Homeschooling Through Highschool??

[Brier Rose]

Hey everyone!

I didn't want to post this on the homeschool thread, because I thought it might get buried.

My DD will be going into 8th grade this year, and so I'm really starting to think more about a plan of attack for high school.

I know there are some of you here who have homeschooled all the way through so I was hoping to maybe get some advice from you.

How did you handle the transcripts/diploma issue?
The curriculum we've used in the past has always provided these things for us, but we're switching to Sonlight this year, so I have no idea what to do about this.


I pulled up what is required for her first year college plan, and it looks like this...
College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC)
Units

English

4 units

Mathematics
-Algebra I & II and Geometry
-one math course beyond Algebra II

4 units

Science
-life science with lab
-physical science with lab
-one science elective

3 units

Social Studies
-United States history
-World history
-one social studies elective

3 units

Foreign Language
-two sequential years of the same language

2 units

1237 for the SAT; 27 for the ACT); and, be able to validate completion of all CPC subject areas through submission of the following:

SAT 2- with the minimum required scores being:

English Writing - 520
English Literature - 530
American History & Social Studies - 560
Math IC, or Math IIC - 500, or 570
Biology - 540
Chemistry - 590
Physics - 540

I would LOVE suggestions from all of you to help me make sure I plan out a good path to meet the requirements!

One of our plans is for her to take some of her classes Jr./Sr. year at the University here, and to do the Sonlight Core 530 Brit. Lit.

Other than that!

TIA

 

[DiznEeyore]

I'm in the same place you are ... ds going into 8th grade, and then planning to homeschool through high school. I *think* we're going to do A Beka Academy, though ... it's pricey, but they keep all the records, are fully accredited, and even have a graduation ceremony in Pensacola each May (Can you say "Disney trip" after graduation?? LOL).

I have acquaintances who homeschooled through high school ... their eldest daughter is currently an engineering major at MIT. I don't know what program they specifically used, but I know they used the computer quite a bit. If I see them anytime soon, I'm going to get more specifics.

 

[Brier Rose]

We've used A Beka (DVD)for several years, and DD and DS both just got a little bored with it. Not saying we won't go back to it ever, just wanted to try something different.

DD actually used The MorningStar Academy last year, which was on the computer. (online)

She liked it OK, but it just still doesn't seem like a perfect fit for us.

I've heard a lot of good things about NorthStar as well.

 

[dis-happy]

First: what is the goal post graduation? If it is a 4 year college, you want to investigate their requirements now. Many colleges are now requiring more math and more foreign language than what you have listed. Make sure you aren't limiting your choices inadvertantly.

Good advice given to me: have your dd take the SAT every year beginning her freshman year. It will give her experience in taking it. Plus, schools only look at the highest score ever rec'd. She may do great on the English portion one time, the math portion another time, and only those top scores are counted.

Remember that colleges will weigh standardized test scores a little more heavily for homeschoolers, since they are more objective. When you write up your transcripts explain how you arrived at her different grades. A bunch of A's with no explanation will look suspect (even if she is a brilliant student). The end goal is to make the transcript look like a regular transcript so that college admissions can easily tell what she has accomplished and whether or not she is ready to succeed in college.

Check into dual enrollment. In our state, anyone 16 and over who is also still in high school can take classes at the community college for free. One semester of comm. college is equal to one year of high school. I had my dd take an English class to show that is able to do college level work.

There are several books out there, such as "Homeschooling Through High School" that can give you transcript ideas and references. There are also computer programs that can be purchased to input your info.

Make sure to keep track of extra curricula activities, awards, etc as you go along. You may not remember something from 3 years earlier. Also, think about people who can write her a letter of recommendation as you go along.

HTH!
My dd will be applying to college in the fall (entering 12th grade, homeschooled since K). Several homeschool friends made it into top tier schools for next year, including Chapel Hill and Harvard. We toured a lot of schools (starting her sophomore year). It's more of a process when you homeschool, but still worth it in the end. She has her eye on a couple of different smaller schools that she feels will fit her best.

