<p>I am a 15 year old independent study student from California and am finishing up my sophomore year in high school. I have been actively researching various institutions, particularly the elite universities and have resolved that I would be most content with a place in New York's Columbia College. However, I am rather concerned with the admission procedure for this particular school and was hoping one of you may have experience with their criteria for home schooled applicants. I have contacted the school several times but my inquisitions have gone unanswered. As an alternative, I contacted other Ivy colleges in hopes that their standards for home school admission would be similar to Columbia's. I received only one response back, from Yale, out of the many letters and emails I sent out. They delivered that home-schooled students and distance learners were considered one in the same and that they were impartial in decision making. Admissions did mention though, that recommendations could come from someone other than a teacher if necessary. So with that said, I am essentially in pursuit of advice having to do with filling out the Columbia application (which is geared predominantly towards the traditional student), advice on submitting supplemental materials such as writings etc. if this is even appropriate procedure for the institution, and any other pertinent information you may have that would potentially give me an edge come application time. Also, do you think that it is vital that I speak to a Columbia admissions officer and inform them of my situation, or would that just be a waste of time and energy? I am very passionate about attending the university of my choice especially considering that I am a part of a group of highly underrepresented people in colleges, home schoolers. It seems to me that a university would be delighted to admit a home schooled person, seeing that they would add such a substantial diversity to any school. But I am still young and am beginning to realize that those who do not agree with the societal norms will invariably find themselves in the midst of problems.</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing all of your advice and opinions.</p>
<p>If you know of any independent college counselors who deal with these issues as well, I would appreciate your giving me their names.</p>
<p>I've found that phone calls work faster (and sometimes better) than emails. You can also answer any questions they have right there on the spot.</p>
<p>You may be on hold for awhile! So look for an 800 number if possible! (I was on hold at Florida State for probably 25-30 minutes before someone answered!)</p>
<p>This is a very busy time for college admissions offices. You may have better luck getting responses after April or May.</p>
<p>I really don't know anything specifically about Columbia. I have heard that some New York college require homeschoolers to take the GED, but I don't know if this is still happening, or if it might just be at public colleges. You may want to check into that.</p>
<p>Usually a homeschooler can just fill out the forms the same as other students, filling in N/A (not applicable) for questions that don't work for homeschoolers. (What percentage of your school's students go on to college? for example) It is helpful if you have some outside classes--correspondence, community college, etc.--so that you have good sources for letters of recommendation and some outside verification of grades. Many colleges are excited to get homeschoolers, so it isn't as difficult as it was when homeschooling was less accepted.</p>
<p>Stop by their admissions office and ask to speak with someone who know about homeschool admissions, if you can. If you're too far away to do that, then I agree - calling them is a good idea. Call the admissions office and ask who would be the best person to speak with regarding homeschool admissions. You probably will have better luck with this after they send out their acceptance letters for next year, because they will have more time to help you, and will be more likely to remember you. </p>
<p>If you can establish a relationship with an admissions officer, it won't hurt. They are usually very helpful, and willing to give you an email address in case you have further questions. Don't pester them, but as questions come up, you can contact them.</p>
<p>My homeschooled daughter was accepted at a competive school for next fall, after applying early decision this year. We visited the campus before her "junior" year, and received excellent advice from an admissions officer regarding transcripts and grades. You can ask specifically about the work you are doing (distance courses for example) will meet their requirements. </p>
<p>Of course, you should look around and find other schools you could be happy with, but if you still have your heart set on a particular school, you might want to apply early decision. Meanwhile look for other ways to express your interest in the school. Schools track interest, and it could make the difference. Check to see if they have a summer program that interests you. Attending a summer program won't get you accepted, but it would put you on campus where you can meet with admissions officers, and find out if you care enough about the school to apply early decision.</p>
<p>You have time to get things in order for a great application. Work hard on your SAT scores and think about taking some AP tests (or even some classes). Being outside the norm can certainly cause problems in some areas of life, but it can make for a fantastic college application. </p>
<p>I have been out of town and was unable to view any of the replies. I just did and I can't thank you enough for your help. I am getting the impression that anything flies when it comes to home-schooled applicants but that it would still be smart to continue contacting the school of my choice with questions. I hadn't thought about it before, but you guys are most certainly right in saying I should wait until later in the year to contact these schools because of how busy they are right now. I did try to call several times and hadn't gotten through to anyone who could help. This led me to emailing. But I will try to call when it is closer to the summer and things have cooled down in the admissions process. </p>
<p>Nan,
You were very helpful to me. I will contact Joyce Reed to see if she can provide me with advice or counseling. Also, I am planning to visit Columbia either this summer or next and involve myself in one of their summer courses for highschoolers. It seems that you have a great deal of experience seeing that you and your daughter went through all of this recently. If you have any more advice or experiences to share, I would love to hear it!</p>
<p>I have also heard that New York colleges have more hurdles for homeschoolers than colleges in other states. Something about a particular commercial oversight program in NY successfully lobbying for laws favoring their business, and making it difficult for independeant homeschoolers to go to college in NY. I don't know for sure that it applies to private schools like Columbia, but I think so. I know of homeschoolers from New York who are specifically not applying anyplace in-state because of this. In addition to trying to talk to someone at Columbia, you should also be looking for programs in other states.</p>
<p>It specifically applies to New York State schools (SUNY) and not the private institutions. It may affect schools in CUNY as well. HSLDL is working to change the laws in NYS.</p>