Hi! I’m in 10th grade and homeschooled with the Abeka Academy program, and I’m wondering how serious do colleges accept their GPA. All the tests are taken online. Would they focus more on my SAT score? I currently have a 3.8 GPA, and am looking into getting a Bachelor of Arts at St. Mary’s College in Maryland.
You should check to see if you are applying as a homeschooler or as a cyber-school student. They are two different things. If Abeka Academy provides a guidance counselor to help with college applications, they will be experienced in presenting your work to colleges so you don’t have to explain as much yourself.
In general, colleges will expect your test scores to be in line with your grades. Above average grades and above average test scores means they don’t really have to investigate further. On the other hand, if you have a 4.0 GPA and a 16 ACT, they are going to investigate much more closely what the truth is for your academic preparation.
Some colleges require home/cyber schooled applicants to take SAT II’s even if not required of other applicants.
Subject test requirements and other extra requirements for homeschoolers are becoming less common, though. In fact, I’d almost call them rare. The big exception seems to be schools in New York State.
Still, it is always good to check, if you determine you are a homeschool applicant. As I said, a cyber-school student may apply as a cyber-schooled high school student rather than as a homeschool student.
Think of it this way. A college wants to make sure you can both do the work and participate in the college environment. If your work is totally online you need to show the ability to work with others and if your classes do not indicate a level of rigor you should add outside testing.
We are with a public charter with both online and non online options. I found that our transcripts do not have any indication of a courses level - prep, honors, regular etc. This means I need to add more info (Subject test scores, letters of recommendation etc). You should speak to the counselor at your program and ask what information they will send to the schools.
Also call the regional rep from the colleges that you are interested in. Most will tell you what you need to do to make sure they have enough information to evaluate your application.
Some colleges are sticklers for correct adverb usage, or so I’ve heard.
Hi, fellow homeschooler here! I was accepted to several universities before I decided on Baylor- SIC EM!! I had to contact all counselors with questions about my transcript, and learned that they mainly look at ACT/SAT scores, community college hours, and co-op/online programs over a traditional gpa. I strongly recommend taking some dual credits at a community college, it shows that you’re serious about the work and helps prove you can keep up with the work. I had 20+ dual credit hours and this helped me get in to lots of schools. Best of luck!