Is it possible for a homeschool to provide high school science that will be acceptable to the colleges? My boys had biology, chemistry and physics at home, all with science labs, without any outside help from schools or co-ops. Not only did the colleges accept our science records, they also offered us great scholarships, including two full-tuition scholarships at my son's first choice university!

In our homeschool, we had "Biology with Lab" on the transcript. I gave course descriptions for colleges. The course description was a paragraph long, and described how we taught biology. Much of the information I got from the catalog description of the textbook we used. I wrote a list of the labs that we did, using the list from the book's table of contents. I demonstrated my grading criteria, carefully showing every chapter grade, and a grade for every lab write-up my children completed. A good lab write up got 100%, but some of them "weren't so good." That gave the colleges a thorough explanation of exactly what our transcript meant when it said "Biology with Lab." I saved all the tests and all the lab write-ups, in case a college would ask for a sample of their work (some did!).

We did all our work in all our sciences at home by ourselves. To be honest, I don't know a thing about physics, so my kids were completely on their own with that one (with some help from a video tutorial.) I just graded tests and looked at the lab write ups. (If the lab write up made sense to me, they got 100% - if it didn't make sense to me, they got something less.) Although I do understand biology and chemistry, they did most of that work on their own as well.

Many (even most) colleges will accept lab sciences done at home. There are some exceptions, however. For example, the University of Washington wants "proof" of science. That's why they prefer the ACT test. The ACT covers more than reading, writing and math. It covers science as well. They accept the ACT test as "proof." They also accept SAT 2, AP, and community college lab sciences as "proof." But the University of Washington is in the minority, because most colleges don't have additional requirements. The UW policies have also changed a lot over time. If your child is interested in ANY college, it's a good idea to check their policies every year, because they can change dramatically.

Forgetting about record keeping is on of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." If you are thinking about accreditation and transcripts, you are probably not going to make this mistake! Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

My e-book, "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts" will show you how to how to package that great at-home education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Binz

A homeschool mom in Georgia asked me whether she needed to have an "accreditation counselor" or whether she could do it all herself. The answer depends a lot on individual state law. From a "national" perspective; however, colleges get applicants from everywhere - from schools they know and a lot of schools they don't know. Not all public schools or private schools are accredited. Colleges don't always know which public or private school applicants are from accredited schools and which are not. Usually, they look at homeschoolers the same as they do applicants from an unfamiliar high school. That's one of the reasons why they look at SAT and ACT scores, transcripts and essays.

In my experience, it's almost always the public high schools who are most concerned about accreditation. I almost NEVER hear colleges talking about accreditation. Colleges see kids every day, who have good grades from accredited schools, yet who come to college without being able to read and write well. Did you know that 30 percent of children admitted to college - including those from accredited schools - are considered "remedial?" Colleges know that accreditation isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Meanwhile, accrediting homeschoolers has become quite a racket. There are organizations that make loads of money by accrediting homeschoolers when they don't need to be accredited. Some parents feel pressured into it and end up spending a lot of money unnecessarily.

Parents know their students best. Each parent can make the decision about accreditation for themselves. Some people choose to go that route, and that's fine. I just don't want people to seek accreditation because they fear they "have to." I was NOT accredited. My children were admitted to every college they applied to, got good scholarships, and both won full-tuition scholarships to their first choice university. You do NOT have to have an accredited transcript in order to go to college or get scholarships.

You may need to pursue these accreditation counselors if your state law requires it. If your state law does NOT require it, then it's completely optional, and the right answer will depend on you and your family situation. My job is to help you feel confident that you can do it yourself. Then no matter what you choose to do, you didn't make the choice based on fear.

Forgetting about record keeping is on of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." If you are thinking about accreditation and transcripts, you are probably not going to make this mistake! Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

My e-book, "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts" will show you how to how to package that great at-home education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Binz

Parents are sometimes afraid that homeschooling high school will limit the opportunities that their child might experience in high school. They might ask "how can two parents know all of the wonderful opportunities that are available for intelligent teens. School Districts have people who research and publicize internships and volunteer opportunities, right?" School Districts may have people who focus on this for high school students, but remember...they have to worry about ALL the students - you just have to worry about one! In our experience, opportunities for our children came naturally, through normal contacts and the activities of everyday life. One experience when my youngest son was 14 demonstrates this well.

A professor friend from church invited us to a lecture on economics at a downtown public policy Think Tank. He said that Alex would love the lecture given by one of the architects of Reaganomics. "I don't know why I never thought of it before, but Alex would just love this place. I guess I just didn't think of it until I saw the lecture on economics." My husband took Alex to the event, and we didn't know what to expect. When he came home, the first thing he said to me was, "They offered Alex a job!"

Apparently, Alex was enraptured during the lecture, and when it was time for questions he spoke right up. He asked something about how Reaganomics was derived from the teachings of 19th century French economist Jean Baptiste Say, or something like that. The President of the think tank was so impressed by Alex's question and how he engaged with this government leader that he invited him to work there as a college-level intern. Shocked, my husband informed him, "He's only fourteen!" The President responded, "We don't discriminate based on age."

I wondered what this organization was all about. Alex informed me that a lobbyist tries to influence public policy by convincing politicians. A think tank tries to influence public policy by convincing the public. They publish books and write articles for magazines and newspapers to influence public opinion. I asked my husband what sort of crowd is attracted to a lecture at a "think tank" and he replied that he and his son were the two youngest people in the crowd. My husband is a professional engineer and manager at a major aerospace firm, but he told me he felt like the "slowest person in the room!"

For the last month of summer, we worked to prepare Alex for his new job. I was completely unprepared for putting my 14 year old into the work force. We had to buy him a cell phone, and professional attire. He started working in September, his first week of 9th grade. At first they had him doing office work: filing, mailing, checking the website, and answering the phone. He proved to be a good worker and very interested in what the "grown-ups" were doing. Soon they gave him writing assignments. After working there for just 6 months, he had his opinion piece on Social Security reform published in our city's leading newspaper.

Alex worked for one day a week in a downtown office building. He wore a suit, carried a brief case, and was treated like a peer by the other employees. It would have been impossible for him to have had that experience if we were not homeschooling. Public schools simply don't let students "skip school" every Wednesday, you know? Instead of sitting behind a desk, he was doing real work. And homeschooling gave us the freedom to do it!

My message is there are opportunities when you homeschool high school. And you won't necessarily have to work hard to find them either. They will present themselves to you as you go through the normal activities of living. Homeschooling is the natural way to educate your child. Closeting them up in a classroom for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week is not. You don't need to be afraid of "cheating" you child if you homeschool high school. It may be the best gift you ever give them!

Opportunities will often come as a result of the passion exhibited by your child. Alex was deeply interested in economics and so was able to take advantage of the opportunity put before him. One of the most important parental tasks in high school is identifying and encouraging passion in your students. Failing to do so is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

My e-book, "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts" will show you how to how to package that great education and experiences into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Binz