Thinking about an umbrella school next year? The grass may not be greener on the other side, as one mother so clearly demonstrates in her blog question.
I just read about your transcript help. I am so overwhelmed. Last year my son applied for and got into a very competitive performing arts public high school. The problem? They refused to “count” his 9th grade work and insisted he redo the 9th grade!
He begged me to enroll him in an umbrella school so he would have a “real” transcript so he could feel some sense of assurance he’d get into a good college. He is interested in Rice University. I actually had called Rice before I re-enrolled at Clonlara. I mainly was asking them how important an “official transcript” was as oppose to my making one and creating a portfolio for him. I know they focus on standardized test results too, so the transcript feels like a formality to me. He said it was, but anything that made it easier for them (an official transcript) was better. So I paid the money (to Clonlara) to do a “review” transcript for his 9th grade year and I paid for his last year. And I just signed up for this year (actually for he and his brother). But I am NOT happy with it. They are making changes this year and the paperwork is horrible.
I dread, dread, dread dealing with all of that. I keep telling myself, “well it keeps me organized” but really, I slacked off last year because I figured their “official” transcript was what was going to count anyway. But I feel like I am just paying a diploma mill. I don’t even know what Clonlara’s reputation is among colleges, or if they even have one. My frustration is that I have very high standards for their education and I am not happy with Clonlara’s standards. My frustration is that I am still bound by stupid policies and paperwork that take up time that I could be spending doing other things (like homeschooling…).
And I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t even looked at their graduation requirements until a couple of weeks ago! How did I miss that? They only require 22 hours and only 2 of these in math and NO foreign language credits. Of course we are doing much more than that – much more. We are aiming for 4 years of math, science, English, and social studies and 3 years of foreign language. I just need the assurance for my son that my homemade transcript will carry MORE weight than Clonlara’s. Do you honestly think that could be the case?
I know you are busy but I desperately need to make a decision soon. I hate the thought of losing the money I’ve already paid to Clonlara, but I would love to have my homeschool freedom back.
Many thanks,
~ Ann
Dear Ann,
I think the real problem is the word “official.” YOU provide an official transcript. Clonlara provides an accredited transcript.
A homeschool transcript can say “official transcript” and be official – just like mine did. It just wasn’t accredited. When they talk about not having an official transcript, they mean you’ll provide a portfolio of work for them to review, with no homeschool transcript at all. What he was asking for was for you to make a homeschool transcript – not asking for an accredited transcript. At least that’s how it sounds to me. Here is a blog post, different issue but same concept: The Difference Between Accredited and Official Transcripts.
The fastest and easiest way to solve this problem is to call Rice University. Go to their website, try to find their homeschool admission policy, and then call to speak to a admission representative. Explain that you can either get a poor education using an accredited program, or homeschool independently and provide a superior education. Find out their policy. That may be the assurance that your son needs and give you the freedom to do what you want to do to educate him well.
Then you can read together this article: Homeschool Accreditation: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Your transcript may not carry MORE weight than Clonlara’s. However, a better quality education WILL carry more weight than a lower quality of education. Focus on helping your children learn in important and meaningful ways, then you can be more successful.
If you want encouragement along the way, and more detailed help, then consider the Gold Care Club. If you need help with your transcript, then the Total Transcript Solution will help.
Some colleges want to see your homeschool transcript as a piece of paper that you mail. Other college, and some other situations, require that you provide your transcript by email.
When you are submitting your transcript electronically, you want to make sure nobody but you can edit it. To make it un-editable, and therefore more official, change your transcript into a PDF document before emailing it. Microsoft Word 2007 will allow you to “Save File as PDF” There are many free resources online that will allow you to convert your documents into a PDF format as well.
Remember to make a PDF transcript when you submit it electronically.
That’s all for today.
Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!
Do colleges want work samples mainly from the child’s senior year?
~Theresa
Dear Theresa,
Thank you for your question! Some colleges will want samples of work, and other colleges will not. When a college asks for work samples, they may not all want the same sort of thing. In the colleges that we applied to, one wanted a written lab report from science, another wanted a math paper in the student handwriting, and a couple of colleges wanted a graded English paper. Other colleges may request a sample from other subjects. None of our college specified that the work samples had to be from senior year.
