<p>I didn't see any other discussion regarding this on CC so I figured I would start one. I noticed that, on many college admissions pages for homeschoolers, colleges desire or require that homeschoolers take multiple SATII tests to prove proficiency. If the prospective student has a transcript, good grades, good/great SAT, ACT and/or AP scores, course descriptions, college credit through enrollment in college classes or CLEP tests, syllabi, and/or positive recommendations, do you think a college should make the student take multiple SATII tests?</p>
<p>Is the college just trying to figure out a student's academic capability or is the college placing an unnecessary burden on the student's shoulders? </p>
<p>I’ll be very interested in what you get as a response to this. — Of course, I don’t think colleges are overtly trying to burden home-schooled students. Rather, they’re trying to provide context that non-home-schooled kids get by virtue of traditional group-based education. Which can be VERY burdensome. </p>
<p>SAT IIs are good because they test achievement rather than aptitude, and it is often hard for colleges to assess homeschool grades since parents could theoretically assign As in every class. However, I think colleges should let homeschoolers choose to submit either a few SAT IIs or a few AP scores. Honestly, I don’t see why SAT IIs are valued over AP exams in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I read on Quora that SAT II tests are “10 times more important than the SAT” because they demonstrate aptitude, so I’ll be submitting 4-5 subject test scores. (This advice came from an MIT interviewer, and I know Quora isn’t the most reliable site out there, but I’m willing to take a few extra tests for my top choice school.)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is our reality also. The interesting thing is that our in state colleges and universities are stricter than many private colleges, even though my child’s academic program is registered and approved by the Board of Education every year and he takes Stanford Achievement tests for every grade. He is looking at knocking off at least 4 SAT subject II tests to “justify” his transcript. </p>
<p>Frankly I don’t see why equivalent AP exams can’t substitute for SAT II’s for those that are taking them. I don’t buy that the APs aren’t good enough to “verify” relevant subject matter acquisition.</p>
<p>Interesting. I didn’t know the SATII was valued more than the AP. That’s funny as I thought AP was supposed to emulate college level education. </p>
<p>@raregroove - What are Stanford Achievement tests if I may ask? </p>
<p>Stanford Achievement tests are a grade assigned group of subject tests designed to measure aptitude relative to a national peer student population. We have to take it (or an equivalent exam) every year and submit the results to the NY Board of Education in order to retain the right to homeschool in New York State. </p>
<p>My oldest son submitted three subject tests, but had lots of high achievement elsewhere, and was admitted to all his schools, so I think typically three is plenty, though there are several schools, Pomona being one, that say they was to see four, or a combination of AP and SAT IIs to demonstrate achievement in a variety of subject areas.</p>
<p>Yep-it’s more work and more money, but if you wanna have a chance to win, ya gotta play the game…</p>
<p>@raregroove - I see. It’s fascinating to see how much homeschoolers have to do in order to prove equivalence. It’s also fascinating to note that every state is different in terms of what they want to see and what they will accept. I guess it really just depends on where you are/where you go. </p>
<p>Here’s another stick to add to the fire. What if the college doesn’t require or recommend SATII’s at all? Say your child was just applying to a public college or a less prestigious school (aka not Ivy), would you still go down the route of multiple SATII’s? </p>
<p>SAT IIs are definitely more valuable to college admissions than AP scores, many don’t consider the latter at all. Of course, this may be different for homeschoolers, but I found that because homeschoolers may have a unique curriculum compared to most public schools where they have a school record of, the SAT II serves as a standardization measure to compare them to other applicants on their depth of knowledge and whether they have really mastered all the materials. Of course, I disagree somewhat on placing such an emphasis on it, but for homeschoolers oftentimes it is not easy to compare the applicants without some type of measure.</p>
<p>I under stand it, the need for bench marks. I just wish we could dump the AP tests and still remain competitive. Many of the top private colleges don’t award much for any credit for the AP classes anyway. I’d just rather see him put that energy into something like a college philosophy or logic course instead. But there’s only so many hours in a study day. My understanding is that the APs are kind of required to be competitive.</p>
<p>Also, you’re supposed to be judged relative to your peers, my son’s a little intimidated by the laundry list of college credits and accomplishments of many homeschoolers. Real hard to get stats on kids in that category.</p>
<p>TheDidactic - we’ve seen that public colleges and SUNY seem more demanding towards homeschoolers than the private colleges we’ve looked at. Since those are his “safety” schools we’ll be trying to nail down those requirements. Shooting for 4 SAT II, 3 - 5 AP tests this junior year, a couple shots at the SAT , and maybe once on the ACT. I don’t like it but it is what it is.</p>
<p>Yes, homeschoolers can be exceptional. My oldest son was one of those students, but my next son isn’t. It’s a whole different ballgame. He only did one AP test so far and will be applying to colleges in the fall. He’ll have the three SAT II tests required, but won’t take them until Oct./Nov., so we really won’t know which colleges he’ll actually be applying to until he gets the scores.</p>
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