College Success Tips for Homeschool Graduates, Interview with John Lenschow

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: College Success Tips for Homeschool Graduates, Interview with John Lenschow.

College Success Tips for Homeschool Graduates

College Success Tips for Homeschool Graduates

Vicki is joined this week by John … He is a professor at John Brown University. He also teaches youth group in church and leads missions trips. John had a chance to be involved in the homeschooling world through his own college studies. He had a course in his Masters program on Christian education and learned about homeschooling in that light. This got him excited about homeschooling. Then his sister decided to homeschool her two children and he has had a chance to watch homeschooling in action there. So, although John has no children of his own, he loves the homeschool community and educational choice.

When John began to teach at John Brown University, he noticed in the ministry and Bible classes he was teaching that homeschool graduates shined. He was impressed with their ability to be self-starters and have a good attitude. (He has been teaching at John Brown University for fifteen years. BTW- this John Brown is not the famous John Brown of history class. Rather, this John Brown was an evangelist who started a trade school that became a university. They recently celebrated their one hundredth anniversary as a Christian university.)

When his niece and nephew started homeschooling high school, John’s sister asked him to teach his Bible classes to her kids. They were living in different states but he was able to teach them online.

Vertical Academy

John started Vertical Academy out of this project for helping his nephew and niece to shore up their biblical literacy and worldview, based on the courses he teaches at college. (The Vertical Academy offers self-paced digital and live zoom classes on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Foundations of Christian Faith.)

His classes work on teaching teens to see the big picture and historical context on Scripture. Then he helps his students learn skills for application to their lives. Check out Vertical Academy.

With John’s experience as a college professor, he has a heart to see young people succeed in college. You can check out Vertical Academy for these college success tips, too.

Here are the things that John has found are helpful for homeschool graduates who are starting college.

Start your journey to college success by reviewing the skills you are learning in homeschool high school.

Your college-preparation study and life skills (hone these skills in high school so you are ready to use them in college):

At college, think about each class as a series of relationships. Relationships take:

  • Time
  • Effort
  • You get out of them what you put into them

There are four relationships in a college class:

  • Best friend
  • Next best friend
  • Third and Fourth best friends

Your syllabus is your BEST friend in college classes.

Your best friend in the class is your syllabus

Therefore, treat this syllabus as you would your best friend. Spend time with it, read it, follow it

  • Syllabi might follow different formats: hard copy, email, moodle…whatever form it comes, follow it! It will inform you about important things you can use for success:
  • It will tell you which textbooks to get
    • Your syllabus will tell you what to read. Read it.
    • If you read your text before class, you will know some about what you are going to learn, this will help the information stick better.
  • Put due dates for assignments and tests on your calendar at the beginning of the semester. Schedule backwards from there.
  • Understand the policies and procedures of the class.
  • Know how much each assignment is worth.

If you know your best friend well, you won’t irritate your second best friend by asking questions about the class that are on the syllabus!

The second best friend in your college class is your professor

Professors are there to help students- not to punish or keep them from passing! Feel free to communicate with them:

  • Send emails with questions that are succinct, that state your case. Check your email for replies.
  • Visit your professor during office hours. Really. Do this, especially if you have a question.
    • Try not to linger after class to ask; he or she may have another class to rush to.
  • Remember, it is not a bother to your professor for you to visit during office hours. Teachers want you to come by during office hours.
    • It helps to get to know a student and give them a boost in their learning.

The third relationship is class content

Class content covers many things:

  • Books
  • Lectures
  • Videos
  • Discussions
  • Assignments and project
  • Any other content

Take advantage of the time you have. Use it and the class content to your advantage. This will help you treat each content area as an opportunity to learn.

The fourth relationship is your peers

Get to know them! You do not need to make them your best, best friends. However, your peers in class can help you succeed in college.

  • Find a study group (teach each other)
  • Do your best with group projects
  • If you miss a class, a good peer relationship can fill you in and share notes

Bonus tips:

John has some bonus tips for college success.

  • Get to class on time!
    • If you come late to class, it is distracting and says something about how you view the class.
  • Do not leave early.
    • Vicki is always reminding teens not to close their books or computers until the teacher is through teaching! This shows respect.
  • Remember, if you have had a bad relationship with a class in the past, give your college classes a fresh start. You may find you love these new relationships.

