Does Curriculum Matter For College Applications?

With Guest Speaker, Hannah Tung.  Hannah was first a college admissions officer and is now a professor at an accredited private college. She has experienced all sides of college admittance and student performance in college.

Our ultimate goal may not be to have our kids go to college, but it doesn’t hurt to think towards that goal until it becomes clear which direction your student will go.

1. Unless you are going to an Ivy League college, the school doesn’t care what curriculum you used. All they care about is did you learn the subject to the entry level standard for college.
2. If you plan on doing a heavy math degree, then yes, you should choose an upper-level math program in high school to help with that.
3. It is more important to keep a record of your student’s subjects and transcripts the moment the kids are in 9^th Start in 7^th grade to practice and get it down by 9^th grade. You can ask for a sample transcript from your local high school.
4. Your school name doesn’t matter, so have fun with it! What matters is that you stay consistent with writing the name of your school on all forms and application. The one piece that connects all random documents together is the original application, with the school name on it.
5. The professionalism of your transcript is much more important! The formatting and look of the transcript is important and you should do what you can to make it look as professional and “mainstream” as possible.
6. It is evident when students have been given higher grades on their transcripts than what was the appropriate grade once the student is in class. Give your kid the correct and honest grades!
7. Homeschoolers fail in being able to listen to a lecture, take notes, and write a paper on the lecture. Due to mom sitting across the dining table with a reading based program, it’s important to train your upper-level high schooler to be able to do lectures. Watch Ted Talks or listen to Podcasts and assign a paper on them. This will greatly help their college-level learning.
8. Running start or Dual Enrollment programs are wonderful! Most universities look at transfer students differently. It really differs on the college and degree desired on if they prefer transfer students or not.
9. Take your students to the schools they are interested in! It really helps to make decisions.
10. Call the college to ask what they are looking for in good applicants. Colleges are happy to give you all sorts of information!