Transcripts
Creating transcripts for college does not have to be difficult. Many families recommend Academic Records because it's a low cost, electronic way to store your records. There is no charge for creating or keeping your records on the website, just a one-time 15.00 charge the year you print or send your transcripts to colleges. An added benefit is that you can electronically submit transcripts through Parchment, which is the same service many high schools and colleges use.
There are other options though - you can create your own transcript and mail it when requested. Here is a sample template that is a fillable PDF -
There are other options though - you can create your own transcript and mail it when requested. Here is a sample template that is a fillable PDF -
One of the biggest mistakes parents can make on transcripts is trying to be too "creative" in naming classes. If you want to highlight all that a course covers it's better to include separate class credits, vs getting "creative" with the name of a course.
For example - at LAC our Omnibus and Rhetoric Classes can be broken down into several high school credits.
Colleges traditionally do not calculate elective credit grades as part of a student's final GPA. They are looking only for "core academic" classes. Those are:
Math
4 credits through high school Algebra and above. This is traditionally, minimally, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Precalculus/Statistics/College Mathematics. This is not traditionally a subject area where Honors designations can be justified.
English
4 credits through high school - some would say that you can name these credits specific to the topic covered, and you can but that's largely unnecessary - English 1-4 is sufficient and all colleges are looking for. If your student does all of their LAC assignments you could give their English credits Honors designation.
Science
3-4 credits through high school - most would say err on the side of 4. These can traditionally are: Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry at minimum - Physics, Anatomy and Physiology, etc. are all also qualified as credits. If your students dual enrolls for a class they already took in high school - for example Biology - it's perfectly acceptable to have their high school Biology, Biology 1 (DE) and Biology 2 (DE) - colleges recognize that all three are very different classes. While two year colleges may accept science classes with no lab to fulfill general education requirements, 4 year universities may not upon transfer. Always choose classes with the final destination in mind and check with that institution.
History
3-4 credits through high school - most would say err on the side of 4. These traditionally are American History, Ancient History, Medieval History - history is a subject that often overlaps and students can cover more than one year of the same “era” of history. That’s perfectly acceptable, and on the transcript you can just “number” the levels taken - so American History 1&2, etc. . Because of the level of writing and books read in Omnibus - if your child completes all assignments an Honors designation can be granted.
Foreign Language
A minimum of 2 credits through high school- colleges like to see 4 consecutive credits of one language. Levels 3 and 4 can be designated as honors.
For example - at LAC our Omnibus and Rhetoric Classes can be broken down into several high school credits.
- 1 Full English credit each year - which can be titled English 1, English 2, etc
- 1 Full History credit each year - which can be titled American History, Ancient History, etc.
- 1/2 Humanities credit every two years, or 1 Full Humanities credit across 4 years - titled Western Civilization 1&2 or Humanities 1&2
- 1/2 Speech and Debate credits every two years, or 1 Full credit across 4 years
Colleges traditionally do not calculate elective credit grades as part of a student's final GPA. They are looking only for "core academic" classes. Those are:
- English
- History
- Math
- Science
- Foreign Language
Math
4 credits through high school Algebra and above. This is traditionally, minimally, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Precalculus/Statistics/College Mathematics. This is not traditionally a subject area where Honors designations can be justified.
English
4 credits through high school - some would say that you can name these credits specific to the topic covered, and you can but that's largely unnecessary - English 1-4 is sufficient and all colleges are looking for. If your student does all of their LAC assignments you could give their English credits Honors designation.
Science
3-4 credits through high school - most would say err on the side of 4. These can traditionally are: Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry at minimum - Physics, Anatomy and Physiology, etc. are all also qualified as credits. If your students dual enrolls for a class they already took in high school - for example Biology - it's perfectly acceptable to have their high school Biology, Biology 1 (DE) and Biology 2 (DE) - colleges recognize that all three are very different classes. While two year colleges may accept science classes with no lab to fulfill general education requirements, 4 year universities may not upon transfer. Always choose classes with the final destination in mind and check with that institution.
