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Important Tip for Parents of Seniors!
One of my friends saw me at the store and asked me a simple little question. “What should my senior be doing right now?” I suggest the following checklist just for seniors:
The FAFSA is a government form you fill out to determine your financial “need” for scholarships. Financial aid is sometimes “first come – first served” so apply as soon as possible in January.
2. Apply to colleges
Every college has its own unique requirements and time lines, so check each college website under “apply” or “admissions.” Most students apply to between five and eight colleges.
3. Sign up for college tests
Colleges may want to see the SAT, ACT, AP or SAT Subject tests, so sign up for those tests if you haven’t taken necessary tests already. Study for the test if you need to take one.
I am here to help you with your high school years and college admissions. My Gold Care Club will give you all the help you need to succeed!
When your child takes the PSAT in October, you will get the results in December. If you just received your PSAT scores, you may want to know what those scores really mean. You can get more information here: College Board Score Report http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/scores/report.html
When your child takes the PSAT next year, be sure to register your child as a homeschool student. When you do, the scores will come to you as quickly as they come to a school – which means you get the results a couple of weeks sooner. If you register your child as a student as the school where they take the test, then you will get the test results at the same time as other parents at the school.
Do you have more questions about high school tests? I have resources available to help.
Seniors
Parents need to fill out the FAFSA now, even if it is just an estimate. You can correct the FAFSA when you finish your taxes in April, but they need an estimate as soon as possible – every day later means missed financial aid.
Juniors
Register for the SAT or ACT, and take it in March. Plan your college visits; what colleges will you visit? What week will you go? It’s important to do these things now, so senior year goes well.
Sophomores
Look online at two colleges, a private and a public school. What do they want from homeschool students? What courses do you need? Do you need to take a subject test this year?
Freshmen
Be sure to cover the core classes: reading, writing, math, science, and history. Those are classes you need to cover every year.
Middle School
Avoid panic! Spend some time this month learning how to homeschool high school. That way next year you’ll begin high school feeling confident in your decision to homeschool.
Free Webinar! “Taking the Mystery out of the SAT & ACT Exams”
I’m so pleased to have the Institute for Excellence in Writing participate with this free webinar for homeschoolers. In it, I will explain the SAT and ACT. Then Andrew Pudewa will discuss how to teach essay writing for those tests. It will be a real meat-and-potatoes class filled with useable information, and I hope you can join us!
Andrew Pudewa is the founder, principal speaker, and director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Presenting throughout North America, he addresses issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. His seminars for parents, students and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve students’ skills. Although he is a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan (Suzuki Method) and holds a Certificate of Child Brain Development, his best endorsement is from a young Alaskan boy who called him “the funny man with the wonderful words.” He and his beautiful, heroic wife Robin are parents of seven, grandparents of three, and educators to their two youngest children at home in Oklahoma’s Green Country.
Taking the Mystery out of the SAT & ACT Exams
with Andrew Pudewa of Institute for Excellence in Writing
Monday January 23
5:30pm – 6:30pm Pacific
6:30-7:30 Mountain
7:30-8:30 Central
8:30-9:30 Eastern
I am praying you can help answer this. How do I know, if she will do better on ACT or the SAT? I want her to go with the test that best fits her. Any ideas on this? Thank you for your help,
~ Bertie in Washington
Dear Bertie,
You can’t find out until she has utilized a trial test at home. Just a sample test at home, one for SAT and also one for ACT. After that, find the one that will make her seem smarter. You can’t tell upfront. One third perform better on one, a third do better on the other, and a third do about the same. Has she taken the PSAT or SAT before? Either of those can give you her SAT score, then she simply needs to receive a sample ACT for you to find a comparison.
Taking a sample ACT and SAT is in all probability the single most effective strategy to enhance your likelihood of great scholarships, so I really encourage you to do that – and now could be a good time to get it accomplished! It does require 3-4 hours (and it’s a real pain, I understand! ) However it could mean THOUSANDS of dollars, which means it’s more than worth it.
After you figure out which test is best, then register her right away. After registering, you want to figure out what each college policy is for tests. Several require you to send all scores. Others need you to only send your BEST scores.
Do you have more questions about high school tests? I have resources available to help.
Misty asked me if it was possible to begin homeschooling during the high school years. Yes, you can! It is very possible and can end up being a great time for your teen to learn how to learn independently as well as explore the subjects that really interest them.
Seniors are usually starting to hear back from colleges. I hope you find out fantastic news regarding acceptances as well as scholarships.
