"I have enjoyed being a gold card club member for years, spoke to you on the phone and I listened to some of your webinars, used the course description and transcript templates and information on SAT's. I thank you for your help in my journey of making all this ready for applications. My daughter and I made a detailed portfolio for her that she sent to 7 places where she was invited to audition live, and was successfully accepted to most of the Conservatories. She was accepted into The Julliard School by her audition and then they accepted her high school portfolio without any questions. She placed into all the academic courses at the higher level. She is now happily studying a bachelors of music at The Julliard School, fulfilling her dream. I am extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to home school her and thanks to you, I knew how to present her schooling and everything else in such a way that I did not need to sacrifice the wonderful home school curriculum that gave her a strong Christian world view and foundation in Christ. ~ A"
Thank you for all your help this year. My oldest child is a senior this year, about to graduate. We have always homeschooled him, along with our other children, but when he got ready to enter high school, it was a leap of faith whether to do it or not. I wasn't sure I could do it, and I was terrified he would never get into college. Although there are many homeschoolers in my area, most of the homeschoolers that I know either have kids that are younger than mine, or have decided against sending their children to college in the traditional way. Although we knew that our son was thinking about college, he was unsure of what he wanted to do. Finally this past summer, the Lord spoke to his heart and my son started to make plans for attending college, except that we had no idea where to even start. We hadn't visited schools or really even looked at them, we didn't have transcripts or course descriptions and no knowledge of how to apply for colleges, write college essays or apply for scholarships. In fact, I was even behind on some of my grading because I had had a baby and had a toddler at home. All his high school papers were in piles in several different boxes with grades here and there. I felt completely overwhelmed and had no one to even ask for help. I had a couple of books that helped a little but I still had so many questions. I had received your e-mails, and following you on Facebook but last fall I was finally able to attend one of your webinars. After the webinar I purchased the Comprehensive Record Solution and became a Gold Care Club member. Although I never sought out your service on the phone (my kids have co-op on Wednesdays) or through e-mails, I did go through many of your materials. Although it took me months to get it all done, I did finally complete all of his transcripts, course descriptions, reading lists, activities, cover letters, etc. My son applied to four colleges, and was accepted to all and offered academic scholarships (not total scholarships, but every little bit helps!) While none of them were Harvard or Yale, he wanted a private 4 year Christian college, some of which were not all that easy to get into. While he hasn't made a final decision, he has options, and that is in part because of your help. I was able to show in great detail all he had accomplished in an organized, easy to read and understand way. Thank you for all that you offer to homeschoolers, but especially to parents like me, that had no clue where to even begin. Although it was a tremendous amount of work, having all your wonderful help made it so much easier and less stressful. I thank the Lord that He led me to your site and all your outstanding knowledge. I recommend you to everyone that I speak to about this whole process and even listed your site as one of my favorite homeschooling helps at a recent support group meeting. Thank you for all that you have done
~ Ms. Tiena
I want to thank you for all that you have done for me in my homeschool-mom journey.
I've been a Gold Care Club member for a long time and it has been invaluable to me. I wanted to thank you! My son is away at college in his second semester of freshman year. He is doing great and although the course work is rigorous, he is WELL prepared for college. Many people in my life would question how in the world a homeschooler could get into college. As I tried not to let those fears creep in, I was introduced to you. Your services, webinars and conferences as a Gold Care Club member helped me gain the confidence I needed.
When college application time came, I freaked out! I didn't plan and prepare in advance as well as I should have. You were the voice of reason, and you guided me towards your Transcript Pajama Party. My son wrote his essays, and the applications were submitted. He applied to a handful of schools, a couple of which were definite REACH schools (I'm talking Ivy League). He didn't get into every school he applied to, but he got acceptance letters! And SCHOLARSHIP offers!!
I mentioned the "reach" schools, because although he did not get in to those, the experiences of applying were fantastic. He overcame his nerves, he participated in face-to-face as well as phone interviews with these colleges and did SO WELL! I believe God guided my son right where he was supposed to be, and he is thriving.
So, thank you Lee! I know The HomeScholar is your business, but honestly, it's like a ministry as well. You have such a gift and such wisdom to help a frazzled homeschool mom gain the confidence she needs to homeschool high school. I am not a teacher by trade, and had no clue what I was doing when I started this journey, thank you for helping me! As I write this email, I have another high schooler that I am homeschooling. This child is completely different than her brother was in learning style, passions, and all around interests. I thought I would have it all together by now, but I don't! I can't wait until I can get my membership going again I need you Lee!!
~ Jen in PA
Our senior been accepted by most of the school's she applied to but her scholarship offers have not been as high as we hoped. She has applied for COUNTLESS scholarships and has not won a penny. I am so discouraged right now. Any encouragement you can offer would be great. Also, any advice on how to negotiate for more money from colleges would be wonderful. Thank you so much! I would never have gotten this far without your products and free advice!
Hi Lee -
I am writing to say thank you and to share our success story with you.
Our eldest (of three) children was just accepted early decision into Lafayette College in Easton, PA! Your resources were invaluable in helping me wade through the application process. I used both your "Total Transcript Solution" and "Comprehensive Record Solution." I so appreciate all the information, directions, and samples provided so that I could customize our son's application to make him stand out. I feel our end product - the transcript, comprehensive records, in addition to the essays he and I both had to write and the recommendations from others - was an outstanding product that helped the college selection committee see our son's academic excellence and also his character, which led them to a decision to admit him to their institution.
