Author: Jennifer Cook-DeRosa, M.S.

Of all the various tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years, the one that has proved itself time and time again is to make and keep 2 transcripts for your teen. I use one copy as my “working” copy and the second as my “official” copy. This tip will save you so much stress, that it’s this month’s Transcript Tip of the Month!

This post is especially close to my heart since I have four “less motivated” sons and have spent the past 12 years helping other parents of unmotivated teens drag their kids over the finish line. Spoiler: mine all graduated from high school and college but I had to change my approach.

Baby, it’s cold outside, but let us help you stay warm with these informative live events while you’re snuggled up with your favorite cozy slippers.

See more HS4CC events coming this winter.

Are you listening to fortune tellers? I’m not talking about the lady in the fancy robe looking into a crystal ball. I’m talking about the psychological effect of “cognitive distortion” that happens when we think our instincts are giving us good advice. We can be our worst fortune tellers!

Parents can help teens fund their degree by Homeschooling for College Credit, but the teens can start working part-time at McDonald’s for a paycheck *plus* some great tuition assistance benefits.

Great question! In a typical high school economics class students get both micro and macro, but in a college class, you’ll choose between the two or take both. These are considered social sciences, but also prerequisites for most types of business majors. Here is a quick guide for your economics line up.

Massive Open Online Courses (M.O.O.C.) are a great way opportunity to take free classes from universities like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, CalTech, Hillsdale and other “big names,” without the pricetag, but is there a way to get college credit for these free courses? Officially no, but unofficially? Maybe.

Every year or so, I love to share my FAVORITE anatomy class with you! These lectures are from the famous neuroscientist Professor Marian Diamond who was known not only for bringing a brain to school in a box (!) but for making her students handwrite their notes! As a neuroscientist, she knew that copywork was an excellent way for them to learn anatomy. Sadly, she passed away in 2017 at age 90 (!) and was still lecturing on Anatomy for the University of California, Berkeley until just a few years before her death. Her lectures are on YouTube and the full series is available for free. Enjoy!

There are two CLEP exams every homeschool student should take before graduating high school. These two exams are within reach for most of your high school seniors and they can do this NOW (probably) without studying or added cost. These two exams generate 6 potential college credits.

This is a great question for those of you with graduated teens! If you’ve collected college credits on a college transcript (or many transcripts), this will become part of your “to-do” list for enrollment (aka matriculation).

We are seeing a nice bit of peer pressure among institutions to offer income-based free tuition. I love this kind of one-upmanship because we all benefit! Many of these programs continue to bump up the income limits; families earning over $150,000 and more are still qualifying for free tuition!

In today’s post, I want to highlight one strategy I used with my youngest, who was not ready “academically” for regular college classes, but he wanted to take the welding classes offered by the college – so I found a solution.

I’ve only met a few people in real life who’ve taken Statistics, and of those who did, most told me that it was pretty awful. When I found out that I needed 3 college credits in statistics to get into grad school, I was very nervous. I ended up DIYing a “course” for myself that prepared me to test out of Statistics and Probability using the DSST standardized exam, and it wasn’t even terrible.

Understanding the transfer limits of a degree is really useful for resourceful high school planning. Does your future college accept 15 credits or 51? Knowing the answer is worth tens of thousands of dollars.

A great way to squeeze a little extra college credit out of this academic year is through a winter break minister. We see a trend among colleges to fill each and every blank spot in their school year. You’ll see a mix of online and on-campus options using these accelerated schedules.

Inside Higher Ed reports that 75% of all college students in the United States take at least one online class. In our HS4CC, where parents are using dual enrollment and alternative types of college credit, I’d estimate our numbers to be slightly higher. So can we talk about the elephant in the room? Can we talk about cheating?

Grad Plus loans allow students to borrow 100% of the cost of attendance for any master’s or doctorate program, even if they are enrolled part-time. This loan has had a devastating impact on students. Here are a few BETTER ways to fund graduate school after this loan is eliminated in 2026.

Though CLEP exams don’t award letter grades, it’s fun to look up what your teen’s score might have been if it were assigned a letter grade. This table tells you.

Too much of a good thing? Actually, yes. As your teen approaches 30 college credits, the goals need to shift from exploration to precision. This is the time to stop sampling courses and start following a clear, intentional plan. Early in the process, trying a variety of subjects is helpful, but by the time your teen nears 30 credits, continuing without a specific target will become costly (time and money) and could backfire.

Dual enrollment programs come with risk. When your teen takes a college class, the grade they earn becomes part of their permanent college record forever. For some teens, this is no problem, but for most homeschoolers, the first few dual enrollment courses feel very risky. The idea that a single course grade could follow them for life can feel intimidating.

One of our most popular programs, Arizona State University Universal Learner Courses, offers a self paced on-demand option for dual enrollment. Parents love this because it gives their teen a full year to complete their work with no deadlines. But, ASU tells us that these courses have the lowest completion rate. Here’s how to make sure your teen isn’t the latest statistic!

Introduction to Psychology is a favorite course for many teens, but College-led psychology courses (depending on the teacher and textbook) can skim over mature content, slam into it head-first, or go way off topic. If it weren’t required by so many colleges it wouldn’t matter, but it’s likely your teen will have to take it. One way to navigate this tricky subject is to test out from home.

Learn how to master transcript writing even if you’re brand new to homeschooling. Our BIG Transcript Class is a one-day whirlwind- you’ll leave confident and prepared!

The short answer is YES! But you might not like the long answer – let me show you how to do both.