hollywoodapi

Dear All,

I have been unschooling my two boys from birth, but my step-son has
always been in school. He is a brilliant 15 year old boy, who cannot
take school any more. Yet, an option to leave school and take a couple
of years from school would not fly by his parents.

He wants to do one more semester in school next year and then go
straight to college/university. Is anybody on this list familiar with
early admission process? What would he need to do? Take GED and SAT?
Would he still be entitled to scholarships?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Anna, Miami, Florida

Margaret

I don't know much about this area, but I thought I would share a few
bits that might be helpful.

I know that the university that I went to (University of Washington)
had an early entrance program where kids could go directly to college
from jr high or high school. I think they took a year of classes
together, or something like that, to finish up hs before taking
college classes with the general population. It seemed to be a tight
knit group. I think it is meant for people in our state but maybe
Florida has something like that.

I also know of someone (friend's cousin) who is a junior in hs who is
going to Reed next year. I don't think that he is graduating from
high school at all and he isn't finishing up the school year. I
imagine some schools are more open to things like that and contacting
Reed might be useful.

On Sat, May 31, 2008 at 4:04 AM, hollywoodapi <anna@...> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I have been unschooling my two boys from birth, but my step-son has
> always been in school. He is a brilliant 15 year old boy, who cannot
> take school any more. Yet, an option to leave school and take a couple
> of years from school would not fly by his parents.
>
> He wants to do one more semester in school next year and then go
> straight to college/university. Is anybody on this list familiar with
> early admission process? What would he need to do? Take GED and SAT?
> Would he still be entitled to scholarships?
>
> Any input is greatly appreciated.
>
> Kind regards,
> Anna, Miami, Florida
>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/31/2008 7:04:53 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
anna@... writes:

He wants to do one more semester in school next year and then go
straight to college/university. Is anybody on this list familiar with
early admission process? What would he need to do? Take GED and SAT?


___

My daughter, now 18, took some classes at a community college for 2 years
while still pursuing her other interests. She has decided to go to a 4-year
liberal arts college this fall. She chose to take the SAT and did receive
scholarships. We are in Florida and I'd be happy to correspond with you offlist
regarding specifics and some of the options to consider..

Gail





**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with
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(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4&?NCID=aolfod00030000000002)


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Sandra Dodd

-=-He wants to do one more semester in school next year and then go
straight to college/university. Is anybody on this list familiar with
early admission process? What would he need to do? Take GED and SAT?
Would he still be entitled to scholarships?-=-



All answers are "it depends."

I went to college a year early, as did one of my best friends,
Frank. What we did was pile up some extra credits (summer school and
independent study for me, extra on the side for him--he got science
credit for working in a pathologist's lab, I think, in part).

He should NOT need a GED. If the university wants SAT or ACT, get
him on a list to take that. Even if his parents aren't agreed yet,
he could take the test. And if the score's not stellar he could take
it again later (by which I mean he could say he wants to take it now
so enough time will pass that he cold take it again, maybe).

Maybe you could contact the admissions office and ask them about
early admission requirements, but I think in every single case of
early admission there are extenuating circumstances of one sort or
another, so a cover letter on a regular application might do it.
Dealing with an admissions officer who knows it's on its way could
only help, though.

You might also specifically request that his first-term grades be
considered as entry requirement, basically requesting a probationary
period, kind of as a show of confidence and of humility at the same
time. "If I'm not good enough, I'll leave," which is always best
said by those who KNOW they're good enough.



Sandra








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keetry

--- In [email protected], "hollywoodapi" <anna@...> wrote:
>
> He wants to do one more semester in school next year and then go
> straight to college/university. Is anybody on this list familiar
with
> early admission process? What would he need to do? Take GED and
SAT?
> Would he still be entitled to scholarships?
>
> Any input is greatly appreciated.
>
> Kind regards,
> Anna, Miami, Florida
>

I think you'll have to check with the specific schools. Here in North
Carolina, the community colleges have free high school and GED
programs that teens can start going to at 15 or 16. Once they get a
diploma they can start taking college courses. I don't know about 4
year institutions. They are eligible for financial assistance just
like anyone else. I'm not sure about scholarships. I would think that
would depend on the specific one.

The community colleges in Virginia have GED programs but they aren't
free. There are also lots online.

Alysia

Beverly Keeling Elwazani

You might find out if the state he lives in has an option for college as a high schooler.  In Ohio they have PESOP which allows students to attend college and earn both high school and college credits, it is paid for by the state and includes their fees and books...my daughter is going part time to the high school and unschooling the rest of the time ( I know that sounds odd but I will elaborate)  next year she will take Italian as a sophmore in high school but will get college credit for it.




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Ed Wendell

I went to college and high school at the same time and that was in the late 70's ;) I went to college in the morning and high school in the afternoon my senior year. Many of the homeschoolers and unschoolers in our local (eclectic) group take college classes without a GED - I think there is a placement test (maybe) and many of them start when they are 13 or 14. They usually start with one or two classes at a time and often times it is something they are very interested in. I do know that some colleges are more friendly to this approach than others - so to get around this some people take course work at the accommodating colleges and then transfer later when they have credits available - if there is a specific college they really want to attend.

Lisa W.__

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Joylyn

Alexx is starting college on Monday. She turned 13 last March. She will be attending the local community college, as a concurrently enrolled student, enrolled in our private school as a high school student (we keep changing her grade per whatever requirement needs to be met, officially, if she had gone to school, she'd be finishing her 7th grade year now, but I think I just put 9th grade on her work permit.) Because she hasn't finished her 10th grade year, she had to go through an interview process to be admitted to the school. It was, to put it simply, frighteningly casual, this interview. The dean of admissions came out to the waiting room, sat next to Alexx on the bench, and said "what makes you think you are capable of handling college?" Alexx responded, I can't remember what she said, but she used her usual multisyllabic vocabulary... and the woman told her that she was more mature than many of the 18 year olds that attend the college.

At this point Alexx has a lot of choices. She can just hang out, taking a class or two a semester, for a few years, and then take the SATs, and try to get a scholarship, with her grades at college and her SATs, she's a good test taker. Or she could take a few more classes and get her AA in a few years, and then transfer to a 4 year college, perhaps with a scholarship... Starting this at 13, she has lots of choices, and all of them are good.

I have to say, it's pretty funny to be helping her prepare for her first day. And interesting in that she's 13. New messenger bag, new notebook and pencils and pens, a new phone, her ID....They are really into truancies these days so that ID is really important, she can pull that out and not have an issue... and a bus pass. She'll be taking the bus as I work... I am taking a few hours off on Monday to driver her there the first day...

Oh, and did I mention that her classes are free? We pay a fee for her to use the health facilities, $13 a month, and another $11 for her id, I think, that will be all we pay per semester, regardless of how many classes she takes.

She did call her professor for her first class, and he balked when he heard she was 13. On the phone anyway. She went in later that day to get a script (It's a theater arts class) and 30 minutes later she came out and said "he is totally comfortable with me in the class" and handed me paperwork that mapped out what classes she would need to take to get a degree in theater arts. I do have to say that Alexx does not look or act 13. Which is damn scary and also amazing. We've talked about what she will need to do if men hit on her...

Joylyn