Your advice/opinions on homeschooling for college

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

Hi.

After an as a freshman year at my public high school, the classes are really varied in terms of effectiveness but mostly are quite annoying.
They are always teaching toward the test and that mindset is shown in every way they teach. I’m not a fan of that because in general it’s just who can memorize the most and so and so. It’s not because this is hard but because it’s really ineffective in my opinion. I know I’ll be doing the SAT and other stuff for and during college, I’m not into the whole unschooling or whatever thing- it’s just these tests in particular are really dumb… It’s easy for me to do rote memorization but for my friends that are not intellectually inferior in any way this type of work isn’t cut out.
There are many things I want to learn myself, etc. For example my English I class was almost entirely reading comprehension and vocab tests filled with vocabulary I already know. The problem is that my writing skills are fundamentally lacking and that is what I want to spend time on if I’m spending time on english. I’m also going by other students’ telling me about other classes and how English 2 is full of busywork. My counselor wouldn’t even let me skip this because she said I would finish english too early. u srs? ._. They also actually had an “AP English prep class” which was for people that took English 2 in 9th grade (I learned that a few people had done that later… thanks, ms. guidance)

My Math class was taught rather boringly and I learned a lot more from youtube easily.
I already knew 80% of what they taugh so I was doing a lot of continued math studies at home. My school does not let me skip ahead, although they allowed me to queue for a possible double up so I can take math 3 and pre-cal in the same year (They do block schedules)

Biology I also already knew all of it… as for llabs we basically had just a bunch of toothpicks and marshmallows or looked through a microscope into pre-ready slides. I honestly don’t care how they look, or that “I have to see it for myself” but these things take entire class sessions.

The honors classes that I’ve taken are also not worthy to be called mentally stimulating. My one AP World class was pretty decent, but only because the teacher is known to be the best in the school. Other than the interesting material, it also mostly became just tips and tricks on how to be as vague as possible and cheat the test or whatevers. I wanted to make my notes into comics because I thought it was fun, but ofc not really. I’d rather do something like that than spend hours learning how to take advantage of a test’s guidelines. I also wish the tests were more about ideas than sentences straight off the textbook. I don’t want to be rereading textbooks, etc. but it is hard when questions are taken verbatim from very small, seemingly unimportant portions of the text.

Finally, I’m just sick of the GPA game. It’s just about how many APs you take and if you take a class P/F. The school even spent time telling us stuff like “Take a normal class to get an A vs and honors class to get a B so you don’t lose .5 points !! 1! ! 1” Which is pretty sad IMO. Most of the kids in my AP World class were grade obsessed as well and when my teacher decided to make one notes assignment not count, you would not believe the opposition. “Take away grades? Then what’s the point of coming to school?” “The assignment wasn’t graded? You mean I wasted all my time doing that?” “Pleez!! sob I need extwa cwedit sniff sniff”
“If I got a “B” this trimester will I get kicked out of Beta club!?!??!1/1//1”
Sickening.

The rest of classes are similar in that I feel like I’m wasting most of my time- the way they present the information is tedious and boring in almost all classes.

As for foreign language, I can already half speak chinese so I just have to learn to read it to continue my study (That’s the language class I was taking), but I am also self-studying Japanese out of interest anyway.

As the courses are mainly just names, after I take them and they hop onto my transcript no one is going to test me on the Scarlet Ibis or what exact little things like that.

If I wanted to take control over my courses/what I learn to be more effective, would homeschool be a good way? My goal is to be able to focus more on things that are important in the subject/do it at whatever speed I want, without spending time on projects that expend no thought but mostly just take time. Instead of wasting (At least, that’s what it feels like) countless hours on busywork or something I’m just going to forget over the summer because I don’t care and no one is after I just take this test. I want to focus far more on self-learning on things that are interesting, more on drawing, music, and I’ve also always wanted to write a book…
-Is it feasible to simulate a rigorous courseload through homeschooling/self study?
And will it be too hard to bear the responsibility of taking requirement records/finding the right courses?
I am mostly concerned about this because when I did search for courses, most are seemingly oversaturated with religion and stuff like that.
I’ve heard you can still take community college courses/self study for desired APs. Would that be good enough?

Tl;dr
School has so much busywork, the classes and tests are ridiculously easy though they teach badly, spending other time on my interests and more advanced things takes too many hours out of the remaining 7ish hours of the day…
If I put the education responsibility on myself, would I be able to use time more effectively to do the requirements and still have more time to spend on my extracurriculars?
Or should I just suck it up and go through with the grind/find a better way to deal with this?

Oh, and as for socialization- it sucks anyway, I’m sure you all would know. You won’t know if you are in class together with friends, even then it’s just sit down and shut up. 30 minutes at lunches and that’s it. So I don’t really think I’ll be missing much in that aspect.

Again I apologize for this jumbled mess, but I really need to make a decision soon and I really just don’t know all that much about this… I’ll respond to any questions/try to clarify a bit more…

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

What state are you in? Have your parents researched the regs to understand what the requirements are? What are they saying about it?

