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Home-schooled students successful at A&M
The Battalion ^ | 8/30/06 | Julie Weddle

Posted on 08/30/2006 2:41:21 PM PDT by 2Jedismom

Home-schooled students successful at A&M
Julie Weddle
Posted: 8/30/06

For Ian Martinez, coming to Texas A&M and attending classes with hundreds of students was a big shock.

"Last semester I had a class with 300 people," he said. "In junior college the biggest class I had was about 10 people."

Martinez, a sophomore biomedical engineering major, was home-schooled with his family every day of his schooling except for one science class in junior high and his freshman year of college.

"It made the family feel more closely knit," he said. "They're basically my best friends."

Statistically, home-schooled students are academically successful at A&M, said Katie Cochran, assistant director of admissions.

"Lots of home-schooled students do very well on standardized tests and generally do better than average," she said.

Cochran said she has seen home-schooled students adapt well in college because of their involvement with other students in their communities and classes.

"Many of them are more prepared in that they have attended classes in their community college in addition to having a lot of self-discipline that is necessary to be a home-schooler," Cochran said.

A&M is considered to be a home-school- friendly university, Cochran said. The University frequently receives requests from home-school organizations for A&M staff to present information about the University, she said.

Peter Rench, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said coming to college after being home-schooled was a slightly new experience but it was not hard to adapt. Rench said that most the time he was home-schooled, he worked independently and completed assignments quickly.

"I personally am glad I was home-schooled through at least my first eight years," he said. "I believe I could've received a more well-rounded high school education in a private school, but I don't regret being home-schooled, and I don't think I would have learned as much as I did if I didn't get home-schooled those four years."

Sophomore biology and philosophy major Sean Hart was home-schooled independent of other students until junior high, where he had classes of four to five students. Each mom had a specialty to teach the children, and by high school, Hart was in classes with 10 to 20 students who met at a local church.

"I think home school was better for me because I could choose to focus on certain areas," he said.

Hart attended Wharton County Junior College for three semesters while being home-schooled and then came to A&M.

"Coming here was a little bit harder and I had to live here," Hart said. "The biggest difference was coming to live here and not coming back home everyday and having a car to use every day."


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: aggies; highereducation; homeschooling
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1 posted on 08/30/2006 2:41:22 PM PDT by 2Jedismom
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To: DaveLoneRanger; SuziQ; g'nad; JenB; TalonDJ

Ping!


2 posted on 08/30/2006 2:44:47 PM PDT by 2Jedismom (Expect me when you see me!)
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To: 2Jedismom

It's cheaper too, LOL. Most dual credit classes in community college offer free tuition to homeschooled, as well as private and public schooled kids..local school boards cover the bill.

My son attended dual credit instead of high school, and earned his AA. He transfered 78 hours toward his major to the university. All 78 hours...tuition free.


3 posted on 08/30/2006 2:47:54 PM PDT by dawn53
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To: dawn53

I'm happy to hear that!


4 posted on 08/30/2006 2:49:09 PM PDT by 2Jedismom (Expect me when you see me!)
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To: 2Jedismom

But, but, but kids need to be taught socialism... er... socialization!


5 posted on 08/30/2006 2:49:37 PM PDT by ArcadeQuarters
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To: BinaryBoy
Heh heh!!

I enjoy reading these kinds of articles, and talking to some of the homeschool graduates here on Free Republic, because it demonstrates what I suspected all along...that homeschooled kids are going to do just fine in the world, despite all the warnings I used to hear to the contrary.
6 posted on 08/30/2006 2:52:56 PM PDT by 2Jedismom (Expect me when you see me!)
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To: Empress

Homeschooled Aggie Freeper ping


7 posted on 08/30/2006 2:53:32 PM PDT by TalonDJ
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To: 2Jedismom
Gig 'em!

- Class of 2003

8 posted on 08/30/2006 2:54:43 PM PDT by COEXERJ145 (Free Republic is Currently Suffering a Pandemic of “Bush Derangement Syndrome.”)
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To: 2Jedismom; JenB
Not me. I turned out all weird and social inept. In fact I had to go to the internet to find anyone that would marry me. And even then all I could find was another one of those under-socialized homeschool types.
9 posted on 08/30/2006 2:55:25 PM PDT by TalonDJ
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Best buy for the money. It just takes a dedicated effort by the parents.

Too bad the public schools are burdened with teacher's unions....

10 posted on 08/30/2006 2:57:55 PM PDT by pointsal (Q)
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To: TalonDJ
Yeah, and look where I ended up, in a male-dominated field and as an email-order bride.
11 posted on 08/30/2006 3:14:11 PM PDT by JenB (10)
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To: 2Jedismom; SpinnerWebb
Home-schooled students successful at A&M

Nice to hear they'll finally be getting a real High School diploma.

Flame retardant suit on ..

12 posted on 08/30/2006 3:22:17 PM PDT by tx_eggman (The people who work for me wear the dog collars. It's good to be king. - ccmay)
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To: tx_eggman

A&M's actually a good school.


13 posted on 08/30/2006 5:08:38 PM PDT by Luke Skyfreeper
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To: tx_eggman

Oh, but you must've gone to TU. :-)


14 posted on 08/30/2006 5:09:29 PM PDT by Luke Skyfreeper
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To: 2Jedismom
Thanks for the ping! Clare did 5 classes at the Community College, and all but one transferred as college credits when she applied. That one was considered a high school equivalent class in Chemistry. It was required if she wanted to take the Chem with the lab. She decided she wanted to take Physics instead, and that transferred just fine.

She's enjoying being at school. She's in an apartment on campus with 5 other girls, and they're getting along nicely, so far. Having taken some classes at the Comm. Coll., she was ready for the University.

15 posted on 08/30/2006 6:45:03 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: dawn53

MA used to do Dual Enrollment, with the tuition being paid as though the kids were doing public school. They stopped that a few years ago, so we paid the tuition. It was still cheaper than a typical college!


16 posted on 08/30/2006 6:46:23 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: Peanut Gallery

ping


17 posted on 08/30/2006 6:47:01 PM PDT by Professional Engineer (Save the Electrons, recycle a tagline.)
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To: BinaryBoy

Heh, I had a friend who homeschooled her kids, and when asked if their kids had a problem with socialization, she said, they sure do, they have entirely TOO MUCH of it! ;o)


18 posted on 08/30/2006 6:48:46 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: Professional Engineer

Gig 'Em!


19 posted on 08/30/2006 9:18:47 PM PDT by Peanut Gallery
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To: tx_eggman
Nice to hear they'll finally be getting a real High School diploma. Flame retardant suit on ..

That is a good one. My daughter who we homeschooled for 12 years just started this week at Texas A & M. She advanced placed out of 25 hours, is a concert pianist, violinist, cellist, and floutist. She is as smart as a whip. We just didn't think she needed to interact with dope peddlers, bullies, and Bevis and Butthead to get socialized. She is also very beautiful. She is going into political science, then law school, then elective politics. She will be one of us.

20 posted on 08/30/2006 9:27:46 PM PDT by Texas Songwriter
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