willow jennings-king – the brain

Willow is amazing, unpredictable, predictable, highly energetic .. read more about her here and/or via her blog here:

She’s got a great story.. I may ask her to write it out short form and include it here.

The very very short version for now .. she’s applying to CSU. In a non-traditional way. (see below)

One aspect, is that we’re experimenting with an alternative means to admission.. via the brain – perhaps as a non-linear portfolio. On that page find a big graphic – Willow – that takes you to her brain, or go straight to it here:

Very fitting to her style, her quest, her loves…some insight on employability. [note the link included showcasing eclectic flavors of success]

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Willow just received this email from CSU admissions. And we got permission to share it. We thought it might be helpful to some who are worried about their self-directed approach not having the traditional means to getting in.

Huge thank you to CSU and Timalyn.

Willow:

Thank you very much for your recent email, indicating that you are willing to meet with an admissions representative to discuss your high school background. I want to reassure you that we are familiar with the Innovation Lab and have worked closely with Monika in the past several years to make sure that we are maximizing our “holistic review” process for students who have been able to benefit from this option.

As our homeschool admission representative, I would be happy to visit with you to answer any questions you may have or to describe our admission process, but at this time I do not think it is necessary for you to make an appointment in order to explain your school background or advocate for yourself. In fact, we do not really have a formalized “interview” process that we can include in the admission decision process because it’s not feasible to interview all 20,000 freshman applicants we will come into contact with this year J. A quick glance at your application record suggests that you’ve been thorough in your explanation of your academic background and experiences, and there’s nothing about your transcript that appears “off” or problematic. As we go through the holistic review process, which generally includes the expertise of 3-5 people looking through your application carefully, we can always contact you if we have additional questions/concerns. In other words, I really think you can “trust the process” as we’ve got lots of experience and expertise working with homeschool students and students with “non-traditional” academic backgrounds, so there’s no need for you to feel compelled to justify your efforts.

Again, if you have questions for us or wish to know more about our admission process or the University, I’m happy to visit with you. Let me know how I can help!