Not considered homeschooled?

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>I have a unique situation that I hope other homeschooling families/students will be able to help me shed some light on.</p>

<p>I faithfully attended public elementary and middle school. I was identified as G/T early on in my schooling, was reading at a 12th grade level by 4th grade, was in the advanced/honors/gifted programs ect. I was very excited to start high school because I thought I was sure to finally be challenged with the AP/IB courses and would have intelligent peers that I could converse with. Unfortunately, I was just as bored and by the end of my first semester I was begging my mom to let me homeschool. </p>

<p>My mom doesn't know much about homeschooling and didn't feel like she could "teach me." She was terrified I'd end up a highschool dropout living on government assistance like my aunt. But she did understand why I was miserable and said that she trusted me to guide my education. However, she wanted me to get my diploma. </p>

<p>We looked at other options such as Independent Study through the school (request was denied) or Credit By Exams (denied due to the fact that one must fail the course before being given the opportunity to recieve credit by exam). Eventually, my mother and I came to the agreement that as long as I did the minimum required by the highschool to get a diploma, I could otherwise educate myself.</p>

<p>At the time, I thought this was a wonderful compromise. I attended school about 1-2x per week and did the absolute minimum. I failed a few classes (and got the credit through CBEs) and had to makeup 30+ hours a semester (which consisted of a study hall session, which suited me just fine as I could work on my own thing). I "graduated" from the local HS in 2008, but I didn't attend the ceremony. </p>

<p>As far as I'm concerned, I'm a homeschooler. I studied everything on my own and I believe that I have been able to give myself a good education. While picking what I wanted to study I made sure to have an eye on what colleges look for in applicants in terms of academic preparation. I did the recommended amounts of math, science, english, foreign language. I also did art (mostly photography), danced and worked because my family is not financially well off.</p>

<p>I'm now ready to go on to college and will be applying to schools this fall. I have my reading lists, homeschool transcripts, course descriptions and such as I have always intended to submit my applications as a homeschooler. Recently though, a coworker brought up that I might not be considered truly homeschooled considering that I have an awful "transcript" and diploma from the local high school. This is something that I never gave any sort of thought to, but now I'm really worried that I've shot myself in the foot. Can I submit my applications as a homeschooler or will I have to send a transcript from the public school? If I need to get one from the public, is there a way to explain my homeschooling so that an admissions officer would understand?</p>

<p>Wow, this turned out to be a really long post. If you managed to read through it and have any sort of advice or opinions for me I would very much appreciate it and will be thanking you from the bottom of my heart.</p>

2

<p>You sure sound like a homeschooler to me. You need to make clear to admissions officers exactly what you did, and how most of your learning took place outside of formal schooling. You will also have to submit your transcript from high school-- sorry, but all schools will ask for it.</p>

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<p>In your application you can describe what you did, but when you apply to college what you did won’t be mistaken for homeschooling. You earned a high school diploma just like everyone who went to class and worked hard despite their boredom, albeit your GPA is much lower and your transcript a mess. I think folks who see your application will read that you were bored and didn’t want to do what it would take to get good grades in high school, so you blew off classes much of the time to do your own thing, and took exams to get credit when you failed classes. I think you will have much better luck in the admissions process if you spend a couple of years attending community college, proving that you can stick out a full-time course load over multiple semesters, even when the material being studied isn’t riveting. As it is now, there is no evidence a college can look to that suggests you can achieve academic success in the classroom, and ample evidence that you can’t. You need evidence of the former if you want colleges to overlook evidence of the latter.</p>

4

<p>Thanks to both of you for your responses.</p>

<p>I understand that I won’t likely be admitted but I will still try. At the very least I will have the practice of applying next time around when I have more evidence that I will be able to do well. I still have a minuscule amount of hope in me that maybe someone out there will understand why my family and I chose the path that we did. Do you think perfect scores on the ACT and SAT Subject Tests (Literature, US History, Math, Spanish, and Biology) plus excellent recs from an employer, pastor, dance instuctor and a professor from the CC near me will help me make my case (in addition to detailed explanation of why and how we did things)?</p>

<p>dntw8up, if I do the community college courses in order to prove myself capable of the work as you’ve suggested, is it still possible for me be admitted as a freshman applicant at a 4-yr university? I wouldn’t expect any of the credits earned to be transferred.</p>

5

<p>All college applications require you to name all of the colleges you’ve attended, whether you earned credit or not, and send transcripts. Your signature on the application affirms you’ve been honest. There are clearinghouses schools can use to check whether students have been honest. Schools take academic dishonesty very seriously, and if you lie on your application and they find out, they will notify every school you attended (places that sent a transcript to them and places you asked them to send a transcript) and if a degree has been awarded they will rescind the degree.</p>

