Well, it's been a while since I added to my blog. Been busy getting ready for a homeschool event where I will be giving a presentation on college prep and financial aid.

For those of you preparing for homeschool classes next fall, if you have junior high or high school students, please consider adding some mythology and Shakespeare to your reading for next year. These are areas that they will need some background in for college level English classes. It will make the transition to college classes much easier for your homeschoolers.

Be sure to stop by our website at www.homeschool2college.com We have changed our prices and will add that info to the website soon. The complete notebook is now $60 plus $5 for shipping.

Have a great summer.
Linda Weaver

Found a great link this week!
www.securityoncampus.org
You can type in the name of a college and it will do a search for that school. Then click on the college you want and you can get all kinds of crime statistics for that school---everything from burglary and rape to hate crimes. Also if you check at the bottom of the page for the school you are checking, you can click on the NCES IPEDS COOL button. This is the National Center for Education Statistics in the US Dept of Education and is the College Opportunities On-Line site. This will give you the current information on cost of attending that school. This should make comparing college costs much easier than going through the on line website for each school. If you find schools you are interested in attending, you ought to go to their wegsite to get more info, but this should make comparing colleges a good bit easier. It will also be nice to check on the crime rates for each school.
Be sure to come by our website for more information on getting your homeschooled child into college! www.homeschool2college.com
Have a great day!
Linda

Well, I haven't added anything in a long time. I've been busy getting my website redone and working on a presentation that I will be doing at some homeschool bookfairs this summer.
Seniors should be waiting to hear the results of scholarship applications! Usually late April and early May are pretty exciting times!
If you are a Junior, it would be good to begin looking for scholarships for next year---if you find some applications, check over the form and see what types of information you will need to supply next year.

There are a series of articles in the most recent US News and World Report about the costs of a college education. The price continues to go up every year. In fact, the article indicated that costs have risen 38% in the last 10 years; however, during that same time, median family income has only increased by 10%. It is getting more difficult to afford college every year. Scholarships and financial aid are the only way many people can afford the education. These are the areas that I can help homeschoolers! Come visit my new, improved website at www.homeschool2college.com

Scholarship season is here! If you have a senior homeschooler, NOW is the time to be diligently looking for scholarship opportunities! Many scholarship applications are due during March and April. Begin looking everywhere for these opportunities. Check your local newspaper, your employer, your student's employer, local clubs and civic groups, anywhere you can think of.
I have full info on finding and applying for scholarships in my notebook. We learned so much about the process as our girls went through it. There is lots of scholarship money out there, you just need to find the scholarship opportunities that match your student and get to work making the applications!
Come visit us at www.homeschool2college.com

Have a great day,
Linda

Well, it's done---time to celebrate! We got our taxes done the end of last week and submitted the girls' taxes today and filed a FAFSA for each of them. It is a chore that I dread every year, and when it is done I often wonder why I dreaded it so much! Just the thought of getting everything together, I guess.
If you have a homeschooler that is a senior this year or is continuing on in college or even beginning college after sitting out a while, you need to get this form filed ASAP. This is the beginning point for financial aid at almost every college and the earlier you get it submitted, the better your chances of finding funding.
Go to www.fafsa.gov.edu to fill out the form. Be sure you never pay for this application. It is the Free application for Student Aid and costs you nothing.
I have more info on the FAFSA in my notebook in the Money section. We have learned a few things over the last several years. This is the best place to start when seeking financial aid as nearly every school uses it (sometimes along with a form of their own) to determine financial aid for their students.

