Homeschoolers at UAH?

Any idea what percentage of a typical UAH freshman class are homeschoolers?

Hello,
There are a variety of names under which homeschooled students can submit transcripts and/or GED scores to UAH. Some homeschool transcripts come from large national institutions, some come from local homeschool groups, and some homeschool students apply using their GED score. Therefore, there is not a clear cut way to only measure our homeschool student population. However, dozens of homeschool students send transcripts from institutions with the word “home school” in them. In fact, UAH Admissions has an admissions counselor specifically assigned to assist homeschooled students with the UAH admissions process. Her name is Libby Netherton and she can be reached at libby.netherton@uah.edu.

Please feel free to contact UAH Admissions with any further questions!
Thank you,
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions - UAH

1 highest starting salary after graduation among all Alabama schools!

301 Sparkman Dr.
CTC 114
Huntsville, AL 35899
256-824-2773 (phone)
uahadmissions@uah.edu

@powercropper,

I think my son’s background illustrates what UAHAdmissions has said.

When he applied to colleges last fall, he was officially a homeschool student taking dual enrollment classes. I sent in 3 transcripts: Public School (through 10th grade), Community College, and a Homeschool transcript that combined the first two with his few homeschool classes. At the time, we planned that he would graduate from high school with a Homeschool degree.

However, our state (we’re not in Alabama) allows for students to receive a public high school diploma upon completion of an Associate’s Degree. Since he completed his Associate’s (as a homeschooler), he was also automatically awarded a public high school diploma.

I don’t even know how to classify him!

What is interesting to note, is that I first learned of UAH from an online homeschool forum. The moms who were familiar with it spoke very highly of it.

Our son was accepted everywhere he applied, but after extensive research, UAH seemed to provide the best combination of what we were looking for.

@ThreeKidsMom what was it that your son was looking for? Is he heading into his freshman year at UAH? Thanks for sharing your story. I do love the freedom of using different types of academics to fit the needs of your student. We have a couple of years to figure out what our son even wants out of a college, but I am intrigued by the idea of UAH and what it has to offer.

Well, originally he was looking for a college with good downhill skiing nearby…

Because his test scores are in the top 1-2% and he has excellent grades in college level classes, we had a very wide net to cast. Here are some things that we took into consideration to narrow it down:

  1. There is no doubt that he will be an engineer.
  2. He could get into very highly ranked schools, but they don’t provide merit aid and we would be full pay because our EFC is high.
  3. His personality is laid back and he does not like a college town party atmosphere.
  4. He’s also not a big city type.
  5. He may want to continue with varsity level sports at college, which is easier to do at small to medium size schools.
  6. When he realized that some colleges offered suite style dorms where he would get his own room, those moved to he top of the list. He preferred that perk over being close to home.
  7. If pursing merit aid schools (which we decided to do early in the process), it had to have reasonable requirements to maintain the scholarship from year to year. I saw a range from needing a gpa of 2.0 all the way up to a 3.75.
  8. Pursing merit aid schools meant that he would be near the top academically of students, but we still wanted a school that could provide him a strong education and interesting opportunities.
  9. If not within driving distance, then be close to an airport.
  10. Have an easy application process for acceptance and scholarships. My son was not interested in writing endless essays and bothering teachers for recommendations. He would have done this had we found a “perfect” school that required those things, but we found plenty to choose from that did not.

These are not listed in order of importance, just typed them as I was thinking.

Ultimately, he chose UAH and will be a freshman there this fall. UAH was the only school that he applied to that we didn’t have some prior knowledge about. Initially, UA looked to be our first choice, but upon visiting he found UAH to be a much better fit. Also my husband is an engineer, with a doctorate, and was satisfied that UAH would be a good place for him.

@ThreeKidsMom What is the minimum GPA you need to maintain to keep your scholarship at UAH?

I am very familiar with Huntsville, it is a great town and so easy to navigate. Two main thoroughfares will get you anywhere you need to go in about 10 minutes. I am still trying to get up to speed on UAH, don’t know as much about it.

We have found that Huntsville is not your typical southern town, since so many people from around the country (and the world) have poured into the city for military/space employment. It is large enough to have some nice shopping and good restaurants without being overwhelming to navigate.

Best of luck to your son in his education!

P.S. I like your list, I think several of the points might apply to my son as well.

Hello @powercropper
Merit Tuition Scholarships (UAH’s automatic, 4-year scholarships based on GPA and test scores) requires a 3.0 GPA and a full-time course load in order to maintain the given award. Departmental Scholarships vary on amount awarded and stipulation of how to maintain them. All of the details are here: www.uah.edu/scholarships
Thank you!
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions - UAH

1 highest starting salary after graduation among all Alabama schools!

301 Sparkman Dr.
CTC 114
Huntsville, AL 35899
256-824-2773 (phone)
uahadmissions@uah.edu

@UAHAdmissions how is the gpa calculated for your automatic merit scholarships? My son’s homeschool study center does not weight their gpa, even though most of his courses will be rigorous honors courses.

@powercropper UAH Admissions does not calculate or re-calculate GPAs reported from any transcripts. Our department takes the highest cumulative GPA on the student’s officially submitted transcripts in order to make an admissions and, ultimately, a financial aid decision. If the GPA is reported on a scale other than a 4.0 scale, our processors will then re-distribute the GPA from the non-4.0 scale to a 4.0 scale. However, if the high school transcript does not label the credit as “weighted” or “scaled”, then our processors will not re-configure the weight of the credit or scale upon which it is measured. Credits are considered as they are reported on the transcript.

My son is a STEM oriented rising senior, also a homeschooler since 3rd grade. Is there something about UAH we should consider as opposed to UA?

