that she didn't see how such a person could possibly be admitted.</p>
<p>Fortunately, my daughter applied to places that pretty much leave it up to homeschoolers to provide whatever information they feel can support the application (and none of the UC schools met her needs anyway!) She got into another state's school as her safety and three highly selective nonsectarian schools, so the homeschooling wasn't a problem. Actually might have helped by having her stand out from the crowd ...</p>
<p>Anyway, one high school homeschool board that is fairly active and has quite a few members is the Yahoo group hs2coll. There are a couple boards devoted to The Well-Trained Mind approach -- the Yahoo group TWTMHighSchoolList and the high school board at the book's web site -- but they frequently go beyond simply classical homeschooling and into college admissions.</p>
<p>Your experience is just to my point. My son was accepted at Berkeley, UCLA, and Irvine. All the UC's to which he applied. We had a positive reception for the most part. I'm sure we would have been disheartened had we only met the admissions staff member who spoke with you. College admission is so capricious. </p>
<p>We taught him at home without the benefit of UC approved courses. We completed his transcript on our PC. We are autonomous and not a member of any group. We had him take one college course at a UC his junior year to provide some reference point for the evaluation of others. I can only assume that he gained entry on the benfit of his essay and test scores. There is a method of admission into the UC system called "by examination only". No extra exams required. Just the SAT 1 and (at that time) three SAT II's. That's probably how he received admission.</p>
<p>For your information, Berkeley contacted us this summer requesting information on homeschool communities or ways they can reach out to offer summer programs to other homeschool families with high schoolers. I fear I was not much help. </p>
<p>Congratulations on your daughter's successful entry into the school of her choice. I agree that homeschooling can help distinguish her uniqueness. </p>
<p>Thanks for the other homeschool message board information. I'll take a look.</p>
<p>Yes, thanks - maybe I'll be seeing you over at the other boards!</p>
<p>Hey, but while you're here, check out the parents' forum thread entitled 'Help - at my wit's end with 13-yo' or something like that (from the last week or 2) - I can't help but appreciate how much freedom we have by homeschooling - I just cannot imagine being stressed out over my son's future college chances when he was only 13! When he was 13, sure, I wanted him to do well in his classes (he did attend a co-op twice a week) but hey, he was a kid! Smart, yes, but a kid! He was more interested in video games than college at that point, and that, to me, is normal. The parents on that thread seemed to indicate that there is just so much at stake, to do well on all those tests, even at such a young age. I'm glad that we were able to allow our son to progress at his own pace - which was way ahead in some ways (like creating his own website at age 14) but not in others. </p>
<p>I didn't want to post this on that other thread because I didn't want to sound judgmental, but I'll say it here: I don't think such intense pressure to perform well at all times throughout all the school years starting in 8th grade sounds very emotionally healthy. I mean, kids need to be cut some slack sometimes - sometimes they just go thru phases, get dumped by a girlfriend, whatever. Like we all do. It just sounds like there is so much at stake, during such a volatile time of life.</p>
<p>lealdragon, maybe it's seasonal. This forum goes through slow times, but always seems to perk up again. Thanks for nudging things along. Stick around - things are bound to pick up again.</p>
<p>I appreciate College Confidential for specifically including homeschooled students. It might not be their liveliest forum, but it's important because some homeschooled students don't have the family support they need to move forward with the selection and application process, and find what they need here.</p>
<p>College Confidential provides another service to homeschoolers that's harder to find on other homeschool boards I've participated in. It allows homeschoolers to feel at home, while interacting with their schooled peers. It helps them know what they share, so they can feel more connected, and helps them see where they stand compared with schooled students. </p>
<p>In the end, the most important benefit might be that CC helps homeschoolers understand how much they have in common with their future classmates.</p>
<p>ransom, I know more homeschoolers attending mainstream colleges than I do attending community college. I don't know any attending religious college (and I know a lot of homeschoolers).</p>
<p>Nan, everyone's experience is different. Most of our homeschooling friends (who have continued to homeschool thru high school) in SoCal transition to a CC or college with a religious affiliation. My original point was: of the small sub-set of homeschoolers, those who are interested in the topics posted on this board are an even smaller group. Maybe our posts confirm the adage "birds of a feather.........." I think Diane made a good point when she noted that there are no reliable statisics concerning such things. I conceded her point.</p>
