college bound teens Archives

This week on HSHSP Ep 132: Homeschooler’s Tips for College, Interview with Carly Smythe.

HSHSP Ep 132: Homeschooler’s Tips for College, Interview with Carly Smythe

We have a treat for this episode! Kym interviews her youngest twin, Carly, about success in college.

Carly is a homeschool graduate and is now a senior Sports Management major at University of Delaware. She is captain of UD’s Women’s Hockey, as well as part time work at UDairy, internships with sports camps at UD.

Carly Smythe photo used by permission

Carly got into ice hockey with her twin, Kendall, when the girls were 11 years old. The girls played travel league ice hockey all the way through high school. They both loved the sports so much that they looked for colleges with women’s ice hockey.

It was a big decision about playing at college level, Carly had to decide whether she had concern about burning out her love of the sport at that level. She evaluated colleges by the personality of the program. But most importantly she chose a college that had everything she wanted there. She was able to balance sports, service, academics and social life (even if she hasn’t slept all that much).

Carly had learned a lot about balancing academics, social and sports in homeschool high school. She was part of a homeschool umbrella school where she learned time management and what she likes to call: Self-accountability.
One of the most important things she learned in homeschool high school was how to use a syllabus.
Another thing she learned was how to translate study and projects on the syllabus into study time on her calendar.
She also learned how to make sure studying fits with practices, games, travel and work- that using good planning is necessary
Carly points out that studying with her teammates is important (especially while traveling)

An important tip that Carly offers is that finding stress management tools is necessary for success.

She depends on her sport or other fitness activities as stress burn-off.
Petting the family Seeing Eye dog helps, too. (Mom lives nearby, so she can drop the dog off periodically for Carly.)

She also recommends sleep (at least enough to survive). Self-awareness helps her know when her cutoff point on staying awake to study.

Carly suggests finding both serving and leadership positions in her college activities. She supervises at UDairy and is now a team captain and president of her UD Women’s Hockey team. She learned serving and culture/atmosphere creation in her homeschool umbrella school and has carried this through college.

Part of the culture creation she has loved is the power of creating fun in whatever project or program where she is involved

Carly is studying Sports Management and is hoping to stay in a career where she is busy and active.

Enjoy this episode with Kym and Carly. You’ll also enjoy this episode about what colleges are looking for in incoming freshmen.

You’ll also enjoy these posts:

The Secret to REAL Time Management

Homeschool Highschool Podcast #41: Time Audits for Teens

Helping Teens Become Independent Learners: Using a Syllabus

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