As a homeschool student, what additional information do I need to submit to colleges like Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, etc.
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Colleges need to know what a grade means in the context of an applying student’s school. For students applying from public or private schools, the colleges get a school report that provide grade distributions, class rigor etc. For a home school student, the best way to provide context to highly selective schools is to provide extensive evidence through standardized testing.
For schools with single digit acceptance rates, that means submitting lots of 5’s on AP tests and lots of 780-800’s on SATII.
Your parent needs to write transcripts with course descriptions, counselor letter, and a school profile.
You don’t need to submit anything more than other students; you just need to be uber competitive and strong as an applicant. You need to have a concern for others, be a nice person, and demonstrate your passions and interests through your application.
My two older sons were admitted to Ivies as homeschoolers. They had the usual battery of things that highly selective colleges are looking for: grades, test scores, advanced coursework, interesting activities and accomplishments, service, strong essays, etc.
@sbjdorlo What type of courses did your children take as homeschool students and who did you receive recommendations from? Also, did you submit any subject test? I am just trying to get an idea of what route we should take; my parents have already written my course description for 9th and 10th grade. 11th grade I took online college level course. Also, do you think it is important to create a transcript with actually grades and GPA for a homeschooled student?
My kids did a lot of community college mixed with co-op, online and self-study courses. We gave grades for everything because they were both National Merit Scholarship winners and NM prefers to see grades in all classes (or at least they used to).
My kids both had 3 subject test scores. My eldest also had 6 AP scores. For all my homeschool students shooting for highly selective schools, I recommend 3 subject tests.
Recommendations came from college professors, co-op and homeschool taught class teachers, music teachers, and bosses.
Thanks for all of the information, I will actually be returning back to traditional school next year – a private school. But I wanted to make sure I provide the college/universities with sufficient information regarding my 9th, 10th, and 11th grade years. What advice would you have for someone who homeschooled 9th-11th and returned back to traditional school?
Also, what did you mean when you said “bosses” in your response earlier.
My kids both worked. One worked as a musician for a theater company and the director wrote a recommendation. The other worked as a tutor for a national tutoring company and got a recommendation from the “boss”.
HTH!
As far as your experience, you can write about your reasons for returning to traditional school and what your experience was/is in an essay. I’ve had lots of non-traditionally educated students write about their experiences with education.
@sbjdorlo - By the way, what ivies did your children get accepted to?
Eldest applied to Princeton and Penn and was accepted to both. Next child applied to Penn and Dartmouth and was accepted at Penn. Neither had an interest in any other Ivies.
Why are you going back to a public high school for senior year?
Look at the colleges’ web sites for the homeschool supplement and any descriptive info about what they need. Most offer guidelines.
You will need to be competitive same as any other candidate. That includes it all. And it’s more than stats or courses and ECs.