High School - How We Handled Transcripts and Admissions

We did the most slapdash way of keeping records and it all turned out just fine.  If I, the most ADD home manager in the world, can handle it, anybody can!

EASY WAY TO KEEP RECORDS
You know how you have a file folder somewhere with your kid's birth certificate and immunizations records in it or what have you?  Simply use that file and every time you get one of the following, put it in to this file:

• The ok from your county to homeschool for the upcoming academic year (we do this in Virginia)
• Any score you get back from the end of year testing (We always did the CAT but occasionally the PSAT)
• Your kid writes a good essay, story or paper that would work well as a writing sample.
• Any grade or evaluation from any on line class, co-op class, community college class, workshop, camp, etc.

If you are like me, you only actually file that kind of stuff a few times a year at most. 

EASY ORGANIZATION TRICK
I am a piler not a filer. Usually during the year, a Dr. Seussian sizeD pile of papers would accumulate on some counter or table top corner.   However, because I know just how disorganized I am and just how easily overwhelmed I am by anything that demands this level of attention to detail, I am absolutely a hoarder when it comes to any sort of quasi-official looking paper.  So I stick EVERYTHING in this pile because I am afraid I'll need it or I will lose it somehow.  So I know it's there.  And then when necessity or just the spirit moves me (usually it had to do with cleaning up for a holiday or the in laws coming over!) I actually tackled the pile, and then as I unearthed the papers, I'd put any pertinent stuff in the kids' files (conveniently located in a file cabinet in the corner of our dining room.).

That's it.  That's how I kept records.

TRANSCRIPT TEMPLATE I USED AND HOW I USED IT
For actually writing up a transcript?  I used the one at Franciscan University. They have a template.  I put all the info into that.  But then if a college wants a different format (for ex. Steubenville does it by subject but some colleges want it year by year) then I just re-arrange the info to suit what that college wants.   Once I do the brain dump onto the Steubenville template, I find it very easy to manipulate the information around to suit any other style of formatting.  I'm lucky in that my husband and the kids would also play around with it too.  So, as a team effort, we got the transcript conquered as a not too unpleasant task.

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DETAILED BOOK LISTS/COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Some colleges ask for detailed book lists and course descriptions.  To reconstruct 4 years of schooling for that purpose, we did the following:

1)  Get out your kid's file.  Make sure you are up to date putting all pertinent documents in the file (so you might have to go through your stack!).
2)  Check anything in yours and your kid's laptop files.  You might have stuff stored there, like a final paper or essay or a list of books you wanted to read that year.  If you journal at all, that helps too.
3)   Go through any old emails that might help (from co-op teachers or on line classes)
3)  Make a cup of coffee and sit down with the student you are currently trying to put this transcript together for, and together, create a detailed list and course description. This takes a couple of hours one afternoon.  It's kind of a pleasant trip down memory lane.  I always would dread it but it would always wind up being a much pleasanter and quicker process than I remembered!

FINAL TOUCHES
Make the transcript look nice, tidy and official. Play with fonts and what to underline and bold, etc til you are satisfied.

Have at least three pairs of eyes proof read it.  Something will be off!  Spelling, formatting, capitalization, etc.

I always got mine notarized by my bank.   I just thought it made me look more responsible and on top of things.  Some colleges may require it.  I can't remember which ones but they did.

REFERENCES AND OUTSIDE VALIDATION
Remember that during these high school years, your student needs to find mentors outside the home.  People he or she volunteer with, work with, learn from, etc.  These people will be able to write reference letters for your student. Various people we asked were:  youth ministers, parish priest, co-op teachers, math tutor, voice or other music teacher, adult scout leader, adult leaders of volunteer projects, etc. 