Join Vicki and John for a helpful look at college success for homeschool graduates. While you’re at it, check out Vertical Academy.

Also check out these helpful college-readiness episodes:

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Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko.

Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko. Tips for prep during high school and success in college.

Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko

I can remember long, long ago when I was ready to start my first college classes. My parents, who both had college degrees, gave me tips for success:

  • Sit in the front of the room
  • Keep your pencil in your hand so it, at least, looks like you are taking notes
  • Visit the professor during office hours and have a question to ask
  • On exams, first look over the exam so you know how to pace yourself, the answer as many as you can quickly, leave blank things you don’t know and go back to those later
  • Ask for extra credit if you need it
  • Ask for help if you need it

How did my parents know these things? They had been through college, and even taught at college level for a little while. It was insider tips!

So I started out the very first day of college better prepared than some of my peers who were the first in their families to go to college. They had to learn all this the hard way.

It has long been important to me in my work as a counselor (and in my years as a homeschool advisor), to help first generation college students start off with tools for success. That’s why I was excited when Denise Boiko, homeschool advisor and author of Homeschooled & Headed for College, contacted me about her experiences as a first generation college student.

Denise agreed to share advice for first generation college students so that they can survive and thrive…and the good news, ALL college students will benefit from her advice.

Denise homeschooled her students all the way through graduation. Then one went on to graduate from Stanford University and one from University of Southern California (one in Engineering and the other in Medicine and now a pediatrician). Denise (like the 7Sisters) continued to serve her homeschool community as teacher of local group classes and academic advisor. Her experience led her to write her book Homeschooled & Headed for College.

Denise was the first high school graduate in her family to go to college. She came from a hard-working farming family who had never needed college. Denise loved learning and wanted to go to college. She had the support of her parents, which was helpful to her.

She found out that college is different from high school and that she was needing to survival skills that other students (whose parents went to college before them) already knew.

Denise makes it a point to share the college-success tips for first generation college students:

Prepare during high school

  • Start during high school, if possible, by talking to others who are in college or have been to college. (Ask about their college experiences.)
  • Look at resources to support first-generation students
  • Find a teacher/mentor (a favorite teacher in homeschool courses, an advisor, mentor program)
  • Look at College Board’s website and check out their resources
  • Use Kahn Academy’s resources
  • Look at local college’s websites:
    • See what they are looking for in incoming freshmen
    • See if they have a visit-program for first generation kids
    • See if they have scholarships for first generation kids

Start preparing for college during high school.

Applying to college

Succeeding at the very start of college

  • Meet your professors
  • Attend their office hours
  • Ask for help
  • Get a tutor (many college have them)
  • Attend study sessions given by professor or teaching assistants (TA)
  • Join a study group in class, when available
  • Find online study aids that are tied to your textbooks (like solutions manuals and extra materials)
  • Don’t allow you to talk to yourself as “disadvantaged”. Believe in yourself.

While in college

  • Be continuously looking for scholarships (they are sometimes available throughout the college years)
  • Look for fee waivers each year

Celebrate

  • Remember to thank your parents, your mentors, you in your own story
  • Develop your own “credo” for success
  • Pay it forward in the future by investing in younger students

Check out Denise’s helpful book: Homeschooled & Headed for College. Here are some things it covers:

  • Locating or designing honors and advanced courses
  • Seeking out leadership opportunities that provide fun, growth, and positive attention from admissions staff—even at highly competitive colleges
  • Preparing your student for college entrance exams
  • Helping your high schooler navigate community college courses
  • Tackling college applications and coaching your student through application essays
  • Helping your student prepare for college entrance exams
  • Gathering recommendation letters
  • Scouting out scholarships and financial aid
  • Planning a gap year if your student desires a time of exploration
  • Leveraging the #1 college admissions secret, for which homeschoolers are excellently positioned

You can find Denise at:

Available at HomeschoolRoadMap.com
Facebook: @HomeschooledAndHeadedForCollege
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/denise-boiko
For more college-success tips, check out:
College Success episode of Finish Well Podcast (with our friend, Meredith Curtis)
What Colleges Like to See from Homeschoolers (Homeschool Highschool Podcast)
Join Vicki and Denise for an encouraging chat with advice for first generation college students.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

