USMA and homeschooling

S

scpal

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Hey folks, I just saw a post this morning from a father whose son was admitted as a homeschooler. Our DS will graduate in May and our second son received an appointment yesterday...both were homeschooled.

While it is a small percentage at WP, I thought it might be good to open up a thread for anyone who had questions about this unique path....it can be difficult showing leadership, etc and so if anyone has questions, ask away...
 
SomeGaveAll said:
2023. Currently no questions, but I’m sure I will! Thanks!
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Have you heard on an appointment yet? If not, best of luck.

We are from Alabama and the whole application and admissions process was tricky at times. We have a Firstie (senior) at West Point, so after his admissions experience, it helped us to be better prepared for the 2023 application. The first time our 2019 cadet applied was difficult because our DS was very involved in things that WP portal didn't have a box for, so it made showing his file as competitive somewhat challenging. As an aside, a lot has changed in college's perceptions of homeschooling, even in the past 4 years. Our 2019 didn't get accepted his first try and then made it in after a gap year studying abroad.

I'm curious, what did your Cadet find to be the most difficult part of the application to do well?
 
Agree! The most difficult part was not being able to check boxes that seemed “similar enough” to the school-version to check, but he didn’t check because it wasn’t exact. Instead, he wrote it on the “other activities” (squished into how many, 250?, characters?) his resume/activities record and allowed the SAs to decide. We still have no idea what his EC looks like (his portal looks almost naked with a few checked boxed and “other activities”) ...
 
Congratulations on the your two sons!

I am a homeschooled student currently applying to the CGA. I applied EA and just got deferred to Regular Admission this past Tuesday, so I am hoping to improve my file in any way that I can. A few questions:

  1. What transcript service do you use? Currently, my family is using a small company that then uses Parchment.
  2. I have taken Calc I, Calc II, Multivariable Math I, Physics I (calc-based) with lab, and am currently taking Physics II (calc-based) with lab at a local liberal arts college. Additionally, I have taken 12 credits of general education type classes (Writing, Economics, History, Spanish) online at other small universities. Have you had experience with anything similar to this, and if so, did you send in transcripts from each school? Currently, the CGA only has my high-school transcript (through parchment); it does include my grades from dual-enrollment. (I have straight A's on all my college courses; I want to stress that if possible.)
  3. I am a TA for the Physics I lab that I took last semester at the previously mentioned local liberal arts college (Yes, I am a senior in high-school and am TA'ing for a college level course. I was personally given this option because of the quality of my work last semester). I have emailed my Admissions Officer about this but am worried that it has not been stressed enough. Any suggestions?
  4. Were your sons involved in any sports in high-school? If so, how? (Travel teams, lessons, etc.?)
  5. Generally, what are some of the extra-curricular activities that you believe (Yes, I understand this is very subjective) helped your sons in being accepted?
Sorry for the multitude of questions; please don't feel the need to respond to all of them.

Thanks for any answers!
 
MuniMan24 said:
Congratulations on the your two sons!

I am a homeschooled student currently applying to the CGA. I applied EA and just got deferred to Regular Admission this past Tuesday, so I am hoping to improve my file in any way that I can. A few questions:

  1. What transcript service do you use? Currently, my family is using a small company that then uses Parchment.
  2. I have taken Calc I, Calc II, Multivariable Math I, Physics I (calc-based) with lab, and am currently taking Physics II (calc-based) with lab at a local liberal arts college. Additionally, I have taken 12 credits of general education type classes (Writing, Economics, History, Spanish) online at other small universities. Have you had experience with anything similar to this, and if so, did you send in transcripts from each school? Currently, the CGA only has my high-school transcript (through parchment); it does include my grades from dual-enrollment. (I have straight A's on all my college courses; I want to stress that if possible.)
  3. I am a TA for the Physics I lab that I took last semester at the previously mentioned local liberal arts college (Yes, I am a senior in high-school and am TA'ing for a college level course. I was personally given this option because of the quality of my work last semester). I have emailed my Admissions Officer about this but am worried that it has not been stressed enough. Any suggestions?
  4. Were your sons involved in any sports in high-school? If so, how? (Travel teams, lessons, etc.?)
  5. Generally, what are some of the extra-curricular activities that you believe (Yes, I understand this is very subjective) helped your sons in being accepted?
Sorry for the multitude of questions; please don't feel the need to respond to all of them.