I recommend your materials to all homeschoolers who have high school students, and I also agree with your suggestions that homeschoolers with younger students should also begin to learn all about keeping records before their children are in high school. I find myself almost looking forward to creating the transcripts and records for our two younger children!
Blessings and joy as you and your family!
In Christ,
Cynthia in NJ
It is always so encouraging for me to receive personal homeschool testimonials from families that have been able to benefit from The HomeScholar. I just had to share these two that were posted on my Facebook.
What is it like to homeschool? Great fun experiences and opportunities! And as the homeschool parent, you can put the academics awesomeness into your high school records. I just got a sweet letter from Kathy explaining how she used a hike up Mt. Fuji for a PE class, for example. Feel FREE to look outside the box, and do whatever works with your child to help them learn, and prepare them for college admission and scholarships!
Dear Lee,It's hard to believe I have been following your advice for 3 years now! I began by purchasing Setting the Records Straight (which I recommend to all of my homeschooling friends). Then I faithfully followed your other tips in your blog and your wonderful Coffee Break eBooks. Last year I leaped into the Gold Care Club when you offered a wonderful year-end deal along with the purchase of the Comprehensive Record Solution. I look forward to your posts and webinars, and I am so thankful for your willingness to mentor the homeschool community.My family has just gone through the college application process for the first time. Thanks to you, I felt very aware of what to expect, and confident in our coursework, preparation and transcript. My husband stayed by my side through the hours upon hours of making everything perfect. No matter how many times I looked over my course descriptions, there always seemed to be a typo or an inconsistency with how I laid things out! In the end we have a beautiful package that we are very proud of. It is wonderful to look back on the years of coursework and reflect on the variety of learning opportunities we've been able to provide for our children. I praise God that we were able to add in "This course culminates with a hike up Japan's tallest peak, Mt. Fuji" in our "Outdoor Athletics" course description, and a WWII semester course primarily based on various WWII related field trips and books my daughter chose to read. Thank you for giving me the peace to be creative!This May our oldest daughter will graduate from high school. It seems like all of the years have flown by, but the high school ones went especially fast. We chose to send a full package, with a cover letter, school profile, table of contents, transcript and course descriptions to each college our daughter applied to, though none required anything other than the transcript. Her top three college choices have already sent acceptance letters with initial scholarship offers based on GPA and test scores, so now we are able to shift to financial aid/scholarship mode (along with finishing high school coursework).Thank you for your time and energy! As a homeschooling mother, teacher, tutor and guidance counselor, I truly appreciate all you do! I do need to cancel my Gold Care Club membership for now, though I expect to begin it again in a couple of years, until my next child is closer to graduation. Please know that I will continue to pass on your information to other homeschoolers. Thank you again!With joy,Kathy in NE
Hi LeeI just sent off my son's final transcript a few days ago. Due to a minor mistake, I received a call from the Admissions office. The requested change was made and the transcript was quickly resent. I'm telling you this because the office staff's comment was "I love your transcript! Well done." (Or something to that effect.) The comment should really have gone to you!I want to thank you for all your support over the past five years, from the talks you gave which I attended at WHO conventions, to discussions at your booths there, to the few phone conversations we had as part of my Gold Care Club membership and my attendance at some of your webinars. You had so much information and support available on your website as well. Unfortunately, my life was waaaaay busier than I would have liked for all of the time I was homeschooling my son through high school. I didn't keep up with the records as much as or as well as I wanted. I wasn't able to take advantage of all your many resources. However, knowing they--and you--were available gave me a lot of comfort. And most importantly, we made it through.My son was accepted at his first choice school, and he's looking forward to heading off to college in the fall. He also did well over this past year in classes at the local community college, so he and I must have done something right! He's a nice, responsible, friendly, out-going young man (well-socialized!) I am proud of him and will miss him terribly. It's all good.At this point it is time, regretfully, for me to cancel my membership and move on to something else. Do you have any resources for Moms about what to do with an 'empty nest'?? I can see what you've done, and it's very inspirational. I have passed your info along to my niece who is also homeschooling high school (and younger--four kids total.) I will also recommend you to others if the opportunity arises.
Thanks again for all you have provided to me--and for your support for the homeschooling community in general.
With much gratitude and warm wishes,
Maryjane in Washington
Every month, my Gold Care Club has completely new and fresh information. I change the classes each month, provide a live webinar, and locate and compile new resources. This month I added a new feature I call Resource Packs. It's a new feature that includes a grouping of resources around a specific topic. For example, this month our Resource Pack is "Help for Planning Courses." I hope that each month a new Resource Pack will provide much needed and timely information. This section will change and include new information each month, so everyone can find the help they need for their own situation. I hope my Gold Care Club members will enjoy it!
Why write course descriptions ? Many people will tell you they aren't necessary, but here are three important reasons not to shirk on that job.
1. The College May Need Them
Some people love history, and others… not so much. Faced with a history-phobic kid, social studies-hating kid, you don't have to skip the subject. If you are looking a fast
They call me the "Homeschool consultant who won't make you cry." When I gave my free class on transcripts last month, I said the class was a "No-Transcript-Shaming Zone" for