Whoops!  Did you forget that your child is a senior this year?  Have you completely spaced out about applying to colleges?

Some homeschool parents feel like they are always behind a step.  If senior year is upon you, and you haven’t begun the final sprint toward college, I can help!  My article called “Senior Year Hail Mary Play” can get you the winning touchdown!  In this article I share a story about my facebook friend Brittany – a very important story about success, perseverance, and planning ahead in case of a crisis year.   Let me share with you her success story!   You can still create your winning strategy now!

Read Senior Year Hail Mary Play

It would be lovely if every child wanted to specialize in something reasonable.  Something that made money, provided income, or was valuable for family harmony.  Sadly, most teenagers are still children, at least some of the time, and they may want to specialize in the most unusual things!  Instead of worrying, try to translate their interests into something reasonable.  In other words, if they DID specialize in that one seemingly – bizarre thing, what would that look like?

Loralee wrote to me because her child loves only legos.  If you took that interest and added a few years, what would it look like?

I just read one of your articles about encouraging your child’s passions. I wish my 15 yr old son had a passion like chess or piano or fiddle playing! While he does read a lot (like your son, I assume), and has hobbies such as leathercraft, and biking, the thing he’s passionate about is LEGOs! He loves them and wants to be a LEGO designer. My husband feels that’s a childish thing to be doing all the time (and so do I to a lesser degree). He’s has upper average grades, and we don’t live in Sweden, and there are a million other kids who want to do the same thing, so it doesn’t seem likely he’ll get very far in his desired field.  So, how do I encourage his passion when I feel he should be growing out of it?  Thank you very much for your time! ~ Loralee

Lego needs engineers. Engineers begin their careers with Legos. Legos are the cornerstone of many science and engineering programs, leagues, and clubs.  For that reason, it looks like Legos are a GREAT way to ignite passion!  Check out these links for more information:

Perhaps your child would like to compete in a science and engineering fair. To find one in your area, Google Science & Engineering Fair with the name of your state, or start by look at  ISEF: Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

For a “degree in Legos” working at the LEGO company, to create something knew a person might need a chemical or mechanical engineering degree. If you urge your child in that direction, you can’t go wrong. He’ll be prepared for anything! During high school, he’ll need math each year, plus biology, chemistry, and physics. By the time he is done with high school, he may have modified his goals slightly, but this preparation will give him maximum flexibility.

Making a transcript isn’t so hard….  Well….  Until it gets complicated, LOL!  Renee asked a question about how to put foreign language on the high school transcript when classes were taken at a community colleges.

This is what I would suggest for Renee:

Use the exact grade the college gave him.  A 3.7 is still a 3.7.  Each whole college class is a whole high school. credit.

I would use the college class titles, and indicate the community college where he took the class.  So for example:
*HCC Ger 101: Elem  German 1 – 1 credit *HCC Ger 102: Elem  German 2 – 1 credit

At the bottom of the transcript, define the acronym for your college:
*HCC is Highline Community College

In community college, it’s possible to get three high school credits of a foreign language during senior year if they take three quarters of foreign language in a community college.  That’s one way to catch up on necessary classes when something big is missing.

I hope that helps!  If you are working on your transcript, you can get more information on the Total Transcript Solution.  Then if you still have questions, you’ll be able to call me directly and we can discuss it!

Dear Parents of Seniors,

I know how busy you are, so I’ll keep this simple.

For scholarships, the most important thing is to DO THE APPLICATION NOW.  I often suggest that by January of senior year, if you haven’t completed all your applications, that becomes your priority.  I suggest you put ALL other things on hold and do ONLY your applications.  It can make a huge difference financially to get them done as quickly as possible.  Often scholarship money is first come, first served. Many clients are already hearing about great scholarships – which means less money available for others that apply later.

The first most important thing for scholarships is to apply now.
The second most important thing is the application essay.
The third most important thing is the FAFSA.
The last is looking for outside scholarships.

If you need some help, I have some resources to get you going quickly.

#1 Applications: Real Fast College Applications
#2 Essays: College Application Essays — a Primer for Parents
#3 FAFSA: Five Minute FAFSA
#4 Private Scholarships: College Scholarships for High School Credit

If you have done those things, this article will help you with the other things to do during senior year: 15 Point Senior Year Inspection Checklist

Just so you know, I realize life can get crazy, and I know this situation can happen to anyone.  I’m just hear to help – not judge.

Learn more about steps you can take right now to meet all of your homeschool high school goals.

Comprehensive Record Solution
Review by Molly Evert of My Audio School

I recently completed the records for my homeschooled son’s freshman year in high school.  I was nervous about writing his transcript and unsure about how to best showcase my child’s unique strengths, but Lee Binz demystified the process for me with her Comprehensive Record Solution.  In hindsight I needn’t have worried so much about the transcript, as it didn’t take me long to put it together once I had a good model to follow.

My son’s transcript shows that he received excellent grades, but a transcript is a limited document.  It cannot adequately reveal the academic rigor of my child’s coursework.  That’s where the Comprehensive Record Solution (CRS) comes in!  It is a useful tool which goes way beyond the transcript.  Lee taught me how to write course descriptions which authenticate the hard work my child has done, enabling me to show off areas where he shined.  In addition to descriptions for each of his classes, his comprehensive record also contains his reading list, an activities and awards list, and a selection of work samples from each of his classes.