Thanks for any answers!
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These are great questions and I will reply to the ones I can answer:

1. In Alabama, we don't use a service to send transcripts. All of our oversight is mandated to be provided by a private school in our state. So, they submit our transcripts in the typical way. Sorry I can't be more help here.
2. While we are showing our son's dual enrollment grades on his high school transcript, my understanding is that all transcripts are required...meaning he will also be sending official transcripts from his jr college for the same classes.
3. The TA opportunity is a great one. If you have sent this information to your Admissions Officer, they will add it to your file...or they are supposed to.
4. My oldest son was involved in track, cross country and triathlon. His senior year he coached our local homeschool organization's Cross Country team. The track and Cross Country teams competed in a very small and non-competitive private school league for meets, etc. His triathlon races were more legitimate competition. This wasn't a high scoring part of his file, but he did well on his CFA, which showed he was strong, fast and in shape. Incidentally, he was the Physical Development Officer for his regiment this past semester, which means he was in charge of physical fitness programming and implementation of one of four regiments (approx. 1,000 students) at West Point. All that to say, he's very athletic and that is pretty important at WP.
Our second son has played soccer since he was very young. He has played high school club soccer and was captain each year. Our state also implemented a program which allows homeschooled students to play sports at the public school where they are zoned, so our son played soph/jr year at the jv and varsity level. He was on the leadership council his Junior year and was tapped to be the Captain his senior year, but decided not to play. He has finished his high school coursework early and is spending this semester in another city working with a refugee resettlement agency.
5. Older son: Took a gap year and lived in Amman, Jordan studying Arabic, reapplied and was accepted. Younger son: Eagle Scout and Boy's State (contact your local American Legion post to inquire about participation apart from a public high school) were very positive things on his leadership profile. He also had a 34 superscore on his ACT, which helped.

Hope this information is helpful
 
My son just applied for SLE and will be applying for c/o 2024, and is also homeschooled. We've been reading and learning about SA admissions since his freshman year, and I'm glad to hear about other homeschooled students receiving appointments.
 
1. What transcript service do you use? We used HSLDA FastTranscripts, which allowed me to download to save or print a transcript in order to upload, mail, or email. I never paid to send a transcript, only paid to use the HSLDA product.
4. Were your sons involved in any sports in high-school? If so, how? Yes, travel and high school (our state allows this, he also was a captain)
5. Generally, what are some of the extra-curricular activities that you believe (Yes, I understand this is very subjective) helped your sons in being accepted? Ones that showed leadership in the area of his passions. In almost every activity (7-8), my son was a leader and a volunteer in that activity.
 
SomeGaveAll said:
1. What transcript service do you use? We used HSLDA FastTranscripts, which allowed me to download to save or print a transcript in order to upload, mail, or email. I never paid to send a transcript, only paid to use the HSLDA product.
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My family uses HSLDA FastTranscripts too! However, they give the option to use Parchment as the delivery service, since Parchment is much more recognized by universities and colleges. For the USCGA, we used the Parchment service but we then used the FastTranscript document for other colleges since it is so much more convenient. Personally, I prefer the layout from FastTranscripts, but I am willing to do whatever will be most recognized by the SA's.
 
If needed, we would’ve used Parchment; nobody so far has needed it. Some I mailed vs sent via Parchment, but with all the applications, it wasn’t difficult.
 
There are quite a few homeschooled students at the Service Academies. I think that the SAs have come to recognize that many homeschoolers are very experienced in self learning and so are well prepared for the scholastic rigors of the Academies. Last semester, quite by chance, my son ended up rooming with two other homeschooled cadets.

Do not feel that you are at a disadvantage being homeschooled.
 
While the number of cadets who are homeschooled at SAs is growing (I would guess AFA has the largest group, since their admissions website speaks specifically to homeschoolers) it is an extrememly small percentage of students, at least at USMA.

I would also suggest that a homeschooled applicant is disadvantaged in some ways, but that is familiar to the homeschool world and I don't know of any families that would be discouraged by that reality. The purpose of this thread is to provide guidance and suggestions to those who are in a similar situation and might like to have some pointers. What I mean by being at a disadvantage is there are several facets of the application process that measure opportunities only found at the traditional school route (Student Body President, Boys/Girls State, Class Rank, Varsity Captain, President of a School Club, etc). All of those activities/accolades add points to a whole candidate score. So, in order to be a competitive candidate, a student who is homeschooled must think outside the box and look for other ways to show these types of leadership, athleticism, academic excellence, etc. With that being said, it is certainly doable, but it is a unique challenge.

Ours is a family that has gone thru the admissions process 3 times (2019-2x, 2023-1x) and we would have welcomed advice from families who had gone before us. Hopefully, this thread will be a great resource for families walking that path.
 
