WAG Alternative schooling and issues with colleges

[LemonLime]

NCAA clearinghouse requirements (Core - see above) are different than each college's admission standards. Some relevant standards for gymnasts are curriculum-based and some are quality-based.

An example of curriculum-based standards that are different than Core are the University of California schools. They require two years of lab sciences and it is difficult to meet this requirement even for those who take an online education "wet" lab.

An example of quality-based standards are the Ivy League schools, Stanford, UNC and William and Mary. These schools require academic admission which is separate from athletic admission. Your ACT score will need to be approximately 10 points higher than the minimum NCAA standard, "live" instruction may be required and the breadth and quality of your coursework and extracurriculars will be greatly expanded. The books the gymnasts use will be scrutinized and very few programs are accepted. The coaches at these schools, however, work very closely with their potential recruits and the admissions office from an early age to guide them through this process.

 

[LemonLime]

I found the NCAA deferral rule. It allows for a grace period but it would still be up to the college to decide in which year they had a scholarship for you.

Effective August 1, 2011:All Other Sports
Have one year afterhigh school graduation (i.e., graceperiod) to enroll full time in a collegeor university or will lose one seasonof intercollegiate competition foreach calendar year during which youcontinue to participate in organizedcompetition.​

 

[txgymfan]

That makes sense. I like the concept of a gap year for those that want or need it.

 

[Gymluvmom]

We use Laurel Springs School and have great success! All of my daughters classes are NCAA and University of CA approved. We also have two counselors, one for the sole purpose of making sure she is on track and up to date for eligibility.

 

[HangingOn]

We are considering Laurel Springs next year. Have you had any concerns about the academics along the way? I worry that they will fall,under disfavor like K-12 did and then you are scrambling for another program. I'd love to hear how things worked when you first switched to Laurel Springs and if you plan on staying through to graduation. : )

 

[Gymluvmom]

We have used LS for 5 years now and I am extremely happy with the level of every course. I will let you know after act testing this year but kids have been accepted into every big school/ivy league you can imagine I feel that my daughters education is very much on par with the highly esteemed traditional school my other child attends if not better. She misses the traditional setting of school with friends and activities and is done with her elite training but I still love the flexibility and quality of her learning of the material.

 

[LemonLime]

We have used LS for 5 years now and I am extremely happy with the level of every course. I will let you know after act testing this year but kids have been accepted into every big school/ivy league you can imagine I feel that my daughters education is very much on par with the highly esteemed traditional school my other child attends if not better. She misses the traditional setting of school with friends and activities and is done with her elite training but I still love the flexibility and quality of her learning of the material.

LS has a very long history and it is unlikely it would lose accreditation without changing whatever it was doing to meet accreditation standards. LS offers probably the most challenging curriculum by far that other online schools along with Stanford's EPGY program. The downsides are that it is very expensive and has no online "teaching" of material in advance, like Connections offers, although the teachers have office hours. The volume is also extraordinary so you need to stay on track over the 10 months of the school year or can end up in trouble.

It is correct that LS has had students who regularly are admitted academically to Stanford, the Ivies, UNC, Berkeley, UCLA and William & Mary (I think these are the top academic schools that have gymnastics teams). Having said that, there are none or almost no gymnasts who have attended any online program and been academically admitted to these schools (except for the two UCs) without supplementing their education with live courses or live enrichment that appear on official transcripts. You can look at the online rosters to confirm this fact. Also, the UCs have had a requirement which I haven't looked up recently (so I cannot confirm that it is still in effect) that when you take your two "wet" lab classes, if you take them online, you must earn a 530 on subject matter tests to fulfill the UC admission requirement.