Questions on Extracurriculars and Academics as a Homeschooled StudentAnswered
I'm a Freshman in highschool aiming for top colleges (ex: uchicago, Columbia, nyu, harvard, Yale, etc.) and I'm going to be homeschooled this year.
In order to.. I guess accommodate (can't find the word I'm looking for lol) to my lack of extracurriculars, I decided to focus 80% on my academics while building up the skills for the ECs (ex: debate/ Mock Trial) that I want to do next year. There are a few, however, that I don't necessarily have to wait to do until I enroll next year. Things like: Band, tutoring, and journalism.
My question is, especially with tutoring, where do I start? Also, would it be fine to start joining and starting clubs as a sophomore, aswell as getting into sports, research, and competitions as a sophomore? Would I seem like I'm trying too hard by doing 4 AP classes as a freshman? Lastly, is it even worth it to take the PSAT now if I'll take the SAT next year?
As of now, I'm able to handle what I'm doing, but maybe because I'm not juggling 7 extracurriculars with my feet? That was supposed to be funny. Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if someone gave some advice, suggestions, or answers related to my questions! 😀
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2 answers
If you are a homeschooled student, making yourself comparable to students at normal high schools is one of your main priorities. This means scoring well on standardized testing and showing evidence that you interact with other humans. Being homeschooled probably puts you at a slight disadvantage, but if you take up leadership roles in whatever communities you are involved in and do well on the metrics that students at normal schools do (AP tests, SAT, etc) then you can be a competitive applicant.
4 APs are fine but mean nothing if you can't score well in them. If you are ready for them then that is great, but also take into consideration the importance of other classes that colleges require you to take (language, electives, etc) which are not AP. To answer your question, it will only seem like you are trying too hard if other classes are left by the wayside or if you score poorly. Best wishes!
Why are you being homeschooled if you want to go to Ivy colleges?
It seems you would be better off going to a public or private school. Even an online school (like Stanford online school) is better than being home-schooled. You will miss out on many many things.
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Well, it's mainly due to family circumstances and some other issues. Homeschool wasn't the only option, however it seemed like the best option for this year. I can always enroll into a nearby public school, however, academics wise, Homeschool would be better. As for extracurriculars, public school would be better. But either way, colleges accept Homeschool students. They mainly care (atleast I think) about how you take advantage of what you already have.