<p>My high school record is a little funny looking, and I'm not sure how this will impact my applying to colleges next year. Basically:
- 9th: first semester in public school
- 9th: second semester homeschooling
- 10th: homeschooling whole year
- Repeat 10th: Quaker private on scholarship
- 11th: Quaker private on scholarship</p>
<p>I'm currently a junior, still at the private, and incredibly happy with my situation. It was the path I needed to take to grow into a happy, emotionally healthy person and meet some amazing people, and I don't regret it. Now, though, I'm beginning to wonder how colleges might view this weirdness.</p>
<p>I have a 3.98 unweighted GPA and a 2350 SAT. Although very rigorous, my school doesn't offer any formal AP classes. I don't know whether I should schedule them myself with a public or forget about it. Extracurriculars; I'm president of MUN and founder/editor of the literary magazine, employed part-time, and very involved in my sport. I volunteer a few hours each week.</p>
<p>I have a good idea about colleges I'm interested in--Carleton, Grinnell, Tufts, Vassar, UChicago, Smith, plus some definite safeties--but have no idea if repeating 10th and the time I homeschooled will put me out of the running. I would really appreciate any input. Thanks for reading.</p>
<p>Repeating a grade for a school switch is very common and won’t hurt your admission chances at all. It sounds like you are doing really well. If you take the most rigorous curriculum your school offers, I wouldn’t worry about APs.</p>
<p>My d. homeschooled (and is a Quaker) and never set foot in a high school classroom, public or private. Got into Williams, Smith (which she attended) and a host of other prestige privates. I have also done some consulting for private colleges on homeschooling, and the first question I always get is, “How do we get more of them?” (homeschoolers). Colleges aren’t going to look at this as at all unusual (except perhaps to ask why you needed to repeat 10th grade?)</p>
<p>There are many excellent schools in the country that are no longer offering AP classes - they think they can do even better.</p>
<p>Marple you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Are you kidding me a 2350 on your SAT.</p>
<p>That score means one thing= that whomever and where ever you are educated you did a fine job.</p>
<p>You need to realize that you are one special individual. Get ready to choose where you want to attend college. That decision should be a difficult one you deserve the right to be choosey. </p>
<p>One more bit of advice. Try to read the book: “the power of positive thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale it is wonderful book to read at your age.</p>
<p>You’re not penalized for not taking AP classes if they’re not offered by your school. Most selective colleges say they want students to take the most challenging curriculum available to them, so as long as they see that, whatever letters attached to the course names isn’t going to make a big difference. If anything, having home schooled gives you a more interesting journey than many of your peers. You should explain your journey as best you can, and if possible get your counselor or one of your teacher reccs to speak to it and the huge progress you’ve made, but otherwise you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Your school situation isn’t as ‘funny looking’ as you think. Many kids change school for any number of reasons. Don’t worry about APs either. So long as you have taken a standard curriculum (4 Eng, 3-4 Math… up to Calc, 3 sciences, 3 SS, 3 foreign language) you’re in good shape. Your SAT score says you’re a strong student compared to your peers and that’s exactly why colleges use those tests, when everything else varies.</p>
<p>When creating your college list, consider what you like about your current school (size? location? religious? etc) 'cuz you might want to look for a college with similar features.</p>
<p>Back in the 1970’s (I know, prehistoric), I did 9th grade at the American School in London, 10th, 11th and 12th at an English school, and a PG year at an American private boarding school. Got into Brown and probably wouldn’t have without the varied educational background. It makes you stand out from the crowd. Don’t worry about it, especially with your scores.</p>
<p>Late reply (our internet has been sporadic for the last week or so), but thank you for the reassurances, everyone. It’s great to hear that I won’t be penalized for bouncing around the school-type map.</p>
<p>I repeated 10th because a) I wanted the lab experience with biology and chemistry, which I missed when homeschooling, b) this allowed me to fit in Russian, European History, and Creative Writing, c) it gave me time to get involved and become a more desirable applicant when the time comes, and d) the guidance counselor suggested it. They aren’t strict about designating which grade you’re in, but I’m going to have danced around with high school for five years when I graduate at almost 19.</p>
<p>I don’t actually think it’s going to be a big deal. It’s actually not uncommon to do a postgraduate year at one of the big prep schools. You can just say that because of your scattered schooling it was deemed wise to have you repeat a year to get all the requirements in. I really don’t think it will hurt you and you might even be able to spin it into a plus with some sort of essay about what you learned from the experience.</p>
<p>I think your choice to repeat 10th grade demonstrates maturity and commitment – you did it to get something the school offered but was not available with homeschooling. You sound like a person who had a poor fit with the public school, took another path, and then found a school that was a better fit and were willing to put in extra time an effort to make the most of that opportunity. I think you are exactly the type of student most colleges would love to have.</p>