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How do I apply to PHC Prep?
Student registration for the 2010–11 academic year will begin in June/July 2010. Please fill out the Course Information Request Form and you will be sent application information as soon as it becomes available for 2010–11.
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What is the application deadline for PHC Prep courses?
Students are accepted up to the Friday before the first day of class if space is available available (click here to view key dates in PHC Prep’s academic calendar). Courses
are filled on a first come, first served basis and may reach capacity several weeks
before the first day of class. Email info@phcprep.org
to learn if space is still available in a particular course.
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What are the academic requirements for applicants?
To register for PHC Prep courses, applicants must be high school juniors or seniors, or sophomores who have taken advanced courses; have excellent writing and reading skills; and be willing to commit 10–15 hours per week to the course.
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How much do the courses cost?
Regular course tuition is as follows:
One-semester course: $350 for HSLDA members / $400 for non-HSLDA members
Two-semester course: $500 for HSLDA members / $600 for non-HSLDA members
The course registration fee is $25 and is nonrefundable.
Learn about the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and how you can become a member.
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How do Home School Legal Defense Association members receive the HSLDA discount?
PHC Prep’s online registration form includes a field for the applicant’s HSLDA Member Number. Once the number has been entered, the registration form will calculate the HSLDA discount prior to completing the registration process. Applicants without an HSLDA Member Number will be charged the regular price of the course. Please note: For all students, there is a $25 course registration fee that is nonrefundable.
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Is financial aid available?
Financial aid from PHC Prep is not available at this time. However, we encourage homeschooled applicants to contact the Home School Foundation for information about its grant programs for homeschooling families who cannot afford curriculum.
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What are the computer hardware/software requirements?
Your computer must have internet access. For better performance, a connection speed
of greater than or equal to 300kbps and DSL or a cable modem are recommended.
PHC Prep’s online course management system, eCollege®,
is tested with and fully supports the following browsers:
- On PCs running Windows OS: Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox
- On Macs running OS X: Mozilla Firefox
Some courses require the capability to play audio or video lectures, available in
MPEG-1 Audio Layer (MP3) format and in streamed PowerPoint presentations. Browser
specifications for these courses are as follows:
- Java-enabled
- Macromedia Flash Player 8 plug-ins or later
- Adobe Reader 8.0 plug-ins or later
- Recommended platforms: Internet Explorer 7.0 or later and Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or
later
For some courses, your computer must have Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded
for free (click here).
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Do I need to have an instant messenger–type service?
An instant messenger program is not required, but you may find it useful for corresponding
with other students. Instant messenger programs can be downloaded for free from
AOL (AIM) and Microsoft (Messenger).
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Is a dial-up connection to the internet adequate?
Yes. For courses that require you to listen to audio lectures in MP3 format, a standard 56k modem with average connection speed will download a 50-minute lecture in 20 minutes or less. For courses with lectures in streamed PowerPoint presentation format, a dial-up connection is sufficient to watch and listen to the lectures as they are downloaded.
Important note: Dial up modem 56k and 28.8k:
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500 kb file size: 1 to 2 minutes to download.
- 10,000 kb file size: 25 to 50 minutes to download. Most of the files are 10,000 kb files, so please plan accordingly when working on lessons.
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What textbooks or supplemental printed/online materials will I need?
How do I obtain them?
The textbooks and supplemental materials are course requirements. After registering
for a class, students will receive a reading list and information about obtaining
the materials.
Books may be ordered from the PHC Prep Bookstore online or by phone: 1-800-325-3252. Used books may be available at a discount.
If there is high demand for the textbooks you have purchased, you will have the
option to sell them back after the course is completed. Buyback is determined solely
by the distributor; there is no guarantee that the distributor will buy back your
book. Near the end of the course, the distributor will notify you of what books
it will buy back and at what purchase price. You will also be sent a prepaid shipping
label. After you return the books, the distributor will send you a payment check.
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How do the courses work?
