Homeschooled - Chances for these schools?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Applying to: Georgia Tech, UMD, UPenn, Princeton, Loyola (not the Chicago one) (Loyola is safety and the Ivies are reach, Princeton is my “shot in the dark” school)

I will explain everything at the end!

Applying Early Decision for all schools
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Demographic: Black+white Hispanic female
First-Gen: No
Legacy: No (for all)
Applying for Financial Aid: Yes
Education: 4.0 GPA (no honors or AP, starting off senior year)
+Freshman:

  • English 10
  • Biology
  • Algebra 1
  • Psychology (taught w/ college freshman textbook but not technically AP)
  • World History
    +Sophomore:
  • English 9
  • Environmental Sci
  • US Gov.
  • Geometry
  • PE/Health
    +Junior:
  • English 11
  • US History
  • Art History
  • Algebra 2
  • Physics
  • Economics
    +Senior:
  • English 12
  • Pre-Calc (Calculus isn’t offered)
  • Chem
  • Spanish 1
  • Spanish 2
  • Intro to Computer Applications

PLUS JHU Engineering Innovation summer program, passed with a B (they don’t do +/-) and got 3 college credits.

ACT: Haven’t taken but a projected 33 composite, 34 is realistic
SAT: Will not take (cost-prohibitive)

EC’s:

  • Digital Transcription for the Smithsonian (2 years)
  • Teaching Assistant, Biology (one semester)
  • Film Program (~3 months, I have a video up on YT as proof which I will not link to bc it has my name and location)
  • Creative Writing (1 year, have been published in a HS magazine, not my own HS but another one)

My financial situation is such that if through some miracle I got into Princeton, I’d be going for free by default.

Lastly, I’m super confident in my writing skills so I’m not worried about the essays at all.

Explanations:

  • I don’t have Honors or AP courses bc they are too cost- and time-prohibitive for my living circumstances, having access to AP courses costs extra for me and Honors courses are not feasible given my living circumstances. I was hoping to use the JHU program to prove that I could handle those kinds of rigors. I’m also taking more Sci and Math than is required by my school.
  • I’m taking 2 years of Spanish in a year because I only just realized that 2 years of lang are strictly required for GA Tech, as in, I can’t take other rigorous electives instead or I’ll get rejected offhand. I don’t have a counselor in the traditional sense to help with this stuff.
  • I took Eng 9 and 10 in switched years bc I transferred from a school that let me skip Eng 9 entirely, but didn’t put a credit on my transcript for it. (I was also ripped off an Earth Sci credit bc I took it in 8th, good times)
  • I don’t have many long-term EC’s due to my living circumstances (not going into detail bc it’s very personal)

Figured I’d justify all this stuff on the apps. How’s it looking? I know it’s kinda rough given the caliber of schools I’m applying to, and I’m expecting a rejection from Princeton but I wanted to try anyway bc why not (I might be able to leverage the diversity thing but that’s about it). My backup is to get my AS at community college then transfer.

Any other details you want, just ask (except for ID’ing info obviously).

2

You CANNOT apply ED to more than one school.

3

You reference changing schools, that some courses aren’t offered, that you are taking more STEM courses than your school requires, you talk about your school magazine and that you are a teaching assistant (implies a school)- but you headline that you are homeschooled?

Fee waivers are available for both the SAT and for SAT subject tests.

Fyi, Loyola Maryland requires 3 years of a foreign language, and 4 are ‘recommended’, so it is not a safety for you.

Which campus for UMd?

When are you taking the ACT?

4

You can’t apply early decision for all schools. Are you a resident of Georgia and is your homeschool program accredited? If not, Georgia Tech is a reach (especially if you don’t have AP or SAT subject tests) and may not be affordable.

5

What is your home state? MD? I agree that Loyola MD would be a safety stats wise but is it affordable to you? And would you be excited to go there. If not, expand your list to include match and another safety school. For engineering, UMD and GT are both going to be reaches.

Also look at the foreign language requirements for the schools on your list. Two years may not be enough.

As previously stated, you cannot apply binding Early Decision to more than one school.

6

@collegemom3717 Where are you seeing 3 years required for Loyola? I just looked at their freshman app review page and it doesn’t mention Lang at all.

I used to be in a k12 program for homeschool, and a Biology teacher had a separate thing for well-performing kids to basically do TA work. We created supplementary material for the actual teachers. I have a letter of recommendation and everything and it was described as being a TA so I’m not just sticking a label on it. (We did Skype-esque classes if that’s what’s confusing you).

As far as requirements, my current school does have a diploma track that requires a certain amount of core classes (4 English, 3 Social Studies/Math/Sci if i remember right). They only recently expanded their Honors selection (they only had like 3 Honors classes before and I wasn’t far enough along to take them) and due to certain things I can’t take them, this is unavoidable and non-negotiable as much as I’d like it to be otherwise. To have access to AP courses I’d need to be on a diploma track that costs me significantly more per month. Again, can’t happen. I’m doing the absolute most with the curriculum I can realistically complete.

Just taking the ACT maximizes the time I’m spending on testing, because I can send in one ACT with writing or 3-4 SAT tests which take a lot of time. My school provides no help with that stuff either, it’s entirely the student’s responsibility. Plus my projected score is over or at the average for all my potential schools so I figure I’ll be fine, especially if i pull out a 34. Naive? Maybe. Also I’m graduating a semester late (I rolled backward a year in middle school due to stress from home, I was and am a straight A student so it was just time) so I’m just trying to graduate at this point. My school does self-paced classes.

I specifically said I didn’t get published in my HS mag because we don’t have one lol bad phrasing. It’s fully online and you can buy a class ring and other merch but that’s it. (They don’t rank classes either in case anyone wonders)

For everyone else @Otterma @momofsenior1 , yes my program is accredited (triple checked before I transferred) and wow major oversight about ED. Guess I’d go for UMD then since it’s got the best mix of what I want and possible full ride. Yeah MD is my home state.

Lang requirements are 2 years minimum for GT and 2 recommended for UMD but idk if that’s actually a requirement for MD. UPenn doesnt specify but encourage being developed in that area. At least according to their high school prep sections on their websites. If there’s contradictory info elsewhere please lmk. And applying to Princeton is pointless apparently LOL 4 years of Lang expected. I looked at their Engineering website before, my bad. Glad I know now, takes some stress off.

I’d have to visit Loyola obviously but I’d be alright there I think. I’m most worried about safety because JHU still sends me campus security emails, lotta armed robberies and carjacking and such.

I’m taking the ACT on 9/8/18 aka this Saturday.

TBH due to my home life I’ll more than likely go the community college route anyway, for a myriad of reasons, but I’m applying freshman to certain places anyway just in case I strike gold somehow. More options are better than less. I just wanna see how much of a waste of time it is.