We are in Florida. He has quite a few dual enrollment credits, a good ACT, and a high GPA. To go out of state we would be looking for some merit $$. I became interested in UA after learning more about their OOS offerings for certain GPAs/scores.

Many years ago I visited Huntsville Space and Rocket Center and loved it!

@SouthFloridaMom9 I married a man who was born and raised in Huntsville. So I am very familiar with the city, but not the university. Others can do a better job of comparing and contrasting UA and UAH, but overall they are entirely different schools/size/atmosphere.

I love the size and feel of Huntsville, easy to get around in, has what you need, but you don’t have to arrange your schedule to work around the rush hour traffic like you do here in Atlanta. Can get anywhere in Huntsville in about 10 minutes. Huntsville does have a decent size airport, but doesn’t offer very low air fares.

UA is a very large school and campus, beautiful, lots of trees and green spaces. Very sports oriented, school spirit, large percentage of OOS students and the students seem to stay on campus over the weekends. More of a traditional college with traditionally aged students. UAH appears to be (again not an expert) more of a commuter school, with students not sticking around campus over weekends. It appears that the college is trying to lure more students to be on campus residents, and trying to offer more resources to build up their school spirit. But it is just a smaller campus, smaller student population, and the average student age is much older.

I am impressed with the co-op/internship opportunities at UAH, and for a student interested in the sciences/engineering this would be a great advantage for work opportunities. Companies seem to be lined up to hire UAH students and graduates.

My son will probably prefer a smaller school, and honestly would not mind a commuter campus that emptied out over the weekend to give him some much needed down time. And the option of having a private bedroom in a suite style dorm would be very appealing.

So, you need to visit both campuses and see how which one your son prefers. I can’t see my son clicking well with the UA vibe, but he might be able to handle the smaller size of UAH. Plus he would have lots of relatives living close by.

Good luck to you and your son in your college search!

@powercropper and @SouthFloridaMom9,

UAH in the past as been seen as a local commuter school, but many things have changed in just the past 5 years. A large residence hall, severe weather research building, a two-story student union with movie theater, and brand new student services building have all been added in just a few short years! With all of this less than 3 miles from the world’s 4th largest research park including over 300 STEM-based businesses, UAH has become a major force in the Science, Engineering, and Technology world. Out of state and international admissions numbers have risen, but UAH’s over all enrollment numbers have almost doubled in the past 7 years alone.

With a 67% increase in the size of this Fall 2015 freshman class compared to previous years, residence halls are at a 90% capacity and class sections are filling at a rapid pace. We would love for everyone to take a visit and see exactly what we are talking about! Please see our dates for campus visit events and private campus tours: www.uah.edu/visit. Admissions Counselor Kimi Fletcher will be hosting UAH events in the state of Florida this fall as well.

Thank you

Wow, thank you very much @powercropper and @UAHAdmissions ! Lots to consider here - really appreciate your thoughts and your points are well taken.

We live about 5 minutes from Florida Atlantic University which used to be considered more of a commuter school (my son has dual enrolled there, along with our community college) though FAU is evolving into a more traditional institution. We, too, like the smaller atmosphere. We were thinking about Alabama mainly in terms of the honors college, hoping that would be a smaller cohort. Our son is not into football or a traditional “party” school if that makes sense (not that that is all Alabama does either; I have been impressed with what they’re doing academically)…

I would think the STEM “draw” in regards to jobs and internships would be powerful in Huntsville. My son recently visited the Boeing plant out in the pacific northwest and it got him even more excited for what he can do with a STEM based education. I suspect he would love to jump in with internships as soon as possible.

Anyway, thank you, AGAIN. I am grateful for this forum.

As a parent of a second-year student, I can address the GPA requirement (3.0). It is easier said than done. My son is not an engineering major, but certainly has the chops to be one (he just detests labs). He knows plenty of engineering majors, and they, like any student who wants a strong GPA, work their tails off. This is not meant to scare anyone. Rather, I prefer to be honest. My son pointed out that UAH is ranked among the toughest top 50 schools in the nation.

As for my son, he had no trouble meeting the GPA requirement, and he enjoyed his freshman year. He would say, however, that plenty of students do go home on weekends, especially if they live an hour or so from the campus. We are in Virginia, so his trips home are infrequent. He pledged to a fraternity, and that offers him an outlet, as well as good friends. He participates in club sports, but he also enjoys attending ice hockey games – he is a real hockey buff.

UAH was not his first choice. He got an outstanding offer from Mississippi State, as well as solid merit offers from Ole Miss and Alabama. His older brother is a graduate of Alabama, so this house bleeds crimson. What has kept him in Huntsville is the opportunities the school offers. He received strong consideration for an on campus internship this summer, but chose to return home to finish his final two, general education classes. This allows him the chance to pursue two degrees and a minor.

Homeschool son got his acceptance, including scholarship info, today! Thank you UAH!

Wonderful! Please let him know that UAH Admissions welcomes him to Charger Nation! We look forward to seeing him on campus.

Our daughter’s list is similar, which makes your post very reassuring. Thanks for sharing!

@momreads


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My son pointed out that UAH is ranked among the toughest top 50 schools in the nation. <<

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this comment piqued my interest. where can i go to find more information about this?

@ThreeKidsMom, is your son still at UAH, and can you comment on his impressions of the school since actually being a student there? Pros, cons, advice to incoming freshmen? What about the actual classes and professors? Difficulty of keeping the required GPA? Thanks!

Wien2NC: Not sure where my son read about how academically tough UAH is. That was a while ago when he said that. Fortunately, he has excellent study habits and has learn to juggle academics and extracurriculars well.