Community College or Homeschool College?

It’s difficult to decide between community college and credit by examination.  One reader had some tremendous trouble with community  college, and was asking about CollegePlus! as an alternative.

Hello Lee,

I noticed you have a link to College Plus on one of your web pages. Can you tell me anything about what you think about them as an option to community college? Or what other options you are referring to when you mention Homeschool College?

Two weeks into our 16-year-old daughter’s first quarter at community college, two pornographic reading assignments were handed out in her required English class. I knew from prior discussions with you that dual enrollment was risky. However, I thought that if we were “selective” in the classes we  took, we could avoid the problems you had warned me about. We are looking for alternatives at this time.

Thank you for any input you can give, or let me know if you recommend purchasing some time with you to discuss this issue further.

With sincere appreciation,
Linda

Dear Linda,

I am so, SO sorry about your daughter’s class!!  What a nightmare for a parent – and how anyone of any age can consider that educational in any way, I will NEVER know….  I feel your pain.  I remember being horrified.

My children were in a similar situation.  In a speech class, one student gave a presentation that was graphic and inappropriate.  We had completely researched the curriculum and the teacher, because of our previous  problems with community college class.  I really thought we had done all we could do!  But this girl gave a raunchy speech with sordid details, and my children now have a thorough understanding of that particular religion she was describing.  Yes, community colleges can be a challenging situation.

CollegePlus is a Christian company that coordinates college by distance learning.  In our family, we used only CLEP exams, and it was easy for me to coordinate by myself because I knew which 4 colleges they were going to apply to, so there wasn’t much of a concern.  CollegePlus can help you make SURE the college credits are transferable.  The only drawbacks are money (they charge a fee) and their emphasis on distance learning over a brick and mortar university.

I have an article about how I homeschooled a year of college with my boys. Here is the article for you to read.

Read the article and see if you feel comfortable doing the CLEP exams without assistance.  If not, then check out CollegePlus.  There is no harm in talking to them, to see how it works.  Since I didn’t use their services myself, I don’t know all the details.  Here is their website.

As you know, I feel very passionately about warning parents about  community college so they can make an informed decision and be careful.  I’m so glad that you were looking out for your daughter so that you recognized this situation as soon as possible.

In this situation, it may be difficult to withdraw from a class.  There are often  rules about how far into the quarter you can withdraw from a class without having it on a transcript.  If it comes down to that, it’s better to formally withdraw from a class and get a “W” on your transcript rather than avoid the situation and end up with a failing grade or an incomplete. I have some clients that have had difficulty with explaining a withdrawal to their child.  A son or daughter may become uncomfortable with class content and then simply stop going to class – and then they fail the class.  In other words, be careful to withdraw from the class completely and formally.

Good luck, Linda.  It sounds SO difficult!

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