Is it too late?

[Luanne]

My daughter is 19 years old. She still lives at home with me since it only makes sense since it is just the two of us. She just graduated from a rather pathetic online school. It was one of those moves I wish I hadn't made. I just wanted her to graduate and didn't really think ahead to the future and how she can't do much with her lack of education now. She hasn't taken the SAT or ACT tests although at some point I think she should (she agrees). I am posting on this board because she is in my opinion gifted. She started reading at the age of 4 (on her own). She reads easily on College level now just through her own reading so much and just gradually increasing the level of the books she is reading. She hasn't even had Algebra 1 yet. She made it most of the way through PreAlgebra, but that was a while back. She has had very little science. She seems motivated enough to pick up what she missed along the way, but I have no idea where to start her (neither does she know what to do at this point). I am fairly certain none of you have older children, but maybe you know someone who does or have some advice for me anyway.

I certainly would appreciate any responses.

Thanks,
Luanne

[Luanne]

She was removed from public school due to numerous factors including a low immune system. She was ill quite a bit of the time so we would prefer something she can do at home (whether it is in book form or online ... both are fine).

[MIch elle]

Many people go back to school late in life and succeed in whatever they chose to pursue. Find out what she would like to attend college for and then help her figure out what she needs to get there. She many not need to pass a SAT to get into a comm. college.

Blessings,

[Mandamom]

I would start with a community college. They usually have placement tests for reading and math classes and that will give you an idea as to whether or not she is ready for college courses and you'll be able to start there.

If she wants to get more of a classical education, she can use The Well Educated Mind (http://www.thewelleducatedmind.com) as a guide to further her own education. She can use the High School Board as support for this book. She could do this in conjunction with taking college classes.

If community college isn't an option, you can go back through some high school resources to finish out a good education:

For example:

Math: use Aleks.com (http://www.aleks.com/) to update her math through this online math program. She could also see where she tests in some of the standard high school programs and begin there.

Science: if you are religious you might want to look at Apologia and I'm sure there are some secular alternatives but I can't think of them offhand. Check the high school board for ideas.

These are my suggestions.

[Nissi]

For independent study Apologia Science Textbooks are great. You could supplement with Bill Nye videos, Schlessinger videos, Hippocampus website, etc. For Math, Teaching Textbooks get rave reviews. It is a DVD program.
HTH!
Nissi

[JenneinAZ]

It is never too late.

I agree with the poster who suggested the Community College. They have experience dealing with all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds. Many have online classes.

And after your daughter gets her confidence and skills up, she can go to a different school if she would like. Community colleges in Arizona have a list of requirements that if you meet the list, you are automatically accepted into a State University. No SAT or ACT needed.

Good luck!

Jenne in AZ
(dd9, ds7, ds3, newbie in September)
(Sprog and Mouse)

[Cadam]

It's never to late. The thing the two of you have to figure out is her goals in life. Once you know the goal you can help her chart a path to get there. If she wants to go to university then that will probably include some community collage and self study courses to prepare her. If she wants to go to a technically school or learn another skills based thing then what does she need to get there?

[Old Dominion Heather]

Liberty University for one, but probably almost every big school does now. I would look into that.

[WendyK]

Pretty much every community college, regular college, and university has online classes and even online degrees. I am sure you could find something out there. And if she doesn't have the math background there is usually a lot of classes available, especially from community colleges, to get one up to speed. Start with your local community college or state university and see what they have. A lot of schools don't require the SATs either. There are always options out there.

[Beth in Central TX]

Here are a few options to get a 4-year degree from home:

Thomas Edison State College: http://www.tesc.edu/
Excelsior College: https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College

Personally, I've had to re-educate myself as I educate my boys. For my language arts remediation, I've used Jensen's Grammar, Jensen's Punctuation, and Jensen's Vocabulary. To remediate history and literature, I've downloaded many lectures on sale from The Teaching Company. For Latin, I used Wheelock's Latin and supplemented with Lingua Latina. For math, I've worked through Mathematics: A Human Endeavor by Jacob's and Gelfand's Algebra. I'm not a science person, and I'm not interested in science, but I have read along with my boys as they work through the Apologia Elementary series.

Good luck!

[Luanne]

nt

[GVA]

I've been a part-time community college professor for nine years now, and my classes have students from 15-60 years old. There's really no "standard" student now. Community colleges are designed to take people where they are and take them as far as they can go. We have plenty of remedial programs and free tutoring.

One of the math professors actually didn't start college until his early 20's, and he began at the original campus of the college system where he now teaches.