@Pizzagirl Nobody is saying that Louisiana is a stellar state for academics. And what is the point of testing kids brains out?
Does the scholarship have to be activated immediately following high school graduation?
We have some wiggle room on the scholarship - we could actually activate it up to a year later. So we have 2 semesters to pay out of pocket and have him do part time at the community college. That’s what I’m weighing the pros and cons of right now - so we can make the best decision possible.
Right now he’s looking at this:
English Composition
Philosophy 101
College Success Skills (not part of the major, but I think it would be great considering he has no formal schooling)
Fundamentals of Information Technology
I honestly think he would manage this schedule just fine. My concern is that he’d have a lot of the easier classes out of the way and then might run into trouble with having too many tough classes at once. Of course, he could always pad the schedule with some social sciences and humanities and draw things out an extra semester - which wouldn’t be much different than starting slow this fall, I suppose.
@Pizzagirl - I haven’t seen any reason to give my kids tests. They learn the material and move on. In a one on one environment there’s not as much need for tests. I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly once he begins college. It’s not a major concern.
Actually, it’s not true that you don’t see too many national merit scholars in Louisiana. The semifinalist cutoff is determined by state, so every state is proportionately represented. It is true that Louisiana has a relatively low cutoff score to qualify as a semifinalist.
OP, I did a quick search and found that in 2011-2012, 12% of TOPS students failed to achieve a 3.0 and another12% did not earn 24 hours. That’s nearly 1/4 of students losing the scholarship. As I said, it’s not uncommon and iMO a younger student who is not used to a structured environment is at a higher than average risk for sure.
Good to know! He will be meeting with an advisor Friday and I guess that’s a great time for them to discuss taking 2 classes versus diving in with 4.
I know many homeschool kids who do Running Start beginning in their junior year (at age 16 or 17) at a local CC in lieu of the AP and IB classes kids take in a regular high school. They basically graduate high school with an AA. Many are then able to fast track through college, graduating with their Bachelor’s in 2 or 3 years.
What were the classes you son took in his high school curriculum? Has he taken up to Calculus, HS Physics, Chem, Bio, English Lit, US History? How well he can handle the CC classes will depend in large part on the rigor of his HS curriculum, plus good time management skills. Is he good about finishing his work on time? How is he in handling classes that were difficult for him? Is he good at problem solving on his own, or finding resources(through online research, reading the text or finding the right person) to help him out? Is he good at setting his schedule for the day, the week, the semester? That’s where you could probably help him out.
Will he be taking all these classes online? The Philosophy class is one I think will require lots of interaction with others. Will these classes be at set times, live with an instructor? Are they one on one? How does he participate in discussions if it’s a classroom environment? Will there be someone grading and giving him timely feedback on his English 101 essays? These classes look pretty light. I understand your wanting to test the water, it’s probably a safe way to go giving his age. If he does well you can add a math or physics class next term. The “College Success Skills” class is good, that’s where they should teach him note taking, study skills for tests and time management skills. If the class doesn’t cover all those, you could get him some books on these topics to read up on this summer.
As far as helping, I’d have him come up with his own daily and weekly schedule, go over with him to make sure it’s realistic, with flexibility built in for unexpected workload any given week. It’s good to have some kind of basic framework/timetable. Get him a planner/calendar to help keep track of assignment due dates, test dates and other important dates. Some homeschool environment are more structured than others. In college your schedule is more or less dictated to you. Classes start when they start, not when you’re ready to start. Assignments are due when they’re due, not when you’re done. As long as he understands that, keep organized and have good study skills, he’ll do fine.
That sounds good. 2 now and maybe 3 in spring would be your best bet. Believe it or not that 25 ACT requirement is even more than what it takes to get a partial tuition scholarship in my state - you can get a the state scholarship just by graduating high school in this state, either from a regular school or a GED.
And what is the point of testing kids brains out?"
I didn’t say there was. I was asking why never any test, at all, except the ACT.
Regarding tests, he needs to at least be aware of them and be able to handle them, because there will be tests in college courses. Also, some IT employers like to see certifications, where one must take tests to get certified.
Is he interested in doing CS rather than IT?
Philosophy and English Composition strike me as classes which are better taught in a classroom setting where real discussion is possible. But it is probably wise to start him off with a composition class.
How far has he gotten in math? Is there a math course he could take instead of philosophy?
