High School courses??????

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by jenndun, Feb 21, 2014.

  1. jenndun

    jenndun New Member

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    Question for those who have kids going that have gone from homeschool to college. Do I really need to follow the state recommended courses for high school? As long as she has the four years of science and four years of history does it really matter what course it is. My child really has no interest in chemistry or physics and wants to do anatomy and marine biology instead. She's had mid evil history and I'm wanting to do something more along the lines of Mystery of History for them next year instead of US history which she got tons of in public school all those years.
     
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  3. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    I would think you should probably check out the requirements of the colleges/unis she's interested in, and follow their recommendations. I think if the college's general catalog doesn't specify which sciences or which histories, maybe it would depend on what she wants to major in, so check with each school within the college. I'm pretty sure that most colleges want US history, world history OR world geography (or maybe a combination course world studies would do), and one other. I'm pretty sure most colleges are going to want Biology, and two or three other sciences. And, of course, a good ACT/SAT score. Be sure to check in the college catalog (most of them are online these days) for requirements specific to homeschoolers, too, not just the general "entering freshmen".
     
  4. homeschooler06

    homeschooler06 Active Member

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    We still have a chance to move before my daughter finishes high school so I really cannot follow local colleges and what they want. Since I know what career she wants she needs lots of science and math, which not easy since she's low average with math. I pulled up what our school district has for graduation requirements for kids wanting to attend collage and will follow that.
     
  5. mykidsrock

    mykidsrock New Member

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    We had a homeschool Mom's night in our town last week. All the Mom's who shared had different experiences. 2 had kids that went to 'the best' post secondary schools here. They all said that you need to plan ahead. Know what kinds of Post Secondary courses your child is interested in, and aim to meet those pre-requisites. They also said that it can be helpful to do some distance ed through a local college or online college so that they have some official marks. Here the English 12 mark seems to be the most important. One boy was accepted into a difficult to get into technology institute, but had to write a challenge exam in the local high school to prove his physics 12 and math 12 marks. Here, you can enter as a 'mature student' if you take 1 year off between high school and college, and then the entry requirements are much less rigid. Many students do that anyway.

    Its a really good idea to talk to your child about their plans and then talk to a couple of schools and see what they might require.
     
  6. mschickie

    mschickie Active Member

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    The general plan for most college bound students is:
    4 units English
    4 units History
    3 units Math
    3 units Science
    2 units Gym
    2 units Foreign Language
    and then various electives

    Now that being said you do need to look at individual colleges. Some will specify that the student needs particular course (Algebra, Geometry, Trig/ World History, US History/Biology, Chemistry, Physics....). Some schools do not require a foreign language while others will require 3 years of a language.

    For us to be on the safe side I do

    4 History
    4 Science
    4 Math
    4 English
    3 Foreign Language
    2 units gym
    and a few electives such as art, music, health (req by state for high school), college and career planning, and anything that interests them. Sd did more art because that is what she liked to do.
     
  7. itsrks

    itsrks New Member

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    It really depends on where you want to go to college. If you start at the community college, there aren't many requirements. One thing I'd highly recommend is taking time to write compositions well. There are videos and links galore to teach good writing so you don't have to pay a lot. However, if you know how to write well, life is just better in college.

    Also, it depends on your major. If you know what you want to major in or where your areas of interests are, you can be more serious about those areas. For instance, my daughter majored in kinesiology. For that major, it's good to have a lot of anatomy and science. If you want to go to some universities, you need two years of a foreign language. Other schools don't require it.

    I never heard of the mature student enrollments but then again, none of my children had trouble getting into their college since they started at the community college.
     
  8. Emma's#1fan

    Emma's#1fan Active Member

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    Whether or not your student is going to attend a community college or four year university will make all the difference. Right now we are working so my daughter can test out of certain subjects if she attends a community college. If she attends a university, there are required courses for CA universities, but if the university is private, then the requirements are not so strict.
     

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