Unschooler wanting to prepare for college

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>Copied from Stanford student thread to start a new thread:


</p>

2

<p>You’ve got a long way to go to dig out, but I’m confident that someone with your motivation can do it. You’ve homeschooled yourself on a shoestring and with no support - if you can do that, you can do about anything.</p>

<p>It will be hard/impossible for you to get into MIT, Stanford, Cornell, NYU, etc. But that’s ok because there are lots of good colleges. Most people didn’t go to MIT, etc., and still make good lives for themselves. It is a complete fallacy that you must go to a top school to succeed.</p>

<p>Now for your questions:</p>

<p>1 - you can make your own transcript. You don’t need to do it since age 12, just for 9th through 12th grades. I used Excel to make my son’s. You can use Excel or a Google Docs spreadsheet. Examples can be found here: [HSLDA</a> | Homeschooling Thru High School : Academics](<a href=“High School & Beyond”>http://www.hslda.org/highschool/academics.asp#transcripts) There are also a few links about creating them on this site. I know there are transcript builders as well, but I didn’t use them.</p>

<p>2 - I don’t think ECs matter that much except at the very top schools. You should spend any extra time preparing for tests / getting a job, not with community service or math camps.</p>

<p>3, 4, 5 - Taking tests is a good idea, but you don’t need to take tests in all subjects for four years. I’d recommend working seriously on spelling. Your essays won’t be taken seriously with your spelling, though your grammar is mostly fine. I’d recommend the SAT or ACT, and a few SAT subject tests of your favorite / best subjects. The GED might also be a good plan if you really don’t have enough on your transcript.</p>

<p>6 - I don’t think learning a new language for fun is the best use of your time at this stage.</p>

<p>7 - You can only take AP tests during two specific weeks in May. AND they don’t help significantly with college applications. I don’t see much point. If you really want to get college credit without college classes, AP is ok, as is CLEP, I believe.</p>

<p>8 - Yes, you will need to get recommendation letters.</p>

<p>9 - When you go to college, they will have differential equations and quantum physics. You need to work on <strong>getting to</strong> college, not <strong>replacing</strong> college.</p>

<p>As for umbrella schools, I have no experience. I know they’ve been defined on this forum (perhaps even in this thread!) and elsewhere on the internet. Basically they collect / provide / grade your classes, and create a transcript and diploma for you. They are treated like a private school. Some people swear by them, others ignore them.</p>

<p>My advice:
Taking you at your word, you’ve done an astounding job of preparing yourself in math, and presumably science, with no support. However, your education is very uneven and you aren’t prepared for the top schools. There’s no reason you can’t go to them for grad school, if you do well for your BS degree. But for now, you have to make up for an uneven education. </p>

<p>Probably the hardest thing for unschoolers (I’m guessing, having gone to traditional schools myself) is to submit to the rigor and schedules and rules of learning at someone else’s pace and scope. You’ve had the time to watch MIT lectures without the responsibility of having to take spelling or tests or anything else you didn’t want to do. But to get a college degree, you’ll have to take the classes prescribed by the school.</p>

<p>I would recommend you consider starting in community college, not a four-year university. Community college is cheaper than university and often has smaller classes. They will be able to help you bring up the skills you are lacking. A good community college will have articulation agreements with local universities for transferring to after a couple years.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>My advice would be to take some classes at your local community college - perhaps English and math to start with. Get some grades under your belt, but not necessarily a full load. Then talk with an adviser there about your college dreams. You need not “accept” the credits from the community college - a 4 year school for all 4 years is still possible, but you may find you want to accept the credits from there and transfer in to a 4 year school for just a couple of years. An adviser can talk about the possibilities once you have some actual grades.</p>

4

<p>Adding to the above, can you take classes at a local college dual enrolled through the school district? My daughter was homeschooled, basically unschooled, until middle school when she started taking classes. For high school, she decided to enroll in our local public high school, but before she made that decision she was enrolled at our local college to take classes through dual enrollment. That might be a good option for you.</p>

<p>I also agree about not worrying too much about AP exams, if you are taking them to strengthen your transcript. You will not get the scores back in time to impact your application. I think you should concentrate on the SAT II subject tests.</p>

5

<p>Thank you guys so much for your advice.</p>

<p>I will still try to get in a university like MIT (though I don’t think I would get in), and if not try graduate school.</p>

<p>But thanks for all your advice it realy helps.</p>

6

<p>For you, graduate school is the most attainable. Right now, getting to a 4 year school is what you can set your sites upon. Do you have the funds to do local Community College courses? IF you don’t, then don’t worry too much. You should be able to get one or two classes free in state because of state scholarships, but also factor in fees that aren’t very obvious like books etc.</p>

<p>As GeekMom said, worry about getting a job, some work experience and making sure your education is well rounded.</p>

<p>May I ask why you don’t go to a public school? A person like you could do very well at a public school, and the extra support may be very very beneficial to you.</p>

7

<p>The reason is my mom got laid off, lost our house, we had to move motel to motel, and lost transportation time after time (Education was the least of our worry).I did one time get a chance to pump my grades up to 9th grade, but my mom got laid off again, so i didn’t get a chance to get it on record. It just sucks because i once was in a private school, top of my class, and had a GPA of 3.8.</p>

<p>I’m just having to try to pick up the peaces of what’s happend.</p>

<p>I have thought about just geting my grades up to 11th grade, and go to a public school, and see if it will better my chances of going to a good college.</p>