To make sure that you have any work samples that may be required, it can help to be a little bit organized. I kept a binder with a tab for each subject. I tried to collect work samples in every subject. My goal was to have a few work samples in every subject that was listed in the transcript “just in case.” I figured that no matter how many colleges we applied to, even if they all asked for exactly the same thing at exactly the same time I would still have enough work samples for everyone.
If you haven’t kept work samples all along in high school, then it’s fine to provide them just from senior year. If you are applying to college early in the fall, then you can always create any necessary work samples that may be required (“Honey, you need to do a lab report this week, because the college needs one.”) If you have kept work samples from every year of high school, then use the BEST work sample you can provide. In other words, give them the scholarship-winning essay, not the one that has red corrections allover it, and give them their best math test from their best math year, not the most recent test when they were distracted by other things.
Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!
It’s difficult to know exactly what records to keep and exactly how to keep them. Colleges may want to see samples of work, so always be prepared.
I have been wondering something as I am attempting to collect samples for the end of the year. Did you ensure that your samples you kept for transcripts were marked? As in edits, grades, etc? I have a habit of marking on work but wonder if I should keep clean copies of everything? Did you send in the original? Also, in your “binder” world, did you keep most everything they produced? If not, how did you find the courage to pitch anything? Guess I’m a tubby at heart…
~Rebecca
As far as samples, I think colleges prefer having something that looks like it has been graded; a math test, an English paper with some markings on it. Just remember you can choose to save the BEST math test and the BEST English paper. I didn’t keep everything, but I did try to have something for every class, plus I tried to keep all the BIG things. I kept final drafts of papers, but not every worksheet. I kept the final math tests, but not the daily work. If you are nervous about keeping things, think about how many colleges you might apply to. Keep as many things as there are colleges you apply to – and more than that may be more than you need. But you do want to keep enough to write a course description, even if you NEVER give it all to colleges.
I send the colleges one writing sample along with the course descriptions. That writing sample was not the original, it was just printed from the computer, and included after the the course descriptions. If a college asked me for a sample from a class, then I would send them an original. One college asked for a lab write-up, another asked for an English paper, and a third asked for a math paper in student handwriting. It wasn’t difficult, but I was certainly glad that I kept a sample from every course!
I have a new homeschool high school Twitter site. Get all the homeschool posts of parents homeschooling high school by joining my Twibe.
If you were going to measure an AP class, how much would it weigh? The number you see on the scale isn’t what they are talking about when parents mention “Weighted Grades” on transcripts.
A public school mom said that if my child takes AP classes they are weighted heavier and you need more than a 4.0 to get into some colleges…Only in 9th now…have time to figure it out but how do you weight AP credits?
~ Rebecca on Facebook
Look at this college website from Florida State University. It clearly states that no matter what you do or think about weighting of classes, they will re-work your transcript according to what they view as important. Every college will have their own unique way of dealing with AP courses, so you can give weighted credits for honors courses, or you can give regular credits and regular grades, and it will still be OK.
You need to recognize that public and private high schools all have a different way of providing grades and credits. Teachers within a single school may have their own unique way of determining grades and credits. Trust yourself! This provides you with a huge amount of freedom. You can do it in any way that makes sense to you and your family.
In the book I don’t give a lot of hard-and-fast rules. Instead, I emphasize that there are a wide variety of right ways to providing grades and credits.
I am reading Homeschoolers’ College Admissions Handbook by Cafi Cohen. I know the books is a bit dated. Should homeschoolers worry about portfolios anymore? I don’t really recall you talking about them.
Blessings,
~ Kate
Portfolios are also called course descriptions, comprehensive records, and other names. A portfolio is technically more of an art major or unschooling “scrapbook” of work. That’s why I opted to call mine a comprehensive record.
Many colleges (most?) want course descriptions, and it can improve your changes of admission and scholarship. My new book is mostly about course descriptions.
Here is the link to a $5 coupon code!
Setting the Records Straight: How to Craft Homeschool Transcripts and Course Descriptions for College Admission and Scholarships. Use coupon code X39CKFNC for $5 off
In the Tools and Templates section of the Gold Care Club, I always have a course description of the month. My comprehensive record contained: a description just like that from every class.
