Homeschooled!

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Carleigh.W

5-Year Member
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Mar 8, 2011
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Hi there! I am currently a homeschooled sophomore in high school, and next year I plan on attending a community college full-time and getting my AA. I know the degree won't be applicable at West Point, but do you think that getting that degree will be beneficial in the long run? And how is being homeschooled for the past two years going to affect the admissions process?

Thanks for any advice you have!
 
No, I am not done with high school. The reason I am stopping is because the college that I will be attending offers Arabic classes (which is what I am interested in), and other higher level education that I want to pursue. I have also heard that being homeschooled can make the admissions process a lot more complicated. Is this true?
 
I don't know from first hand experience but two of my friends are homeschooled that have received appointments for this year's class. Both have taken classes through their respective community colleges. So its definitly doable. Its just harder to show involvement and leadership generally and for ranking and such, some people I think have used their SAT scores percentile as a way to provide a class ranking kind of deal for the Academy to use.
 
more and more homeschooled kids are getting accepted by West Point.

Your course grade will be what it is, and your standardized test scores are sufficient to complement your home school course grades.

What I have seen with Home School kids that got accepted by West Point are good standardized test scores and good non-school activities (i.e. clubs, eagle scout, active in community and sports).

I don't think getting an AA degree will neither help or hurt you.
 
As others have said, it is possible for a home schooled student to get an Appointment (I'm a senior and I have one). Taking classes at a comm. college (and especially getting your AA) are good because not only do they give the academy an independent indicator of your academic abilities, but it also shows them that you can take responsibility for your own progress & learning (the profs don't "spoon feed" students like teachers in many high schools).

Likewise (and especially since you're home schooled) it's important to be really involved in extracurriculars and/or volunteer work. I don't know what's available in your area, but I'm involved in Civil Air Patrol and it's been a great experience. Sports are also important. Where I live we have home school teams that compete against other schools (for instance, I was on the varsity swim team). Also, in some parts of the country home schooled students can play on public school teams. If that's not an option, look into club sports.

Standardized testing is also important to the academy because "class rank 1/1" tells them nothing. :thumb: You can choose the SAT or the ACT (my preference because there's no penalty for guessing), but regardless of your choice take it multiple times. West Point will mix & match your best scores in each of the different areas.

Lastly, turn everything in as soon as possible! West Point operates on a rolling admissions cycle, so the sooner they see your file, the better your chances are. This is true not just for the actual college application (opened up August 1 last year) but also applications for Summer Leaders Seminar (opens mid December). Try and have your file ready to submit as close to the opening of submissions as possible.

I turned in my SLS application the day after applications opened and they accepted me before then end of the week. Likewise, since I went to SLS, Admissions looked at my file in June or July and offered me an LOA before the beginning of August. The point is this: I can't stress enough how important it is to turn stuff in early. Don't hesitate to PM me with more questions.
 
While I wasn't home schooled, I was in a very similar situation as you appear to be in. The high school I was attending (technically I still am attending the school) was a sub-par school and so I took my education to a local state college. I have been a full-time college student with a state college since the first day of my sophomore year of high school. Most of the people I know in college aren't even aware that I am still (technically) in high school!!

However, by doing most of my leadership/extracurricular activities through college instead of high school, the admissions process was a little more confusing and required some explaining to a few people who were wondering why I was both a college and high school student :eek:. I would really encourage you to pursue some leadership opportunities through the college you are planning on attending. College Student Government is a great place to start (as I did), or depending on the school, you may be able to start a new club, which also shows great leadership. For me, I really enjoyed being in a college Student Government and I later ran for President and won. College Student Governments generally are funded through tuition or student fees and so it is nice to be the President and oversee a few hundred thousand dollars :biggrin:, it was also a great thing to mention at my nomination interviews that I oversaw a budget and several dozen people.
If you have questions about this part PM me and we'll talk :thumb:

In regards to an AA degree, I have had mine for almost a year. Actually, when I when to SLS last summer, I had already received my AA. I think that by having so many college classes on both my high school, and college transcripts, that I was given a competitive edge over some other people. I tried to use this as much as I could by submitting everything as early as possible. I actually believe that my college experience lead to my receipt of my LOA in July and subsequent nomination and appointment in late November.

Even though West Point will not accept the transfer credits from an AA, I believe it is completely worth it to have the opportunity to attend the Academy. Its a small thing to give up.
 
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