Each course has a syllabus listing all assignments and deadlines. Students are responsible
for doing the readings and assignments, taking the tests, and logging on to the
course website as required.
The online components of all courses consist mostly of communication among students and communication between students and their instructors. Class discussion is a very important aspect of PHC Prep courses and is a requirement in all courses. Most class discussion takes place on message boards. To promote better class discussions, all the students in a course have the same deadlines for exams, papers, and class assignments.
Depending on the course, other online components may include accessing audio and/or
video files of lectures, submitting papers, taking tests, and participating in live
online discussions. Tests may need to be supervised by a qualified proctor (parents
do qualify as proctors).
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How much time (e.g., class time, studying for classes and tests,
completing assignments) should a student set aside to excel in these courses?
PHC Prep courses are designed so that a student can do well with about three hours
of study per class hour each week. Because there is no classroom time nor commuting
for online courses, the time normally spent in the classroom should be added to
your anticipated study time. For a three-credit course, this equates to a total
time investment of about 10–15 hours per week per course. Please note that
this time estimate is only a guideline; the number will increase when you are preparing
for an exam or writing a paper. Much depends on your personal study habits, the
type of learner you are, and how well you understand and retain the course material.
Since PHC Prep courses are all online courses, you will need to have access to the internet. The internet will be used for accessing lectures, communicating with professors and students, researching, submitting papers, and taking tests.
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How can a course at PHC Prep help students earn college credit?
All PHC Prep courses are designated official AP courses once they have been approved
by the College Board via the AP audit process. The AP designation means that the
courses meet the College Board’s standard for fully preparing students to take the
AP exam. After any PHC Prep course, a student can go on to take the related AP exam
with confidence.
Over 90 percent of U.S. colleges grant credit or advanced placement to students
who achieve qualifying scores on an AP exam. For more information about AP exams
and the colleges that recognize them, see the College Board’s
website.
Patrick Henry College grants elective credits for qualifying AP scores. Please see
Patrick Henry College’s website
regarding the evaluation of transfer credits.
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How can I find out more about AP courses and exams?
Please visit the College Board’s AP
website for additional information regarding AP courses.
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Can non-homeschooled students take courses at PHC Prep?
PHC Prep welcomes all students who meet the academic requirements (see “What are the academic requirements for applicants?” above) and want to receive rigorous college preparation with a fully integrated Christian worldview. While our courses are geared toward homeschooled high schoolers, non-homeschooled students are encouraged to apply.
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Does PHC Prep refund tuition for dropped courses?
Courses dropped prior to or on the course start date will be eligible for a 100% tuition refund. Courses dropped from the day after the course starts up to the tenth business day from the first day of class (example: course starts on January 11 and the tenth business day is January 22) will be eligible for a 75% tuition refund. After the tenth business day, no refunds are available. The application fee is non-refundable.
If you wish to drop a PHC Prep course, please send an email to info@phcprep.org indicating the student's name and the course(s) he or she wishes to drop.
Please note: the drop period for year courses is aligned with the fall-semester drop period. If a student wishes to withdraw from a year course after the drop period ends, but before the spring semester begins, the student will need to send a request to info@phcprep.org; however, the student will not receive a refund for the spring semester and it is not pro-rated. Tuition is nontransferable between courses. After the fall and year course drop period ends, students may drop only single-semester spring courses to receive a refund, per the PHC Prep refund policy above.
After a request to drop a course has been processed, the student and his or her parent(s) will receive an email confirming that the course was dropped, along with a statement of the total amount to be refunded (if applicable). In the event that there is a refund, HSLDA will send the refund via check to the person who originally purchased the course. Please allow at least two to three weeks for the payment to be sent.
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Will I receive a transcript from PHC Prep?
PHC Prep does not issue transcripts. Upon completion of a PHC Prep course, each student will receive a final grade statement, a certificate of participation, and a copy of the College Board's AP approval letter for that course.
