07-21-2024, 08:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2024, 08:45 PM by homeschoolmom1.)
I am also a homeschool parent with children slightly younger than yours. Here are my thoughts:
1) Yes, you should BOTH pursue college together. It will likely motivate both of you in unique ways and it will be a memory and source of pride you will share forever.
2) No, she is not too young, and there is no other reason either why she shouldn't start now. We have a 14 year old and he has accumulated approximately 45 credits through CLEP, Sophia and Study.com so far. Given his age, we are taking it very slowly and are not just focusing on credit bearing courses. We mix in Brilliant.org, freecodecamp and various other materials (Art of Problem solving for math, Institute for excellence in writing) that don't offer college credit.
3) I second the thought to NOT do a GED. Like you suggest, we will simply issue a diploma and high school transcript when we see fit. For us, that will be the month before he turns 16. As soon as he turns 16, we will enroll him at TESU (because that is their minimum age for enrollment.)
I would be cautious regarding dual enrollment at an actual college, because any grade she gets will follow her. If it is a bad grade, it can be difficult to overcome for graduate applications, and it gets logged in the national clearinghouse database. For that reason, we have been focusing on ACE credit courses. Our son failed one study.com class, but then he repeated the proctored exam and passed on the second attempt. No problem, he did not have to beat himself up over it and nobody will ever know. On the other hand, dual enrollment courses would give you RA credits and can be dirt cheap or even free while still a high schooler.
4) My recommendation for both of you: take advantage of the super cheap study.com offer that expires on 08/31/24. Look it up here on this forum. Decide if there are two course that either interest you or that Sophia doesn't offer. Sign up for one month for $75 and do those 2 courses. I plan to enroll our 10 year old and have her take "Presentation skills in the workplace" and "Intro to Computer Science". She is really a couple of years younger than when I wanted to start her, but we will simply just give it a shot and if she fails, she can take it again in a few years from now and there is <$40 per course lost in that scenario.
5) After the one month of study.com, cancel that subscription and try Sophia for a month. During those 2 months, read up on different options, universities, degrees etc on this forum and start to formulate a game plan. This would give you an idea of the different format between study.com and sophia, which are commonly used sources around here. If exams are more your cup of tea, you can do CLEP for free with Modern States. There are a thousand ways to skin this cat, and you have to find what works for you. It is possible that your daughter has a different learning style from yours, too. Overall, you can do this! In about 2-4 years, you will both have degrees that didn't break the bank.
1) Yes, you should BOTH pursue college together. It will likely motivate both of you in unique ways and it will be a memory and source of pride you will share forever.
2) No, she is not too young, and there is no other reason either why she shouldn't start now. We have a 14 year old and he has accumulated approximately 45 credits through CLEP, Sophia and Study.com so far. Given his age, we are taking it very slowly and are not just focusing on credit bearing courses. We mix in Brilliant.org, freecodecamp and various other materials (Art of Problem solving for math, Institute for excellence in writing) that don't offer college credit.
3) I second the thought to NOT do a GED. Like you suggest, we will simply issue a diploma and high school transcript when we see fit. For us, that will be the month before he turns 16. As soon as he turns 16, we will enroll him at TESU (because that is their minimum age for enrollment.)
I would be cautious regarding dual enrollment at an actual college, because any grade she gets will follow her. If it is a bad grade, it can be difficult to overcome for graduate applications, and it gets logged in the national clearinghouse database. For that reason, we have been focusing on ACE credit courses. Our son failed one study.com class, but then he repeated the proctored exam and passed on the second attempt. No problem, he did not have to beat himself up over it and nobody will ever know. On the other hand, dual enrollment courses would give you RA credits and can be dirt cheap or even free while still a high schooler.
4) My recommendation for both of you: take advantage of the super cheap study.com offer that expires on 08/31/24. Look it up here on this forum. Decide if there are two course that either interest you or that Sophia doesn't offer. Sign up for one month for $75 and do those 2 courses. I plan to enroll our 10 year old and have her take "Presentation skills in the workplace" and "Intro to Computer Science". She is really a couple of years younger than when I wanted to start her, but we will simply just give it a shot and if she fails, she can take it again in a few years from now and there is <$40 per course lost in that scenario.
5) After the one month of study.com, cancel that subscription and try Sophia for a month. During those 2 months, read up on different options, universities, degrees etc on this forum and start to formulate a game plan. This would give you an idea of the different format between study.com and sophia, which are commonly used sources around here. If exams are more your cup of tea, you can do CLEP for free with Modern States. There are a thousand ways to skin this cat, and you have to find what works for you. It is possible that your daughter has a different learning style from yours, too. Overall, you can do this! In about 2-4 years, you will both have degrees that didn't break the bank.
![[-]](https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/images/collapse.png)