Initially I was overwhelmed when I thought of documenting his high school records.  Lee’s encouragement helped me to overcome my fears and to tackle the process in bite sized chunks.  In the end, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would, even though I wasn’t as organized as I should have been.  It will be even easier next year, now that I have the framework completed and know what I should be doing along the way to streamline the process.

The CRS was convenient to use since much of the information is presented in three formats: audio, video, and print format.  I could use the format that appeals most to me (video) to learn the system.  Then I could easily flip to one of the articles to refresh my memory on specific points as I was going through the process, and I was even able to download some of the audio sessions to listen to on the go.

The features I liked best about the CRS were the samples and templates included in the course.  I gleaned a lot from looking at sample records that others had put together, and she had tons of sample course descriptions which I could easily adapt for my own purposes.  It was easy to jump in and get started using the blank downloadable templates provided with the course.  I was able to prepare a professional looking product relatively quickly thanks to the previously formatted templates.  Lee even offers to review some of your course descriptions to make sure you are putting your child’s best foot forward.

I initially thought the price of this course was steep, but I changed my mind after using it.  My son is still in high school, so we have yet to see what kind of scholarships he will be offered based on his grades and test scores, but well prepared and thorough records can only serve to help him as he seeks to get the most scholarship money he can.  I truly believe he will receive many more scholarship offers because of his excellent records than he would have if I had not prepared a comprehensive record.  I feel confident that his comprehensive record highlights his unique strengths and effectively demonstrates the rigor of his course of study.  Lee relieved this busy homeschool mom’s stress, by giving me the tools and the know-how to prepare excellent and thorough records.  For those reasons, I believe I will get exponentially more value out of this product than what Lee is selling it for.  With that said, I received a free three month trial of Comprehensive Record Solution in exchange for my honest review, and was not compensated in any other way.

How can a Christian find a good engineering school that is also a conservative Christian university?

We looked at local Christian schools that offer an engineering degree. We loved Seattle Pacific University in Washington, and George Fox University in Oregon. But I had a client who lives on the other side of the country, and she wanted some suggestions about engineering schools in other parts of the country.

I have a friend at church who is a professor of engineering, and he gave me some helpful suggestions for a client. He gave his opinion based on the quality of the engineering programs quality and the conservative theological stance. Here is what my engineering professor friend suggested:

Cedarville University in Ohio

Grove City in Pennsylvania

Calvin College in Michigan

Seattle Pacific University in Washington

George Fox University in Oregon

LeTourneau University in Texas

Messiah College in Pennsylvania

Geneva in Pennsylvania

Olivet Nazarene in Illinois

Andrews University in Michigan

No single list can help every parent, of course, and I have only visited two of the colleges on this list. But if you how to even begin looking, this list can provide a starting place!

The most important thing is to make sure your school, and the engineering major in the school, are ABET accredited. Many engineering companies will not hire an applicant with a degree that is not ABET accredited. It’s a VERY big deal.

Do your homework, to make sure a college is a good fit for your child, of course. And I hope this list can help you start your college search.

Kids have a learning style, right? Parents do too! I try to have a variety of ways to get information, so you can learn what you need to know. I have freebies for parents just starting to think about things. I have digital products for parents that are pretty good on the computer. And I have products like books, DVDs and CDs that are mailed to your home, because I know that some parents just need to hold something!

Here you can compare my online products with my DVDs. Ordering a DVD means a DVD mailed to you. The cost is $20 plus shipping. The A la Carte online products are completely online and nothing is shipped to you. The cost is $15, no shipping, and it comes with additional resources like an ebook, handout for the presentation, online articles to read, and often additional bonus things that are free. Using the online video is like watching a YouTube, and not more difficult than that. You get lifetime access to the video and material when you order online.

Comparing Finding a College

Finding a College Online 

Finding a College DVD 

Compare Getting the BIG Scholarships

Getting the BIG Scholarships Online

Getting the BIG Scholarships DVD

I know some people want to hold something in their hands, and the DVDs are great for those people. Others do well on the computer and appreciate the value of online products, and the A la Carte classes are great for those people.

Dixie wrote to me and suggested these three fun contests for homeschoolers. She said that homeschoolers are welcome to enter. Let me know if these look like fun for your family!

Art Contest
Students submit a digital photo of any art (other than photography) and submit it online at www.celebratingart.com. Two contests each year — Next deadline is April 3rd. There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a full color book that includes their art. Other artists of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published. Open to all students in the US and Canada. Each year we have several home schoolers who are among our national winners.

Poetry Contest
Students submit one poem 21 lines on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT 84335. Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of April 12 and August 15. There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their poem. Other writers of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published.
Our website at www.poeticpower.com also includes a database that is divided by grade and subject and contains over 1000 lesson plans on how to teach poetry. You can also subscribe to our newsletter with tips on teaching poetry.

Essay Contest
Students submit one non-fiction essay, 250 words or less on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT 84335. Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of Feb 15 and July 18. There are 10 winners in each grade division of 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their essay. Other writers of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published.