Prepping for BS applications. Again. Nervous about some recent odd academic decisions we've made

<p>So, just a bit of back story, my son was admitted to 4 of the 5 schools we applied too but without enough FA to make it affordable, then later a spot opened up for him at the school he originally was rejected at. But no FA. </p>

<p>His last marks for 8th grade ended up being terrible. He's struggling so much with the conventional classroom, juggling so many courses at once plus it's not the best school district and the focus is always on the kids that are on the brink of passing standardized testing. I made the decision this summer after lots of research and debating, to pull him out of school. Sort of. I got permission from the local community college to allow him to take classes there as long as he placed into regular level courses. He placed into Calculus (we decided to go with Pre-calc because he hasn't had the lead up Math) and he scored high enough on reading/writing to be allowed to take any English or humanities/social studies course. </p>

<p>At our LP, he's going to take Foreign language, history, and woodshop. He's going to do a homeschool program for English. I think this format could really help his issues with ADHD and the fact that all we ever do during the school year is pester him to get his homework done. We never get to talk about anything else. And of course he's miserable and wants to hide out in his room all the time. I wonder why? Things had to change.</p>

<p>But now, as I'm thinking about sophomore year and apply to schools again, I'm wondering if this odd approach to 9th grade is going to ruin his chances of acceptance. Technically he's only going to have a science one semester and it won't be until January, since he'll take Biology at the community college. Part of me is relieved that we are trying something new, our house was a dark place to be last Winter/Spring. But the other part of me is freaking out, what did I just do? Will the schools accept my homeschool English program? Will they understand why he's not in high school full time? And how much will those 8th grade marks hurt him? </p>

<p>On a different note, he's just returned from 5 weeks of summer camp in North Carolina where he basically hiked and did the backcountry camping nearly the whole time, including 45 miles on the Appalachian trail over a 5 day period. The letter from his counselor praised his positive attitude, said he never complained about the "gifts" the woods provided him in the form of sore muscles, bug bites, bee stings, and he kept up the moral of the group, accepted challenges and faced his fear of heights. And he did all this without ADHD meds (we took a break over the summer). This, to me, provided actual evidence that he can succeed at boarding school and that he needs that constant stimulating environment full of daily adventures and challenges (yes, Proctor Academy was on our application list, lol). I had hoped he'd enjoy camp, but what he accomplished exceeded my expectations by several miles. And he can't wait to go back next year as a Ranger, which is the camp's version of Junior Counselor, something that is invite only for ages 15-17. </p>

<p>Are there any parents out there who have homeschooled and then applied to BS or done this hybrid homeschool thing that we are doing? Any advice on how to present the information for the 2015 applications would be very helpful. </p>

<p>I haven’t homeschooled. </p>

<p>Have you looked into Northfield Mount Hermon? I think they do block schedules, which means they study fewer subjects at one time. So you cover the same topics, but instead of having five or six year-long courses, you would divide the same work into 6 term courses. I’m describing it badly. More info here: <a href=“http://www.nmhschool.org/admission-1#block_schedule[/url]”>http://www.nmhschool.org/admission-1#block_schedule&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>NMH does have support for ADD. Students are also required to do a “workjob” at school. </p>

<p>NMH is on the list for 2015 applications. We’ve found a few schools that have a system where they take less classes at a time but each class is longer. Culver Academies only does 4 classes at a time. So a semester of material is done in a quarter. That type of schedule would be great for his learning style. </p>

<p>Our dc applied to boarding school for 10th grade after a similar 9th grade schedule. Our child took no math or science at all in 9th grade (had already completed 4 years of hs math - signed up for a science but ended up withdrawing). Took english & other humanities courses at a local community college and university. This was after home schooling for a few years. </p>

<p>Yes, child was accepted to multiple boarding schools. Yes, child is happily attending boarding school. It CAN be done. Please let me know if you have any questions. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>We made our own transcript that covered 7-9th grades. We also sent transcripts from the two schools attended during 9th grade. </p>

<p>Wow! This is so encouraging! Thank you so much. I will probably be messaging you with additional questions/advice as I prep for the 10th grade application. </p>

<p>Please do. I’m happy to help.</p>

My daughter was in and out of our public grammar school. She completed 4th & 5th in public school then I put her in unknowingly the worse private school I could have picked. Long story short she was excepted into a Jr. boarding school IMO one of the best and who had relations with the private school from which I pulled her out of right before the year was out.
The Junior boarding school just wanted to know what curriculum I was using and was fine with the whole thing. Home schooling these days is very acceptable. Parents have homeschooled after sending there child to junior prep school, go figure!! Do it smart and it should not be to much of a problem.
I was just at an event at the Eaglebrook School in Ma. WOW!! call the school you are interested in and talk to them about you situation.

I just wanted to add, please look into nerofeedback for ADHD…get off the meds!!
I wish you all the best !!!

This may be a situation where DC could apply as a repeat 9th grader to BS?