AboutBruce Expertise Choosing a college, college admission processes, admission for homeschoolers, preparing for the college interview, searching for scholarships, Christian colleges & universities, colleges in general.
Experience 22 years in higher education, including eight in admission and financial aid, 15 years interviewing students for admission and places in honors programs, academic advising, transfer counseling.
Education/Credentials BA psychology. MA Behavioral Science
Question My son was 16 (last year) when he passed Californias high school equivalency
exam (CHESPE). Previous to that he was homeschooled and missed out on
high school because of a health crisis. SO he has been going to a local
community college for a year now and is 17. His big wish (now that he's
healthy again) is to attend a 4 year college as soon as possible so he can be
with people his age and enjoy the social experience that college can be. We
are wondering how he might be able to help him apply for California colleges
to enter him as a freshman. Along with his dream of entering college as a
freshman with his peers he would also like to go to a school that has a
competitive swim team. ANy ideas on how we can get specific advice and on
how we can figure out good schools for him?
Answer Hi Zora,
You have a few different questions here, which I'll take in no patricular order :)
Re: swimming - college coaches are interested in students who come to them, but also somewhat skeptical. If your son has been swimming in clubs or other competitive settings I encourage you to get a letter of recommendation from his coach, and send this along to the college swim coaches with the times he has reached in his various events. This will be very important for the college coaches. He should expect to be invited in to swim for them at some point. Check the NCAA & NAIA web sites to find school in CALIF that have swim programs. Even Div III can be pretty competitive. If your son does not have a swimming resume to speak of yet, his best bet may be a school that is building a program and will let him try out or 'walk on' for/to the squad (that is, come in as a non-recruit).
As far as admission goes, you will find that schools will differ in terms of treating your son as a frosh or a transfer. His experience may not differ much, really. For some, it will depend on how many hours he has earned. His youthfulness is also a factor. Where I used to work, we would treat such a student as a frosh, even though we accepted the transfer credits. The key may be that you specify that he experience the freshmen orientation (not the transfer one) so that he will meet the other new frosh.
You ought to check early on with the schools making your short list if they will want your son to take the SAT or ACT. As odd as it sounds, schools may assign him a stautus based on which helps their reported averages more - his test score, or his transfer GPA!!
I hope this helps. Glad to answer more questions as they arise.