<p>I have gotten a lot of great info from this forum, but I also feel somewhat alienated by the non-homeschooling parents. Not by them personally - in fact one mom really went out of her way to send me pm's with lots of great info - so there are some really nice people here - but their goals seem to be so different.</p>
<p>My son started cc (dual-credit) in 10th grade (as I'm sure a lot of your kids did too). He has now maxed out dual credit so I graduated him a year early so that he could continue. By the end of what would have been 12th grade (this coming spring) he will have accumulated approx. 38 hours, with an excellent GPA.</p>
<p>He's very proud of being in college already, and I think it's quite an accomplishment. But, whenever I tell his story (not to brag, but just to get advice on something college-related) the non-homeschooling parents seem to often be in favor of me somehow getting the colleges to admit him as a freshman. It depends on the college, but UT (the one he wants to go to) would accept him as a freshman only if we counted the dual-credit classes as high school only. Since they are the same classes that are part of the core curriculum, why in the world would we want to do that???</p>
<p>The only reason I can think of would be to qualify for more scholarships, but if he didn't drop the classes, then he won't need to go to college as long, so it sort of evens out.</p>
<p>I hope I'm not offending any non-homeschooling parents who may be reading this, but I'm just wondering if any of you homeschooling parents have encountered this attitude. It's almost as if they think he is somehow not on track because he has college credit and they want to help me find ways to get him back on track. </p>
<p>UT does not look at SAT scores (or high school records) for transfer students, so I didn't think there was any reason for him to take it. He may still take it if it's required for some other school that he may consider, but at this point there's just no reason, other than test-taking skills, and he's already getting plenty of that at the cc. This is yet another advantage to homeschooling/dual credit route - I have never liked the heavy emphasis on testing in the schools so I see no reason that my son should have to start conforming now, when he's made it this far without conforming.</p>
<p>It's not just the parents here - today I spoke with the admissions officer at Southwestern U. This is a very expensive school, so there is no way my son could attend unless he got a full scholarship. But, it looked interesting so I called - I like to always check out all options (and partly on the advice of Nan, who pm'ed me with that suggestion). But they, too, could not seem to grasp that my son already had college experience. They insisted that he would have to be enrolled as a freshman and take a full load.</p>
<p>I consider him ahead since he's got many of the basics out of the way. He could enjoy 3-4 years of college life with a lighter load and keep his part-time job, for example. Why is it that so many people seem to think that going 4 years full-time is the ONLY way to do it?</p>
<p>I guess we homeschoolers are just more used to doing things differently. Any comments?</p>
<p>I may be interpreting your post incorrectly but it seems that your main focus is to get the colleges to accept what coursework he has already covered. Well, it would, of course, be awesome if you could get them to just give him credit. Otherwise, you might want to consider just applying as a freshman first and then using AP testing to gain credit and maybe advanced standing (as a sophomore or junior maybe). UT seems to be fairly generous in the amount of AP credit that they give. (details</a>) Yes, this route would be a bit more expensive and involve large amounts of testing but if college credit is what you're looking for and if you're willing to work within the system, it would earn your son credit.</p>
<p>I have great respect for homeschooling and homeschooled kids as I used to be one and still work with some homeschooled kids quite often through a mathcamp I started. In a way, I think I know what you mean by saying that there's a disparity between the goals and perspectives of homeschool and public school families. Due to my somewhat unorthodox schooling history which includes skipping grades, my parents and I have recieved unsolicitated advice from others including members of our extended family as to how to get me, well, "back on track" with the rigid structure of public schools. At times, this has turned into blatant criticism. While I believe that much of this is well-intentioned, I've found it to be quite difficult to convince some to view the situation from another perspective. People are used to the familiar and 4 years in college after 12 years of schooling is the norm.</p>
<p>Thanks, Nevermore! I know what you mean about people meaning well but just not understanding how homeschoolers do things differently.</p>