 

[Brier Rose]

Thank you so much dis-happy! Great advice!

As of right now her plan is to go her first year here at Augusta State University. This is also where we're hoping to have her take classes Jr./Sr. year.

After that she plans to transfer to University of Georgia, and some where in there work in at least a year with their study abroad program.

The courses I listed above are what UGA considers requirements.

Do most colleges require more than 2 years of Foreign language? She is taking French 1 now for 8th grade, with plans to move on the French 2 after that. Would you advise to continue on with the French past that then, or are they looking for a second Foreign language?

As far as Math goes, what we have planned now is..
9th grade- Alg.1
10th grade -Alg.2
11th grade - Geometry
12th grade- Calculus

Can you tell me what other Math's you have seen required?

Also, do you know the names of any of the computer programs that would help keep track of this information?

TIA

 

[alloyd1170]

I used to be a French teacher in SC (now Im home with my kids). Please double check the reqs for foreign language. I know here in SC, at least the top colleges (Clemson, etc) if not all, started requiring 4 consistent years of a foreign language, and that was back in '98. That means 4 straight years of one language. Some were trying to take two years of one and two years of another.

Alison

 

[Brier Rose]

Unless UGA's website is wrong, they are still only asking for two years of foreign language.

Really I guess in the end it doesn't matter. One of DD's passions is to learn as many languages as she can, so even though she is doing French 1 and 2 for 8th and 9th grade, she still wants to continue on.

How many years of French would you suggest before moving on to another language.

I mean, I know it's something she will always need to practice/study if she really wants to master it.

Just wondering when to introduce something new into the mix.

 

[dis-happy]

Sorry, I mis-read your math requirements, and thought you were only taking 3 years---4 starting with Alg. 1 will be fine. Geometry is usually a 10th grade class, and pre-calc. would take the place of physics, although it might depend on which curriculum you are using.

You could keep French then add in Latin. I would do at least 3 years (what most schools require now as a minimum). If you start in 8th grade, how will you include this in your high school transcript? FWIW, most college addmissions seminars we've sat through have stressed depth. We have done French since 2nd grade and for all 4 years of high school.

Not quite sure I understand the SAT requirement--it sounds pretty high. Is that based on the old test of 1600 or the new test of 2400? Another thing I've seen with the new SAT is that schools that used to require an ACT writing test (or SAT2 writing) have dropped it since the new SAT includes writing. Since you know you want those particular schools in GA I would try to attend a college admissions night at a local high school, or sign up to do a tour and listen to what they say they're are looking for.

One thing that was stressed to me a lot by an admissions provost who spoke to homeschoolers: you can't start too soon in figuring out what you want re. college. The time you spend now, investigating and planning for the high school years will pay off later.

 

[alloyd1170]

I started taking French in high school, and continued through college. I then changed my major to French. When you get to the upper level classes, everything is done in the target language, and its pretty intense-reading big time novels, discussing them and writing papers in French.....I tried many many times to take up Spanish but have yet to get past Spanish I. I will say once you learn one romance language its easier to pick up another, but I kept mixing the two up. The other good news is that the romance languages are based a bit on Latin, so it was a huge help with the vocabulary section on the SATs and so forth. I took a few Linguistics classes in college, which I found very interesting and helpful with vocabulary building.

Today there are more and more options available for languages (Russian, Chinese, Japanese, .....). Most Europeans speak at least 3 languages fluently. I had a tour guide who spoke 7. I would definitely start with either French or Spanish since those are probably the two you will run into the most these days. Once youve mastered one, the others will be easier as you will understand how the verb tenses work. 4 years is not enough to master a language. There comes a point when suddenly you dont need to translate in your head anymore. It just clicks for some reason. The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. I spent time in Paris and in Nice where I was forced to learn French since the people I lived with did not speak English.

alison

 

[tabrizia]

Not quite sure I understand the SAT requirement--it sounds pretty high. Is that based on the old test of 1600 or the new test of 2400? Another thing I've seen with the new SAT is that schools that used to require an ACT writing test (or SAT2 writing) have dropped it since the new SAT includes writing. Since you know you want those particular schools in GA I would try to attend a college admissions night at a local high school, or sign up to do a tour and listen to what they say they're are looking for.