3

@austinmshauri
I am in North Carolina. Apparently it’s not too uncommon here, my parents do know the reqs in a sense…

I just don’t know what courses, etc. would be best.
They’re not too concerned about me doing homeschool instead, if that’s what you mean.

4

Okay, that’s great. My youngest will be a (homeschooled) senior in NYS this fall. Neither of my kids ever went to public school because I wanted to be able to study whatever we wanted on our own timeline and to avoid busywork and rote memorization. If your parents are on board, you’re a great candidate for homeschooling.

I think colleges like homeschoolers because they’re self-directed. Don’t try to copy public high school because you don’t want to blend in.

  • Make sure your parents understand what's required of them. Do they have to inform your district that you're homeschooling? Are quarterly report cards required? Do you have to submit results of a standardized test (such as the ITED or CAT-E) at the end of every year?
  • Do you have to show high school equivalency in NC for college admissions? If so, what are your options? In NYS, kids can do that several ways. Two of the most popular are to take the TASC (formerly GED) or get a letter from the superintendent of the public school they report to stating they've completed the equivalent of a high school education. To get the letter we had to show we completed a certain number of credits in history, science, math, foreign language, English, PE/health, and electives. You want to make sure you meet the admission requirements of the colleges you're interested in too. We did 4 years each of history, lab science, math, English, and foreign language, plus PE/health, art/music, and technology.
  • Can you take classes at a local community college? Many of our local homeschoolers attend a cc for at least a class or two a semester. Those are better than APs because the credits are easier to transfer than APs. Not all colleges take APs and the ones who do often want a minimum score. Just take the classes directly at the college.
  • We're secular, so we avoid canned curriculum because many seem to be religious based. I buy a lot of texts (mostly used ones) online (from Amazon, etc). Some people like to use the same publisher for every subject, but I use whatever interests me.
  • Scientific supply and Carolina Supply are good companies for lab equipment if you don't want to take your sciences at a cc.
  • Socializing is the easy part. Find a homeschool group near you. You could also join clubs, get involved in Scouting (Venturing, etc.), join a sports league, take community classes, volunteer, and/or get a job. My kids have a lot of friends because they're actively involved in different groups.
  • Online programs can be good but I prefer sites for individual subjects over those offering complete curriculums. Aleks.com ($20/month) is a math site we use. My daughter will be doing their college algebra this fall. It's straightforward and you work at your own pace. I think English Grammar 101 (free) is the other one we use. For everything else we use books or outside classes.
  • Take the PSAT, SAT, and/or the ACT. Use number grades so your parents can calculate a GPA for college admissions/scholarship consideration.

It’s not difficult to get started. Your parents will have to be invoved with the paperwork, but you can take ownership of a lot too.

5

Some home schooled students have posted here on CC that they are limited in their college choices because they have not studied a foreign language nor taken a lab science course as part of their curriculum. Be careful!

6

Of my three boys, the two who opted to homeschool through high school did much better transitioning to college (academically and socially) than my guy who chose to attend our public high school (where I work).

The difference is the education.

I know the school where I work is “average” (and stats back this up). I, myself, went to a good public high school. I tailored my homeschooled guys’ education to be more based upon what I experienced and they thrived. My youngest wanted the social aspect of public school and thrived in it. However, when he upped the bar to college it was tough for him until he adjusted (took a good part of freshman year).

None of the three had issues getting accepted to colleges and getting merit aid, though there’s no way my ps boy would have been accepted at as high level schools as my other two qualified for. All three are intelligent, but the lack of foundation youngest got in ps and his unwillingness to do more outside of school led to lower test scores even with a great GPA.

In your case… how does your high school rate statistically? How much are your parents able to assist with homeschooling? (You can do a bit on your own, of course, but you still need to know how to access resources.)

Google “The Well Trained Mind” and lurk a bit on the high school forum there for oodles of decent suggestions you can glean from. There’s a wide variety of posters (parents) there. Students (who continue to college) end up doing anything from community college to Top 10 four year schools. You’ll see the range of options.

I highly recommend homeschooling given the right circumstances. A tailored education can be the best education. Make sure you’re active elsewhere too. Don’t underestimate the need for social experiences too. A good combo makes a great foundation.

7

Thanks for replies so far, looking in to these options.

8

Read your OP and imagine being a teacher or coach picking a class/team. Would you pick yourself?

Part of doing well in school is learning that you must be able to thrive in less than ideal conditions. Life won’t hand you the best teachers, the subject matter that captivates your idiosyncratic interests, or the pace that suits you. Indulging your complaints with self-directed home schooling is unlikely to be a good idea.

9

@WISdad23 I see your point.
If there is a good choice though, I’d rather take it and work to make things better rather than accept it if possible, idk

10

I would suggest that you give your school a chance. I went to some lousy schools and managed. I think I have learned as much or more from adapting to lousy experiences as I have from experiencing comfortable experiences. Also, you are a freshman. Odds are, you are not the best person to make the call about dropping formal school for a makeshift alternative.

