Homeschooling or public school?

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
21

<p>There is no way that the Keystone experience will compare, academically, to your public school. Our family has used it, so we have an informed opinion on this.</p>

<p>If you do homeschooling/Keystone, you will have to provide some extra proofs of your academic skills to colleges. That’s doable, but it is an indication that alternative paths are still scrutinized by admissions. </p>

<p>On the other hand, if you stay in your public school, you may end up getting merit aid or scholarships that are worth far more than you can make working. If money is tight, you can apply to schools with good financial aid. Apply yourself academically before making vocation a priority at this early stage of your life.</p>

<p>I would definitely encourage you to stay in school, and volunteer versus work if that provides better opportunities to explore your interests. If that means no car, no pizza out with friends, fewer new clothes, then that is a decision you can make. If you family really needs you to contribute to the household, that is another thing entirely, but it does not sound like that is your primary reason for wanting to leave school. And volunteering can lead to a job.</p>

<p>You do not have to take IB classes or let the school pressure you into anything. Try to carve out your own path within the institution. You do not have to leave to do that.</p>

<p>Using the full four years to develop your interests and grow socially and emotionally sounds like a better path, honestly. What is the hurry? If you are bored, try to find out why and address the reasons, rather than fleeing to an imagined freedom and independence. Maybe try some art courses, or try out for a play, or start a club of some kind.</p>

<p>I sympathize with your desire to get out, and had two kids who felt the same at the same age. One left, one didn’t, and the one who stayed has had a much easier time of it.</p>

22

<p>You can finish high school for free with K12.com. They have virtual schools in 30 states, and tuition is paid by the school district. You just leave your district and transfer into the one which has the arrangement with K12. They may even provide a laptop (not sure about that one). Check it out.</p>

<p>[K12:</a> Online Public Schools - How Online Public Schooling is Different | K12](<a href=“http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools/]K12:”>Online Public School - K12)</p>

<p>Here is the list of courses offered (I counted 15 AP’s):
<a href=“http://www.k12.com/courses/high-school-courses/high-school-course-list/[/url]”>http://www.k12.com/courses/high-school-courses/high-school-course-list/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

23

<p>I looked at the K12 info because I was interested for a family member.</p>

<p>Some of the K12 schools are have tuition. The ones that are free require that your school join, for $5,000. And some are only k-8.</p>

<p>Here is a comment on the general idea of virtual high schools, that I found on the K12 site.</p>

<p>“For familes and community members considering putting the children into this program I suggest you read an article recently published by “Education Week”. This article examines the performance of full time virtual charter schools in Pennsylvania which have been in existence for over 10 years. The bottom line is that of the 11 “cyber charter” schools in the state, 7 of them have not made “Adequate Yearly Progress” on state standardized test scores and 5 of the 7 are in “Corrective Action” which means their poor academic performance has been chronic extending over 3 or more years. In addition, the high school graduation rate of these full time virtual schools is 75% as compared to the state average of 89%. Of those that do graduate, fewer that 66% go on to further education as compared to 75% of high school graduates from traditional high schools.
I certainly advocate taking innovative approaches to improving education but the available data on these schools suggests they are not effective.”</p>

<p>Virtual High School and Aventa are a little different in that you can mix classes with them, and traditional classes at your school. They can be used to supplement what you are taking, for enrichment, or to free up your schedule.</p>

<p>But I still think going to local high school would be the best path, and waiting for the more extensive work experience later (and summers). Much better for college admissions, too, but also a better overall experience. Community college can also work, and might be better than online courses, and also flexible.</p>

24

<p>Do not give up on K12.com without doing research, which should take about 60 seconds. Click on the links I provided above. To check up on compmom’s post, I looked quickly into the first three states listed on K12’s public online schools page. All three had options which were high school level, free, and available to all students throughout the state. I can’t guarentee the OP’s state will be one, but will the first three in line offering the deal I posted about, it is certainly worth a look.</p>

<p>Alaska
Upstream Learning:

Arizona

</p>

<p>Arkansas

</p>

25

<p>And by the way, K12.com was founded by Bill Bennett, famous author and Secretary of Education under Reagan. It is highly acclaimed, and will blow away anything put out by the public school system of Pennsylvania or any other state. Be wary of public education aficionados who are against free choice. There are many virtual high schools - my recommendation is for K12 ONLY. What you will find when you research that specific school will be very positive. </p>

<p>State education systems design specific tests that their public schools teach to. Look at nationally normed measures to evaluate schools, virtual or brick-and-mortar. The only reason states are offering the K12 program is to stop the financial bleeding that happens when unhappy taxpayers decide to home school their offspring. Federal dollars are lost. </p>

<p>K12 is a fantastic way for students to get a top shelf, online education at a place which is really a private school. For free!</p>

<p>I am not in any way affiliated with K12, btw. I am a previous customer.</p>

26

<p>This is from Pennsylvania’s K12 school.