My sister and brother in law graduated from University of Georgia, and the SAT scores are for the old 1600 test. This is because Georgia has the HOPE schollarship where public school students (not sure about others) get free tution in college if they go to an instate public school and have over a 3.0 average in high school. This means that the top tier Georgia schools (Georgia Tech and University of Georgia) have extremely tough requirements to get in instate including pretty high SAT score requirements.

FYI for the math requirements asked about high up, most school's won't count Physics as a math it is normally considered a science, so it is better to either go with Pre-Cal as a math or to go to the community college for the last math class and take College Algebra.

 

[Brier Rose]

FYI for the math requirements asked about high up, most school's won't count Physics as a math it is normally considered a science, so it is better to either go with Pre-Cal as a math or to go to the community college for the last math class and take College Algebra.

I don't know what I was thinking when I typed in Physics for 12th grade Math, because she will actually be taking Calculus!

She does have to take Physics, as UGA requires her to have a 540 on it with the SAT subject tests. Maybe that's where I got it mixed up..so just wanted to clarify.

 

[dis-happy]

Okay, I'm getting the bigger picture here (sorry I'm so slow!). From what I can tell, your dd will actually be a transfer student into UGA. If that's the case, the requirements may be different. You may not need some of the things they require for freshmen, or you may need certain things to happen her 1st year at Augusta.

I would talk go talk to addmissions at UGA and see what they have to say. Also, some larger schools now have admissions people who do nothing but assess homeschoolers' applications. Ask about their policies re. homeschoolers.

The HOPE scholarship makes the high requirements more understandable. But wow, a lot of kids don't test that high on the SAT and still do well in school. I'm surprised that it's a hard and fast minimum score.

Finally, make sure you visit these schools sooner rather than later to make sure you like them. When we visited Chapel Hill (which everyone in NC raves about) we realized it wasn't the place for my dd---too big and spread out. She really preferred the smaller schools where students and professors actually interacted more. Duke was another surprise disappointment (even before the lacrosse scandal).

Good luck!

 

[mickeyfan2]

As far as Math goes, what we have planned now is..
9th grade- Alg.1
10th grade -Alg.2
11th grade - Geometry
12th grade- Physics

Did you mean trig for 12th grade? Physics is a science class. I would try to the math classes a year earlier and do some calculus in 12 grade.

 

[Brier Rose]

Finally, make sure you visit these schools sooner rather than later to make sure you like them. When we visited Chapel Hill (which everyone in NC raves about) we realized it wasn't the place for my dd---too big and spread out. She really preferred the smaller schools where students and professors actually interacted more. Duke was another surprise disappointment (even before the lacrosse scandal).

Good luck!

Well, we're definitely not "set" on a certain school, but we know most likely 1st year will be Augusta State, just because it's a smaller school close to home.

As far a UGA goes she knows she like it, as she has pretty much grown up there! It's a family tradition! PLUS..she is also really hoping to make the equestrian team there.

BUT..

She actually mentioned wanting to check out Stanford (very homeschool friendly) last night. Can she even get further away! But then..she also wants to go to school in Italy, so I guess the answer to that is yes!

 

[Brier Rose]

Did you mean trig for 12th grade? Physics is a science class. I would try to the math classes a year earlier and do some calculus in 12 grade.

Yes, tabrizia pointed that out to me yesterday.

It was just a misprint. I have planned for her to take Calculus for 12th grade Math, and Physics for 12th grade Science. I just put it on the wrong list.

My brain is a little