Question - When you home school and do not use any sort of online/ boxed curriculum, how do you obtain a High School diploma at the end of your child's studies?
As far as I know, you issue the diploma yourself. You can order them or get a blank template and fill it in. I'm planning on ordering one that will come in the nice cover. It seems I have heard of programs that will take your child's transcript into consideration for a diploma, but I can't remember any details.
I read that colleges are more interested in SAT ACT scores and transcripts than the actual pretty piece of paper..... I'm just wondering how to create the transcript now.
Here in Louisiana you issue the diploma yourself. Yes colleges want to see good ACT scores, but they also want to see a copy of the parent issued diploma as well. If you are concerned, you can have the child take the GED and still issue a homeschool diploma too. Up until recently in Louisiana, your graduate could get into college with a parent issued diploma but not into the police academy or even beauty school. The governor got legislation passed to change that here. You may want to check on this in your state.
Dig into the law there. In TX, colleges are required to accept homeschool transcripts just as they would PS transcripts. Test scores are what matter most. A diploma is just another print-out.
Aside from the diploma, keep a portfolio of what your student covered. A diploma just shows that the student completed all requirements to graduate. In the end, your student will take the same tests public school students take for college placement. Keep a transcript as well.
It depends on the state. NY does not recognize parent issued diplomas. When you complete 12th grade you can request a letter of completion from the district superintendent. We did have a diploma for sd's graduation but it is not state recognized.
Thank you all for the help. My son is autistic and I'm hoping that with me switching him to home school that I can give him the special attention he needs so he has a future with a community college.
In NYS public and private colleges will not recognize diplomas issued by parents in NYS. They will recognize them from out of state students (usually though the help of HSLDA is needed) if that particular state recognizes parent issued diplomas.
Wow. I thought the US was past that. :roll: Here in IL, homeschools are considered to be private schools, just like any other private school. The public high schools can individually choose to give credits toward graduation at their schools for credits obtained at a non-accredited private school, so here in our district the credits earned at home will not apply to a public school diploma. But once you are graduated from any school, public or private, your diploma and transcript are respected by the colleges. I'm sure there are exceptions, though.
Agreeing that NYS public colleges won't recognize parent-issued diplomas. Not an issue if you're not interested in a public NY college. Private NY colleges don't seem to care. It seems to be a SUNY thing. On the other hand, years ago I was a just like many of you here saying: Diploma-shiploma. Who needs it? My diploma is good enough. I'm the teacher - I'll be issuing my own diploma and not handing over my money to some organization that is created just to take my money and give me a piece of paper. However, I did run into one private college that has given us a hard time over not having a "real" diploma. And it happens to be the college that my son attends and the next son will probably attend. It's a pain in the neck. So, I would say talk to the admissions office of colleges your child might be interested in and see what they require. If they are okay with a parent-issued diploma, then do that. Otherwise, it's good to know that now so you can be prepared by senior year.
Depends on the private school. I know I just read about Cornell giving some one from out of state a hard time. They were asking for a letter of completion from the school district, which is what you would get in NY. HSLDA had to explain to them that outside of NY that is not the way it is.
I just graduate them myself. I make up my own transcript and I order a really nice diploma. Here is where I have ordered many of my diplomas. http://www.homeschooldiploma.com/diplomas-and-diploma-covers/high-school-diplomas-for-home-schools.html
It seems that, for many colleges, transcripts are more important than a diploma. My husband is having a difficult time at his community college right now. They suddenly want "proof of graduation." (they have his ACT scores from 20 years ago, this is his 4th semester there, and he had 5 semesters at another college!!!!). He took them his diploma and they said that wasn't good enough. He needs to obtain copies of his transcripts from his high school. The problem is that his high school doesn't keep copies of the transcripts past so many years, they keep graduation records. Again, that's not good enough for the school.
Oh, HONESTLY!!! Surely his current grades ought be good enough! Who cares what he did twenty years ago!!! Personally, I think that anyone who can score good enough on an ACT or SAT should be admitted, regardless of whether or not they "graduated" high school.
