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Homeschool transcripts are being
well accepted by colleges, especially when two important things come along for
the ride - course descriptions and reference letters.
Course descriptions and reference
letters help to showcase your child's accomplishments to the colleges.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
The good news is that not all
colleges ask for course descriptions. But if your college does, I found that
they weren’t really hard to do. Let’s
start with a definition.
1.
What is a course description?
"Course descriptions provide
the details of the course and usually include a list of the materials used...
grading method, and evaluation of credit.
You are the one to decide how detailed your course descriptions will be."
- HSLDA
2. What should I include in them?
The purpose of course
descriptions is to let the colleges know what was done in your teen's courses,
and to what extent or depth.
Here's 4 things to include in your course descriptions:
- What were the expectations for the course, i.e., what did
you expect your student to learn?
- What materials did you be use?
- How was the grade determined?
- How much credit was given?
Here are a few samples of course
descriptions:
n U.S. History
This 1 credit course covered U.S.
History, from 1659 - present. The student learned key U.S. History facts and
will read _________ books, wrote ________ research papers, participate in an
historical reenactment, and completed ____ essays on chosen U.S. history
topics. The grade was based on written
reports, essay tests, and daily assignments, each of which counted as 1/3rd of
the grade. Below are the books and resources used: Short Lessons in U.S.
History, publisher__________, websites used_________, Historical Maps, Against
the Grain – Six Men Who Shaped America, IEW Research Report Writing
COURSE DESCRIPTION SAMPLES
n American Literature 1 Credit
The student studied 6 American
Literature novels, learned the principles of literary analysis, wrote an essay
a week on various literary topics. A final essay for each of the novels was
also completed, using the steps of writing, from outlining through final draft.
Resources used:
American History - 7 Sisters
Homeschool publisher
Novels read:
A Separate Peace
A Raisin in the Sun
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Scarlet Letter
Little Women
The Right Stuff
To Kill a Mockingbird
Grading was based on a combination
of weekly work, with 1 final draft completed each week, and the final project
and 1 credit was earned.
3.
Should I list all the materials that were used?
Your list of materials can be a
summary of what you used and does not need to include every detail. The course
description summarizes what you did, so it does not need to be a whole course
syllabus. In fact, longer descriptions are less likely to be read. Therefore, I
suggest aiming for a paragraph in length.
But as the parent you decide how you want to do it.
The materials that you use can
include a wide variety of learning resources, such as texts, DVD's, websites,
unit studies, field trips, related community activities, living literature,
free reading books, projects completed, internet research, etc.
4. Can
I use the course summary that comes along with the textbook?
If you are using textbooks, feel
free to use the summary or description of the course from the homeschool
catalog or website. When using a textbook, HSLDA recommends including the
authors, publishers, and date of publication for each text.
5.
Don't confuse the transcript with the course descriptions.
As you know, the transcript is a
one-page document that lists all of your teen's high school courses, with the
grades, and credits earned. Course descriptions, on the other hand, describe
what has been done during each course in detail.
They are written in a separate
document and sent to the colleges along with the transcript and the college
application.
6.
What about record keeping?
Keeping records of textbooks,
living literature, etc., early on, can be such a help in making your
descriptions. I just jotted down what I
thought we would be doing and working on, and then revised it at the end of the
year. With these notes, it was so much
easier for me to do our course descriptions.
Please see "Forms" at
the end of this chapter, for a record keeping form, if you would like a form
for your record keeping.
Along with course descriptions, reference letters can also be
key to your teen getting into college.
Reference letters are an
important part of the college application process. They help admissions get to know your student
from the perspective of other adults in their life.
If your student is taking an
online course, or at a college or community college, then your teen already has
a teacher to ask for a reference.
But
many homeschoolers don't have one available, nor do they have a school
counselor to ask. Therefore, letters from your student's activities can be just
the ticket.
College reference letters can
come from any adult who knows your student well. It can be from a teacher, a coach, a mentor,
a dance instructor, a minister, etc… Really from any adult who can speak to
your teen’s character and abilities.
Reference Letters can be fun to
do, as it gives your teen a chance to reconnect with coaches, group leaders, etc.
Other reference letters besides
from teachers, can come from leaders of your student's activities, such as 4H,
volunteering, a supervisor from your teen's part time job, a pastor, a church
youth leader.... anyone who knows your student well.
When my teen applied to college,
we used letters from my teen's leaders in Youth and Government, Irish dance,
and in her volunteer activities. These
references were accepted by the colleges that my teen applied to, and they
helped her get accepted.
The colleges
are getting used to seeing a variety of sources for the reference letters.
Look around for the most
important adults in your teen’s life, and help your teen ask them for a college
reference letter.
When my teen requested letters of
reference, the activity leaders were happy to help. But sometimes it's nice to request these
references in writing. I made a form
that your teen could use, which is available in the appendix. It also gives the activity leader suggestions
as to what to write in their reference letter.
The email group called
hs2coll@yahoogroups.com is a place where family’s share their experiences with
going from high school @ home to college.
They have discussed using multiple recommendation letters for their
college applications, along with other tips for aiming towards college.
This group is especially helpful if you are
aiming towards Ivy’s.
Will you be using the Common College Application for your teen?
Common Application
The reference letters discussed
above are important no matter what type of college application form that you
will use. But for those who use the
Common Application, there are a few more specific things that need to be done.
The Common Application itself
asks for only two reference letters, but that is for public school applicants.
The form will call for these two reference letters:
-one from a teacher
-and another from their school counselor.
BUT those are what are required for public school students.
Instead, as homeschoolers, the
requirement is to have these 2 documents:
As homeschoolers, we are to do two special documents for our
teen's Common Application:
1. the Counselor Recommendation Letter
2. the School Profile.
The folks at the Common
Application ask us to be the counselor for our homeschooled teen, and write
their counselor recommendation letter.
As their homeschool parent.
But they are not difficult to do
and we of course, know our student best.
More information on how to write both of these documents is in the next chapter.
NOTE – When doing the Common
Application, it is helpful to also include other
college references letters from their
coaches, co-op teachers, youth ministers, etc. know them best and their letters
are a real asset to your teen’s college application.
If you have a teacher, tutor, or online counselor, by all means, ask for a reference from them.
These extra reference letters are
key to getting your teen into college and will allow admissions to get to know
your teen well.
And that is what the college counselors in admissions want to do.
For more info on college....My ebook is currently on sale @ $3.49 and it includes the following forms that relate to this post, plus 10 more:
Course Descriptions Record Keeping Form - This is a place for recording keeping...to keep track of
what you did for each course, making your course descriptions easier, at the
end of the year.
Reference Letter Request Form - Just print these off and fill in the blanks! Your teen can
use this form to send to their activity leaders or instructors, as a way to
request their references.
My best to you and your high schooler, where ever their path will lead! I invite any of you to join us my facebook group for support...It is called:
I help moderate this encouraging group. This group is a great place to meet other moms who are homeschooling high school with college in mind.
Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy
Betsy
Betsy is mom to her now college senior, whom she homeschooled through high school. She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school, college, gifted/2e and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind. She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting, and has had her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.
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