does it look bad to be homeschooled?

<p>Homeschooling will lower the chance you get to spend four years with people as brilliant as you are. It won’t reduce it to zero, but it will reduce it. You need to be really sure that’s worth it.</p>

<p>Naval tradition</p>

<p>This simply is not true</p>

<p>Maybe not. Homeschooling with some dual enrollment classes at a local college - especially in math - could be equal or better than sticking out high school, for a student with OP’s profile.</p>

<p>In absence of something like that, though, I still think homeschooling for the last two years of high school only would be a red flag.</p>

<p>To me this would look very odd–you are now 1/4 of the way through your public school year and then you suddenly switch to home schooling. Your school appears to offer a very rigorous course selection and is allowing you exceptional freedom to take advantage of it, and you don’t seem to have any unusual personal circumstances that would explain such a switch. Just my opinion, but I’d think colleges will want a good explanation for why you made a mid-semester switch.</p>

<p>I haven’t read the whole thread yet, but would full-time dual enrollment be an option?</p>

<p>It can actually help in making you stand out from other applicants, depending on how wisely you used your time. I’m an HS senior now and have been homeschooled from K-12 because the surrounding schools are horrible. I take community college classes, local university classes, and CLEP tests instead of highschool classes (which just seem to be water downed versions of college classes anyways). I’m seventeen and now have over 60 college credits. Mostly gen-ed. Of course not all of those will transfer depending on the college, but so far all of the admissions counselors I’ve talked to have been really impressed (vandy, university of alabama, Rhodes, etc.). Anyways, you could look into doing something similar perhaps if you’re worried about showing your academic capabilities. I also used my flexible schedule to get heavily involved in biological research at a local university, show my dogs at the national level (my nerd hobby), build an extensive art portfolio, and join the local university’s chamber group (i’m a pianist). Point being, it opens up a whole bunch of oppurtunities and you can accomplish a lot if you choose wisely. Also, not being around peers has actually been really beneficial as far as my social and personal growth. Always hanging out with older, wiser, smarter people (even if only slightly older as in college-aged) really helps you mature and think beyond the box most hs students are in. I’ve talked to a lot of college counselors, advisores, and whatnot, and so far all have been impressed and seem to view homeschoolers very positively in general. They have a reputation for being self-disciplined, self-motivated, independent learners, creative, and more mature in the world of college academia. They do place extra emphasis on your ACT or SAT scores though, as this is the only way they can really compare you to your schooled peers. So do well on those tests. The biggest disadvantage has probably been the lack of a ready social group. I think it would be fun to go to a highschool with so many others my age, but I can have that in college I guess. I still have a good social life, just not so many friends my own age. You definitely have to work harder to build your social group than if you were to go to a school, but it’s not that hard if you get heavily involved in ECs and hobbies. Anyways, overall, I’ve really enjoyed it, and it looks like I’ll be able to transfer into Vanderbilt or any of the other colleges on my list, so nothing lost in that regard. Hope that helps a bit. Good luck and let us know what you decide!</p>