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What are your options when a college decides your homeschool child is "not college ready"? Dear Lee,I am hoping that you could give us some advice.  We have homeschooled our daughter all of her life.  She graduated this past May. She has done well with most subjects at home and at various co-op classes.  She has consistently scored low on the SAT and ACT tests throughout her life.  She took two classes for ACT/SAT prep in...

Hi Lee,I have a question and maybe you can advise me in. I have been homeschooling my 4 children for the last 7 years. My oldest will start her senior year sometime in the next few months. My next one will be starting her junior year. For the last year, they have done nothing but beg me to send them back to public school. Suddenly they want to experience it. My head says it would be...

Because many states pay for community college tuition for qualified high school juniors and seniors, a lot of homeschoolers are jumping on the community college fast-track to a free 2-year degree.  It’s all a pretty attractive opportunity. But homeschoolers need to be aware of the potential pitfalls, as well as possibilities, of a community college education, free or not, before they send their children into that environment.  As much as many public universities are very out there, liberal,...

Are you wondering just what to do next? There are so many options for your homeschooled child!I remember what it felt like to worry around in circles over these options! Choosing between community college, AP courses , CLEP exams, online classes, and other options depends on your child. I have recommended each option to different homeschoolers.When you're making the decision for your family, take a step back and think about what your goals are for your child. If...

What Colleges Want It's difficult to find out exactly what colleges want, because they are all different. Instead of the stress of figuring out what ALL colleges want, try to figure out what your number one college is and learn 100% about ONE college. Get to know absolutely everything about them. Learn their preferences and visit that college for sure. Then tailor your remaining homeschool years to meet their requirements.  In all of your communications, show them you love...

I go to a lot of college fairs in my business. At one community college, I was taken aside and warned to tell homeschoolers not to send their young children to community college!  I was told felons, including predators, were known to be on campus, and the staff worry about innocent homeschoolers.Although my children started attending community college early, they were well prepared for college. While there were some positive aspects to community college, they also had...

 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.Lee,I am watching your DVD's for high school.  Question about college classes.My son took Elementary German 1 @ a college first semesterNow, 2nd semester, he is taking Elementary German 2So - in high school credits - would those classes each receive a credit,...

I really appreciate when other real parents allow me to share their stories.  Recently Lois contacted me about this blog post: Our Community College Stories.  Here is the story that Lois has allowed me to share about her daughter. Interesting Lee. One area my daughter did well in was in our local Community College.Our successful method was — talking to students about the professors; getting recommendations about them in conjunction with RateMyProfessor.com. I found the latter to...

Community college dual enrollment is not always a positive experience. Rebecca on Facebook asked:Hello - I attended one of your sessions on Homeschooling High School a few years ago at Seattle Pacific University. I appreciated so much what you shared!! My son is now in 10th grade and we're considering Running Start (dual enrollment in community college.) But I had remembered that you mentioned Running Start caused problems for your boys and that you didn't think...

How many acronyms does your homeschool student need? Amy on Facebook wanted to know: Lee, does my son need to take the ACT/SAT if he plans to graduate with his AA from community college before going on to the university? Will his AA be enough? He will be a junior next year and we are wondering whether or not to start ACT/SAT prep stuff with him. Thank you!Some college will also want the SAT or ACT...

Eunice had some feedback about my  blog post "What’s Next? 8 Options After High School" http://www.thehomescholar.com/blog/8-options-high-school/5374/She provided a great argument in favor of community college.  This would be good to compare and contrast with my article Facing the Community College Fad - http://www.thehomescholar.com/recent-articles/community-college-fad.phpPlease read Eunice's experience with community college, then leave a comment and share your opinion and experiences!  It's important to share information with each other, so each parent has as much data as possible...

When thinking about community college credits, it can be useful to think about it being "proof" or external documentation of the different areas of education.  When you look at it that way, you want to have at least one class in each of the following areas: * English* Math Social Studies/History Science with Lab Foreign Language PE Fine ArtMath and foreign language are especially difficult at that level, because they move so much faster than high...

My recent newsletter included an article called Facing the Community College Fad.  It's always good to keep your eyes open when looking at any situation you think may be appropriate for your children.  If you have ever considered community college, this will be a thought-provoking article for you. There are a couple of things I wanted to share about that September 1st edition of my newsletter.Feedback on Community College ArticleThank you for going against the tide...

It's difficult to decide between community college and credit by examination.  One reader had some tremendous trouble with community  college, and was asking about CollegePlus! as an alternative. Hello Lee,I noticed you have a link to College Plus on one of your web pages. Can you tell me anything about what you think about them as an option to community college? Or what other options you are referring to when you mention Homeschool College?Two weeks into...

Recently I was awarded the "Family Friendly" seal of approval from The Old Schoolhouse.   I was so excited - and it's a cute badge to put on my website, too! It puts me in a bit of an awkward place, though.  Sometimes the information I need to provide is NOT fit for general audiences.  When I speak about community college, I have to choose my words very carefully, so that I can convey the "R-rated" nature...