I think the book will help you with your course descriptions.
Get your homeschool transcript done with my Total Transcript Solution. The best part is I can help you implement it!
CLEP exams, Community College, and Scholarships can be confusing topics when homeschooling high school. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was just one single source for information, so you could figure it all out easily? It seems like there is conflicting information out there!
I attended your classes at the recent Homeschool Conference in Cincinnati. Just noticed your post on facebook and read the entire article (ReduceCollege Expenses with CLEP and CollegePlus! ) You mentioned your sons completed one year of college via clepping and one year via the local CC. And, you mentioned full-tuition scholarships. I was told at the conference (can’t remember if it was a speaker or a homeschooling mom) that if your child attends a CC, that eliminates your opportunity/possibility for a scholarship. This obviously isn’t true–at least, it wasn’t in your sons’ cases. Please clarify this for me–thanks!
~Carol
Here is the big problem, Carol. Universities are each unique companies, with their own policies. There isn’t a single answer out there. Each college will do it differently. They may each decide whether or not to accept AP or CLEP tests – and decide if they will be given credit, placement, or used for outside documentation only. They each get to decide their policy on who gets scholarships as well – just those who demonstrate “need” or those who have superior test scores. Those decisions are usually based on only one thing: what will increase their ranking nationally. What is the best business decision for their company.
Meanwhile, their crazy and widely-varied policies can drive applicants CRAZY!! I would love to tell you that you can ALWAYS get scholarships with CLEP or Community College – but that’s not true. I would love to tell you that you will NEVER get scholarships, if that were true, just to help you with your planning – but that’s not true either!
If you know a college has one policy, it’s tempting to think ALL colleges have that policy. If only that were the case! To be honest, some colleges accept AP (some don’t.) Some accept CLEP (some don’t.) Some accept Community College (some don’t.) And you really can’t give an answer for all colleges. I’m sure that the speaker honestly believed that their experience would apply to all colleges – but it doesn’t.
The university that my children go to had a unique policy. They would allow 1 year by credit (CLEP or AP) and 1-2 years of community college. They would not allow more than two years of a combined experience, and you had to attend that university for a full 2 years in order to receive a degree from them. In our situation, then, our CLEP and Community College credits all acted as outside documentation that our homeschool had been effective. They provided “data points” showing that my homeschool 4.0 was in fact accurate. It strengthened our overall college admission package, making us a better business investment for their scholarship money.
Your best plan is to check with your Number One college, and find out their policy. If you don’t have a first choice policy yet (unlikely for younger kids, I know!) then you may want to carefully read the policy on the four colleges where your child is most likely to apply.
I wish I could really clarify the issue for you. The truth is that you’ll just have to check with each individual university to see what policy they have.
For more information about scholarships, you might want to see my video called “Getting the BIG Scholarships” to learn about how to market your child to the colleges. For more information about Community College, you may want to read some stories about what community college is REALLY like. Read my blog posts on community college stores.
I have a friend at church whose daughter dropped out of school just before her Senior year, she is now trying to go through the public school system’s GED program and has had a terrible time finding teachers who can teach well! She ask me for help because she knows I homeschool.
Any suggestions on where she can get appropriate materials and a sample of what GED test requires?
~ Laurie
Sometimes a GED will be required. Perhaps it’s a finicky college that your daughter loves, or the perfect technical job for your high school graduate, there are times when colleges or employees may simply DEMAND a GED.
Before you panic, however, make sure you clarify what is truly necessary. Never assume that when they ask for a “High School Diploma” or an “Official Transcript” that they are excluding you! A homeschool diploma IS a high school diploma, and a homeschool transcript is official when you are homeschooling within the laws of your state.
If it turns out that your child still needs to get a GED, remember that it is only a high school level test. It’s intended to demonstrate the amount of knowledge learned in a public high school. It’s usually not a difficulty to obtain a passing score.
To study for the GED, I recommend the study guide by Princeton Review. Here is the book;
Once the GED is passed, help other homeschoolers in the future. Please talk with the college or employee and explain that a GED is not necessary because homeschoolers are NOT high school drop outs, but are simply educated in a different way, much like private school students.