This was our first time through the process. Probably the biggest piece of advice could be considered something so obvious that it shouldn't need to be said . . . complete the application process. Then I would add, complete it as early as possible. I've heard of many kids who wanted to attend a SA and get to about their sophomore/junior year and just don't want to put in the work required to complete it. And, it is a HUGE undertaking! That's why you need a goal to complete it early - because things will happen or take longer than you expect and BOOM, a deadline is approaching. We set a goal for August, thought application was complete at the end of September (just waiting on noms) and hit a snag that pushed it into November. Also, if you're going for ROTC scholarships, the first boards meet early fall. DS missed the first rounds due to prioritizing completing SAs and missed the second round of AFROTC due to ignorance of board dates. As a parent of a homeschooler, your role as school counselor will require you to have transcripts, school profile, and course descriptions ready to send for the first 6 semesters. Start now.
 
Well, as a homeschooling parent, I had been thinking outside the box for so long that I didn't see a real challenge in adapting to the requirements for a Service Academy application. It just required a bit of creative thinking.

Sports - This usually a challenge area for homeschoolers. My son participated in town rec sports (karate) and a local private league (roller hockey) and in this way he was able to be heavily involved in sports without attending a public or private school.
My son took karate instruction for about 10 years. This showed persistence in developing a skill and since he taught the lower belts during high school, gave him leadership points also. He also played roller hockey for many years and also taught the goalie clinic for a few summers (again, gaining leadership points).

Leadership - finding opportunities for leadership can also be a bit challenging. My son looked specifically for leadership opportunities. One example - the SAs like to see their applicants be team captains. In m son's hockey league, the role of team captain wasn't always utilized but since my son knew that WP wanted to see this, every season, he asked his coach if he could be a team captain - and explained why he was looking for this leadership role. Some said no (and those were coaches who didn't choose a team captain that season) and some said yes. He never knew in advance how the coach would respond to his request, but he asked every season. Scouts and Boys/Girls state are also good options for homeschooled students. (My son didn't participate in either.) Also, any student can look for leadership opportunities in whatever clubs/organizations they are part of.

Academics - We live near a well-regarded community college so my son took many classes there. By the time he finished high school, he'd earned a year's worth of college credit. I think that many homeschoolers take at least a few college classes or AP/CLEP exams which are a way of showing the SAs that you are ready for college -level academics.

CFA - there are many Youtube videos - this is a great resource for preparing for this test.

Get to know your local Field Force rep. My son spoke with him early on and we later learned just how valuable it was that the FFR knew my son.

Nomination - in our case, I don't think it made a different to our congressman how our son was educated.

@SomeGaveAll - made some excellent points. Start early and know the deadlines for different applications. Any SA applicant should be also looking at ROTC so many sets of dates need to be considered.
 
@bookreader - I agree on thinking out of the box and I actually thought DS's extra-curriculars would look better than they did. However, checking the boxes doesn't give room for creative thinking: it's either a yes or a no, and unless it's a yes, it's a no. Easiest examples: Boy Scouts? Yes or No. Eagle Scout? Yes or No. Not "Did you participate in something you consider similar to Boys Scouts? Did you achieve something you'd consider equivalent to Eagle Scout?" High School Varsity? Yes or No. Team Captain? Yes or No. Team captain of travel league wasn't an option (he listed in "other activities," "resume," and in essays!) Everything that wasn't an officially checked box, was at the discretion to admissions on if they give him the magical WCS points for it. Maybe we took too black & white of a view, but DS didn't want to check something he considered equivalent, and have them disagree and accuse him of lying. He did discuss equivalents on a few items during his interview. In addition, anything that went above and beyond in the officially checked box also must be annotated in the resume or other activities (Chairman of a non-school club? Not a checkbox; written in other activities & resume.) During his overnight visit, DS was told his ECs looked "light" compared to another candidate in our district. However, if you read his resume, he has ECs and leadership coming out his ears. Even if we knew the magical point values for the check boxes, we have no idea what was counted and what wasn't.
 
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I’ve read that SA’s can allocate additional WCS points where they see fit, depending on the activities of a candidate. As a public school student reading this thread, I would definitely suggest to all homeschool students to follow the stellar advice above. It’s all about creating the opportunity for yourself. If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.
 
USNAismyplace said:
I’ve read that SA’s can allocate additional WCS points where they see fit, depending on the activities of a candidate. As a public school student reading this thread, I would definitely suggest to all homeschool students to follow the stellar advice above. It’s all about creating the opportunity for yourself. If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.
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Agree! Just letting future applicants know it's a little more work to get those points if they don't line up with the boxes. While DS's "overview" on his portal looks naked, we have no idea what was given credit. :)
 
My son filled out the application by himself, so I don't know how he answered the when the application asked about extra-curriculars. He applied a few years ago, so it's also possible that the application has changed a bit.
I wrote his transcript and I noted not only his academic achievements but also his other awards and extra curricular involvements. I also included a course description for every class including a book list. Yes, his transcript was many pages long.

I love what @USNAismyplace wrote. It bears repeating: If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.
 
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