  1. Follow this link to our Apple Podcasts page.
  2. OR take this IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in “…your favorite podcast source”
  3. This will take you to Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast source and our own podcast page.
  4. Click SUBSCRIBE.
  5. Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. (Please take a minute and do this. It helps others find us. Thanks!)
  6. Thanks!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE VIA iPHONE

  1. Tap the purple Podcast icon on your phone
  2. Tap the search icon on the bottom-right of your screen
  3. In the search bar type: Homeschool Highschool Podcast
  4. Tap the Homeschool Highschool Podcast icon
  5. Tap *Subscribe*
  6. Please tap *Ratings and Review*

College Success

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Finish Well Radio Show, Podcast #087, College Success with Meredith Curtis on the Ultimate Homeschool Radio NetworkCollege Success

In College Success, episode #087, Meredith Curtis talks about how to thrive, not just survive in college. Whether you are dual enrolling, commuting, or moving to another state for your college years, you will appreciate this practical, encouraging advice. You can excel academically and stay strong in your faith!

 

 

 

 


Proverbs 1:5 by Laura Nolette and Powerline Productions, Inc.

Powerline Productions, Inc.

Being World Changers, Raising World Changers!

We offer books and ebooks to help you homeschool to the Glory of God!

 

 


Show Notes

My College Story

  • New Christian
  • First Bad Grade
  • Nursing Major (starting new curriculum junior year)
  • IV, Christian Fellowship, Making Disciples
  • Close Relationship with my Grandparents

What is College Success to You?

Picture Yourself at the End of College.

Priorities

Your Life Reflects Your Priorities.

Your Priorities Reflect Your Purpose.

What are you living for?

What does your life say?

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

  • Put God first always. Matthew 6:33, Psalm 127.
  • Stay plugged into a local church. Never neglect your family. College is one season; family lasts forever.
  • Connect with godly, genuine Christians on campus.
  • Stay pure; constantly cleanse your mind. Set your standards now and refuse to lower them.
  • Know the Word and Biblical Truth.
  • Know why you believe what you believe.
  • Know the world’s philosophies and learn to evaluate everything by the Truth.

Ruling and Reigning in Academics

Time Management and Scheduling are probably the biggest factors to academic success…even more than brains!!!!

Study Time and Study Habits

Make the Most of this Opportunity. Get the Best Education You Can.

Keys to Success

  • Working hard pays off.
  • Write Well:clear arguments, analysis, organization, complete sentences
  • Read Well: find main points, underline, take notes in margins
  • Take advantage of all your professors offer.

More Than Just Classes

  • Life Preparation & Career Exploration
  • Lifelong friendships!
  • Athletics, clubs, etc.: Choose wisely!
  • Build relationships with your professors.
  • Seize academic opportunities
  • Internships
  • Study Abroad
  • Workshops, networking, and more

Making Disciples in College

Witnessing in the Classroom

They are falling away like flies. Maybe just need to hear one person speak up.

Don’t be intimidated. Walk in your authority in Christ.

Gospel first; everything else second.

Remember they are broken sinners inside for all their pride.

Always learn from your mistakes.

Win them over. C.S. Lewis tactic: start from their side and lead to yours. Live your faith WELL! Respect others.

Pray for those who will be in your class!!! I have done this every single semester.

Outside the Classroom

Intentional relationships for evangelism.

Sit with new people at lunch and share the Gospel.

Pursue with love. Serve. Text. Pray for them.

Invite to coffee or lunch.

Join groups specifically for evangelism.

Learn how to turn conversations to Christ. Know some good questions!

Learn a basic Gospel presentation or two and get comfortable with it.

Be part of a VIBRANT CHURCH to be your net!!!

Start Now Being the Kind of Person You Need to Be

 

Worldview Podcasts

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #070, What Is Your Worldview?

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #070, What Is Your Worldview?

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #071, When Worldviews Collide

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #071, When Worldviews Collide

Resources

Unlocking the Mystery of Homeschooling High School by Meredith Curtis and Laura NoletteCareer Choices and the College Decision by Meredith CurtisCommunications 101:Essays and Speeches High School ClassAmerican Literature & ResearchWorldview Understanding the Times by Meredith CurtisGreat Commission Course by Meredith CurtisReal Men 103: LeadershipA Wise Woman Builds by Meredith Curtis