[Why</a> Choose PAVCS? | Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School](<a href=“http://www.pavcsk12.org/Why_PAVCS/]Why”>http://www.pavcsk12.org/Why_PAVCS/)
<a href=“http://www.k12.com/results/[/url]”>http://www.k12.com/results/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Compmom’s post: ???</p>

<p>OP, you can also get merit aid and scholarships attending K12.</p>

27

<p>I second what compmom says … you have such a free opportunity right in front of you to attend a top 50 school. You are still so young, and your reasons for trying to go the Keystone route show that. Why would anyone pay for high school when you have all the opportunities right in front of you? How could you know that your current chosen path is right for your in 2 years? If you work that much in the next 2 years, when will you have the time or energy to take the equivalent of 5-6 or more AP classes online? Where will you fit in meaningful extracurriculars?</p>

28

<p>i recommend going to a charter school i did and it gave me time for a job and friends. i also ended up graduating 08 when i should of graduated this year. the only small problem is i couldn’t register for college because they said i was too young. so i guess its easier to just stay in public school and graduate with your friends. :)</p>

29

<p>I have heard good things about Keystone and I believe applicannot is an excellent testimony. Having said that, I chose to use PA homeschoolersfor AP courses and have been VERY happy with them. My reasong for choosing PA homeschoolers over Keystone was simple - I had trouble finding the specific courses my oldest son needed and Pa offered them. We were so happy with them, we never tried any other. As for homeschoolers and scholarships - that wasn’t too much of a problem. My son was offered scholarships ranging from 50% tuition to full ride (tuition and room and board). Would he have been offered larger scholarships at the 50% tuition schools? We’ll never know. We do know however, he is doing very well at college and is making excellent grades. He is doing just as well, and even better in many cases, than the many valedictorians in his dorm/classes.</p>

30

<p>compmom, unfortunately NY does not allow me to have a dual enrollment in online/public school. It’s one or the other. If I didn’t take IB courses at my public school, colleges would wonder why I wasn’t challenging myself enough, so that wouldn’t really work out. I think that Keystone is affiliated with k12, but Keystone’s statistics seem great:
In 2009 Keystone students’ mean SAT score was over 6% higher than national results.
89% of full-time Keystone students have an A or B average.
94% of Keystone families are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Keystone overall.
Students from Keystone have been accepted into over 190 colleges and universities incluing: Dartmouth, Cornell University, Georgia Tech, New York University, Northeastern University, Notre Dame, Penn State University, Stanford University and Yale University.
I hope you don’t mind if I PM you to further our conversation. I would really be interested in hearing the downfalls of Keystone.</p>

<p>SnowflakeVT, it’s been around five years, not two, that I’ve wanted to study pediatric oncology. I understand what you’re saying but this is not one of those impulsive teenage desicions. I’ve been carefully contemplating the pros and cons.</p>

<p>DarkEyes, I definitely would be motivated enough to finish my classes. I like learning, just not in the crowded enviornment of my public school.</p>

<p>Wordworker, even with taxes I would still make around 6 dollars an hour which would be enough to pay for the 2900 dollars that Keystone would cost me.</p>

<p>FutureActuary, unfortunately NY doesn’t have one :(.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone else for the replies! I really appreciate all of them and will most likely be PMing you guys for more help!</p>

31

<p>I was home-schooled from k-12 and now go to a well-respected public university. I also took a few classes through keystone and I thought the quality was very good for online courses. </p>

<p>Feel free to pm if you have any questions.</p>

32

<p>Thanks Corey!</p>

<p>Do colleges view a Keystone diploma as a private school or homeschooled?</p>

33

<p>I did Keystone my sophomore year. it was challenging and the books are very nice so that was a plus. but online schooling just is not for me at all and i stopped after that year.but if you dont mind learning from a computer and doing most of the work alone i think its a great choice. and im not 100% but i think it would count as a school and not homeschool (its not home school because its through a school…if that makes sense.)</p>

34

<p>This is ultimately a decision you’re going to have to make based on the particulars of your situation. I have two daughters who are basically shifting from homeschooling to public school. We have a good local school, not anywhere near the top 50, I’m sure, but still quite good, and we’ve found that going there is providing a more rigorous education and better preparation than we were giving at home. The situation may differ for you. </p>

<p>One question I would be asking is, “Will I really be getting a better education (and better credentials for college) through Keystone than through my top 50 PS?” Another important aspect is the financial one. Can you go to the PS, get the same or better education, and put $5,000 in your bank account? Of course the K12 option is also something to consider if you can do that for free and do better than your public school.</p>

35

<p>I did not get a diploma from Keystone, I just used it for a couple of classes.</p>

36

<p>Hey if your in Florida you could do FLVS for free or even only pay like 600 bucks per course.</p>

37

<p>florida1on1, unfortunately I am not from Florida but Keystone’s courses are all less than 600.</p>

<p>With Keystone I would take:
AP English Literature- $499
AP English Language- $499
Chinese (Mandarin) 1- $379
Pre-Calculus- $209
AP Biology- $549
AP Psychology- $369
AP US Government- $369
Calculus- $279
AP World History- $499</p>

38

<p>Yikes…your state doesn’t offer a virtual school that is cheaper?</p>

39

<p>Wow, that is expensive. I could name you courses just as good as Keystone for a fraction of the cost.</p>

40

<p>No, it doesn’t. Keystone seems to be the perfect online school for me because it has a great reputation and although the prices are a bit out of my range, it isn’t horrible, but I would absolutely LOVE any other opinions on other online schools where I can obtain a diploma. I can’t use anything that only offers courses and no diplomas.</p>