<p>Community college counts as college, and if you choose to attend you will be ineligible to apply to a four year school as a freshman. But in your case that would be a very good thing, because you need to provide academic evidence that you can sustain work in school. Employer, pastor and dance instructor recs can only remark on your character. Most schools require teacher recommendations, because they want to know instructors’ perceptions of you as a student. You need community college teachers who can honestly say that you were a full-time student, chose demanding classes, attended all classes, did all of the work, participated in class, etc. You can apply to four year schools now, but I think you will have much better admissions success if you prove yourself at a community college first.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for your advice. I definitely would never consider lying on my applications, so no worries there.</p>

<p>I have a lot of mixed feelings about this situation, so I’m not 100% sure what I’ll do at this point. My mom has suggested calling some of the schools I’m interested in and finding out their thoughts on the matter which I’ll do. I’m not really expecting them to say anything different than what you have but it wouldn’t hurt either. I guess I’ll just have to really think on this for a bit.</p>

7

<p>You might have better luck in admissions if you apply to one of the more “alternative” colleges. Hampshire springs to mind, but there are others. You won’t be able to be admitted to a top tier school, but a lower ranked school might take a chance on you because of your scores.</p>

<p>Unlike dntw8up, I think there are many schools that would admit you. You need to ask yourself, though, whether formal college is the right choice for you right now. Will you be any less bored in college than you were in high school?</p>

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<p>This is just one anecdote, which I have posted here previously.
As a home school parent, a guidance counselor called me in to a school conference with a very bright student, his parents, and school personnel. This was April of Junior year.
His grades were all over the place, depending how much his teachers wanted to mark him down for such things as not completing homework, when his tests were all “A” s. He had plenty of “C” and “D” grades as well as higher ones. I’m sure he didn’t have more than a “B” average, if that.
It was clear to me that he was better off applying based upon his testing rather than his grades. He dropped out of school toward the end of Junior year to home school.
I never saw his application, but in addition to testing, he was able to take a couple of courses at the University of Chicago under a program for Chicago Public School students. This was negotiated with the high school before he left to home school.
He applied early decision to Amherst College, was admitted and attended. He wasn’t bored at the University of Chicago, or, as far as I know, Amherst.
Within the limits of honesty, I would try to present yourself as a home schooler. I think that belief in school is a secular religion. If you honestly consider yourself to be a Muslim or a Christian or an Athiest, I think you can just as honestly consider yourself to be a home schooler. I wouldn’t expect everyone here to agree with me on that. But this is a philosophy and approach to education we are talking about. You sound like a home schooler to me.
As an aside, I think that very obviously bright high school students who couldn’t care less about the bogus “pay” high schools have to give out (grades) are punished by high schools as a result. In the case I described, the guidance counsellor later let me know that the principal had already decided that the student would never get a diploma.</p>

9

<p>OP - your post outlines very clearly exactly your situation - you can send more or less exactly that statement to the colleges.</p>

<p>In your case high standardized scores are VERY important and should trump any weird transcript.</p>

<p>It can help a lot to apply ED in such a case - the college has to think and take a ‘risk’ on you - they would rather do that if they are sure to get you.</p>

10

<p>What are your actual SAT/ACT/Subject scores?</p>

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<p>Thank you to everyone who has weighed in on my situation!</p>

<p>As an update - I have enrolled at my local Community College this semester to help demonstrate that I can succeed in a college classroom (I’m taking 4 classes). I will still be applying this fall to schools, most likely as a sophmore transfer. I’m concerned that this will very negatively impact my financial aid opportunities, but I’m hoping that my application will be more solid. I’ll also be volunteering full-time with the AmeriCorps program in my area with a contract period of September 1st - June 30th . I will also be dedicating more time to my figure skating.</p>

<p>I have my heart set on Brown (I know it’s a really high reach) so I’m hoping the community college route will make me more competitive.</p>

<p>@sunnyflorida – I got a 36 on the ACT, 800 on the 5 Subject Tests, but only a 2100 on the regular SAT. I don’t think I’ll take it again though since my other scores were high.</p>

<p>Thank you again to everyone who has replied and given me their advice on this situation. It’s very appreciated. I would also welcome any feedback on my current plan. Do you think it will help or hurt me in admissions?</p>

