<p>Community college classes are not college prep. </p>
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<p>They aren’t? Interesting to know. What are they and how do they fit in with the level of AP courses?</p>
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<p>You’re right. They’re not college prep. They’re college classes. Unlike many on this board, I’ve taken community college classes at my local community college, so I know how hard they are. Having done that, I’m not at all surprised that my particular community college sends a lot of junior transfers to Berkeley to study engineering. The classes are good and solid lower-level college classes. </p>
<p>A young friend of mine got an associate’s degree at this community college and transferred as a junior to Brown. After graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright. Her community college education clearly stood her in good stead. </p>
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<p>Like most things in life, it varies.</p>
<p>It all depends on the CC and the class. My D’s calc-based physics at a CC was great preparation for the Physics C exams; a bio course at a different CC was not up to AP level, so she ditched it.</p>
<p>@hs2015mom </p>
<p>I really don’t disagree. My kids graduate with a lot of DE credit, but we enroll them at the local universities. But being college level equivalent and college prep are not synonomous. Even though I don’t think that our local CC’s are college level equivalent, they are college prep by our public high school standards. (Maybe not mine, though. 
) </p>
<p>The OP is in CA. I have read that their CC system is much better than ours. Depending on the CC, those courses could be solidly college level. </p>
<p>OP You might also look at SOKA University which is located in southern cal. It is small but based upon 2011-2012 profile info, it awarded at least a full tuition scholarship to half of its incoming class in 2011 with 5 receiving full rides which included tuition, r&b, travel costs, cost of books and personal expenses.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.soka.edu/files/documents/admissions/2011-12-freshmen-profile.pdf”>http://www.soka.edu/files/documents/admissions/2011-12-freshmen-profile.pdf</a></p>
<p>BTW found a site that has a list of “ridiculously awesome full tuition scholarships”. Most of these are competitive but a few are not.</p>
<p><a href=“College Essay Writing Service [Papers For Sale] - ■■■■■■■■■■■■■”>College Essay Writing Service [Papers For Sale] - ■■■■■■■■■■■■■;
<p>A lot of homeschoolers take community college classes as college prep. Many take AP tests, and many do both. Some homeschoolers with community college classes and no AP tests get admitted to top colleges and universities. </p>
<p>It’s odd to diss home schooling. There’s a myth that it’s mom-easy or fundamentalist, but many, many home schoolers are quite well schooled. This student has struggled in some respects- but we don’t have the whole picture. We only know about math. And I think it’s clear Mom knows the risks with engineering. She was going to have him change the major on current apps, no?</p>
<p>Plus cc classes, like it or not, do qualify as college. A chunk of his gpa is from there. </p>
<p>By skipping over high school college prep and jumping directly into community college classes, a student misses the broad foundation provided by a prep program. High school AP classes ( the good ones at least) and honors classes are paced differently than the equivalent cc class. The goal of AP is understanding “how to master the material” not just “mastering the material”. The goal of honors is to provided a deeper insight to the topic. Unfortantly some high The deeper insight and “how to” skills help build a set of scholarly skills for later use and allow the student to self identify and correct gaps in thier preparation. Community college class are valuable to high schoolers who have “maxed out” thier high schools program, but are not a substitute for rigorous high school programs. Rather than jumping into cc, high schoolers should be facing appropriate rigour at the HS level. </p>
<p>Sort of like building a new fancy house with all the stainless steal bells and whistles and crappy framing and foundation–looks good, until the first storm hits.</p>
<p>Apparently, momneeds2no, you think that homeschoolers struggle academically when they get to college. Well, they don’t. You just made that up. I, on the other hand, ran a mailing list for high-school age homeschoolers for a long time, and got to hear the stories about how the homeschoolers were doing when they got to college. And the answer is, they did fine. Some struggled, but the students who struggled typically had problems other than lack of academic preparation. </p>
<p>Colleges know that homeschoolers can succeed at their schools, which is why colleges admit homeschoolers. </p>
<p>@momneeds2no </p>
<p>How do even know what his pre-CC prep even was? How do you know that he didn’t “max out” his high school level coursework? Unless he was taking remedial level courses, he would have had to meet the pre-reqs.</p>
<p>By the time a student has reached AP/college level classes, they should already know “how to master the material.”
