Basically, I am student in my 11th grade which hasn’t officially begun in my country. I am from India and I study in a residential school. I have left my school for now and I was looking at homeschooling for the next two years.
I am really passionate about science and have written a few research papers. I have also visited CERN. I am working on a big project along with a school friend as well. This is why I decided mainly to leave school. In my school I wasn’t getting time to do my scientific research and work on a software project along with a friend. Can someone advise me on how to go about homeschooling?
My dream colleges are MIT, Stanford, etc. Basically the one’s good for computers and Physics.
My plan for now is: I will study high level (college level stuff) Physics and Maths under a professor. I am very passionate about these subjects. I will also be doing research with a scientist. Besides this, I will be working on my business/software project; the details of which I can not reveal at the moment. I will also be preparing for the ACT as it is a college requirement. I will take a few AP courses in Physics and Maths so that I can add them to my transcript. My current transcript is only till 10th grade. So essentially, I will not be completely homeschooled as I still have attended school till 10th. my 11th and 12th will be homeschooled. I will also be joining a community service club to do some social service.
By the way: I got a 96% overall in my 10th grade examinations. But, after this, I will essentially be a high school dropout.
My reason for doing this is that I will get time to pursue fundamental research and develop my project.
Basically, I want to be able to do what I love keeping in mind my college admission as well.
Can someone suggest me something? I need help regarding my decision. Will I really need to study other subjects except Physics, Maths, Computers? Please also provide your opinions regarding my decision.
Your approach is better suited to the UK than the US. There are exceptions, but typically US colleges- even MIT want students with dimension. In the UK, on the other hand, specializing is what they look for. Have you considered Oxford or Cambridge? you might go read the course descriptions at both places, and look at the type of work they are doing to see if it fits.
In either case you will need to identify a set of exams to sit to show the standard of work you are doing.
I will have my research papers to showcase to them. Besides, the project I am making will be a sort of business startup on a global scale. I am talking about something similar to PayPal or Apple Pay (just for gauging the scale). I am also attending the Harvard Summer School this summer for 7 weeks. I have a lot more to say, but it isn’t relevant.
Can you expand a bit on “MIT want students with dimension”
And what is the set of exams you’re talking about?
I think I read on the MIT website that they do not look for a High School Diploma or a GED. They just want students who have taken risks and initiative. Obviously I will be taking the ACT and the SAT subject tests along with a few AP courses.
I want to major in physics mainly.
Can you please help me a bit more? Thanks.
I also forgot to mention that I have a 111/120 score in TOEFL IBT.
I would be truly, deeply surprised if any US undergraduate college would read your research papers as a way of deciding if you would be a good fit for their university. If they are published in peer-reviewed journals, though, they would notice that as an element of your application.
Remember that in the US, the people who will read your application are admissions officers who rarely (if ever) are scientists themselves. In the UK the people who will read your application are the people who will be actually teaching you.
ACT/APs/etc are the type of exams that I was talking about.
All US colleges want some amount of dimension to their students; the top tier consider the class that they are putting together as a whole. MIT, CalTech & Harvey Mudd are probably the most open to one-dimensional students, but even MIT says:
Thanks once again. You are really helpful. But still can’t conclude and reach a decision.
I know that they wouldn’t be reading my research paper’s or something. Keeping that aside.
Do you think I have a chance of getting into MIT or another good college in the US with my plan? The only problem is I am not really good at any sport. I am generally fit and I do a bit of athletics. But I haven’t performed at any level outside of school. But now I will be leaving school too. So sports is out of question. But I don’t think sports is the only basis of extracurricular. I will be doing a lot of other stuff. I will be doing social service with the Rotary Club. I will be researching and going to conferences. I am also working on the big project as I told you (I will also be getting a patent for it). Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to list my achievements or something. My main is to ask that do I have a chance of getting into MIT or another good college if I follow an unusual path and just do what I love. For these two years, I just want to be able to get as much experience in my field of interests without caring much about other things like sports or a high school diploma. But I still want to balance it in order to get my college application right.
I also want to make it clear that I am not doing all of this to get into college. I would like to reiterate that I will be following my plan in order to enable myself to pursue what I love. I know I wouldn’t have any formal high school diploma also.
But I do intend to go to a good college. My first option is USA only. What would you think I would need to do additionally to get into a good college. I just need some advice. Maybe you could add something to my current plan. I just need a bit more help.
We’re U.S. homeschoolers. There are unschoolers here too, but unschooling doesn’t mean studying only the one or two subjects you enjoy; it means studying all of them but in an organic way where one topic leads naturally to another. Homeschoolers have to show satisfactory completion of a program substantially equivalent to a high school education to attend 4-year colleges. That means students need to take 4 years of Eng., math, history, science, and foreign language. I’d suggest checking each college website to find out exactly what their requirements are for internationals.
Competition among internationals is tough. You’ll be competing with a lot of students who didn’t have to drop out of school to accomplish great things. I don’t know how competitive homeschooled international applicants are (US homeschoolers have been accepted to every tier of colleges including the Ivies), but if you do choose to homeschool, I’d make sure to study all the core subjects.
thank you austinmshauri. It is great to get advice from a homeschooler. See I have already completed at least two years of high school education. I am planning only to drop out in my 11th grade for these two years.
I get what you’re trying to say. I had thought about studying all the core subjects. See my science and math part will be done as I will be studying them anyway. I am still formulating my plan. I think you are right when it comes to studying all the core subjects. The MIT website says it recommends
One year of high school physics
One year of high school chemistry
One year of high school biology
Math, through calculus
Two years of a foreign language
Four years of English
Two years of history and/or social sciences
I have already done all of them except four years of High School English. Although I have been studying English for 12 years, I have only attended two years of High School.
I got a A+ in my 10th grade board examinations in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Hindi (which I presume would be a foreign language), History, Geography and English.
Only thing left is 2 years more of high school english and Calculus which I will be doing. What do you suggest?
I believe that US colleges and universities require showing that you completed a program of high school equivalent for admission whether a traditional high school, high school equivalent, or home school. You have to be able to show that. Many American kids do that while also doing high level scientific research, or music or athletic activities.
I had another doubt. I know I have to show them that I have completed a program equivalent of a high school. I was looking at the Advanced Placement International Diploma. Here is the link http://international.collegeboard.org/programs/apid . What are your thoughts on this?
You may want to use the University of CA A-G requirements as a guide. This is used by homeschoolers as a way to satisfy Freshman entrance requirements if a student does not take a class that has been approved by the university system. This document gives specific scores, tests, or classes that can be used for each requirement. As I look toward moving my soon to be homeschooled son toward high school, I will be looking at this document.
If you look further down in the document it talks about international requirements.
Now remember these scores are the minimum required to fulfill a requirement, not the score that would allow you to be competitive at the top schools.