<p>Hi, everybody. I've been homeschooled my whole life. I get good grades and in the one SAT test I've done up to this point I got decent scores, but I'm confused about what to do about my recommendation letters. Since I haven't done any AP classes or community college classes yet, I'm not really sure who I could ask to do the letters. Any suggestions about what I can do here?
I'd appreciate any help you could give me.</p>
<p>I’ve had a couple of recommendation letters from: the head of a community development project that I do volunteer work with–and another from a leader in my church. Those were not necessarily academic recommendations, but is there a coach or music teacher or someone else that knows your academic strengths?</p>
<p>There are definitely people I know of who could attest to my academic strengths, but no actual teachers except for my mother(my mother being the one who homeschools me).
Since you said you got a recommendation letter from the place where you volunteered, do you think I could ask for a recommendation letter from the library where I’m about to start volunteering?
Thanks for the reply.</p>
<p>If you haven’t volunteered at the library yet, they really have no basis upon which to write you a recommendation. You mention people who could attest to your academic strengths–but if they’ve never taught you in any way, I can’t see how they’d be qualified.</p>
<p>Pick someone who knows you, with whom you’ve worked on some level in the past. You have no youth group leader, volunteer coordinator, an adult in any sort of activity in which you’ve participated over the past few years? Have you been a boy scout, in CAP, been a teacher’s helper in any capacity, babysat, played sports, done co-op, worked at a job, gone on a missions trip, done any type of unpaid or paid work for anyone? What about hobbies, and any adult you know through that?</p>
<p>Think about how you’ve spent your time. You should be able to come up with someone!</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned the library volunteer work is, I’ll probably be sending in my applications in December at the earliest(at least for the colleges that have later deadlines), so by the time I send in the application I’ll have been volunteering there for a fairly long time. But, then again, I’m not sure that would solve the problem anyway.
Thanks a lot for the help.</p>
<p>If you’re “about to start volunteering” at a library, and you are going to send in your applications in December at the earliest, you will not have been volunteering there “for a fairly long time.” I worked in a library, and typically kids volunteered for us for several years during high school. Those were the ones who received the glowing letters of recommendation because we knew them. They’d proven themselves. (You also might be surprised by the dozens or more kids each year who suddenly wanted to volunteer during 11th grade or the summer before 12th. But they’d never been to the library before. They were looking for an easy recommendation, but they usually stopped coming after a few weeks.)</p>
<p>You need to find someone who’s known you for longer than a month or two. I’m not trying to discourage you, but you need to consider what the school will see. A two month volunteer stint does not give any kind of comprehensive picture of the kind of student you are, talent you have, or contribution you can make to a college. Show the real you! That’s who the schools want to see!</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know what to do. My doctor has offered to write a recommendation for me. He has known me personally(not just as a doctor) for many years and he is a teacher at a local college. Would that be an acceptable option?</p>
<p>It seems like he would be a good option for you. How kind of him to offer to write you a letter! In addition to knowing you for so long, he will have more credibility considering the fact he is both a doctor and college instructor. Excellent choice!</p>
<p>Best of luck to you as you prepare your applications! This can be such a stressful and exciting time!</p>
<p>Having your doctor/friend do a recommendation is great. My S also had his music teacher write one, as well as a homeschool dad we had in our homeschool group. Have you been part of a co-op or homeschool support group? Or perhaps a church? Colleges are fairly flexible about the letters for homeschooled students – feel free to ask your admissions advisors for suggestions. They are there to help!</p>
<p>Unfortunately I haven’t been a part of any homeschool support groups. I would’ve liked to join one, but both of my parents work for most of the day and I don’t have a driver’s license yet so I wouldn’t really have been able to do that. (Those are also the reasons that I haven’t done as much volunteering as I should do.)
Thanks to both of you for the replies.</p>
<p>Yeah it sounds like with your limited options, a friend who knows you well would be the best option. Good luck with your apps! I am homeschooled as well so I know it can be super stressful.</p>
<p>As a homeschooling mom myself, I am surely biased, but your mother’s assessment of your academic work is entirely valid, provided she was integral in your homeschool experience. She is qualified to write a letter on your behalf so have her write a letter detailing your homeschool experience, including your homeschool program’s philosophy, its adherence to state law, its comparison to state high school graduation requirements, along with the discussion of your strengths and weaknesses, and including information about your challenges and anything that was unique about your homeschool program. </p>
<p>We ran into this issue, because, despite having gone to public schools myself and having had an easy time getting recommendation letters from several teachers and club sponsors, etc, I forgot that my kids might be asked for these letters once they started to apply to college. In some cases, my kids have decided not to apply to certain schools that have those requirements (sometimes the list is so long, that it is clear the school is very traditional-minded, and not likely a good place for a homeschooler anyway.) For others, I provided very detailed information about our homeschool program, and we relied primarily on the SAT and ACT scores. If you can get really high scores on those tests, then those letters may not be as essential. If a college is going to deny admission based on a letter of recommendation alone, then it is not a college I would want my kids to attend.</p>
<p>Beyond your parents, think of any adults with whom you have dealt over the last 12 years who could speak about you as a person. If you don’t have a single person who could write something, and you have your heart set on going to a school that requires these letters, then you might consider enrolling at a community college first, excelling in academic core classes, establish relationships with some of those professors, and then transfer based on your college record.</p>
<p>In any case, don’t let these letters of recommendation get in your way. If you really want to go a particular school, then find a way to get an interview with them and be your own best advocate. Present them with a well-organized portfolio that supports your competitiveness as a student, and then let them get to know you as a person, face to face. Think outside the box. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, thefirstmonth and chesterton. I will ask my mother and the doctor to write letters of recommendation for me, and hopefully that’ll be enough. I really appreciate all the help all of you have given me.</p>