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<p>I would wait for more input from those in a better position to make suggestions here, but you actually may be better off taking a gap year and NOT taking community college classes. Now that I understand your scores, you might be better off gapping and applying as a first time in college (FTIC) student, given the colleges/universities you are interested in.</p>

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<p>If you called yourself a homeschooler and sent your homeschool transcript and your scores, how would anyone know that you received a diploma from a school? I can’t imagine this is something admissions offices look up about homeschooled applicants–especially those with perfect test scores (“Ah ha, here’s a homeschooler with a 36 ACT–I bet he/she isn’t REALLY a homeschooler–I bet he/she is hiding a bad public school transcript behind all this. .”) I just don’t think this would be an issue. </p>

<p>What you might need to think about is this: Can you “play the game?” You shot yourself in the foot–wrecked your GPA/transcript–because you were bored and wouldn’t play by the rules. You certainly could have passed those classes you failed and probably gotten a 4.0. So why didn’t you? In college you will experience the same frustration with some classes, there will be requirements, pointless assignments, etc. There is a system in place and you will have to work your way through it. You can’t always just “make your own system” like you did in high school–especially if you want a diploma from a particular college. So–are you willing to play by the rules this time? </p>

<p>I agree with SF–gap and apply as FTIC. Don’t go to CC. Your test scores will get you in somewhere.</p>

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<p>Another plan is to take a year to do work and other activities that would be impossible to do in school and apply as a homeschooler. Most communities have fascinating things to do, particularly if you are in a position to work on a volunteer basis. “The Teenage Liberation Handbook” is a good source for ideas.
Top test scores and unusual experiences can be a terrific combination to college admissions folks.
I worry that community college may feel like “doing time” to you. You could lose enthusiasm with bad results. I don’t think you need to be punished or “learn your lesson” any more than the rest of us do.</p>

15

<p>I’m really confused about what the best course of action is at this point. The community college classes start tomorrow so I have to make a decision very soon (I can drop them w/o them appearing on any transcript within 2 weeks). Should I drop them and get a refund? </p>

<p>Will attending community college and applying as an entering sophmore hurt me? </p>

<p>Thanks again to eveyone who has provided their insight.</p>

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<p>From your posts, you are showing exceptional maturity and honesty. Whichever path you choose, if you follow it in earnest, I think things will work out well.</p>

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<p>Bree4all, for heaven’s sake, sweetheart… call your desired universities and speak to their Admissions Director… today. You sound like a student that a university would be lucky to have but you need some significant guidance right now. How can you possibly make such a major decision without first speaking with someone at your goal institution?</p>

<p>Personally, I don’t think you need to submit your high school transcript at all. Many homeschoolers have great standardized tests scores and no transcripts. It won’t raise an eyebrow with admissions. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you! Please keep us posted. As a homeschooling mom, I’m eager to hear how you’re doing.</p>

18

<p>Thank you for your advice everyone! </p>

<p>I called Brown and spoke with an admissions person there. He said as long as I had no more than a semester’s worth of credit at my CC, I could still apply as a freshman. My plan currently is to take the classes I’ve signed up for since it is only 13 credits (below the maximum 1 semester) and apply ED to Brown. If I don’t get accepted I will most likely do the spring semester at my CC and apply as a transfer to other places.</p>

<p>Thanks again to everyone who has helped and given advice. I will make sure to update in case anyone is curious as to how things progess!</p>

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<p>My son was started attending the regular HS full-time and then we negotiated an arrangement where he was partially home-schooled. His reasons were partly boredom – he thought the honors/AP courses in the HS were slow – but also dyslexia – he really needed to focus on improving writing (and reading to a lesser extent). Some of his home-school courses were our courses, some were outside schools. At the suggestion of the admissions officers we spoke with, when he applied, he applied as both conventional and home-schooled. The school submitted its transcript and I submitted ours (and outside schools submitted theirs for the limited number of courses outside). I explained the philosophy of home-schooling and in some cases submitted my recommendation as head of the home school. He handed in lots of stuff (papers, art portfolio) and had some unusual things on his record. He did focus on getting good grades on his HS courses – so well that the HS gave him credit for a lot of independent courses that they originally said they wouldn’t, so at the end of the day, he received a diploma from the HS, which was a surprise since we had decided he would not get a diploma from the HS.</p>

<p>He got in at a number of very good schools (and will be starting college in the fall after a gap year). So, a confusing story that you can explain coherently can work. It will probably help to provide evidence that you can do well at harder courses, so it validates your explanation of why you did what you did. My son took the expository writing course that Harvard requires of its freshman and got a recommendation from that instructor.</p>