Have a great rest of the week.
Linda Weaver HomeSchooler's College Guide

Let's talk today about helping your child in career choices. Some children seem to quickly figure out what they would like to do with their lives, but for others, the decision is one they struggle with for years. Homeschoolers have an opportunity to explore the fields they love, and this can be very helpful in deciding what to do with their lives. Encourage your child in the subjects/topics they find interesting---feed that interest and look toward careers within that area.
Here are some web sites that might give you some assistance as you explore careers.

www.jobstar.org they have a free online career test
www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors What can I do with a major in.... great site!
http://www.careerkey.org/english have a free test for career guidance
www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter online temperment test
www.ipl.org/div/pathways Internet Public Library Career Paths--has some free tests to help narrow down
your career choices
www.jobhuntersbible.com Good site. Go to Tests and Advice--have some great career stuff

Hope some of this will help you and your child. Come visit us at www.homeschool2college.com

Linda Weaver

Well, this month has flown past! I've been busy getting my taxes together and will be ready to send them off to my accountant by the first of Feb. It always seems like I get the last of my info from banks, etc the first day of Feb, so I can't send off my taxes til after that.
Accountants are usually not very busy through Feb, so ours can get our taxes done very quickly and I can then file the FAFSA for each of our girls by mid Feb beating the March 1st deadline by a couple of weeks.
We found that it is best to file the FAFSA after getting taxes done---a correct FAFSA was far better than one done on estimations. The year we estimated, we had to make lots of corrections after taxes were done. This flagged us for an audit on our FAFSA and was a continual headache for months. We were forever having to find some papers to send in for validation. Eventually, we did get it all straightened out and our daughter got the funding she needed, but it is far easier to do it correctly the first time and not have to go through the mess of validation!
I have more tips and hints for filing your FAFSA in the Money section of my notebook. Come visit at www.homeschool2college.com

Linda Weaver

Happy New Year to all!

Wow, 2003 sure went by in a hurry and now we have a new year to work with!
If you have a Senior that will be graduating this spring and heading to college in the fall, now is the time to begin working on her financial aid for school. Financial aid begins with filing your FAFSA. This must be done as soon as possible after Jan lst. We have found that it is best to file it after we get our taxes done, so during Jan, I work hard at getting all my tax stuff together so that we can get our taxes done during the first week of Feb and file our FAFSA by mid Feb. I have lots of tips and suggestions about filing this form in Money section of my notebook. Please be sure to check it out at
www.homeschool2college.com.
Have a great day,
Linda Weaver

Merry Christmas to each of you! I hope that you were able to finish up your semester so that you have some time to enjoy the holidays!

If you have a high school student, make sure that you have a valid social security number for him. You must have one for all college applications and for registering for the SAT and/or ACT exams. Also, most scholarship forms require the Social Security Number for the student. If you do not have one---get one now.

Come by the website to get full information on the HomeSchooler's College Guide. I have information for homeschooled students on college selection, college admission, testing, record keeping and on financial aid and scholarships. The website can be found at http://homeschool2college.com

Have a blessed holiday season!

For those of you with high school students, be sure to get your transcript in order at the end of the semester. You will need it for college applications and also for many scholarship applications. Each semester, you need to figure GPA for that semester and also cumulative GPA. If you do this at the end of each semester during high school, it will be easy to have it ready to go for the end of your high school career.
Come visit at our website www.homeschool2college.com for more information on what we have to offer

For those of you that have high school seniors, be aware that the busiest scholarship season is just around the corner. Many scholarship applications have due dates during March and April. Now is the time to seriously begin looking for scholarships to apply for.
If you haven't registered with some web based scholarship search engines, now is the time to do that.
For full info come visit my website at www.homeschool2college.com

Hope your holiday season is going well! Seems like time just flies by during the holiday season!
If you have a Junior this year, it is time for that student to be taking her first SAT and/or ACT college entrance exam. Deciding which test to take can be a challenge unless you have a pretty good idea which colleges your student is planning on attending. Generally a school will require one of the two tests (some will take the score on either, but most have a preference). If you have no idea where your student may want to go, I'd advise you to have her take both exams so that you will be prepared for any choice. These tests can be repeated as many times as you wish, and scores tend to improve with each testing. You can check prep books out of your public library or buy them at a large book store, and preparing will help improve your scores.
For registration info, check these sites:
www.collegeboard.com for the SAT
www.act.org for the ACT
We have recently updated our website, so be sure to come visit us at www.homeschool2college.com
Have a great week. Linda Weaver