History
3-4 credits through high school - most would say err on the side of 4. These traditionally are American History, Ancient History, Medieval History - history is a subject that often overlaps and students can cover more than one year of the same “era” of history. That’s perfectly acceptable, and on the transcript you can just “number” the levels taken - so American History 1&2, etc. . Because of the level of writing and books read in Omnibus - if your child completes all assignments an Honors designation can be granted.
Foreign Language
A minimum of 2 credits through high school- colleges like to see 4 consecutive credits of one language. Levels 3 and 4 can be designated as honors.
graduation requirements for the state of florida
There are no graduation requirements for the State of Florida as home schoolers. Colleges, even those in Florida, don't ask/or care if home schoolers follow the public school guidelines. Private schools are also not required to follow those guidelines but most do to help with transition back and forth between public and private schools.
It bears repeating - you do not have to follow Florida graduation guidelines., there is nothing to be gained from it, and most colleges won't even count the many electives required to follow it as a part of their recalculated transcript.
When it's time for your child to graduate you simply create a transcript and print them a diploma - or don't!
It bears repeating - you do not have to follow Florida graduation guidelines., there is nothing to be gained from it, and most colleges won't even count the many electives required to follow it as a part of their recalculated transcript.
When it's time for your child to graduate you simply create a transcript and print them a diploma - or don't!
Bright Futures
Bright Futures is very easy for home schoolers. They are based on two things: standardized test scores, and service hours. There are NO OTHER requirements for home school students. To be considered a home school student in Florida for the purposes of Bright Futures you must be registered with your county of residency as a home schoolers - NOT an umbrella school- for a minimum of 11th and 12th grades.
The things you need to do for Bright Futures is:
The best source of information is the Bright Futures handbook - but make sure you are reading the home school specific guidelines - nothing else applies to us -
The things you need to do for Bright Futures is:
- Take the ACT or SAT and achieve your goal score by June of your Senior year (many people get that score IN JUNE, don't give up!)
- Have that score sent to at least one Florida public university - this puts your score in the Florida system for Bright Futures to access.
- Fill out the Florida Student Scholarship and Grants Program application by June of your Senior year, complete it by August.
- Serve the minimum number of service hours for your goal award by May of your Senior year. These can also be shadowing hours within Bright Futures guidelines. You simply need a letter, on organization letterhead, stating that you worked the hours, take it to your county home school office for certification. They upload the hours to Bright Futures.
The best source of information is the Bright Futures handbook - but make sure you are reading the home school specific guidelines - nothing else applies to us -
Service hours
Service hour requirements depend on what you are applying them to.
Sources of community service - a good idea is to pick one organization the student is interested in and just begin serving there on a regular basis - weekly or monthly - and letting the student grow in responsibility and show commitment.
Colleges are increasingly concerned about character and "grit"/perseverance. Committing to one organization shows this chanter trait and allows the leadership of the organization to truly get to know the student and be able to write them a letter of recommendation that sounds individual and personalized.
Some organizations offer special summer programs for service - both Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Capital Regional Hospital do this - and those deadlines for application are usually early in the calendar year - January through early March.
- Bright Futures - requires service hours be for a non-profit organization, or as a part of a shadowing experience. Hours must be documents on letterhead from the organization with the hours clearly listed. It's a good idea to get these in the form of a letter of recommendation so you don't have to ask for a separate one when needed.
- Colleges and scholarships - usually wants to see service hours as benefitting a non-profit or the community as a whole. Church service hours are good, but not considered "community service" unless they are a part of true community service - ie a food pantry, etc. Any activities - camp, mission trips, etc - where the main focus is proselytizing can help show the student's character but are not considered service.
Sources of community service - a good idea is to pick one organization the student is interested in and just begin serving there on a regular basis - weekly or monthly - and letting the student grow in responsibility and show commitment.
Colleges are increasingly concerned about character and "grit"/perseverance. Committing to one organization shows this chanter trait and allows the leadership of the organization to truly get to know the student and be able to write them a letter of recommendation that sounds individual and personalized.
Some organizations offer special summer programs for service - both Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Capital Regional Hospital do this - and those deadlines for application are usually early in the calendar year - January through early March.
The college search
The best advice to beginning the college search is know your budget. Don't consider any schools that don't meet your budget.
