<p>I am the parent of a high school junior with an unusual situation --he basically stopped going to school while spending enormous amounts of time at home involved in his own creative and intellectual work. We decided to homeschool so that his passions could garner him credit to graduate from high school. We went to the high school and told them he wanted to take just a few courses there and at the same time signed with clonlara, which assigns credits, creates a transcript, and confers a high school degree. We decided he would get the clonlara high school degree and apply to college from clonlara. We developed courses with an advanced curriculum for him, and we were on our way.</p>
<p>The public high school now surprisingly offered to accept the homeschool credits toward graduation --and even to review the work and give their own grades for it and even put the grades on the official high school transcript. Their grades are As --and do have the advantage of coming from someone other than a mother. Those grades, for courses that flowed from clonlara, can now flow back to clonlara as transcript grades from the public high school. They will be giving him a local high school degree through what they call "alternative routes to success" --an option usually available to remedial students, though our son is gifted. It is the standard diploma.</p>
<p>btw, the high school has agreed that as an "alternative routes student" he can get high school credit for college classes he has taken, something that was not allowed when he was a regular student. Interestingly, the high school is not able to do this for him because he is gifted --although he is-- but because he is a student with a disability. I think they felt if they did not allow this he would fall off the face of the earth.</p>
<p>The question: When we apply to college, will it be to his advantage to apply from the local high school as a non-mainstream student, or from clonlara as a homeschool student? Which is the most competitive position and the presentation of greatest strength? Does it make a difference? It seems to me his situation in high school is even more unusual than just homeschooling and I am unsure what colleges would think of it.</p>
<p>Any opinions here on how to fly for the college application?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>