Homeschooled and Overseas

Applying to College
1

Hey guys, I am a US citizen and I live overseas. I live in Bulgaria (post-communist Eastern European country) and have been homeschooled ever since I can remember. I’ve been homeschooled because the high schools in Bulgaria are a joke and also because I’d like to study in the US. Fun fact: the best university in the country (Sofia University) ranks #874 in the world and the second best (New Bulgarian University) ranks #2027. This is a bit scary…not to mention all the horror stories I’ve heard from all my friends that study here.

Now, I can totally name some reach schools. However, what I need are some good ideas for quality safety schools. I’m aiming for research schools as opposed to liberal arts schools. I did some research and found some schools with decent acceptance rates and quality educations like Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology. I’m thinking of going into STEM. Can anyone give me some good school ideas?

Honestly, common app confuses me. Can anyone give me any advice on what I should do for my school transcript as far as grades and school courses are concerned? I will receive an UNACCREDITED high school diploma from a long distance learning program from this high school located in Arlington Heights, Illinois (most of my coursework is, however, graded by actual teachers). I have had no opportunity to take APs courses and the like. I have, however, been a part of A TON of extracurricular activities and I do play the cello at a proficient level.

BTW, does being “different” and having good SAT and SAT II scores compensate the lacking of accredited high school grades?

Ask me questions if you want more details!

Thanks

2

you should really post this in the homeschool forum and you will get more responses

3

The vast majority of homeschoolers do not have accredited diplomas. I have graduated 4 kids w/o accredited diplomas, and the rest are going to follow the same path. Not having an accredited diploma has not hindered my children at all.

FWIW, my kids do not receive their educations through any educational “program.” We put together courses individually using the best resources we can find for each subject. That means they might take math through something like AoPS, literature with me, a foreign language with a private tutor, etc. Compared to when I started homeschooling and graduated our oldest, the available resources are so abundant that accessing quality materials is easy if you have internet access (which you obviously have.)

MIT opencourseware, Coursera, Art of Problem Solving, PAH AP online classes, numerous online homeschool providers (We are Catholic, so the main providers I am familiar with are Koble and Seton, both offer accredited diplomas), etc. are all places to search for courses of interest.

I create my children’s transcripts. I write course descriptions describing each course and the resources used. I write their counselor letters and school profile. (all necessary for the Common App.) They take multiple subject tests, have grades from dual enrollment, etc.

I do know some ex-pats that use TTUISD. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/ttuisd/faqs.php

(FWIW, I rarely read the homeschool forum on this site. :wink: )