Guidance for Homeschoolers

[cookderosa]

Oh that is a sneaky bit of genius! Just an FYI, though, for any curious lurkers, this probably wouldn't ever work with Ohio or maybe some other states, because the state college system has gone through a unification overhaul, so community colleges strictly adhere to a state university's policy (on everything, sigh.) So Columbus State CC sticks to OSU's policy, Clark State CC to Wright State U's, etc. It's great if you want to transfer classes, they streamlined that process beautifully, but it makes transferring exam credit a sad thing. Just always make sure you check each individual school, never assume anything.

Thanks for posting about Ohio, I'll have to do a bit of reading.
Within the public community colleges and state universities, you'll find consistent policy state-wide because its set by the state. Once you're looking at private, all bets are off. Also, within a school's policy, you'll find some variation within specific majors. You might read something like this: articulation for teachers, articulation for science and engineering, articulation for all others and business....

It's hard to generalize advice for "everyone" that is helpful, but this info that would be specific to your state is found easily, so no worries. It's just a matter of knowing that it's there so you can ask about it!

Here is a link you can use as an example. I have no idea where in Texas you are or where your child would attend, but look at this articulation outline for University of Texas Arlington, you'll be able to find similar pages for all universities. Credit through Articulation - Admissions - UT Arlington

Edit: I'm adding more

This is an example looking at the university page and backtracking to find a community college. Articulation Agreements - University of Houston

This is an example of looking at the community college page and projecting forward where your child can articulate to. http://www.austincc.edu/degrees-and-cert...curriculum

[justlearning]

Wow, It seems like your 4 year college name is really needed to be able to make it all work. We just aren't there yet. While their interests don't really change too much their prospective degree/jobs do. I did find the articulation for our local CC but it really seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. It mostly said to refer to this or that university for more info. I don't feel like I got tons from them. I will try the other way around and go look at the 4 year colleges to see if they make more sense. Thank you for all the details!

[cookderosa]

Wow, It seems like your 4 year college name is really needed to be able to make it all work. We just aren't there yet. While their interests don't really change too much their prospective degree/jobs do. I did find the articulation for our local CC but it really seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. It mostly said to refer to this or that university for more info. I don't feel like I got tons from them. I will try the other way around and go look at the 4 year colleges to see if they make more sense. Thank you for all the details!

Lots of us here are good at translating mumbo jumbo. When I read those links I posted, I will tell you they are very deliberate in the phrasing of certain things, the nuances of words... In a nutshell, you don't have to use an articulation/guaranteed transfer. You mentioned it in your original post, so I wanted to help you understand how that whole ball of wax works. It's not as complex as they might make it sound, but there are always rules to follow. Schools like the big 3 won't do a full transfer, but that's not to mean you won't GET a full transfer. It's really just half a dozen of one, 6 of the other.

Really the bottom line is you can't go wrong working on the gen eds, especially this early on. They will need English, no question. They will need math, no question. They will need some type of social science like history, no question.... These things are pretty set in stone, so just work on the ones you know they need, and stick around. As they start to accumulate credit, your learning of all this will deepen and it will get easier. It's like anything new, it just takes time to get into the groove. You'll get it.

[JohnnyHeck]

If you are concerned about credit acceptability at a 4 year college at a later date, then I suggest that you stick to CLEPS and a 30 credit limit until you have a better idea of what particular school your children might be interested in. 90% of senior institutions and their state's CCs around the country will accept up to 30 CLEP credits. Some of them are picky about which ones, so your best off sticking to Intros to things like Psychology, Sociology, US History I, Western Civ. I, Macroeconomics, , Foreign Language I, Computers, College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, and Biology. Some schools will award the the CLEP credit on the condition that the student successfully pass the next course in sequence such as Foreign Language II, or that you complete a second science with a lab. Only 10% or less schools accept ALEKS ACE credit, but is great to use to prepare for the equivalent math CLEPs. Even if a school does not award credit for say College Algebra and Pre-Calculus and Foreign Language I, you should be able to use these CLEPs to fulfill pre-requisite requirements for the next course in sequence like Calculus and Foreign Language II. If you go for the CLEP in English, use the one that is called College Composition with essay. Most schools will not give you 6 full credits or even none, but this could be a good prep for the SAT and/or ACT.However, if you have the choice of dual enrollment in your CC's online English Composition sequence, that is the way to go for this subject because of credit acceptability almost everywhere. Also, be aware that depending upon the degree program, e.g. business, engineering, or the arts, there may not be a need or room for credits in all these liberal arts heavy selections. But since all learning is a good thing I don't think you can go wrong with any of the aforementioned subjects.

[lprstn]

It really depends on your kids. I


Some kids do well taking these test, studying the material over and over again until they get the desired score then passing it. That isn't the scenario for some kids though.

You have to know your kid. Sit with them and plan out their path to adulthood. If they want college, or not. Then decide. With my 4 kids, 2 are avid test takers - the other 2 hate it and prefer to soak information in at a slower pace.

With eaither scenario, all kids can have success at taking CLEPs if you make sure they are learning it and doing well on the sample test.