I love homeschooling older kids. They challenge me with their subjects, curiosity, and creative insights. I seriously learn right alongside them, especially through the subjects that I barely scraped through when I was in school.
But I don’t get such a kick out of preparing the records and data collection needed for homeschool transcripts. With so much riding on it, I feel so incompetent. Tweet This!
My first-born was pretty easy in terms of that. With really high scores on the SAT and ACT, he had great scholarship opportunities and a passion for science. He firmly knew his major, at least the area of it, and had no trouble getting accepted into every school for which he applied.
My next-in-line also knows what she’d like to major in. Unfortunately, her line of study isn’t quite so cut and dried as the boy’s. And though she’s very intelligent, she’s methodical, so not quick enough to make the outstanding test scores of her brother. She’ll be able to get into her choice of schools, but the free ride that the boy got won’t likely be an opportunity for her.
There are five parts to homeschool transcript. Tweet This!
Grades
Two key types of grades: the scores from the SAT and/or ACT and the grades that I assign to each subject. The catch is that the grades I assign must reflect the scores she receives. That was so easy with the boy. He went off the charts in both areas.
The girl, on the other hand, is a different type of student altogether. She’s determined to master every challenge, but is deliberate at how she deals with the each problem, particularly in math. I have a feeling when all is said and done, that her test scores won’t be as high as her regular grades. That’s not a problem if the difference is slight, but if it is substantial, my grades will simply be discarded.
Reasonable and Comparable. That’s the bottom line.
Activities
The transcript holds more than just grades, though. This paper should display a well-balanced student. Leadership activities are key, but any other regular behavior must be listed. Sports, services, academic organizations, and work show a rounded student life-style.
Accomplishements
The third item on the transcript should include awards, but there is more to it than that. For instance, my boy led a group of students to raise money for an orphanage in West Africa. It wasn’t a regular activity, only a two-week challenge, but he organized the team and originated the ideas that raised over $1000.
This section includes successful auditions, sports achievements, academic notariety, awards, and titles earned.
Portfolio
This section doesn’t actually come on the paper transcript itself. Your student should have a portfolio to include work examples. Essays, research papers, science projects, playbills, videos of speeches, computer presentations, and audition recordings are important things to have on hand. My son didn’t end up needing this, but my music-focused daughter will.
Recommendations
The final section also isn’t included on the paper transcript. This is a collection of letters from carefully chosen, trusted mentors. For instance, my boy had a collection of about five letters of recommendations. He hand-picked the ones he used for each school application, making sure he used an A&M alumni letter for his application there. These are decidedly important for homeschoolers because they verify the student’s virtues beyond the parents’ evaluation. It’s actually a good idea to collect these letters through the student’s high school experience.
So there you have it. Homeschool Transcript Preparation 101. The good news is, the number of colleges and universities that recognize the academic value and discipline that homeschoolers have is growing.
