hello! so i’m a junior (not from USA) and since about 11 years old i’ve been technically homeschooled, but in reality i’ve basically been “unschooled”—ie, doing whatever i want without keeping any record of studies. i got a 1550 on the SAT so at least there’s that. do colleges in the us all require a GPA/transcript? i do have reasonable extracurriculars. i read a lot and could cobble together a reading list, which is something i’ve heard about homeschoolers doing. …… help
How will you document that you have met the course requirements for the colleges here that you wish to apply to? I think that is the big question!
7 Likes
yeah exactly
Since you didn’t post your ECs, how are we supposed to answer that question?
I have a few of my own.
-
What is your family annual budget for college studying in the United States.
-
Do you plan to apply to any colleges in your home country…and what would those schools say about your unschooled status with zero records?
-
Are you in a country that is over represented with applicants here (.e.g. India) or are you from a remote third world country of some sort?
2 Likes
Has your “unschooling” been supervised by a parent (or someone else)? Or have you basically been left to your own devices?
I homeschool my kids using a more traditional, college-prep style, but I know lots of people who have homeschooled their kids using an unschooling philosophy and some of them have gotten into reasonable colleges. (None were international students, though.) However, it is a lot of work for the homeschooling supervisor to put together the documentation to show that education was happening. Even in the easiest cases (like the type of schooling my kids did) it is a ton of work. If you are following an unschooling model it is even harder. It is definitely possible, but the supervisor is going to have to be really dedicated to doing research on how to document what was done and how to make a compelling case for the education you have received.
If you are essentially on your own I think you’ll probably need to put all that information together on your own PLUS have some kind of significant outside verification of that (beyond the excellent SAT score). That outside verification would be valuable even if you do have support from your parent/supervisor, but if you don’t have a supervisor I think it would be absolutely critical.
(ETA: Basically, you’ll need a transcript even if you don’t put grades or a GPA on it. Someone needs to assess everything you’ve done over your high school years and put the activities into coherent groupings that can be labeled as a class are are equivalent to credit units or partial units. Then you have to thoroughly and accurately describe what material was covered and how that material was engaged with, as well as how mastery of the subject was assessed. That doesn’t have to be traditional papers or tests, but it does need to be something tangible in most cases – something built, or something accomplished, etc.)
6 Likes
Exactly…who IS supervising your educational program?
2 Likes
Anyone can take a test and perform well. Some schools don’t look at the test scores. EC’s don’t show how you can perform in a classroom. Where do you think you qualify to attend?
This is what the students, in our state, must complete to qualify for admissions to our state universities.
a. History -2 years
b. English -4 years
c. Mathematics -3 years
d. Science -2 years with a lab
e. Language other than English- 2 years
or equivalent to the 2nd level of high school instruction 2 years
f. Visual and performing arts -1 year
g. College-preparatory elective
chosen from the subjects listed above or another course approved the school - 1 year
The HS transcript, noting these courses, is accompanied by a description from the counselor with additional information about the coursework and the rigor of the courses.
No evidence of lessons, performances with other students, and no kind of educational plan, doesn’t sound like a school program that will provide admittance anywhere. I don’t know of any students who would want to be associated with a program whereby the other students didn’t have to meet any academic requirements.
US students, who are home- schooled, are typically supervised by a parent and are checked by the local school district for documentation, to see if they are meeting minimum requirements for a “public school” education.
Why would you want to attend a school in the US if you are NOT prepared to deal with the workloads, the pressures of testing, labs, classroom syllabi, social networking, etc.
I am assuming you aren’t expecting financial aid?
3 Likes
I’m not saying that some unschooled homeschoolers in the US haven’t done pretty much what you’ve done, but your situation does pose a problem when applying to colleges in the US. Your 1550 on the SAT shows that you most definitely ARE prepared to start college here, but most colleges wouldn’t accept you without a high school diploma, which it’s pretty much too late for you to get.
One option would be for you to enter a high school in your country, do two years there, and hopefully obtain a high school diploma. This would allow you to apply to US colleges.
Here is an alternative path. I suggest that you look into obtaining a high school equivalency diploma (GED or HiSET) in the US. This simply involves studying for and passing a test. You can take the test without any restrictions once you are 18; younger than that if you meet certain criteria. Most states want you to have an official withdrawal from school plus parental permission, but a few will allow those who were homeschooled and have parental permission to take the test younger than age 18 - take a look at Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
If you have that GED, you would be able to enroll at probably any community college in the US, although you’d have to pay out of state tuition, since you’re not a resident. You could probably easily prep for and pass any number of the CLEP classes on modernstates.org that that specific community college accepts, and so get a year’s worth of college credit that way. You use the community college’s transfer agreement to move over to the flagship state U with your associate’s degree after only one year, and then you spend the next two years at the flagship U, finishing your degree.
Short of this, I don’t really see how you could apply to a US college from abroad without some type of high school transcript.
4 Likes
Add your living costs to the tuition and fees costs at the community college. With likely zero financial assistance here. Can your family afford to pay that? Oh…and add in $3000 or so for health insurance.
I am assuming that this student is not currently in the US. Immigration, as well as GED, would be a bit of a curve if this student is currently not a resident in the US. Our state requires that anyone hoping to take a GED is a resident. They don’t have to be “citizens”, but they have to be residents.
2 Likes
A high school equivalency diploma in their home country would be a lot easier.
2 Likes
Certainly, if such is obtainable there.
Have you taken any sort of class before? Have you ever taken a test, a written or oral exam? Do you have access to national tests that might be given in the Fall?
He says he took the SAT and got a 1550…
1 Like
I meant something like iGCSE or AP or such… tests or exams that measure content mastery. It’d be typical for him to have evidence of projects completed but also exams taken in all 5 core subjects. :s
4 Likes
It would be good for him to have evidence of completed things…but my impression from what he wrote was no records of any kind were kept. Still…he must have studied something to have done so well on the SAT.
What you are describing is really pretty normal for a lot of homeschoolers. You can go back through your activities for the past 4 years (high school) and turn it into a transcript. Just search on “how do I make a homeschool unschooling transcript”. There are lots of tutorials out there.
Here are the first few that popped up for me:
You can also look at taking some CLEP tests: CLEP Benefits for Everyone – CLEP | College Board if that is possible for you.
1 Like
thank you, i’ll see what i can do and will definitely check out the clep tests. :)!
thank you, this is very helpful. would a highschool equivalent diploma from my own country hold the same weight for admissions?
yeah, i could do that.
plus significant outside verification of that
like ap tests? or what
(+ thanks for the reply!)