Senior Year Homeschooling

Applying to College
1

Some background:

I recently moved to New Jersey after junior year. The school I am newly a part of is making me redo classes that I have already completed as part of their graduation requirements, and is putting me in Calc AB instead of BC. I also have to take a full schedule to get all the credits I need to graduate as many of the classes from my previous school weren’t able to be transferred. I tried my best, with my parents, to appeal to my counselor and the department heads, but there is nothing that can be done about my situation. I am planning on applying to competitive colleges, such as NYU, U of M, UPenn, and more.

My current idea:

I was thinking about homeschooling myself this year as New Jersey as it has very relaxed regulations about homeschooling. I would take some community college courses in Calculus 1 and Statistics 1, and other classes if they are available. I also know someone who is able to teach me anatomy and physiology and AP Biology. I would spend the greater amount of free time I have working on a medical research paper with a doctor I know and studying for some SAT subject tests. To get my high school diploma, I will have to pass the GED. I’ve also seen that many people recommend to write a statment as to why they chose to homeschool, so I would write a more eloquent version of what I have typed in this post.

My worry is that homeschooling will negatively affect my ability to get into these competitive colleges. If anyone could help me understand the process of homeschooling and applying to universities, or advise me of any difficulties I would face, it would be greatly appreciated.

2

You should repost this in the homeschooling forum. Go to the main page where all if the forums are listed, and scroll down to find it.

Why do you think you need to pass the GED if you are homeschooing? You should be able to arrange your academic classes and your parent who is listed as the home school supervisor will sign off that you have taken them. You will have a home school transcript.

If you are eligible to take the GED exam series, you do have the option to just go ahead and that and skip taking any more classes. I don’t particularly recommend that option (I teach GED prep) as the GED series is not easy, and most students like you benefit much more from completing their state high school graduation requirements.

3

Issue is: it takes some knack to get the most bang out of homeschooling. What impresses most (when you include top colleges,) is much more than just taking classes and working on a paper. You may be looking at this as a possible functional replacement (need classes, take classes.) But be savvy. How will you show stretch?