FWIW, I have the exact opposite opinion of AP courses. I think they are memorization heavy and low in critical thinking. </p>
<p>Fang, no that’s not what I think. Nor is it whAt I stated. I’m sure there are some very well prepared homeschooled kids who attend outstanding colleges with success. I’m not knocking homeschooling.<br>
I am questioning the wisdom of avoiding a broad high school program, in favor of modified program with heavy accommodations, especially for kid wanting to attend a cal state with a - g requirements. </p>
<p>I don’t understand the comment about accommodations. If this student had gone to a high school, he would have gotten heavy accommodations. Accommodations do not have to be disclosed on college applications, and they usually are not disclosed.</p>
<p>Like the op, I’m also wondering where all the “white” homeschooled kids attend college for free. It was good question. </p>
<p>Well, my “white” homeschooled ds is attending Bama for full-ride for all 4 yrs. </p>
<p>I get to see many h-sch apps- and have a warm spot for them. Many go beyond the conventional sense of rote, staid, typical high school college prep. Many are characterized by both intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. Plus some maturity. They take the dang English courses and US history, etc, and then move forward. </p>
<p>What accommodations did OP’s son get beyond extra time on std tests? </p>
<p>Here’s your answer, sheesh. Mom said: Re. accommodations-my son gets them at the college, but he hasn’t used them. At this point, he just informs his teachers about his diabetes and knows that extra time on math tests won’t help his brain</p>
<p>So what “modified program with heavy accommodations?”</p>
<p>@sbjdorlo - Gonna tell you, the elite LACs are the way to go here. YES college kids drink. There was drinking when I was in college, but even though it was 19 for beer in Ohio when I went to college and could drink from the moment I walked in that place, I hardly ever did, and most of my close friends from college didn’t either. Your son would find LOTS of kids who don’t drink and do drugs even at the biggest party school. Conversely, your son would find LOTS of partying if he wanted to even at schools where that isn’t a big thing. Lots of VERY smart and responsible kids go to the LACs.</p>
<p>I see you nixed Vassar, and I can see how it isn’t for everyone because it is uber liberal, but there are scores of other great LACs where your son could get in and likely get GREAT financial aid. His SAT scores are excellent…at or close to the 75% level for most of these elite LACs. Don’t underestimate where he might get to attend, and those more elite colleges have bigger endowments and can give better financial aid.</p>
<p>You need to look at this list of those schools that offer “full financial need” - <a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need</a></p>
<p>Some do better than others, but many are STELLAR especially with your salary range. You would pay peanuts to have him go to many of those colleges, and Colby College doesn’t even use student loans in their figuring.</p>
<p>I will add Colorado College to that list. They actually (according to the Net Price Calculator) would have given us a better deal than Vassar did, and Vassar’s was great, and we make more than you do.</p>
<p>Please investigate more. A kid with a 2230 SAT will LIKELY fit in better at a college surrounded by kids that are of similar ability. You are looking DOWN at lower-level colleges thinking that that’s the right direction. You should be looking straight ahead and slightly UP to these better schools that offer MUCH BETTER financial aid based on need. Now, it is possible your kid could get a serious scholarship, but those are few and far between these days…not better than full tuition mostly, and with your income level, you would qualify for that and probably more based on need. Some work-study on your son’s part and perhaps some SMALL loans, and it is VERY doable. Please investigate.</p>
<p>From what I know Vassar is college which values true talent. The will look at the app wholistically, not just SAT. Vassar will meet need. </p>
<p>Colleges that “meet need” with loans will not satisfy the requirements of the OP.</p>