My daughter is entering the 8th grade and has aspirations to attend Duke University. She has been homeschooled since Kindergarten. She is an equestrian, a drummer in a for-hire band, an avid volunteer and dabbles in commercial/film acting for fun. She is a MENSA member and a very hard working student. I am looking for suggestions to set her up with a strong academic background in order to help her be a competitive candidate for her dream school. I am hoping to connect with a homeschooled student who has been admitted into Duke to learn about their academic path. Any recommendations are very much appreciated!
Not a homeschooler, but I think Duke is looking for rigor just like other top colleges. I don’t think there is any specific “Duke program”. Your daughter is still very young. She likely doesn’t know much about different colleges and she could well change her mind several times about what she wants to do in the coming years.
I was prompted to write because I think you should avoid getting too fixated on any one college. Have you looked at admission rates for these schools? Competitive candidates are far more likely to be rejected than accepted. It’s not in her best interest to spend years focused on any particular dream school which has such low acceptance rates. If she does well, she will have a good foundation and she will get into some good school and that is the thought you should encourage. Don’t turn her into one of those bitter kids on here who did X, Y and Z to get into their dream school and then were rejected.
Am sending you a PM.
Duke is not easy to get into, but if you are seeking a rigorous academic high school plan, one that will be noticed by the most competitive universities , (and if you will continue to home educate through high school) definitely look into Stanford OHS. I’ve been homeschooling for 17 years. Two of my kids are in now college (homeschooled through high school and at an Ivy) and I have two more to go. Of all the online classes and cyber schools we tested out - nothing compared to the rigor of the classes at OHS. When I attended an info session at Princeton University a few years ago, I asked the ad com rep who was speaking to students if she was aware of Stanford OHS and she immediately acknowledged it. OHS is expensive and it is hard. It is worth it. This alone won’t be enough. Your student will need national (and preferably international) accomplishment is some realm - music, science, sports and he/she will need something unusual / distinctive … e.g., sailed alone 'round the world or speaks fluent Yoruba…you get the picture. Finally, even if you check all of these boxes, there is no guarantee of admission. There are MANY talented students out there. I agree with what mathyone says - don’t get fixated on one school too soon. However, I think that 8th grade is the perfect time to begin planning and to begin visiting schools. Many wait until soph/junior year. Students are so, so busy by then - it is very hard to carve out the time to do a thorough assessment of your match and reach schools.