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KackyK
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| Posted: Oct 30 2012 at 5:09pm | IP Logged
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Okay so maybe this isn't odd, but I thought so.
One of the schools we were looking at for my senior, is Marist College. I called today to be sure exactly what they wanted from a homeschooler. After saying the usual (test scores, transcript, essays, letters of rec) she added and we need a copy of the letter from your superintendent that you are approved to homeschool AND if your child is accepted and decides to come to Marist, she will need to take the GED at the end of the year.
I have never heard of doing the GED on top of all the other stuffs. Anyone else encounter such a thing. My dh thought maybe because they were in NY but yet she is applying to two other NY schools and they haven't asked for these items.
Thoughts???
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KackyK
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pumpkinmom
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It just seems like they aren't a homeschool friendly school. I've never had anyone tell me they had to do that to attend college (local homeschoolers I know).
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Betsy
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If you want to pursue this college I would contact Home School Legal Defense. They have intervened in many cases like this to get the GED waived. While some of us might be inclined to say, "What is the big deal, just another test to take", they take the position that your child *has* successfully completed High School and the GED is for people who have *not* successfully completed High School. Also, taking the GED can have a stigma or negative effect because of this fact. You would be required to put this information on job applications in the future and it appears as if you didn't finished High School, etc.
In essence it undermines Home Schooling and is a preverbal slap in the face. 
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KackyK
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| Posted: Oct 30 2012 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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That is what I was thinking too. It wasn't anywhere she had her heart set, so she will just move on.
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KackyK
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stacykay
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I'm curious about the superintendent letter. In MI, we have zero contact with the public schools; there is nothing we fill out in order to homeschool. I think their requirements are sort of strange, but I agree with the suggestion to contact HSLDA! Thanks for the notice of this.
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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MaryM
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I would think that having a question like that and the odd requirements shows they are not really familiar with, and likely don't get many, homeschool applicants. Otherwise they would be more aware that there are big difference between states in how homeschooling is even handled. They have a "school" view of homeschooling and it's all about requirements and approval.
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KackyK
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| Posted: Oct 31 2012 at 7:49pm | IP Logged
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I called Canisius and the gal there started with they needed a copy of our approval letter from the county to homeschool. We do have those in VA so that didn't bother me. I was worried she was going to move to the GED. She then said at the end of the year they would need another letter from our county stating she had completed everything. When I said our state doesn't do that and that it feels the first approval letter is enough, she said "Oh that'll be fine then."
I called HSLDA and chatted with the legal asst for NY. He said they are speaking like New Yorkers basically. I guess NY has a letter that they send to their homeschoolers at the end of the year that says they met everything, called a "substantial equivalency" letter. So I get that they asked for that. He said though that if we did want to pursue Marist, or another school that is calling for a GED, because there are others and not just in NY, that they would write letters to educate the college on the law.
I think we are comfortable not pursuing Marist any further. My dh's family live in Buffalo and have offered dd a place to live so she can just pay the out of state tuition but no room and board. We definitely will apply at Buff State and Canisius. OH and when I called Buff State, they didn't seem phased by homeschooling at all 
Thanks for your responses!
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KackyK
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ctrivette
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I was wondering if it was a state thing. Here (tx) we don't have any state supervision; the superintendent doesn't have any contact with me. And I am a school so my diploma or 'proof' of completion should count. Other states have other rules.....
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cheesehead mom
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Also, keep in mind that you might of just talked to someone who was not that knowledgeable. Sometimes you can get 2 different answers depending on who you talk to. Happy hunting!
Laura
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KackyK
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| Posted: Nov 02 2012 at 10:34pm | IP Logged
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Yes. But unfortunately in the Marist case, it was indeed the Driector of Admissions to whom my called had been passed to...oh well...on that one. 
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KackyK
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Veronika
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I just went through the same thing with my oldest. She applied tot e Culinary Institute of America, just down the street from Marist! The CIA's admissions officer told us that she'd need a " state-certified" transcript, or a GED. Since we opted to write our own curriculum, (ironically, so that she could study culinary arts and food related courses!) our transcript would be parent-generated. We did not want to have to resort to taking the GED, so we called HSLDA too. They recommended that our state -certified evaluator co-sign her transcript and write a letter to the school stating that she certifies that our daughter has met all graduation requirements in our state. Hopefully, this will suffice. We also sent copies of our approval letters from the local school district, as you did. We hope to hear from them by Christmas.
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CatholicMommy
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I don't have this issue for college yet - but I did have a similar issue trying to get a homeschool discount at Joann Fabric. My address is half of a city that borders into Ohio (though we live in the far outskirts and technically nowhere near the city); Joann Fabric was in the other half of that city. My state requires 180 attendance after a child turns 7, but no requirement for documenting said attendance! To get the discount card, I needed something from the state or from my homeschool association (which we don't have here, despite the high number of homeschoolers in my area) - Ohio has *requirements*. I never did make it into an Indiana-based Joann's to get a card; then one day I was in their new store further into Cincinnati and voila, I got the card! Same manager too! Perhaps she'd seen me in the store during school hours with my obviously school-aged son enough to just believe me ;)
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amarytbc
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Yes, that is standard for NY state schools and is common even with the private colleges in NY now. We live in NY and just went through this with our daughter. In the past I have always sent in all the required material so that the super. would write a letter to the college, but this particular daughter did Seton and I assumed that since they were accredited and issued an "official" diploma, we wouldn't need to jump through the usual homeschool hoops. Wrong. My failure to send in her last years worth of paperwork created a world of problems. The bottom line was the choice to register non-matriculated for 24 credits or to take the GED. The state policy is very specific, so HSLD probably wouldn't be much help.
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JennyMaine
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Just seeing this thread now.
Our state university states on their admissions page that homeschooled students can be required to take the GED before they will be admitted.
These are things that are good to know prior to starting the high school years! My own thought is that it doesn't hurt to sit for the GED tests and have those scores in case they are needed. You don't have to advertise that you have a GED, but if it gets you into the college you want I think it is a good thing. A friend of my daughter's took the GED tests, aced them, and was able to receive scholarships for our university that way. It was a wonderful thing for her.
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KackyK
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Glad your friend had a good experience JennyMaine.
HSLDA really made it seem that homeschoolers do NOT need to have a GED according to the law. And they seem to stress then NOT to ever do more than the law requires of you (basically I got the feeling the more you give the more they'll ask for).
That's my take on it.
And in this day and age, when a potential employer can get to your social networking stuffs, I'm assuming they can get to records about the GED and I would be worried then you would have to convince them you have a diploma as well. If that makes sense???
Who knows?!
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KackyK
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vmalott
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I kind of think the opposite of Jenny...if there is a college that says my home educated child needs a GED in order to get in, then that is *not* a college I want my kid going to.
I've been doing a lot of college research lately since my oldest son has returned from a 2.5 year stint in public school. He wants to play college sports, so I've been looking at the requirements for many of the colleges he is interested in (mostly Big 10 schools). I'm happy that 95% place no extra requirements upon home educated students in order to be accepted.
Only *one* required a GED (Bowling Green, OH), so that one is off the list for now. The only way it would go back *on* the list would be if they offered a 100% walk-on athletic scholarship.
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: odd request by college on application