I think colleges rest easier if you student has gotten some outside validation in terms of earning grades.  I do think community college classes, on line classes and maybe even co-op classes lend legitimacy to your homemade transcript.  I also think taking standardized tests does this as well.  So I think including at least one of these outside validations, strengthens your student's transcript.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I found that these usually didn't belong on the academic transcript but would fit more easily into another part of the application where the student gets to list his or her interests and experiences.  But make the most of these!  And as you guide your student through their high school years, you really should deliberately think in terms of helping them become well rounded.  Sports, any artistic endeavors, volunteer activities, camps, job experiences, and hobbies all are important. 

ESSAY(S)
Don't write your student's essay!  You'd be surprised at how interfering parents can be here.  It isn't right.  They must be accepted or rejected on their own merits.  To hold yourself back from being too officious in your anxiety to get your student accepted, do only the following:

• Sit down beforehand and discuss the essay, so that it is clear in your student's mind, just what is being asked for.  Talk it out a bit to help the student get started.
• Let the student draft the entire essay on their own.  Some of my kids did it quickly and some took days.  Be patient.  The quicker ones probably aren't thinking it through enough, the slower ones might be dragging their feet because it seems so hard.
• You may proofread their final effort for spelling, punctuation, run on sentences, etc.  Technical stuff!  But you may not rewrite the substance it for them!!!!  If your student can't write an essay like this on their own, you should be rethinking whether college is right for them.  

ADMISSION OFFICES ARE YOUR FRIENDS

Finally, don't be afraid to call admission offices and ask questions.  These offices are usually staffed by young adults who are quite happy to help you in anyway as their own college experience isn't that far in their past.  Sometimes, if they are unfamiliar with homeschooling, they can get a little befuddled  by your unique circumstances.  Because they are often young, inexperienced and basically are trained to check off boxes to make sure all the various materials that comprise an application qualify, you may have to, at some point, politely go above their heads to get answers to questions.  For instance, my son attended Berklee College of Music.  They were unfamiliar with homeschoolers and wanted him to get a GED and a state issued diploma.  Well, I thought jumping through the GED hurdle when I knew he had had an excellent high school education was unacceptable to me.  Also there is no such think as a state issues diploma in Virginia.  Eventually, I had to work out a compromise with the Admission Office but our situation was too complicated for the young admissions officer to handle so we had to move up to manager to get approval.  This was not a adversarial experience at all.  It was a way of exposing that particular school to homeschoolers and the different way we operate.  So though admission offices tend to be very bureaucratic, they ultimately are on your side.  

COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TRANSFERING TO A 4 YEAR INSTITUTION

Only one of my kids took this route.  It's a good one if your student is kind of lost, as my youngest son was.  We needed a very simple transcript of what he'd done in 9th and 10th grade to give to the dual enrollment office at the local community college.  He also had to take a placement test.  The college allowed him to study for the placement test by giving him a syllabus of what would be covered (it only covered English and Math) and also practice tests to work through.  He did very little prep.  You take the exam on a computer at the school and for each problem or question you get right, they up the subject matter to the next level until you get three in a row wrong.  That's how they decide whether you go into remedial, standard or honors classes.  He actually scored into the honors level.  He then took his time taking courses from the school.  Your student might not be this way.  Some kids are gung ho and they love the idea that they can combine their junior and senior years in high school with their first two years of college, basically telescoping college and high school together so you wind up with just 4 years combined for both high school and college.  He didn't do this.  He needed time to develop and mature and figure what he was doing.  He never did a full semester's load.  He would take three or four (some of them only 1 credit) courses at the CC, and then combine with a homeschool co-op class, an on line class or some self designed study at home.  Once he had accumulated enough credits to be considered a high school graduate, he only took CC classes but he still never did more than 4 courses a semester.  However, his transfer to the local 4 year university went very smoothly.  He's about to start this fall.  It really was a great alternative for him.  In hindsight, I wish I had pursued it with my middle son.

COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES

Franciscan University of Steubenville

University of Dallas (oldest dd)

Berklee College of Music (oldest ds)

Christendom College (middle ds for 1 year)

George Mason University (youngest ds currently enrolled)

Mount St. Mary's University 

University of Mary Washington

Christopher Newport University

Catholic University of America (youngest dd currently enrolled)