How to List AP, Honors, and Non-Traditional Classes on a Homeschool Transcript

Homeschooling has never been about “fitting in” – oh, oh, no! Homeschoolers are homeschoolers because they want nothing to do with “fitting”, or “in”, or any such conflagration of terms. They want to handcraft their child’s education to reflect their own ideas of what’s good, beautiful, and worthwhile. They want their children to flourish on a feast of noble stories, ideas, virtues, and values, and instill a lifetime love of learning, and transcend the conveyor-belt conformity they see in “traditional” education.

But then it comes time to apply for colleges. And that means creating a transcript. Get this! – somehow – in one single page – you’re expected to summarize the breadth and depth of a lifetime of learning, maturing, and becoming: the diversity of ideas, the eclectic experiences and breadth of learning through all of life – this all must be distilled into a spreadsheet-style list of courses, credits, and grades. You may think: I thought this was higher education, not the DMV. Nonetheless, the transcript must be duly created if your child is to approach the hallowed gatekeepers of post-secondary enlightenment.

How do you accomplish this great simplification without becoming the next Mustapha Mond? Or to say it more plainly: How do you express the value and excellence of your life’s work in a spreadsheet?

This feels like it could become a song for a Broadway musical. But in reality, the answer isn’t “measure in love”, or anything exhilarating like that. The answer is to be predictably boring. Because you’re preparing a formal academic record, and it’s time to *gasp* fit in. Here, in academic-record-land, boring is a virtue, because “boring” equals “easy to understand at a glance”. Are you ready? Get your boring goggles on, and let’s dive in:

Listing AP, Honors or other Advanced Courses

Add the prefix “AP” or “Honors” to the course name. Biology becomes “AP Biology” and English becomes “Honors English.” When your student takes advanced courses, consider displaying a weighted GPA. That way academic rigor is reflected.

Now, keep in mind that any course with an AP designation must be authorized through the College Board. Also, if your student has taken an AP course, it’s helpful when they take the associated AP exam because it provides validation to their grade in the course. Without an exam score, colleges may give an AP class less weight than if the student took the corresponding AP exam. Check out the College Board’s website for more direction about AP classes and exams in relation to homeschoolers.

Listing Classes taken through Colleges, Schools, or Online Programs

It’s good to denote on your student’s transcript if certain classes were taken through other instructors besides yourself. This gives colleges more context about your homeschooler’s education. An easy way to do this is to place an asterisk or other special character next to the class name and then qualify that asterisk in a notes section of the transcript. For example, if your student took Spanish I through The Spanish Academy, list the class as “Spanish I*” and then type “*Indicates high school course taken through The Spanish Academy” in the notes section.

Alternatively – especially if you’re bad at counting asterisks – use parenthesized abbreviations in your course names – i.e. “Spanish I (TSA)” – and explain the abbreviations in your notes: “TSA: The Spanish Academy”.

Listing Non-Traditional and Unschooling Classes

As a homeschool parent you have the unique opportunity to turn non-classroom experiences into high school credit. This means that certain activities like working on cars, cooking, volunteering or internships can be recorded and used towards your student’s graduation requirements. Consider how self-directed projects, books read or hands-on experiences could be structured as courses. Ultimately, these should be organized into subjects that align with the schooling requirements of your particular state. Then award credit based on time and quality of engagement. 

Two guidelines that are important to keep in mind when listing non-traditional classes:

1. Keep course names concise and descriptive. It’s important for college admissions officers to understand what was learned, at least in a general sense, by just reading a course name. If you think further explanation is needed, use a notes section of your transcript to provide this clarification.

2. Follow your state’s homeschooling laws. Make sure the substance and time spent on each course meet state requirements for high school credit.

We’re Here to Help

A strong high school transcript outlines your student’s unique education clearly – and yes, even a great transcript is “really boring“. But our high school transcript builder gives you the tools you need to do that necessary work for any course your student takes. It has a section for AP exam scores, automatic weighted GPA calculation for advanced classes, and a notes section for you to add context to courses taken online or through non-traditional methods.

Homeschooling is a unique, personal experience, and we want to help you showcase that journey in a professional record, easy for the ivory-tower-dwelling technocrats to understand at a glance.