Hello to my true peers! Advice, please: I attended a private school for kindergarten, grade 1, 2, 3, and 4, but after that I dropped out to be home-schooled (I was getting bullied). I didn’t really get much schoolwork done, but - long story short - I attended a brick-and-mortar school to acquire my grade 12 diploma. Here’s the catch: I don’t have any transcripts from grade 10 or 11, (I didn’t really do them via home-schooling, and the high school only made me take grade 12), and my education primarily stems from reading on my own. So, technically I’m a regular high school grad in that I attended a “real” school, but my “real” transcript won’t betoken my learning. Accordingly, I’m leaning towards applying as a home-schooler, but I’m not sure how to go about it, and how the application may be different. Thoughts anyone? Thanks!
(P.S, if it helps, I’m gunning for Princeton and the other Ivies - I think my EC’s and essay are formidable -, have studied philosophy extensively, and had a 97% average from grade 12).
You should apply as a high school graduate, since that is where your diploma is from. However, you can use the additional information section of the Common App (or however the school wants additional information) to write about the academic qualifications you have that are not reflected in your one-year transcript.
I would have someone who is familiar with unschooling help you describe your accomplishments. “I didn’t get much schoolwork done” is not going to sound impressive to Princeton. I hope you realize that you do not need to do a lot of textbook-type work to develop your academic potential for college!
Good luck!
I’m wondering what sort of high school would give you a diploma without taking your prior course work and incorporating it into its own transcript (?).
Was this an accredited high school?
As I understood it, many of the private schools near us would generally not accept a homeschooled student solely for 12th grade.
@AroundHere Thanks! What sort of word limit would you recommend on the additional information section of the common app? There’s no limit set, and I’m not sure how much an appropriate length would be: on the one hand, I want to thoroughly explain my situation, but I don’t want to go overboard. You’re right, “I didn’t get much school work done” doesn’t flatter me. I’ll have to word it as something like, “I didn’t focus primarily on regular school subjects, but pursued what interested me” or some such. As to your last point, I realize it now, but I wish I knew it sooner!
@SouthFloridaMom9 What sort of high school? One whose program is designed for adults who’ve been out of school for at least two years. When I started there, I had to take a test to determine which grade level I was best suited for, and I aced the reading/vocabulary sections, and passed the math section with a respectable score, so the guidance counselor decided I was capable of keeping up with grade 12 level classes. I didn’t have prior high school course work to incorporate in the first place; I certainly studied various things for grade 10/11, but in an informal manner, with no real record. I took a few online courses for grade 10/11, but I’m not sure if I can access my marks from them
It’s accredited, yes - my local public university would recognize it.
I emailed someone from Princeton’s staff a few months ago, and she pointed out that with only transcripts from grade 12, they’d have little to judge my academic performance off of, but she didn’t say it’d bar me from applying or being accepted. I took a few online courses for grade 10/11, but I’m not sure if I can access my marks from them. I don’t want to conjure up fake transcripts just to look better, so the best I can do is provide a list of books/articles read.
I would actually go ahead and document everything - your books, online classes, what you studied, etc. as a separate document from the Common App. Put it in Word or another editor where you can format it nicely. Send it as a separate piece of your application. If you had a homeschool application, this type of information would often be uploaded as another part of your homeschool transcript. Four years of high school course descriptions took me almost 30 pages to document, so I had a table of contents and worked hard to use headings to make it easy to skim. There is a book called Setting the Records Straight by Lee Binz that talks about the different ways to document a homeschool education. You might see if you can get a copy of that.
If you want, you can use the additional information section in the Common App to talk about your experience with free-choice education, why you decided to enroll in this program to get a regular diploma, and what you want your future academic path to look like. Then refer them to the document you are submitting separately for all of the details of the homeschool portion of your education.
@AroundHere Great feedback, thanks. I’ll try to account for every relevant detail regarding my education. I was worried that if I submitted too much information, they’d simply ignore it (I wouldn’t exactly blame them, mine isn’t the only application they must examine).
Okay, a question regarding documenting my past: in the common application, under the “writing” section, I see the spot explicitly for additional information, with a limit of 650 words. I’ll take your advice and use it to refer (at least in part) to the larger document: with Princeton’s supplement, I notice that they have their own section also for additional information, and you can attach a document from either your computer or google drive, and its limit is 2000 KB - I imagine this is where I’ll upload the bulk of my info. What I’m curious about is the method you used to submit your 30 page document - how did you “send it as a separate piece” of the application? Did the university have an option similar to Princeton’s, or was it altogether different? Thanks again!
As the homeschool counselor, I submitted it as an extra transcript as part of the school report. If your high school counselor can do that for you, great. Otherwise, mail or email it to your admissions officer.
I see, thanks. I’ll tell my former guidance counselor about that. How does one go about getting an admissions officer? Do you just email the university and continue to exchange emails with that one person?
It depends on the school. Check the admissions website. It may list specific contacts by recruiting area.