Hi, My 16-yr. old son is very good w/computers. He has been doing a lot of computer networking (setting up servers, etc.) and he also builds systems. I would like to know if any online programs would accept a 16-yr. old student. Also, what classes would be best for him to take? He's our oldest, so we have never dealt with these questions before. Thank you for any advice you may have, Momto3
In my experience, most online programs (I would say 80%) have no minimum age requirement; for my part, I enrolled with Regents College (which also has a computing program) at age 16, and completed the vast majority of the degree requirements (114 of the 123 hours) by examination (the diploma arrived the day before my 18th birthday). Another option that comes to mind: Your son could do an associate's (residentially or by distance learning--it doesn't really matter which), then do the two-year online B.S. completion program in Computer Science offered by Florida State University. Your son has so many options--I literally co-researched an entire book on this subject, Bears' Guide to the Best Computer Degrees by Distance Learning--that it's not a matter of which program will accept him, but rather which program he's willing to accept. Please keep me posted, and feel free to drop me an e-mail if I can be of any further help. Good luck! Cheers,
Tom's given you some great advice, and I'd add the following: Since your son seems (at the moment at least) to be focusing more on hardware than on software, he might want to consider one of two routes: 1. Microsoft A+ certification. This is a fairly rigorous curriculum focused on some theoretical knowledge and a lot of practical diagnostic skill development intended for those who want to be hardware technicians. It's definitely more vocational in nature, but it would be an excellent structured introduction to computer hardware. (and he may already have a lot of the knowledge necessary to gain A+ cert.) Some colleges will grant credits for A+ certification. 2. The other option if he wants to focus on hardware would be to focus on things related to digital circuit design, logic, and computer engineering theory. He shouldn't have much difficulty finding the introductory and 200 level courses available via DL , which he could then transfer to a residential engineering program, if that's the route he decides to go. Of course, if he's more interested in software development, then there are lots of computer science and computer information systems programs out there... Tom's book is an excellent resource on these programs. I owned a computer sales/service company from the very end of the 1970s until I sold it in the late 80s, starting it with a couple friends when we were all your son's age +/- 3 years. Depending on what his interests and goals are, there are a bazillion options and choices out there and a lot of different ways he can gain the knowledge he needs to do what he wants. Best of luck, and feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Re: Re: Need help for 16 yr. old son I believe that A+ certification still belongs to CompTIA. However, Microsoft does have an agreement to accept some CompTIA certifiations as replacement for the elective exam in the MCSA certification. Momto3, is your son homeschooled and/or has he completed a high school level education?
Re: Re: Need help for 16 yr. old son FWIW, when I was a community college adjunct teaching programming courses I usually had a couple of high-school age students in my class. As far as I know the college put up no special hoops for them to jump through before registration and I was personally pleased to have them in my class. In a couple of cases the kids had special arrangements with their high school, but I believe this was to get academic credit rather than just getting permission to take the class. I know this doesn't specifically address DL, but it might be worth knowing. Good luck to you both. TommyK
Thanks for all the info and links. I'll definitely look for that book, Tom, as we'll also need info for son #2 who loves graphic design and has been making and maintaining websites for a while now. Yes, the kids are homeschooled, and have been for 6 years. Oldest is finishing 10th grade, #2 is finishing 8th grade. (#3 is in Kindergarten and is perfecting her English...she is from Guatemala and has been home for 9 months now. But she does love computer games!) I believe my oldest is definitely into the hardware more than software, so if you have any suggestions as to what will help him most as he prepares for a career, I would be most grateful. Thanks all, Momto3
It's so delightful to run into fellow homeschoolers on this forum! Regarding someone's earlier comment about whether or not your son has graduated from high school: Although I usually count myself as having "graduated" from K-12 homeschooling in 1994, I never bothered to take the GED. (Once I've finished my doctorate, I'll probably print out a novelty high school diploma and have my mother sign it.) My experience has been that many nontraditional degree programs waive the high school diploma requirement for homeschoolers, either as an official policy or on a case-by-case basis (I believe mine was waived largely because of my high ACT score). Please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]--while I'm always more than happy to sell books, I'm equally happy to promote homeschooling and gifted education. (One other thing: As soon as your son starts doing college work and looking for folks to proctor his exams, count on lots of people telling you why this is a bad idea; one local "expert" tried to convince me that I shouldn't even be permitted to take the GED until I turn 19. I ignored all of them, and I'm better off for having done so.) Good luck! Cheers,
Actually, I asked, "is your son homeschooled and/or has he completed a high school level education?" Momto3, we're also a homeschooling family, so I've been looking into how to approach this type of thing myself, though we don't have any children close to beginning college courses yet. Tom gives good advice, and obviously has had good direct experience with the transition to more formal non-traditional education. My advice is to do things that will show schools that your son is prepared for college level study. This will vary a lot depending upon which schools he is interested in, but can include entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT, and subject exams, such as the SAT II. Another good idea is to have him take college-level exams that can be used for college credit, such as the CLEP and DANTES exams. If he is interested in attending a traditional school they may also want to see involvement in activities and/or the community. I would strongly urge that he take courses which can be applied toward a regionally accredited degree of some sort, rather than noncredit or unaccredited "training" courses. He could learn the material either way, but he might as well get a degree while he's at it. If he's finished a 10th grade curriculum (it sounds as though you are using a curriculum that closely follows a standard school curriculum), then in all honesty if he is academically and/or technically inclined at all he is probably prepared enough to start studying for and taking some of the CLEP or DANTES exams. Your state may also have an exam that needs to be taken to show proper preparation for college-level study before enrolling in a public college/university in the state (in Texas they have the TASP). As for what exactly he should study, I think that depends. He may just need to take some intro level courses in a few areas to see what he is really interested in, and where his talents lie. If he thinks that he's interested in working with computer hardware then he may want to look at the courses needed for degrees in Computer Information Systems, Information Technology, and Computer Engineering Technology. If he may be interested in designing hardware then he could look at the pure engineering disciplines, such as Computer and Electrical Engineering. If you have a local community college then it wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to them about letting him enroll in a few technical courses to see where his interest lies. There are some distance learning options, but some of these courses will require labwork which can be difficult to do through distance learning, since a properly equipped lab is necessary. Study of software and programming is much easier to accomplish via distance learning. If he's interested specifically in networking then there is some movement recently to provide a simulated environment to replace the physical labwork. I hope that I didn't just confuse you more than I helped. I can try to provide some more specific recommendations if you'd like. In any case though I think that it would be good for him to take some examinations to show that he's ready for college-level work, especially the exams that can be used for college credit.
I really do appreciate your responses. We are having some good discussions based on the information I've gotten here. Right now my son thinks he should aim for certification (MCSE?) and take a course next year at a local college. I'm sure his plans could change, but at least it's a start. Thank you all so much. Momto3
