Embarrassment at being a homeschooler?

[swimmermom3]

Does anyone else have a student who even though they are now in college, is embarrassed to admit they were homeschooled?

 

Just curious. :tongue_smilie:

[The Girls' Mom]

Not embarrassment, per say, but frustration at the assumptions made about them because they were homeschooled.  I told them to just go ahead and say that they enjoy being let of out the basement and talking to real people, because that is what is often assumed anyway.   :lol:

Edited March 4, 2017 by The Girls' Mom

[SamanthaCarter]

I was. I kept it to myself, mostly because I was very shy and I didn't want people to use me as "proof" of the socialization nonsense, and partly because I was afraid that if I didn't do so well, people would use if as "proof" that homeschooling didn't produce such great students after all. But I was in college while there was more stigma attached to homeschooling. It was still weird and uncommon. 

[swimmermom3]

Not embarrassment, per say, but frustration at the assumptions made about them because they were homeschooled.  I told them to just go ahead an say that they enjoy being let of out the basement and talking to real people, because that is what is often assumed anyway.   :lol:

 

I love your response and maybe the part in bold is actually more reflective of my son's attitude. I am not sure.

 

We knew a few families from swimming who homeschooled early on, but by high school, we knew no one IRL except for the incomparable NicoleM from this board and her charming boys. My parents were very against Sailor Dude being homeschooled in high school and I thought they were going to lose their minds when he didn't take even one class at our ps during his senior year.

 

Fast forward to last spring. All the college acceptances were in and it was getting close to the deadline for ds's decision.  There was a dinner in town hosted by the university the ds now attends.  There were 6 kids at the dinner. Four of them came from the very best and most expensive private high schools in town. The fifth one came from a highly ranked public school in a wealthy area and then, there was Sailor Dude. On the way home, my dh mentioned that ds and I should be proud about what Sailor Dude had accomplished.  Ds blurted out that he hated telling people he was homeschooled because he figures they are always waiting for him to burst out into the offensive behavior that keeps him from engaging in a "real school."  I figured that once he went to college and found his place, that feeling would go away.

 

Last weekend, he sent me his resume to go over it before he submitted for an internship.  Under education he listed the public high school. Dude! You can't list that you graduated from a public high school when you didn't it! Have you not been paying attention to what happens when you lie to your employers in D.C.?????????

 

It's not like he got to college and discovered that we had only been doing "fake school" at home and that he couldn't keep up.  He just phoned this morning all excited because the top students in one of the required freshman classes in the School of International Service got to meet in a small group with the dean today and talk about extra opportunities and where to go from there.

 

I could laugh it off, but putting the wrong school on his resume bothered me.

 

 

 

[swimmermom3]

I was. I kept it to myself, mostly because I was very shy and I didn't want people to use me as "proof" of the socialization nonsense, and partly because I was afraid that if I didn't do so well, people would use if as "proof" that homeschooling didn't produce such great students after all. But I was in college while there was more stigma attached to homeschooling. It was still weird and uncommon. 

 

Thank you. Ds is shy and with the huge emphasis people placed on the socialization aspect while he was growing up, I can easily see him thinking what you expressed.

 

[Dmmetler]

My DD12 was very excited to actually have a school to list other than "homeschooled" this year-she's taking classes at the community college, and when asked, states that as opposed to that she's homeschooled. I kind of chalked it up to being a middle school age girl. I remember that being a really self-conscious age.

[The Girls' Mom]

 

 

Last weekend, he sent me his resume to go over it before he submitted for an internship.  Under education he listed the public high school. Dude! You can't list that you graduated from a public high school when you didn't it! Have you not been paying attention to what happens when you lie to your employers in D.C.?????????

 

It's not like he got to college and discovered that we had only been doing "fake school" at home and that he couldn't keep up.  He just phoned this morning all excited because the top students in one of the required freshman classes in the School of International Service got to meet in a small group with the dean today and talk about extra opportunities and where to go from there.

 

I could laugh it off, but putting the wrong school on his resume bothered me.

That would bother me too.  I've told my kids that they can use "Galilee Academy" if they didn't want to put homeschooled down...lol.  That was our homeschool name for a while.  Mine have worried a little about the perception, but so far it hasn't been a real issue as far as schools and jobs go.  

