looking for college help?

[HannahC]

Hello all,
My dd15 is a junior and applying to schools this fall (yikes!). Just wondering- have any of you gotten a homeschooler into a top-tier school? If so, how did you do it?
I'd appreciate *ANY* insight! (:
Thanks so much for your help!

[creekland]

We considered some based on my son's scores, but none were right for him, so we didn't pursue any. My best insight is to contact the schools you are interested in and ask they what they require from homeschoolers. There aren't any I know of that do not like homeschoolers - though all want some sort of verification of grades and ability as well as nice extra curriculars. Their verification desires vary (SAT 2, AP, etc).

I do know Princeton doesn't allow any AP or cc credits to transfer in, but expects to see them to verify ability. At least they didn't allow them when we were looking. Schools often change.

[Jane in NC]

Maybe you can define "top tier" for us. Ivies? New Ivies? Top LACs? Top state schools?

Every college seems to have some variation in the admission process, but almost all will want, as the other poster noted, some verification of Mommy grades through testing or outside coursework or a portfolio. If I were you, I would search for information on these boards concerning specific schools and ask questions. Parents having a child attending a school your student is interested in may respond.

Jane

[CynthiaOK]

Here's an ongoing thread about college acceptances and scholarships for this year's class.
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138236

[HannahC]

Thanks so much for your help! (:
By "top tier", I meant ivies (Cornell, Princeton, and Yale really appeal to her) and top liberal arts schools (such as Williams and Middlebury).

[Kareni]

I'd recommend that you look back through the last few months of posts on this board and the high school board where you'll find some helpful threads. You may also wish to join the Yahoo group hs2coll · Homeschooling toward college (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hs2coll/) and do some reading there.

Regards,
Kareni

[HannahC]

just joined. and I'll keep looking around here... thanks!

[Kate in FL]

I found the homeschool forum on www.collegeconfidential.com (http://www.collegeconfidential.com) to be very helpful; I spent hours reading back through old posts. My son will be at Cornell next year, but he was a recruited athlete so the process is different.

We looked at tons of schools, and we heard the same thing over and over again. Great grades and test scores are needed, but being really good at one thing (arts, sports, leadership) is also essential. Admissions people told us they were looking for students that would have an immediate impact on campus.

[MBM]

Thanks so much for your help! (:
By "top tier", I meant ivies (Cornell, Princeton, and Yale really appeal to her) and top liberal arts schools (such as Williams and Middlebury).

Here's an article about a girl from Evanston, Illinois, who got into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. and how she did it:

Chelsea Link (http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/apr/18/news/chi-homeschool_18apr18)