Lee, I know your boys did the “CLEP route” before going to college. Did this shorten the number of credits they had to take in college? And, are you familiar with the program College Plus? Do you have any thoughts on this company? Thanks,
~ Kitty in Washington
We did use CLEP to achieve one year of college by exam. The biggest deal is to make sure the university you want to go to will accept those credits. The college my children attend, Seattle Pacific University, accepts one year of credit by exam. We also had one year of community college, so they both ended up beginning the university as a junior.
Because of their full tuition scholarships, we were not constrained by finances, and the kids were allowed to take 4 years to graduate anyway. For my son the engineer, it was imperative to take four years. For an engineering student, it’s extremely difficult to accelerate a four year degree. I’ve know kids with an A.A. degree from community college who STILL take four more years to get an engineering degree from a university. My guess is that most hard sciences are the same way – difficult to speed up. I do know one biology major who graduated in two years, I guess. But that’s only one.
My younger son the political science major has also gone to the university for 4 years, but in his case it was optional. As a social science major (politics and economics) it would have been easy for him to graduate within two years. Because he was young, we told him to take any classes that he wanted to and graduate in four years. He took additional French, Latin, Math, Piano, and Philosophy classes just for the love of learning. He is also graduating after four years, but he could have easily graduated in two years.
CLEP can shorten the number of credits you take in college. It depends on the college policy about CLEP, and it also depends on your major and whether it is possible to CLEP the classes that you need. We found that CLEP not only gave us college credits, documenting our homeschool and greatly strengthening their application, which helped them get great scholarships.
The unexpected benefit of CLEP was being able to afford four years of college after all!
I’m very familiar with CollegePlus! I think they are a great organization, with a great Christian worldview. They are most helpful with for degrees in the humanities, business and computers fields. There are fewer choices for engineering or the more technical fields of study. Here is a link to the degrees they can assist with. They also offer a wonderful mentoring program for students as they work through their college course of study.
If you only want to homeschool college for a year, or if you are highly organized and motivated to do it yourself, it’s completely possible to work
independently. I recommend that you read these two books on the subject: Accelerated Distance Learning and Bears’ Guide .
Foreign language requirements vary from college to college. Check with the college website and see what their policy is. Go to a college fair and ask questions of each college, to get their opinion. You’ll be surprised at the variety of answers, I’m sure!
I have a slightly off-topic question regarding whether Rosetta Stone and/or Power Glide are accepted as Foreign Language high school credits in preparation for most state colleges. Anyone have any information on that? We started Rosetta Stone Spanish, but were derailed with rumors that it was not acceptable as credit.
Thanks ~ Barb
I have not heard that rumor about Rosetta Stone. I do know that all colleges make up their own policy about every subject and what will transfer.
Most colleges will either accept homeschool foreign language or they will not. The choice of Rosetta Stone or Power Glide or Tell Me More, or Bob Jones may not ultimately matter. If a college accepts one, they usually accept all.
On the other hand, if the college does not accept a homeschool credit in foreign language, there are alternatives. Those colleges will often accept TESTS in foreign language, even though they don’t value the homeschooling nature of the class. So they may accept your high school credits if they are accompanied by a SAT Subject Test, AP exam, or CLEP Test in that foreign language.
Some colleges do not accept homeschool credits or testing for proof of a foreign language, and yet they will have a policy of “reviewing the whole student.” In those colleges, you may be able to find a way around their policies by explaining in concrete, whole-student ways. Letters of recommendation, proof of translation skills, etc., may convince them that your child has the necessary skills.
Some colleges are real sticklers. A non-homeschool-friendly college will have additional hurdles for homeschool students. They may insist on studying a foreign language with a certified teacher. In that instance, you may decide not to pursue that college. You might also decide that the college is SO desireable that you are willing to have foreign language classes in the public high school or community college, to meet the admission requirements.
It’s better to teach foreign language than avoid it. Even if you find out that your child must take the foreign language again in the community college, it will only end up improving their community college GPA. Don’t let the fear of one college or one rumor change your homeschool or the way you educate your child.
Click here to read more about why teaching your homeschooling high schooler is highly overrated.
Filed under: 
Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