<p>Actually it's not a problem of getting the credits accepted, but the opposite! UT definitely accepts all the credits (except 1 computer class that he placed out of) - in fact, they have a SAC-UT transfer guide that we've been using as a guide. We made sure that all the classes he took will transfer straight to UT. So, that's not the problem at all. Also, dual-credit classes get college credit directly, and do not require an exam like AP classes. They are also viewed in a better light since the student actually took the classes in a college environment (or so says the SAC dual-credit officer).</p>
<p>So, we don't actually have any problem getting the credits accepted. What I was puzzled by was the attitude of many of the parents that I should somehow try to get the credits neutralized and counted as high school only. Which makes absolutely NO sense at all to me! My son has college credit. He earned it. Why would we want to lose that? I'm just wondering if there is something I'm not getting here.</p>
<p>Although, Nevermore, you are right that private colleges won't accept his credits. We've been planning for UT, and we know they will accept them. It looks very unlikely that he'd be going to a private school anyway.</p>
<p>The only reasons I could see for urging neutralization of credits:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A student wants to go for four years, because there are that many courses they are interested in, there are some special programs available only to freshmen (like seminars), there are scholarship available only to freshmen, or athletics are involved (and four years of eligibility are desired).</p></li>
<li><p>Jealousy on the part of those suggesting it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Perhaps, jealousy isn't the right word. People who are uncertain about something in their own lives can, as a defense mechanism, project that uncertainty onto someone who has done something different. It is easier to say someone else is wrong than to think one may have made better choices one's self. To see someone has done something else is threatening and provokes a negative response, even if the other person has done nothing more than made clear that a different choice was made.</p>
<p>Does this make any sense? I certainly have run into people who get very irked and querulous when I say that my daughter was homeschooled, even when I only mention it because they themselves asked where she went to high school.</p>
<p>I thought of another reason to "neutralize" credits -- if there are enough of them that a student would have to come in as a transfer and there is some disadvantage to that. For instance, there are colleges where it is more difficult to gain admittance as a transfer or there is less financial aid available to transfers.</p>
<p>DianeR ... on a tangent, everytime I see your name, I think you're Diana Ross for a second. :P</p>
<p>Not if you could hear me sing; the difference would be permanently seared into your brain.</p>
<p>'...Does this make any sense? I certainly have run into people who get very irked and querulous when I say that my daughter was homeschooled, even when I only mention it because they themselves asked where she went to high school...'</p>
<p>Oh, SO TRUE!!</p>
<p>I mean, really, I think high school is a scam! And sometimes I tell people that. They just can't wrap their brains around the fact that my son has never had to jump thru all those hoops - take all those tests, etc. They ask, 'So how is he in college already?' to which I reply 'Well, he just took the Accuplacer test, and he's in' and then they ask 'Well what about the SAT' to which I say 'Well he might take it if he wants to, for scholarships, but he doesn't need it to go to college.' </p>
<p>They just really can't handle it at all.</p>
<p>You are right: there are some scholarships available to freshmen only. And that is true about the 4-year thing - my son is interested in PLAN II at UT so may end up doing that if he gets accepted. But some of his credits would still transfer, so he'd have a lighter load. Unless he really had his heart set on it (which he doesn't) I really don't see any reason to get him into an expensive private school and lose all those credits, when we have such a good state school virtually in our back yard, that will accept most or all of his credits.</p>
<p>I agree with DianeR's explanation for applicants wanting to keep their college credit total down. For applicants who are trying to get into a prestigious a school as possible, it can be very important to apply as a freshman. </p>
<p>lealdragon, you mentioned one school being too expensive, and I want to encourage you not to rule out any school for financial reasons until you've researched it's financial aid policies and reputation. You might be surprised by the aid available at some schools.</p>
<p>However, that brings up another reason a student might want to apply with a reduce number of credits. Sometimes financial aid for transfers is very poor. Often transfers are the last to be admitted, and the bulk of available financial aid has already been distributed by that time.</p>
<p>So, if your son fell in love with a more selective private school, and could only attend with substantial aid, he might well decide to count his college credits only for highschool, if possible, when applying to that particular school.</p>