<p>I’ll do whatever takes to get into a good college.</p>

8

<p>When I say good college I don’t just mean MIT or Standford only, but any college with a good science and/or engineering program (it doesn’t hafe to be brand named to be good).</p>

9

<p>Many public schools will test you for placement; it might be a pretty good option. Your state university will have a good enough science department. If you’re motivated (which you are), you can make a great college time there.</p>

10

<p>What do you mean test you for placement, and how does it work.</p>

11

<p>Also, do you think if I graduated from my state university (Kansas state university), got realy good grades, and realy did good in college, if I would have a chance at such schools like MIT or Standford.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to try very hard to get into those kind of colleges like MIT, Standford, and Carnegie Mellon…ect (although it’s a long shot), so I don’t always think what if . But I need to prepare for any outcome.</p>

12

<p>I think you need to go to the authorities and ask for help. Social Services, your local school, etc. They should be set up for helping kids. If the first place you ask for help can’t help, they should be able to point you in the right direction. You’re bright and motivated, but you’re taking on a task bigger than you should have to handle on your own. But if they CAN’T help, you CAN still make it on your own; I have a couple friends who have. I’d recommend you do this BEFORE you come of age; they may be able to help more when you’re a minor.</p>

<p>I’m not really sure about the placement tests; I just know that for someone coming into public schools from homeschooling in Colorado, the school taking the child is supposed to test for grade level. Since my son didn’t actually go back to public school, I don’t know how it works.</p>

<p>And another “I don’t know” - I haven’t applied to MIT etc for grad school. But from what I understand, yes, you can get to those grad schools from K State. You have to do more than have good grades; you have to have good recommendations and good experience with research in undergrad. Planning ahead is great, but even if you just get a degree from K State and don’t go on to grad school at all you’d be better off than if you don’t go to college. </p>

<p>But whatever you do, don’t let a perceived inability to go to a name-brand school at any stage prevent you from doing that stage. I went to Big State U and have done well, and I know many other people the same. You’ve had a rough start, but you have the intelligence and motivation to do well.</p>

13

<p>Thank you for the advice.</p>

<p>I was thinking about social services or something around that line, but I turn 18 in a month. But I plan to see about what private schools think I should do. I was going to see about trying to get in public school, but found out I would need to go to alternative school ( and that would probably make things harder and longer than it should be). </p>

<p>I’ll probably take tests through homeschooling for all my grades and make (or have sombody make) a transcript up to 11th grade, and try to make room for SAT reasoning & SAT subject tests, and other stuff that are important for a college application, probably do some CC.</p>

<p>But thank you for the advice, i have always wanted a future in science, i want to get a phd in physics and engineering, and this will only make me work that much harder to get it.</p>

14

<p>Don’t be too sure about alternative schools. They don’t just collect remedial kids - they also collect … well … alternative kids. And your education has been alternative. I know that the ones around here collect not only the troublemakers, but some very bright kids as well. Do you actually know anything about the alternative schools near you? What did the public school say about it?</p>

<p>“i have always wanted a future in science, i want to get a phd in physics and engineering”. Good! you <strong>can</strong> earn it.</p>

15

<p>I thought alternative schools look bad on your college application. Do they?one of my family members graduated alternative school, but he doesn’t won’t to go to college.</p>

<p>And i would love to get one ( when I was a kid I would always ask my mom why this, why that, and then she said “i don’t know get a book”).
It well be hard but worth it.</p>

16

<p>I’m still going to recommend your local cc. My boys use them as high school credits even though they are legitimate college level classes. That’s what duel enrollment is. Some students choose to use the credits as college credits, some choose to use them as high school. You’d have the option either way once you see how you do and where you want to go afterward. By having legitimate grades (either high school or college) you’d have a decent transcript to apply to “wherever.”</p>

<p>Don’t enroll full time as some schools don’t like to see that and still consider you a freshman (and right now I’d keep all options open). Take two or three classes if you can (check with the financial aid office) and do the rest at home.</p>

<p>Public school (around me) is not worth it and ours would never get you to a top school. Our top kids often place into remedial classes when they go to 4 year schools. That’s WHY we opted to homeschool our boys. If the public school around you IS decent (not “word of mouth” decent, but “getting kids into places well-prepared” decent then it might be an option.</p>

17

<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>

<p>I’ll very much so keep that in mind.
I don’t know if I should say I’ll be a freshman. Would that make my application look bad or would they understand why I graduated late, and is there age limits to some things ( like contests or local science summer programs) if I was to do it that way?</p>

18

<p>Lol </p>

<p>Sorry I thought you ment freshman ( as in high school freshman ).</p>

<p>But ya i will probably do duel enrollment at cc, do some homeschooling to get my grades up to date, take the SAT reasoning & SAT subject tests, and try to apply to a good college. The local cc will also probably have some good stuff for EC’s like music ( sense I play guitar pretty well).</p>

<p>What kind of EC’s am i able to do in my position ( is there a age limit for stuff like contests or just grade level limits). I know my general focus will be on my grades, but if i have any spare time ( though I probably won’t ) i want to find ways to make my application that much more rich.</p>

19

<p>Do you have any standardized test results? This would help us figure out your best options.
If you can achieve some good scores in your strengths (like Physics), you have a compelling personal story that some family friend or person in an official position can attest to. Folks in admissions want to find diamonds-in-the-rough and to feel they are doing good in the meantime. Sometimes private colleges have more leeway in admissions than do public ones.</p>