Following the excitement from hearing about admission and scholarships, all of a sudden the reality of finances comes crashing down on parents. Even with a scholarship, just how can you pay for college?
It’s important to keep relaxed, even though you have been told an initial communication concerning scholarships. Since the truth is that scholarships come in waves. The first wave of scholarships was based on his SAT scores. The following wave of scholarships will be dependant on the FAFSA on January 1, associated with your financial “need. ” Sometimes there is also a third wave of scholarships. That wave will be dependant on additional factors other than scholastic achievement or financial need. It is often associated with a specific talent (football) or interest (engineering major) or skill (piano. )
You want to be perfectly situated to ride all three waves.
Learn how you can create homeschool records that win college admission and scholarships.
Learning a new language is work. You can’t just plop kids in front of a video screen and let them enjoy the ambiance of French. They really need to work at it. Success with foreign language requires being consistent every day. The problem with foreign language is the same problem I have with Weight Watchers. It only works when you actually DO the program! So sad… but so true.
Just because it’s work doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, though! Whatever you end up using for a foreign language curriculum, supplement with some fun activities.
Movies. Did you know that almost all DVDs have alternate languages? Most movies will have language options like French, Spanish, German, etc. When you watch a children’s movie, the vocabulary will be simple, allowing children to enjoy language exposure while watching movies on TV. About once a week we would watch movies in a foreign language; Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, for example. Since these were movies my children almost had memorized, we could watch it in French, or turn on French subtitles, and really have fun. You don’t have to understand everything they say on the movie, just understand what’s happening and listen to the spoken words. My kids loved that! If you use Disney and Pixar films, you don’t even notice that the lips don’t match – and it’s a fun way to laugh and joke while getting your 15 minutes for the day.
Video games. Set video games to another language. When John Nordlinger, senior research manager for Microsoft Research’s gaming efforts, wanted a refresher on his French, he started playing “Everquest” — the multiplayer online role-playing game — in that language.
Volunteer. Many social services have a high percentage of foreign speaking people. You can locate a food bank, clothing bank, or other resource that serves people. Spanish is nice because there are always people and things to help with pronunciation.
Facebook. If your teen loves Facebook and is able to write a short sentence, have them try Facebook in another language. What a wonderful opportunity to try working their foreign language skills in a fun way! It sounds like it would be a great fit for a highly social child! To set Facebook in French, go to Settings, Account Settings, and then Languages. Watch out they don’t set it for “Pirate” or “Pig Latin” however. Those are languages that colleges don’t seem to value as much <smile!>
iPad. You can watch foreign language channels on your iPad or iPod and practice your foreign language skills! Find the iPod app called “TVU.” You can’t get your local channels, but you can get channels from across the country and the globe! The app is much cheaper than cable, and you can get channels that broadcast in the language you want your children to learn. There are dozens of foreign language channels, including some in French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, and some lesser-known African and East Asian languages.
Livemocha. Livemocha allows people around the world to help each other with language learning, and provides our community with opportunities to learn and practice new languages together. It’s quite a time commitment, but many of my clients really enjoy it. http://www.livemocha.com/
Travel. Traveling in other countries can help children learn different languages while experiencing the art and culture of other countries. If these were done during high school, then you can give high school credit for the whole experience. It was never in my budget, but what a wonderful opportunity for a supplement.
These can make foreign language studies more fun AND more successful! I would love to hear YOUR ideas on making foreign language more fun!
When you are applying for colleges, you will need a great homeschool transcript. The good news is you can “do-it-yourself” and save thousands. Discover the Total Transcript Solution.
Once you get the PSAT scores, what happens next? Have your children take the SAT or ACT in the spring of junior year.
My daughter is going to take the SAT in Mar 2012. She’s taken the PSAT and we had her scores sent to our home. But when it comes to the SAT scores I was thinking of doing the same thing and then we personally send the scores to the colleges. Is that the best way to do it?
It’s cheaper to have scores sent directly. For that reason, if she scored good on the PSAT then I would send scores directly. If she scored poorly on the PSAT (below 50 in something) then I would pay the extra money and send them one at a time to colleges if possible. For estimating scores, add a zero to each PSAT score. 500 is average, 600 is good, 700 is great, and 800 is perfect. Anything over 500 is better than the average public school child.
Whether it is questions about honors, CLEP, or the ACT, I am here to help. My Parent Training A la Carte courses can help you become fully prepared for your next step in homeschooling.
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