Expert: Bruce - 6/6/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi my name is Alysha and I'm homeschooled, I'm enrolled  in an online highschool (Penn Foster) which i enjoy very much. Actually I just recently completed my courses and am now awaiting my diploma and transcripts and such.
I'm only 16 and don't plan on going to college for another year or so. Because I got done so early,and I didn't really expect it, nows the time I'm really getting ready to take all my tests.
I plan on taking the SAT, SAT subject tests and a couple of APs.
basically what my main question is, because I was homeschooled and I went through a credited school to get a diploma so I might not have to take the GED, I'm not sure what my chances are of actually getting into a good school.
I'm a hard worker and though I don't know my GPA yet (we don't know until we get our Diploma and transcript)My grades only really ranged from A and B's, I volunteer regularly and am involved in a couple of extra curricular things.  
But to try and make my already long story short, I know  don't know my test scores or GPA yet but what colleges are welcoming to people like me? I don't want to fall in love with a school that has everything I want to then find out they don't usually accept homeschoolers.
Some of my favorites already are NYU, Syracuse University, Eugene Lang, and Boston University. If you could help at all It would be soooo appreciative.
I know its complicated and I may not have explained my situation in the best way , but whatever help you can give would be great.
Thanks so much

ANSWER: Hi Alysha,

I've worked with many homeschoolers over the years and am pretty well-versed on the issues, so I think I can help you.
In fact, earlier this week I reviewed files of 40 homeschooled students to make sure that their documents were in shape for receiving financial aid.

A couple of questions for you to help me know how to advise you:

What are you hoping to study in college?
Is NY your home state? If so, there's a whole other series of issues that come in to play for
1) a NYer wanting to receve state aid and
2) a homeschooler wanting to graduate from a NY college

These are not major issues, but they do inform the paperwork you keep just a bit.

Lastly, is there a 2 or 4 year college located near you?

Look forward to hearing back from you.

Bruce



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm not 100% positive what I plan on majoring but I think I'd most like to study either journalism, film study or graphic design, which seems to point me more in the liberal arts school direction.
and yes I live in NY. I would hope to find a school in NY but that's not really a must for me. As long as its on the east coast.
A four year college not to far from me is Nazareth college and a two year would probably be Monroe Community college.
I don't really have that much interest in going to either one just for the fact that they don't really seem to have anything I'd like to study, but I'm not sure.
Thanks again

Answer
Hi Alysha,

Some thoughts for you.

The colleges most familiar with homeschool admission are the Christian colleges, which in your region means Roberts Wesleyan and Houghton, BUT there's no reason that other schools will not admit you, and chances are they see homeschoolers, too, just not as many as RWC and HC.

I did some chhecking and Penn Foster is recognized by its home state and also by a regional accrediting agency and that is going to be helpful to you. Your colleges should treat the PF diploma just like a regular high school diploma, but there are a couple things you should do when college application time rolls around -I assume you'll start college in fall of '08.

1) you should copy from the PF Web site the page that describes its accreditation/recognition and print that and send it in with your college applications. You should also send that to the financial aid office, with a cover letter, to each college, if you'll be looking for FA.

2) If you have been keeping separate track of your school work (apart from the PF record) you should tidy that up and be prepared to send that in if schools request it. Similarly, if you have read a lot and kept a reading list as many homeschoolers do, send a copy of that with your applications.

You can go to the homeschool section of the Houghton College Web site for a sample template for reporting schoolwork if you want some ideas on that.

As far as standardized tests go, I recommend that you take the ACT as well as the SAT. It is recognized as being just as vaid a measure (some schools prefer it) and becuase of the way the test is structured, some students will far better on it than they will the SAT. If you think SAT subject tests will be necessary for some colleges, by all means take them.

However, I do not see any good reason to take AP exams, unless a school on your list wants them. What I would do instead is contact the colleges near you and see what kinds of classes you can take - Monroe CC will be inexpensive but schools like Nazareth, SJ Fisher, U of R and even Brockport may have reduced prices for high schoolers. See if you can sign up for 6 credits (2 classes) this fall, and two more in the spring. You should also look into the SUNY Learning Network and its vast array of online offerings.

College classes offer a couple of advantages over APs:

You should be able to transfer the credit as long as you have a C or better, to the schools accepting you. With AP it will all depend on the exam score (and schools differ in what they require), so its less of a sure thing.

If any colleges have concern about your adjustment to the regular classroom, this experience in that setting should allay those fears.

Good grades in a couple of college classes should help your application.

The kinds of classes you should take:

Intro to Psych, art history, Intro to Sociology, Government, pre-calculus*, foreign language, science (w or w/out a lab), literature, philosophy or almost any history class. At this point you should avoid classes in the areas you may study at your four year school

*with regard to pre-calc, I think a good strategy would be to find a class in pre-calc (or college algebra/geometry) to take this fall - and sign up for the November or December SAT/ACT. Having that dose of math right before the test could be helpful.

As far as colleges go, I know you are still sorting all this out, and it depends on major. If you want to be able to dabble in all these areas in college, go to a liberal arts college, rather than a school set up like a university, or else make sure that if it does look like a univ, you know how easy it is to take classes across schools. Perhaps you can get some experience the next year to help you try out these areas of interest. With schools in urban settings, be sure to inquire about housing, esp beyond the first year.

BTW, St Bonaventure in Olean, NY has a fine journalism program and is worth a look.

I hope this helps Alysha. Please feel free to send more questions through allexperts.

Bruce