I’m currently a junior in a public high school. I have a 3.8 GPA and got a 1270 on the PSAT, have taken a few APs, so I feel pretty good about where I’m at. However, my mom and I have recently been discussing online school or charter school as an option for my last year of high school.
My school isn’t a bad school by any means, and they offer an almost ridiculous amount of courses, almost on par with a college. There’s about 6000 students total. Here’s my situation: I really want to have a learning environment where I can work at my own pace (I’ve had a persisting problem with being bored in class because the core classes at my high school are too slow for me.) I also would like to have the freedom to work and pursue my own projects. Online school seems like it would definitely suit my needs, since many emphasize that online schooled students can work as quickly as they want and even graduate early, and take on extra classes if they wish.
My only concern is whether I have waited too long. Will colleges raise eyebrows if I tranfer during my last year of high school, or will they commend me for going after an accelerated learning experience? I’m not planning on applying to Ivies (my dream school is University of Pittsburgh or U Mich), but I still don’t want transferring to affect my chances.
My other concern is that my main option for online school would be Connections Academy (my family most likely couldn’t afford private school tuition), which has recieved mixed reviews. Overall: is this a bad idea? Should I just stick it out at my current school? Thanks!! (any accounts of firsthand experiences with online school are also greatly appreciated)
My son has been homeschooled for years and has been taking Georgia Virtual classes the past 2 years. It’s been a great experience for him (taking APs and foreign language classes). He didn’t transfer from a brick and mortar school in high school though. What are your homeschool laws? Will your credits transfer?
I don’t see switching to an online school as a negative thing, especially because you are doing it for the purpose of challenging yourself and working at a faster pace. I would make sure that the credits that you do via your online school will guarantee you credits towards graduation. Also, definitely do alot of research on the online school to make sure that it is something you can handle, that it’s not too easy, and overall is the type of learning method that you desire.
Don’t assume online school will give you more freedom and less boredom. Many have a lot of required busy work.
See if you can look in depth at what your required schedule would look like (for example, is everyone required to take standardized test prep?) and play with the actual software, see how many and what types of assignments there are, and test out the curriculum.
Online school is a lot of work. It’s really not going to be as easy as you might think, but if you’re up to and think you can handle it then go for it! It’ll teach you a lot about self-motivation and independence.
May I ask, what state you are located in? Connections Academy is decent but joining a charter school gives you huge advantages. I know my state (California) has a ton of Homeschool Charter Schools. They basically give you funds every school year and you get to spend it on any school-related items. This includes purchasing classes, school supplies, etc.
I would try dual enrolling at a community college as a high school senior rather than do online regula school for a senior year. You can do that in our area as a homeschooler and many in our area do dual credit exclusively high school senior year, before college.
Suggestion, check into dual with a college if your a senior. Believe to be in better interest moving forward than jumping into an online school as a senior . Especially if you haven’t ever done online before, just managing all the links, time schedule, can be stressful with online as a first timer. Some online schools won’t accept seniors because your almost done with HS.
Another suggestion is, if choosing and accepted to an online school, if first time being in one, don’t do full time. That should be a gradual process because online is so different from regular BM schools. There is a lot to learn and take in first year of never been apart of online before. This hindering much besides what you need to focus on for assignments.
Daughter jumped full on, full time, first year her jr year to online. She ended up behind right away just trying to figure out where everything is and what she needed to be doing. Once behind sets the presidency for much of the rest of the year. Especially if the school has a rigorous curriculum. Becomes hard to catch up.
Some online schools start right up as if you already know what to expect and what you need to be doing without the pre prep of maneuvering the site. We’ve been there, done that.
Other suggestion for online would be find pine that has 24/7 teacher assistance. They are out there. This way if finding yourself struggling or stressed that you still have teacher assistance to help through it. Some of the online schools we have encountered along the way, getting teacher assistance outside is classroom wasn’t always easy. Emails or late replies when you need the answer sooner. Not like you can walk into a classroom in any BM school to catch the teacher or instructor at the end of a class or the end of the day for questions.
Some online don’t have peer help and some do. Others you might find the students helping students more than the teachers. Not all online schools have teachers that have a specialty to that course either. They may have another grade teacher teaching the class that just has a teaching certificate. Which is ok but, do you want to pay for schooling to have a teacher that doesn’t have a backgrounds or specialty In Science or mathematics?
Not all online schools operate the same. You might enroll to find out that now some of your previous credits from your other schools are not accepted at the online school. They may and have, want the prerequisites they offer to be done first before moving on to what you have on your credits needing. You’ll find yourself a step back instead of a step forward.
Sorry for any typos as I’m doing this from a cell. I hope this information helps. We’ve learned a lot the many years of jr high to HS transitioning from traditional BM to online. There are a lot of pros and cons to online HS. Depending all upon the online school you choose, free or tuition based. Spend the money to find dual enrollment for college. The benefits for the kick start into college may be in your best interest, especially if your a senior.
Just this mom’s experience having done online switch from BM schooling. I hope this helps. We’ve had many set backs because of it. Is that a risk you want to take?
Just enjoy senior year godammit! Don’t you get perks at your school or something? Or graduate early, like I did. I graduated this summer (before senior year) and am taking a gap year and will be travelling in South America. My point is, just enjoy yourself. For college admissions, I think any kind of transfer during senior year will raise an eyebrow, so just make sure to explain. I don’t think you have a very strong reason for doing so though, which is why I’m saying you should just enjoy the perks of being a senior. Plus, you don’t want to spend your last year alone.