Any thoughts on a 5 yr highschool program?

[Heather in Savannah]

My ds who is a 12 yr old 7th grader, will be taking mainly highschool level courses next year in 8th grade. We are registered with NARHS as it is important given our circumstances that he have both a transcript and a diploma by an accredited institution. So, here's my question....if I begin his highschool career next year, and make it a 5 yr deal, what will be the response of colleges? I know this has come up in discussions before, but I didn't read the responses as I wasn't dealing with that issue. My major reason for making his highschool years a 5 yr program, is mainly due to his age. He was born in the fall, so if I go with the regular 4 yr program, he will still be 16 when he completes his senior year. I don't feel that a 16 yr old boy is ready for the relational and spiritual battles in college. Any experiences and thoughts are welcome.
Blessings,
Heather

[Tokyomarie]

Some colleges specifically ask that only the last 4 years worth of work be included on the transcript sent to the institution. In other cases, a transcript arranged by subject without a start date and only a projected graduation date might allow for all classes in a 5 yr program to be included. It is really very school specific.

I did a 5 year program with my second dd, who graduated at age 19. We only decided after her third year in high school to stretch her to 5 years because she had such an academic growth spurt late in her career that we felt she would be able to aim for more competitive colleges if she had the extra year. We kept the records for all 5 years, but when we prepared the actual transcript to send, we found that we didn't really need to include the courses she did in the first year. She had a strong enough transcript without listing those first year courses.

[Heather in Savannah]

Maria,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm not sure that deciding to delete year one will be an option if it does not look like it will be in ds's best interest, given that we are using NARHS.
Heather

[Tokyomarie]

Maria,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm not sure that deciding to delete year one will be an option if it does not look like it will be in ds's best interest, given that we are using NARHS.
Heather

Maybe it would be good to ask NARHS how they have handled the issue for other students beginning their high school career in 8th grade.

[Gwen in VA]

We are sort of doing a 5-year high school plan with my younger ds.

He is a bit low to mature (he still has baby teeth....) and at 14 was just not capable of what dh and I consider high school work. He had, however, completed 8th grade....We didn't want to add a fifth year of high school at the end, so we decided to give him another 8th grade year.

He can sort of write an essay now, and will actually finish algebra 1 and half of geometry before next fall, so he is definitely ready for high school now.

This "fifth year" will be invisible to colleges and won't appear on his transcript, but it gave him time to mature. I figure that he will do enough in high school that he won't need to "borrow" any classes from either of his 8th grade years! :-)

[Tokyomarie]

We really made the decision quite late in the ball game for our dd. For a number of reasons, we could have made that decision when we returned to the States in 2000 and we were determining whether she should be in 6th or in 7th grade. We decided on 7th based on the normal American cutoffs but I sometimes wish we had stayed with 6th, the grade she was attending in Japan based on Japan's April-March school year.

Making the decision late in the game made it a bit awkward for a few months but dd adjusted quite nicely. Knowing that it was our confidence in her emerging skills and her potential for admission to more competitive college programs that guided the decision, she was ok with it.

Now, in hindsight, I am doubly glad we waited on hs graduation. Dd was a more mature and confident student throughout the music audition process and has adjusted quite nicely to her university this year.

[Barb F. PA in AZ]

Maria,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm not sure that deciding to delete year one will be an option if it does not look like it will be in ds's best interest, given that we are using NARHS.
Heather

Divorce his level from his grade. Go ahead and do the high school level work this year but call it 8th grade. Even though he may be doing Trig and Sophomore level English, enroll him in NARS as a 9th grader at the usual age. Once you get to junior/senior year, you can have him do college level work as either AP courses or at the actual college as a concurrent enrollment student. I can't see any other way around it if you're using a diploma program.

Barb

[Tammyla]

Oh, I agree with Barb.

A better option would be simply allowing your student to work at their level while maintaining their current grade level. Advanced Placement (AP) or honors courses are well received on a transcript. A five year high school could eaisly be perceived negatively.

There are large numbers of students working in the AP and honors courses in homeschool, private and public school settings. I think these always shine on a transcript.

[Christine in FL]

How have you had your child take "honors" courses within the home school? Did you use an online program? Can a course you teach at home, if you know it is honors level, be considered honors on the transcript with specific documentation?

It is frustrating knowing that our children are doing academic work above and beyond their peers, yet have not found a way to note that on transcripts. Although I know that it is the learning that is important, colleges look at transcripts along with testing results.

[Heather in Savannah]

I sure do appreciate all your thoughts and your perspectives. It is wonderful to learn from those of you who have already btdt.
Heather