Significant scholarships are very rare, full scholarships are basically a thing of the past. Federal aid is very limited, and primarily non-existent for most families. State aid is mainly Bright Futures. Assume you will be paying full price at any college you consider - and if you have a college or two your child's heart is set on outside of your budget then let them know what sort of scholarship they'd need to go there.
State universities do not offer any leeway on tuition costs. Private schools can offer institutional grants to bring that price down, but they are rarely even 1/4 of the cost of tuition.
If your family falls below or near the Federal poverty guidelines then you may receive Federal aid.
Students are limited to around 5000.00 a year in student loans, parents can borrow more.
Significant scholarships are very rare, full scholarships are basically a thing of the past. Federal aid is very limited, and primarily non-existent for most families. State aid is mainly Bright Futures. Assume you will be paying full price at any college you consider - and if you have a college or two your child's heart is set on outside of your budget then let them know what sort of scholarship they'd need to go there.
State universities do not offer any leeway on tuition costs. Private schools can offer institutional grants to bring that price down, but they are rarely even 1/4 of the cost of tuition.
If your family falls below or near the Federal poverty guidelines then you may receive Federal aid.
Students are limited to around 5000.00 a year in student loans, parents can borrow more.
Vocational Options
Scholarships
Traditionally there are two forms of scholarships:
Automatic - given by the college based on meeting a set of criteria - GPA and test scores are usually the parameters.
Competitive - given by multiple sources and on a competitive basis, no way to know the areas that will make you more competitive usually unless given for a specific area (talent, service, etc).
Usually there are also limited sources of scholarships - we've ranked them from the best to focus on to those that have the greatest "chance" factor:
No matter how good a student an applicant is they need to show other attributes colleges look for -
Academic benchmarks for scholarships can be extremely high - make sure to research before you set your standardized test goals.
Automatic - given by the college based on meeting a set of criteria - GPA and test scores are usually the parameters.
Competitive - given by multiple sources and on a competitive basis, no way to know the areas that will make you more competitive usually unless given for a specific area (talent, service, etc).
Usually there are also limited sources of scholarships - we've ranked them from the best to focus on to those that have the greatest "chance" factor:
- Government sponsored - Bright Futures, ROTC, etc.
- Colleges the student may like to attend
- Local organizations - Best and Brightest, Tallahassee Quarterback Club, etc.
- State wide organizations
- Scholarships from organizations with a specific focus that apply to student - race, ethnicity, income, talent, etc.
- National scholarships - essay, lottery style (no parameters or qualifiers), etc.
No matter how good a student an applicant is they need to show other attributes colleges look for -
- Leadership (being a club officer, leading a sports team, organizing service project, etc)
- Service (focused on non-profits and community service, church based service is seen as something that is good, but should not be the exclusive source of service UNLESS the church service is also community service - a food pantry, or other project that serves more than just church goers)
- Hobbies/Interests and investment in them
Academic benchmarks for scholarships can be extremely high - make sure to research before you set your standardized test goals.
Dual Enrollment for college and vocation
The cost of dual enrollment is paid by the county the student is zoned for, and registered with. So students enrolled in an umbrella school do not qualify for dual enrollment with the same benefits as registered home school students.
In Leon County there are two primary sources of dual enrollment, and each has it's own requirements - which you can find at the links below:
In Leon County there are two primary sources of dual enrollment, and each has it's own requirements - which you can find at the links below:
Dual enrollment at TCC is limited to 9 hours per semester, except in the student's senior year, when they can opt to take up to 15 per semester.
TCC does allow dual enrollment before a student's junior year, but then you lose the ability to register for a full course load in your senior year because you are limited to 6 semesters of dual enrollment total. Those semesters are usually:
Dual enrollment years ALWAYS start with summer, and end with Spring. TCC does not allow variations on this. TCC's rules do often change - it's always best to go to their website for the most current information, and if you have any questions talk to them. They have narrowed the dual enrollment window considerably, there are very few ways to get an "exception" to a rule. For every semester long dual enrolled class the student earns 1 full year high school credit. A weight of 1.0 is added to the grade the student receives from a dual enrollment class - so if the student earns an A = 4.0 on college transcript =5.0 on high school transcript. |