Just an aside: an acquaintance of ours has bright kids of which we are often reminded. The son was in gifted and talented programs. the parents made a big deal about him being “bored” in school as if a teenager’s boredom was an emergency. They got him to skip forward a grade but he was socially immature (which he and they interpreted as having difficulty relating to a relatively dimwitted crowd as opposed to immaturity). He went to college a year ahead of his school cohort to major in a STEM subject. After one year, he was doing poorly and is now living at home for a year. Tortoise and the hare should be learned at an early age. Had he stayed with his class, learned how to manage boredom, learned how to excel despite obstacles, learned that the world did not revolve around his discomfort, he might be doing better.

11

NC is VERY homeschooled friendly. Our state schools have no issues with homeschoolers. However they do expect that you complete core requirements such as X number of years of English, science, math and foreign language. Reporting requirement and testing requirements are minimum to meet the state requirements. However, some colleges expect more testing from homeschoolers.

Now you need to understand that successfully homeschooling take a lot of research, work and often money. Our program was 100% non-secular. This did limit some of our options in the local homeschooling community. We heavily outsourced part of our coursework. We reached the point where we needed outside help to take our student to the next level. Many subjects will require a skilled teacher to take you to the next level. IMHO, writing falls into this category.

As for getting into schools, our daughter and friends were accepted into many of the top 25 schools. However there courses were highly rigorous and many were taught online by well respected organizations. They also had taken the standard AP tests and also additional subject test required by some colleges.

12

While this is true, it’s also true that a lesser quality school can do harm to a good academic student by not providing a solid foundation for them. This is why I opted to homeschool my own kids when my oldest started 9th grade.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I went to a very good high school. Top kids went to top schools. When I went to college the academic transition was seamless. Freshman classes were just a continuation of what I was used to.

When my oldest hit middle school in our district, we went and talked with the middle school principal after I was concerned about the content (caliber) in his classes. We were told, “Public school isn’t here to teach the academically gifted student. Gifted students will do well no matter what they get in class. Public school is here to teach the average student and around here average students join the military, go to community college, or work at _____. Then we have to put more into helping below average students because the state requires it.”

We took that with a grain of salt and I watched what was going on with students I was seeing in the high school. There were talented students who were not reaching their potential due to not getting a decent foundation. Our school offered AP in those days. Getting a 3 was considered really, really good. Kids swooned over getting a 600 on an SAT section. These kids were getting a 4.0 GPA, but the bar is just set really, really low and it’s downright tough for them to make up for what they missed when they get to college.

Three years later we pulled out to homeschool. I wish I had started in 7th grade (as I did with my middle son) rather than 9th. I also wish my youngest had opted to remain homeschooling through high school. He admits it would have been the better academic option. My older two have absolutely no regrets with their/our choice to homeschool the high school years.

And as I mentioned, our school is statistically average. There are plenty of others out there just like us - and half are worse.

I still suggest the OP see where their school sits stats-wise, then factor that into their decision. If we were in a good district, homeschooling would have never crossed my mind. Since we aren’t, I opted to do what was best for my kids and that “best” certainly wasn’t messing them up by letting them stay in what I consider a sub-par school.

But if opting to homeschool, make sure the caliber is decent and make sure you’re in other activities too. My guys were all on our school’s chess team (and other community things). They took that chess team to states - and won as a team one year. Middle son won individually another year. They enjoyed it. The team certainly didn’t look down upon them because they homeschooled. Their coach was very pleased to have them!

13

Fair enough but you were the parent rather than a 9th grader.

14

^^^ I’ve had students at the school where I work lament to me about the caliber they are getting. One (who ended up doing fabulously well) told me she had to teach herself essentially everything on the SAT Math II test. I completely understand. When I told our guidance office that my middle son had Pitt as one of his safeties, he looked at me stunned and said he’d never heard of anyone using Pitt (Main Campus) as a safety before.

There are a few of us at school who offer guidance for top kids to reach their potential. We’ve seen the difference in good/average schools and know what can happen. Most, however, grew up in schools just like this one and don’t see the problem. They just see “super top” students (elsewhere - we don’t get them) as geniuses. That’s nonsense. We get the whole bell curve too. We just don’t provide a good foundation for them if they only do what the school asks - even if they do it well.

It’s not just my opinion. We had a “college adviser” come to our school through a Teach for America type of program before. He came from Gettysburg College, so had expectations. He was floored - just as I was. We often discussed the differences. And again, I don’t work at a “bad” school. I can only imagine what those are like. My school is solidly in the middle of the pack for school districts in PA.

Some kids will do extra on their own and work through the public school. Others prefer to avoid the nonsense and just work on their own. That’s all personal preference TBH. I’ll support either way having BTDT myself. There are pros and cons to both ways.

Fortunately most colleges realize what is going on and do their best to look at homeschoolers with an open mind. I know the schools my homeschoolers are/were at are definitely pleased they accepted them (with merit aid). They’ve done very well - earning accolades for their school as well as for themselves.