How do colleges view alternative schools?

Applying to College
1

<p>Okay, so my question is, how do colleges view alternative schools from an admissions standpoint?</p>

<p>I am currently enrolled as a junior in a school called Halstrom (formerly Futures) High School where students meet one-on-one with highly qualified teachers. It’s basically a form of independent study where students make their own schedule and study at home. I have been going there all through high school, so I have no previous public/regular private school record. Generally, students go there because they are involved in EC activities and the school allows them to spend less time in school. I, for example, am extremely involved in horse-back riding and only go to school twice a week, allowing me time Thursday-Sunday to attend horse shows which occur almost weekly. It is an expensive, qualified private school, but I am worried about how some colleges might view it.</p>

<p>Some negatives of the school include not offering any AP classes, which I believe has something to do with accreditation for this type of private school. They do offer college prep courses, however, and all of the classes I am in are CP with some advanced courses. Does this even compare to a regular public high school’s AP courses, though?</p>

<p>Some previous students who have graduated have gone to UC Berkley and one went to Harvard that I know of. The school has produced the famous ice skater, Sasha Cohen, who probably few will recognize, and an actress who appeared in “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” who I currently forget the name of. Various other people who were extensively involved in sports who could be considered famous have also graduated from the school.</p>

<p>My brother attended the school for three years after completing one year as a freshman at a very mediocre public high school. He did minimum EC and achieved slightly above average SAT scores and was accepted into schools such as Boston University, Southern Methodist University, Illinois University, and University of Arizona. He ended up at SMU… not a fantastic school, but a good school in my opinion.</p>

<p>My top college choices include Bowdoin, Carelton, Williams, Vanderbilt, Amherst, and some other “big name” colleges. So maybe some other schools will let slide the alternative methods of schooling, but what about my top choices? Am I completely out of my league or do you think my high school would be recognized as any other?</p>

2

<p>Anyone have any thoughts?</p>

3

<p>For alternative schools, you should take more standardized tests to make up for perhaps the absence of reliable GPA like at normal schools. Take at least 3 SAT II in addition to SAT I or ACT and self-study AP exams if you still could sign up for the tests.</p>

4

<p>You might want to have a read/post this in the Homeschooling forum. People there are more knowledgeable about unconventional schooling techniques. I can’t really help you since I’m not informed in this regard.</p>

5

<p>Colleges primarily want to see how well you perform given the advantages available to you. They rarely punish a student for attending the “wrong” high school. As long as they can tell that at your school you still engage in rigorous academic work you’ll be fine. As for additional standardized tests, well, I guess they couldn’t hurt.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for your replies. I plan on taking three SAT II tests (Math II, Lit, and US History) along with SAT and ACT. I’ve already taken the SAT once (and am anxiously awaiting scores) and am signed up for the ACT in April. I haven’t heard of the AP tests before, but I’ll definitely look into them.</p>

<p>I’ve also read more in the Home schooling forum and feel much better about my chances on getting into a college of choice. I guess now I’ll just have to wait and see how my test scores turn out…</p>

7

<p>As for your AP dilemma, I wouldn’t worry about it. As long as you take a rigorous enough schedule, the fact that you don’t have APs shouldn’t matter. Colleges care about you taking advantage of your surroundings, and if that means 0 APs, so be it.</p>