I don’t know if I’m in the right forum I made an account just to ask this. I was planning on doing a post grad year at a boarding school for this year but I don’t think that is the best for me but then again I’m not completely sure. I have been homeschooled my entire life but have been taking college courses for a while and have a lot of credits so I wanted to take this year to divulge my interest. I just don’t know what is the most productive route to take and what will look good for college. My curriculum for homeschooling has been a little diverse and probably not the most traditional. I only got a 28 when I took it 3 years ago kind of as a practice so I’m sure I’ve improved but I’m not sure if I will do extremely well on it. I’m a little worried being a homeschooler and not having an outstanding test score that it won’t fare well with colleges. I’m wondering what I should do this year to make me more attractive as a candidate. I feel like some schools are skeptical of homeschoolers.
Basically, I would like to know what I could do this year that would be the most beneficial. Should I look for internships and if so what kind, or should I do service abroad? I just don’t know what I should do this year. I hope I didn’t mess up by taking this year off. Any answers are greatly appreciated thank you!
Do you mean you got 28 on the ACT? That’s a respectable score. What colleges are you aiming for? Before talking about your gap year, I want to say that I absolutely think you need to apply to a college for Fall 2017 admission, or even Spring 2017 admission, and defer if you want to. The farther away you get from your high school education, even if home schooled, the more difficult it will become to get all your necessary paperwork in place. Get into a college, then defer so you can take a gap year. It is very common.
If you are aiming for more prestigious collegs, retake the ACT. You ideally want a score that is above 30. Basically, a higher score can get you merit aid, and improve your admission chances. Otherwise, your score is fine. You have a lot of college credits, but be sure they are actually transferable. I suggest you ask athe college that gave you the credits which other colleges will accept them.
I don’t think there is a bias against home schoolers, particualrly ones who have been motivated to make full use of their time outside of schooling. I might be totally wrong though, as I don’t know much about it. There is a whole forum on CC for homeschooling, so you might post this question over there.
Gap year ideas abound. Get a job. Volunteer. Travel. Do more courses. Service abroad. Do a training course. Sure, get an internship, though I don’t know the best ways to do that. Perhpas focus on your interests in interning. If you apply to colleges for fall 2017, get started doing soemthing now so it can be added to your application. You are best off doing things that interest you, but you will never go wrong with getting a job and earning money for college.
We’re a homeschool family in a large network of NYS homeschoolers. In my experience, colleges take us seriously. Many homeschoolers have a combination of test scores, dual enrollment course transcripts, and AP exam results, so what would colleges have to be skeptical about?
It isn’t necessary to do a service trip. There are plenty of places to volunteer here. You could get a job too. There’s nothing wrong with working to earn some money while you figure out what you want to do. My son spent his gap year working, traveling (in the US), and volunteering. He also retook the SAT. If you scored a 28 on the ACT a few years ago, you should definitely retake it. Spend some time reviewing the material and do some practice tests first, though. If you can get a 32, you’ll qualify for merit aid at some colleges.
My kids have been homeschooled their entire lives and colleges take them seriously. They also have untraditional transcripts.
I agree with austinmshauri. Study and retest. Work on your vocabulary and writing skills.
thank you all for your responses I think I will take this year to do some programs abroad and definitely work on that score