If you have any knowledge of students who attended an independent high school that was not accredited, I'd appreciate hearing from you. We are considering leaving our diocesan Catholic high school to attend an independent high school without accreditation.

Can they get into Texas A&M and other universities?

Is this basically the same situation for home schoolers?

Is there anything negative as far as securing financial aid if your high school is not accredited?

Without knowing the specifics of your student's transcript, below is my best response to your situation.

1. Yes. Students can attend college through this path. Some colleges may require you to provide additional background/context about your educational preparation, but college is undoubtedly an option. Texas A&M tends to be very friendly with this path, especially since they have announced this year that home school students are considered to be in the top 10% (autoadmit) with an SAT score of a 1290.

2. Yes and no. Homeschool nowadays is used very loosely, especially in the state of Texas. With the growth of outside educational centers, One Day Academy is a very popular one, homeschoolers are permitted to cobble together their educational plan through several entities. Attending a non-accredited high school would probably limit you to a single educational experience. However, you may be viewed/reviewed like a homeschool student.

3. No. Financial aid is tied to the student, and not to their educational background.

Thanks for that info!

For further confirmation, below is the information straight from TAMU's website for Top 10% admissions.

Texas residents who rank in the top 10% of their graduating class qualify for automatic admission to any state school in Texas.

• Attend a public or private high school in Texas
  AND
• Rank in the top 10% of your graduating class on or before the application deadline
  AND
• Report Top 10% rank on Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS)
  AND
• Provide a complete official high school transcript that includes a numeric rank.
  AND
• Satisfy the State of Texas Uniform Admission Policy
  AND
• Make sure all required documents are received by the application deadline.

Texas residents completing high school in another state must submit a residency questionnaire to determine eligibility.

In accordance with Texas House Bill 3041, all public universities in Texas must assign rankings for the purpose of automatic admission to students who completed non-traditional schooling based on the median score on entrance exams of applicants from the previous admission cycle for those respective ranks. Texas A&M automatically admits all students in the top 10%. For applications for the 26/27 academic year, Texas resident students who completed non-traditional schooling will be ranked in the top 10% if they achieved a 28 on the ACT or a 1290 on the SAT.