BTW, I hardly think that one person remarking–very accurately–that a 25 wouldn’t get him far at more elite schools qualifies as “people bashing” that score. If it is fine for your purposes, good. The poster was clearly thinking that your S might have broader academic ambitions.
One thing to note on the score: if he goes up a couple of points, there is a $400 per semester stipend. If he waits to claim TOPS he coukd retake and his score might well go up.
And to defend Louisiana, I will note that the purpose of the scholarship program is not to reward superstars. It is to encourage college bound students to stay in state–the intent is for most student’s who are college-ready to qualify.
This is what confused me: “Our plan is to have him attend community college full time for what would be his Junior and Senior years of high school.” So if he has already completed high school requirements, has the community college accepted his transcript? I imagine so.
If he has finished high school, getting an AA in IT at community college is a great idea, I think. My son is a software engineer and has worked with several people who didn’t do a full BS, and of course your son can always go on.
So your only question really relates to how much of a workload he might tolerate. You know him best. Our experience in Massachusetts is that community college classes are not that onerous, and there is a lot of support. I only hope he is not bored!
The fact that you have included an intro to IT is great and will no doubt help with motivation. College Success Skills may or not be helpful but he will be able to tell quickly. I gather that does not count for credit toward the degree, is that right? So if he finds it is not satisfactory he can change classes in the first week (or two?).
I would look more at the type of classes rather than the number. Composition and philosophy will both involve reading and writing and discussion, so if that is fine, great.
Online courses have a lot of discussion and are great for kids who are shy. Might be a great intro to college life. One of my kids (who has a few academic challenges) loves them. I am picky about college classes but have taken a couple of online classes myself and was impressed.
I would think he could certainly try to sign up for all of these classes.
If he is willing, signing up with disability services can be really helpful and he can meet with an advisor in that office weekly for time management or anything else he wants. Disability services can offer extensions on work or can negotiate dropping a class if the load is too much, but from what you describe, it sounds like a good plan for fall.
It is natural to worry about a kid not used to structure entering a new environment that is more regimented. Community colleges tend to be good for a wide variety of needs and in our experience teachers are very nice. I can relate to how you feel, and feel as if things will work out well with the list you posted above. Good luck!
Fellow homeschooler here! I know nothing about the TOPS or Louisiana however, what I CAN say is that it would be wise for your son to start in smooth with Dual Enrollment courses or something similar at the community college. Look into CLEP tests as well; CLEPS have been frequently used by homeschoolers and can get you college credit at some schools (not all but in your situation, you shouldn’t have a huge problem). Seeing your son’s scores for CLEPs after he studies will give you an idea if he can handle the rigors of college.
I don’t think you have anything to worry about. We’ve seen lots of homeschoolers transition smoothly into community college at a variety of ages. My D is not a homeschooler but she moved into a middle college program at 15. It was a great experience for her. The homeschoolers we knew that opted NOT go through the middle college program did what your plan seems to be… step in gently with some online courses and then a couple classroom courses.
Just something to give him a heads up about, CC classes can require less physical work but there can also be no buffer that you get in high school and even at the university in cases. D had some classes whose whole grade was based on a single research paper and a final. Basically, he should know going in that there is little wiggle room and that slacking on one assignment can kill your overall grade. We know a couple kids who screwed themselves because they were used to being able to skip, turn in late or do shotty work on a couple assignments and recover easily. They were also used to a teacher or parent nagging them about work.
Good luck to him!
I would suggest dropping the Philosophy class for this semester. The 25 ACT suggests that he could use more practice in college writing skills, and a good English 101 class will provide just that practice. It’s usual for homeschoolers to take community or four-year college classes starting at age 15 or 16, but many homeschoolers find that easing into college classes yields more success than trying to take a full load right away.
If he gets bored with just three classes, he’d have plenty of time to do a Coursera, Udacity or Code Academy computer programming class, which would fit in with his interests.
He loves Coursera and plans to continue with those classes as well. He actually got pretty high scores on English and Reading on the ACT but bombed on Science. He has a veritable phobia of all things biology, and 3 of the passages were biology related - he sort of shut down and really struggled with it.
I think switching out Phil 101 for English 101 is a good idea, though. That’s originally what I’d planned out, actually.
Any of the Coursera coding classes would be good for him. Has he taken a look at the Johns Hopkins data science classes?
No, but I’ll have him do that!