Hope all had a great Thanksgiving! I guess we need to be ready for a very busy Christmas season!
With the holidays approaching, there may be good community service opportunities availabe for your students. Many scholarships are based on some community service, so getting some of that done each year during high school may improve your chances for receiving scholarships. Check with a local food pantry or clothing ministry. See if there is an Angel Tree program that you can help with. It is always good for a teen to see the needs of others and to see how they can help other people.
Be sure that you keep a record of any community service done--you may have a hard time remembering what you did this year when you are making scholarship application 2 years from now! This is what my calendar is for--it not only lists some things to do each month, but gives you a place to record activities. Come visit my website at www.homeschool2college.com Be aware that our special Get Started price is still in effect --we have a new webhost and will be updating our site in the next few days. To get our current prices, click on the Get Started banner on the homepage.

You can email me at lindaweaver612@yahoo.com

I want to wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving! Hope you get to spend the day with family and friends.

For any of you that have children interested in the military, you need to know that there are some great ROTC scholarships available. These scholarships pay tuition, books and up to $200 per month for up to 4 years. A scholarship recipient can even use the scholarship during their freshman year, then decide the military isn't for them and drop out of the program with nothing to repay! It is a special program they have adopted to allow students a chance to try out the military.
I am not sure about all the scholarships; however, the Air Force ROTC scholarship deadline is December 1, so if you have a senior that is interested, you need to get this done now. Go to the website for the full information. www.military.com/Careers/Education and click on ROTC scholarships.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Today I want to again stress the importance of keeping records of your students' activities for scholarship purposes. If you wait until your child is a senior and then begin to pick up scholarship forms, you will quickly find that you don't remember all the neat stuff they did during those early high school years. You might forget some great community service projects or other things. Be sure that each year you keep a record of all extra-curricular activities--that way, when you are applying for scholarships you will have all the information you need.
This is exactly what my Calendar Planner does--it gives you a convenient place to record activities. It also lists a few things that need to be done each month during the high school years so that your student will be ready for college admission and scholarship application. Come see what we have to offer at: www.homeschool2college.com

Be sure to record each text you use every year--some colleges require this information from homeschooled applicants. It would be a good idea to simply make a copy of the title page and the table of contents. Do this each year--you may never need it, but if you do, you will have it!
We did not need this for either of our girls; however, when your child is 15-16 years old, you probably have no idea what school she may ultimately decide to attend, and what their admissions requirements will be. It is far easier to have the information available than to have to go back and dig it up at a later date.
Come see us at www.homeschool2college.com

For high school juniors, if you took the PSAT in October, you can expect to be getting your test scores back late this month or early next month. If your scores are exceptionally high, you may qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. This could mean some great financial help with college as there are many colleges around the country that offer free tuition for National Merit Scholars.
Come check out our website for more information.
www.homeschool2college.com

Well, we are in our new home and things are beginning to take shape. I will be back to the routine next Monday, November 17 and will continue with daily additions.
See you next week.

If you have a senior this fall, be sure to have her SAT/ACT scores available for scholarship applications. You can still have your student take the exams for the first time or for a repeat time in the next few months, if necessary. Most scholarship applications request the scores, so be sure that you have some to report.
For more information on scholarships or college entrance exams, come by our website at:
www.homeschool2college.com Our getting started special has been extended, so be sure to check out the special prices.
We are in the process of moving to a different house this week, so I may not get many opportunities to add to my blog this week, but I should be back by this time next week.

So, how do you decide which test to take? The best advice is to check with the colleges you are thinking about attending. Many schools will actually accept either the SAT or the ACT, but some prefer one over the other. If all your possible schools accept the same test, you can spend your time preparing for only that exam. The tests are similar, so studying for one will help in your prep for the other. There are some differences in the tests, so prior to taking the actual exam, be sure to spend some time with test prep materials for the test you will be taking. Also, the scoring for the SAT is a little different than for the ACT and you may want to consider those types of factors when planning for the test. To get more information on these tests, come by the website at www.homeschool2college.com. Our section on Testing has the necessary information about each test.