Hey y’all. I wanted to make sure I’ve told everyone on the email list —-> I’ve noticed there are a few problems with my email signups on the website. So if you were promised a freebie and never received it, just let me know and I’ll email it to you. I’m still working through what is going on and trying to fix it!
We’ve been talking about transcripts here on the blog and this post is the 2nd in the series. You can find the first post here.
Next week will be our final post on transcripts. I’ll be talking about myths about transcripts. You don’t want to miss that! Please send in any questions you might have and I’ll cover those too.
To Accredit or Not to Accredit
Today we will discuss the age-old question from Hamlet: “To Accredit, or Not to Accredit?”
Actually, Hamlet didn’t say that. But I’m sure he would have if he was around when homeschoolers began to agonize over this question. So today I’m going to list out some pros and cons for accrediting. You can take each of these reasons and turn them around and they become cons and pros for NOT accrediting. Let’s dive in.
Pros For Accrediting
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- The college process is easier, more straightforward. Submit the transcript, test score, and the application filled with your awesome resume and you’re done.
- You will not have to provide extra things like a portfolio or course descriptions.
- Student appears to college as a private-schooled student, under the umbrella of a private school
- Validates your high school course choices against GA State standards. For some, this is peace of mind, because they know they’ve provided a solid list of coursework for their student.
- You are keeping up your records each year in case there is an emergency.
- In Georgia, you Immediately qualify for Hope or the Zell Miller scholarships from day one, regardless of your SAT or ACT test score
- You don’t have to take the summation exam for the Georgia university system if you are attending a Georgia college.
- If you are in Georgia, my favorite place to send people is ACA West. Full disclosure – I work there part time. But I think we have a great service to offer – which includes help with high school and college planning as well as an accredted transcript.
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Cons For Accrediting
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- It is the more costly choice by far; accreditation costs about $400-500 per year per student for 4 years of high school.
- You have the freedom to customize your high school program. You are not required to follow the state list of required classes for graduation.
- The student is categorized as a home-schooler. You will be representing homeschoolers as responsible (and not slackers) when you go unaccredited but yet turn in great, rigorous, and successful transcripts to the colleges of your choice.
- There are plenty of homeschool-friendly colleges. If you are planning to go to one of those, then accreditation may not be necessary. You can find a list here published by the Georgia Home Education Association. I don’t totally agree with this list, but it’s a great place to start your research.
- You have to gather your stuff together and meet with an accrediting agent once a year. There, you will show him/her your grades and approximately 3 samples of your work per subject per semester. Some people don’t want to do that much grading and documenting of their work.
- You may not be heading to college, or you may not need to receive the Hope/Zell scholarship right away. You might have the test score to qualify for Hope/Zell up front without needing accreditation.
- Hey, what’s one more test? You don’t mind taking an extra test if you’re going to a Georgia college or you’re not planning to go to college in Georgia.
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So, how to decide?
I suggest that you go through these reasons and write down your thoughts about them. Also, talk to your spouse and get their opinion. Then bring in the student and talk to them about any questions they have, what they think their future holds, etc. Then PRAY! The Lord will show you what to do. See if you have a leaning towards one more than the other. You may also want to research accrediting further by talking to one of the folks on the resource list I posted here. It might help you to meet with a couple of them and ask them some questions.
Either Way You Decide to Go, DO THIS:
No matter which one you choose, start now by going to different college admission websites and look at their requirements. If you accredit, your requirements will be in the main section of the admissions webpage in the general information. But if you are going non-accredited, you’ll need to look for the information for homeschooled students. There will you see what additional requirements you may have. If there are a lot of extra requirements, I would consider that college to not be homeschool-friendly.
Hope this info is helpful for you!! This is the 2nd post in a three-post series on Transcripts. To go to the first post, click here.
To continue onto the next post, click here.
Blessings,
Michelle