Schooling for Finn

 I just recently realized that Finn, who is in what we'll call 10th grade this year, lacks just 1 credit to hit the recommended or required class credit list for most colleges.  For a long time I was looking at the requirements for the advanced diploma track for our public high schools which is hefty indeed (and what I followed), and just this week I realized I should actually look at what colleges want to see. Interestingly, we're almost already there!

This has been a liberating revelation for me. Finn is having an extra-strenuous year, weighed down with rigorous math and science classes, plus high-level language classes (his favorite thing!), and a reading-heavy literature/history/theology class as well (his other favorite thing!).  On top of all that, he performs in community theatre productions and is working at a local retirement home twice a week, so Finn is working hard to keep his head above water, and it's honestly A Bit Much. 

To meet the minimum recommended requirements for most colleges, Finn lacks 1 class. One!! (That's Algebra II.)  This means that we can probably strike out and allow him to get more "specialized" over the next couple of years, which was, after all, one of our primary motivations for homeschooling in the first place.  I think we'll scale back our math/science plans (four years really not necessary) and replace those with the courses he's most interested in taking (humanities-heavy).  As a sophomore, he's already in Spanish 4 and French 4, and his heavy lifting in languages will almost certainly balance out the fact that he takes 3 years of math instead of 4! (If I could have skipped my senior math class--which was a colossal waste of time--I sure would have!) He does so much independent reading and study on his own that I'm already planning to award him a credit in World Religions. He's a curious, interested learner, and I'm so pleased that we can let him have more leeway and freedom over the next couple of years!

And if anyone has any college recommendations, please let me know. So far his ideals appear to be: east coast/not too far from the Mid-Atlantic east coast (although we could work with the midwest); a setting (whether secular or Christian) that values free speech and respects students' perspectives (in other words, Finn doesn't want to attend a school where professors are hostile to students of faith); smaller size school, preferably in a smaller-sized city or town (flexible on those points); strong study abroad possibilities, particularly for France or French-speaking countries; and--his mother's wishful addition--plenty of money to give away to good students! :) 

I've already started making lists of places that may check the box on some of these, and we'll likely do some casual visits over the next 6-9 months.  I'm so glad we're still a couple of years away from all of that, though. I'm in no hurry to send Finn off into the world. 

He's still mine--for a little while longer!