<p>He got a brochure from Southwestern U. and some things it said really got his attention: they have peace rallies, very liberal campus, and a mission statement about preparing the students to really make a difference in the world in a lasting way - like working from within the system to effect changes for peace, rather than just attending a protest march that accomplishes nothing. There were some student profiles that said things like being vegetarian (which he is) and not only thinking outside the box, but eliminating the ‘box’ entirely!</p>
<p>Wow, wow, WOW! These things sounded SO cool! And then, the college is very small - only 1200 students, and is located just 20 minutes north of Austin. So, he could have the ‘small school’ benefits (as opposed to getting lost in the huge UT system) but have easy access to the socail scene at Austin.</p>
<p>It really sounded like the best of both worlds, so I immediately called the SW admissions office to see if it was even feasible.</p>
<p>Well, for a school that is described as ‘eliminating the box’ they sure were rigid on their admissions. They totally did not know what to do with a homeschool student. At first the woman sounded impressed at some of his accomplishments, but was still rigid on getting his stats in comformity with high school students.</p>
<p>She said he would have to drop all his credits and apply as a freshman, because it was required that he have the full 4-year experience, take the SAT, and basically compete on the same basis as the high school freshman.</p>
<p>None of his accomplishments (like being webmaster for 2 homeschool co-ops in 9th grade) seemed to be worth anything.</p>
<p>Finally, as a last effort, I proposed a radical idea: Hey, why don’t you let one of your Psychology profs (their flagship major is Psychology) interview my son for an hour. I guarantee that he will be so impressed that you’ll want to admit him. (my son has an uncanny maturity and dept of perception that is rarely found in adults, much less 17-yo’s)</p>
<p>I knew it was a radical idea, but I proposed it anyway, partly to test their response, since I knew his chances were already nil.</p>
<p>They were unwilling to work with me, unwilling to consider any alternate approaches to evaluating him.</p>
<p>I can understand a huge school having tons of beauracracy - I would never dream of suggesting such a thing to UT admissions, but I thought a small school might be more open-minded, especially since they portray themselves that way.</p>
<p>But, no.</p>