<p>Hello! I am homeschooled but I play sports at the local (huge) high school. We use a science curriculum that is almost exactly like the honors curriculum at the public high school if you do all the labs (I usually just call it a honors class when my friends ask). My mom doesn't weight it at all though, she just expects us to get A's (which we do) but it would be nice to have the extra push on my GPA (currently 4.0). I am planning on taking college classes my junior or sophomore year with my sister. Even with some college classes, will it be hard to get a good scholarship with all A's but without honors or AP classes?</p>
<p>More important will be subjet test scores and/or AP test scores that will validate your curriculum, as well as your college classes. Try taking some Subject tests in the Spring.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks! :)</p>
<p>Trust me, Honors courses and AP aren’t that bad. Like first response, try to do testing and find out. I took the test and they didn’t accept me, but I opted in and I shocked my counselors by acing the courses.</p>
<p>You can do it!</p>
<p>@chocolate26 </p>
<p>Thanks! Wow, nice job! :)</p>
<p>I love that, “she just expects us to get A’s (which we do).” That about sums up how I’m home schooled too. I also have a “4.0” GPA but no honors or AP classes. I’m taking the Calculus sequence at my community college along with some other classes though, and so far acing them, so I’m hoping those will reenforce the fact that I really am an straight A student. </p>
<p>What year are you in? Have you taken the PSAT yet?</p>
<p>I am a freshman… 
I am taking a couple (math, science, Spanish) sophomore classes, but I am definitely not a serious Ivy League hopeful student (like everyone seems to be one here)… I am just hoping to have 4.0 GPA and then good ACT score. Then hopefully I can get a good scholarship to a pretty good school (whatever that means)… I am also trying to get a lot of ECs, but I have heard that those aren’t that helpful… </p>
<p>Yeah, I might also start classes at the community college, but I don’t really know… 
</p>
<p>And no, I have never taken the PSAT. </p>
<p>Well, that sounds pretty good. The reason I mentioned the PSAT is because if you take that test in your junior year and get a “qualifying score,” you can become a National Merit Semifinalist. During your senior year, you can take the SAT, and if you can score high enough on that (usually 1960 out of 2400 is the qualifying score) and fill out an application (essay, classes taken and grades earned, recommendation from some kind of teacher), you can potentially become a National Merit Finalist. There are a lot of scholarships our there for NMF, many full ride or full ride+ to some good universities. Not top of the list schools, but solid colleges with many different majors. And the great part is for many of them (not all, some are more competitive than others, but a lot) you can get the scholarships just by getting admitted to the school and declaring that school as your first choice before a certain date. I’m a senior right now and am currently a NMSF, likely to make NMF, and am planning on going to college on a NMF scholarship.</p>
<p>Now as you can see, getting into the program depends entirely on your PSAT. The PSAT is essentially a baby SAT, a couple sections shorter with no essay. It is scored on 240 point scale, and cutoff scores are determined by state. The cutoff scores range from low 200-somethings to as high as 223 in some states. There are a lot of good threads on here about the NMSC program with all that information. No one knows what the qualifying score is going to be prior to each year, but you can find lists of what your state’s cutoff score has been for the most recent years to give you a range. </p>
<p>That being said, they are changing the format of the SAT and PSAT in the next year or two, so you might wind up in the first or second wave of new testing cycles. I don’t really know how the new test is; there’s articles abut that, but I’m hoping there will practice materials available. Studying with SAT materials is pretty effective for the PSAT since the tests are very similar. </p>
<p>Please check out other threads about the NMSC competition. Look under “Financial Aid & Scholarships” then click “National Merit Scholarships.” Best of luck! </p>
<p>(By the way, not EVERYBODY on here is trying to get into Ivies, but most are, I admit.) </p>
<p>Thank you! Good luck to you too! </p>
<p>Some schools don’t even consider AP’s when it comes to admission and scholarships, depending on where you go, some schools might look at your GPA as unweighted (meaning excluding the extra GPA points AP/Honor classes give to your GPA). So in many cases, it’s as if you don’t really have an AP at all. AP and Honors classes will look good on your application for college and (if you score high on the AP exams) give you college credit.) </p>
<p>Your parents will prepare a School Report if you use the Common App, and one of the questions is, “How many AP/Honors classes does your school offer?” and “How many did the student take?” Your parents can answer “We offer none.” Then the college will know you did not have the opportunity to take any H or AP. ON the other hand, your parents can also call your course “Honors” and describe the course carefully, listing the text used, material covered, labs, etc., and a careful admissions counselor will know whether they are being snowed. For sure your SAT scores and ACT Science scores can back up your achievements in science. Ask your mom to sit down with you NOW and examine the part of the Common App that she will be required to complete (it sounds like maybe she hasn’t done this app before?). She will thank me, because I did not prepare for it, and was really under a lot of stress there the last week or so! Also, she will be impressed that YOU are looking ahead to make sure you are on track. Even if you don’t end up using the Common App, the expectations there are, well, common; and it will educate both of you. You’ll need accounts at the Common App to look at everything. Try to find the time.</p>