Homeschooling and College
Preparing for college can be intimidating when your education has been unconventional. Homeschoolers are regularly admitted to and thrive in colleges and universities across the US. Here are some resources that will help you prepare your student for both the application process and college life. Be sure to check out our Homeschooling High School page.
Navigating Online Degree Programs
Accredited Online Degrees - If your students are interested in obtaining a college degree but will not be "going away" to school, this list of online colleges offering accredited degrees will be of interest to you. The site explains how online degree programs work as well as lists
List of diploma mills and unaccredited colleges - Although this page is geared toward Oregon, its list of unaccredited colleges and diploma mills is useful no matter what state you are from.
Books That Guide Through the Admissions Process
Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook: Preparing Your 12- to 18-Year-Old for a Smooth Transition - Book by by Cafi Cohen, Linda Dobson (Editor)
And What About College? : How Homeschooling Can Lead to Admissions to the Best Colleges & Universities - Book by Cafi Cohen, Patrick Farenga (Editor)
Miscellaneous Helps
In a Class by Themselves - Article in Stanford's alumni magazine about several homeschool students at the university as well as some details about Stanford's homeschool admissions policy.
National Junior Scholarship College Fair - "Each year NCSAA hosts three online Christian college fairs... Our spring event is specifically designed for high school juniors, and we’ll award one valuable scholarship to the Christian college of the junior’s choice. The timing of this fair coincides nicely with the time when most juniors begin to more seriously begin investigating and considering their options for college. Participating students in this fair can access easy-to-use tools to learn about and receive registration materials for college visitation days. These online college fairs are FREE for students and schools; there is no cost or obligation involved in participating in the events."
Dear Babs
Questions & answers about the college selection and admissions processWhat major do I put down on my college application
Dear Babs,
I’m applying to colleges this winter, and I’m stumped. Some of my college applications ask me what I want to study, and I don’t know! What should I put down? Will they penalize me if I say I don’t know? Can I change my mind?
-Majorless in Minnesota
Dear Majorless,
Don’t worry, you are not expected to [...]
What If I Accidentally Lied On My College Application?
Dear Babs,
This past fall I was nominated for a All-State Academic Award. To the best of my knowledge, everyone who is nominated gets recognition (last year 67 people got it). And since I have well surpassed the requirements, I naturally added it to my awards on the common app. I have since sent three applications [...]
When should I declare my college major?
Dear Babs,I love the website and find it very informative. In what year of college does a student have to declare their major?
Thanks,
L.E.
—
Dear L.E.
It really varies depending on the college. Most liberal arts colleges give students until the start of their Junior year (3rd year) to declare their major. This means that by second semester, [...]
Back to College: Which college program is for me?
Dear Babs,
I’m starting in January on my Associates Degree at a community college and then looking to transfer to a 4-year college for my Bachelor’s, and then possibly my Masters in Food Science! As I am 37 years old, I’m excited and nervous to be going back to college after 19 years! I’m looking ahead [...]
The Best College Life: big city or small town?
Dear Babs,
I’m looking at schools to apply to this winter, and I wanted to know your opinion. Where is college life better, a small college town or a big city? Some of my friends really want a small town (I’m from a small town) but others think there’s more to do in a big city. [...]
More Dear Babs...
High School Transcripts and College Admissions
Creating transcripts in preparation for college admissions doesn't have to be difficult! You can do it yourself and this wonderful book by Lee Binz can help. Lee is a regular homeschool mom who two years ago struck gold. She discovered how to convert four years of independent homeschooling into transcripts that earned both of her sons full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university! The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts will guide you through the process of creating high school transcripts using the same method that Lee used for her sons.
"The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts is so easy, I'm actually excited to sit down and create my son's transcripts! If you're homeschooling through high school, this book will remove all your fears around credits, course descriptions, and grades, and will help you translate your student's homeschool work into the language of college admissions officers! An awesome tool for all homeschooling parents!" -- Jill in WA
For more information, visit Lee's website, The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts.
Articles
7 Key Questions to Ask a College Admissions Officer - You've heard, endlessly, about the high level of competition for plum spots at state universities and big name colleges alike. Increasingly, being selected for admission is about standing out. How can you “shine” at those upcoming college fairs, college nights, and college interviews?
9 Easy Steps: High School Graduation Checklist - Parents can provide a college preparation during high school for every student, which can benefit every child. If they ultimately don’t go to college, then your homeschool education will be the only education they get. Make it great! They’ll be well prepared for life and their civic responsibilities. Plus, if they ever change their mind and decide to go to college, they will have a much easier time getting in. On the other hand, some parents know early on that their children are college bound. For them, a college prep education can influence the quality of the colleges they get admitted to. College preparation can benefit everyone.
Enjoy It While You Have It! - Writing my book Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers four years ago helped me through a difficult time of my life: letting go of our two oldest children. Over the course of three weeks, our daughter moved to the city and our son left for college. After homeschooling them all of their lives, it was a tough transition for me.
Helping Colleges to Choose YOU - I realize that many of you reading this letter may not have high school age children or maybe even college bound students. My hope is that the information that is included in these college information articles will be helpful to all our students. The ideas included could apply to most jobs as well. After all, a college is a student's job for a few years!
Homeschooling High School - Does the idea of homeschooling your high schooler sound scary and uncharted to you? Just as homeschooling is an adventure no matter what grade or age level, homeschooling for high school can sound intimidating! Please know that many, many families have successfully (and happily!) completed this chapter of education for one or more of their children. Speaking as a parent who has done this, these capstone years are do-able, really fun, easier, and more rewarding than our family imagined they’d be. What’s wonderful is that just as in the other years, you can find courses and help them prepare for their future in ways that are the best fit for each of your children.
Preparing for College - “You can’t prepare for the SAT.” Educational Testing Service, the company that writes the SAT, has worked hard to convince people that they cannot improve their scores by studying for the test. But a half a million students disagree and say that you can substantially improve your scores by using the popular study aids that are available.
The Big Transition: Homeschool to College - This is the time of year when homeschooling parents traditionally begin contemplating next year. Parents of 8th graders may be terrified as they consider what they are going to do next year for high school. They might wonder whether they measure up academically; if they're capable of leading their children through high school and preparing them for college. Even as their high schoolers pursue college dreams, parents often speculate whether their kids will be able to adjust to the rigors and social climate of college after being at home for high school. Understanding the latest research on this topic could be reassuring for both parents and students!
Will Secular College Undo What You Have Done? - One of our purposes in homeschooling is to prepare our children for "their futures stations in life" - whatever those may be, and which will obviously involve many different kinds of "preparation," depending on what the specific "future station" will be. This may or may not include college - Christian or secular. Any way you look at it, they will be going out into "the world" which is full of ungodly influences.
Helpful Websites
Homeschool2College Group - If you have a child that will be making the transition from homeschool to college in the near future, this very active Yahoo Group may help with some of your questions. "This is a group for homeschool parents to freely discuss issues related to preparing
Homeschool-friendly Colleges - Listings of colleges and universities that are homeschool-friendly; schools are listed by state. Not as complete as the listing at Learn in Freedom.
Selective Colleges That Have Accepted Homeschoolers - "More than 1,000 schools of higher education appear on this FAQ and its subpages, and links to over 980 college Web sites appear on these pages."
Campus Compare - A variety of helpful resources for college search and selection