<p>How would colleges view a student who had taken multiple Advanced Placement classes and gotten all As or Bs and who decided to be homeschooled their senior year of high school? Is that an automatic rejection? The only credit I need to graduate is my last year of english, and I would like to teach myself this year so that I could be a little more laid-back and teach myself subjects that aren't offered at my school.</p>
<p>It wouldn't be an automatic rejection, but it would elicit curiosity and invite explanation. Why do this?</p>
<p>It could be a hook if you used your time extremely well and discussed it as though it were a gap year of sorts with an academic bent. I'd be interested to know more details of this, and since even I am curious, any school you would apply to would obviously be even more curious... and rightly so. You'd have a lot of explaining to do, but it could be wonderful if done right.</p>
<p>If you feel you have outgrown what your school offers, leave on good terms, and occupy yourself with things you can't do in school, then it could be a positive experience and be perceived as such. Independence is often what admissions officers say they like about home schoolers.
Things you can't do in school? My daughter worked at a Natural History Museum taking disassembling mammals- wombats, bats, bobcats- even a tiger and a giraffe, as well as re-cataloging specimens, sometimes over a hundred years old, according to a new classification system. We live in a major city, but any community ought to have enriching opportunities.
Of course a move out of school could backfire if it is perceived simply as taking an easier path.</p>
<p>Are you going to take that one English class anyway? Will you get a diploma from your high school? Did you take the SAT or ACT and get good scores? Will you make your own transcript for your senior year?</p>
<p>Many colleges would be happy to accept you. You'll have more on an "official" transcript than most homeschoolers. IMO, as long as you have the scores, you'll have some good choices.</p>
<p>It will make it much easier for you to actually get a diploma and graduate from your school. Colleges require different things from home-school students (including SAT subject tests, etc...)
You might can do this by simply doing that English class online (some states offer online classes). And you could spend the extra time taking community college classes, volunteering, working on a big project, anything worth while. The college will only look upon it as a bad thing if you simply wanted to lay out a year and lounge around (doing nothing) - that would make you appear lazy (definately NOT something that appeals to college reps).</p>
<p>You might want to even consider getting a GED. That said, I homeschooled my eldest and he was accepted to every college to which he applied. Just document everything you're doing, and put a nice spin on it, if you need it.</p>
<p>Most of the colleges are on to homeschooling - they recognize differing styles, outcomes, and reasons among the Birkenstock crowd, the religious posse, the L.D. bunch, and the "I want to do something more important with my time than waste it in high school" platoon. Good luck. You should be fine with careful consideration and some planning (provided all your other things - scores, coursework, EC's, etc are up to par).</p>
<p>I have very good test scores, pretty good ECs, and a pretty good courseload. I was hoping that colleges would see that there was something more at play here than just your typical lazy senior, and would be curious to find out more. I have several reasons for doing this: first off, I've always been a very independent learner, and I haven't really flourished in public school, especially being constantly pushed and prodded along by teachers. I can still work like that, but the more I'm pulled, the more I dig in my heels. I would spend seven hours at school each day and learn very little, and then I would come home and manage to teach myself the material in an hour or two. It's simply a learning difference, and although I've spend the last several years telling myself to just "put up with it," I've realized that education shouldn't be something you have to put up with, and if it is, then clearly something isn't right. I think it would be more efficient for me to teach myself and skip the middleman. Plus, I could take courses I normally wouldn't without worrying about whether I'll be alone in the class or if the teacher is competent. Additionally, I'm working two jobs right now, and would like to continue doing so; however, it's pretty draining. I also want to escape from the whole "senioritis" idea; I still want to learn, but I've realized that I want to do it differently. I love my teachers and my friends, but at this point it's not enough to hold me there. Additionally, I would like to do some lifestyle changes (physical, emotional, etc) that I wouldn't be able to do when I'm as exhausted as I currently am. I do well when given freedom, and that is what I'm looking to gain here. The hardest school I'm planning on applying to is a lower Ivy--do you think my homeschooling decision will lower their opinions? Do I stand to gain more by staying in school and getting mostly Bs, but being able to participate in a few extracurriculars I wouldn't be able to do otherwise? And overall, do you think homeschooling myself senior year will increase, decrease, or not affect my chances at getting in everywhere? Thanks for all your insight, it's really helping me make a difficult decision!</p>
<p>Oh, and also, I do plan on somehow getting that last english credit and getting a diploma--I still have to check if I can get it from my school, and also if I would still get my transcript, teacher recs, and guidance counselor rec from my school.</p>
<p>I bumped up the PurpoisePal post because some of it addresses issues you are dealing with.</p>
<p>Hi, I'm back again and just wondering if anyone among the homeschooling-knowledgeable crowd would help me out and edit the supplemental "why I did it" essay I wrote and am planning to include with all my apps. I did end up going through with it. I spent today happily planning out my curriculum for the year, and I'm excited! Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>I'd love to take a look at your essay. Lord knows I've spent enough time on my own. It would be nice to see what somebody else has to say about their experience. Anyway, just PM me. I think I could be helpful since I've already worked on my own such essays.</p>