[clementine]

Our dd didn't offer up the information, but after a few months it came up in conversation.  Her favorite thing to hear was 'I can't even tell you were homeschooled!'  I guess it made her feel 'normal' - a good thing in her eyes, lol.  She's happy she was homeschooled, but she understands peoples' perceptions.  

[The Girls' Mom]

One of my dds had a conversation with a classmate in her college biology class that really kind of pointed out the crazy things people think.  He asked her (as she was sitting in his class no less) if she ever got to socialize with people and if she had any friends.  It was laughable for her because she is incredibly social and lives and breathes hanging out with other people.  The professors my girls have had are usually surprised at how well spoken they are and how well they do in class.  One of my dds probably perpetuates the stereotype of the weird homeschooler, well, because she's weird.  But she's been that way her entire life, and the first 7 years of public school didn't change that any.  :hat:

[Starr]

My dc seem to own their home school education. Dd had a friend in college that did not but would lapse into things like singing the geography songs. She would tell him, "you are so home schooled! haha"

[marbel]

One of my dds had a conversation with a classmate in her college biology class that really kind of pointed out the crazy things people think.  He asked her (as she was sitting in his class no less) if she ever got to socialize with people and if she had any friends.  It was laughable for her because she is incredibly social and lives and breathes hanging out with other people.  The professors my girls have had are usually surprised at how well spoken they are and how well they do in class.  One of my dds probably perpetuates the stereotype of the weird homeschooler, well, because she's weird.  But she's been that way her entire life, and the first 7 years of public school didn't change that any.  :hat:

 

My daughter had a classmate like that in her first community college class.  The girl kept asking her crazy questions about homeschooling. Stuff like "are you really religious?" and "do you have any friends?"  Every week there were new questions.  The girl was so weird about it.  But my daughter doesn't fit the stereotype of the unsocialized homeschooler.  My son might fit that stereotype, but he says it has never come up (he's in his first year at community college).  Homeschooling is not popular around here and people have a lot of odd ideas about it.

 

I could see one of my kids putting a high school name on the resume simply because they wouldn't know how to list homeschool.  

[Frances]

Not embarrassed, but I would say tired of trying to explain and also tired of assumptions. He took classes at the local LAC for the last two years of high school, and I think that is eventually what he mainly talked about during undergrad when it came up in conversation. He's now in Germany where I'm not even sure it's legal, and we actually thought there might be issues when he applied to university there (mainly just as a formality to get housing and student services while on a science research scholarship and then to study German, as recommended by the international office), but thankfully there wasn't. When he recently asked me to review his resume to accompany his grad school app for the U.K., I noticed that for high school he put homeschooled with classes at "name of LAC" or something like that, and he said he provided transcripts for both the LAC and his undergrad school. But I know he was worried about the homeschool part being an issue, but as he was accepted, it obviously wasn't.

 

Edit to add for swimmermom that my son said it lists homeschooled on his undergrad transcript because there was something about high school graduation on it. So he couldn't hide it even if he was tempted. You might ask your son to check his out.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Frances

[8filltheheart]

I guess my kids are blessed by being equally as stubborn as I am when it comes to affirming who they are and what they believe. I really don't give a hill of beans about what people think about my homeschooling or other life choices. They don't let it bother them, either. They have heard comments from my brothers, and they have heard my responses.

 

I don't think anyone at college has ever made a comment about their homeschooling bc by the time the know they were homeschooled, they are usually the ones helping the other kids with their homework.

 

Fwiw, at an interview weekend this weekend, the panel of interviewers told my Dd that they have come to realize that many homeschoolers homeschool bc they want to work at advanced levels. Tell your ds that those judging him are simply showing their own insecurities and bias. He is standing there as their equal! No embarrassment to be had.

 

Fwiw, our homeschool has a name, so it is not just listed as homeschool. Depends on where we live and the laws, but right now we are under an umbrella.

[kewb]

My ds goes back and forth on it. Some years he was loud and proud. Others not so much. In college this year he doesn't mention it unless someone asks what his high school was like so it doesn't usually come up.

[elegantlion]

My son doesn't announce it, but I don't think he gives a rip what others think. Homeschooling is fairly well-known around here, we have a few professors who are part of homeschooling families, but even so, those stereotypes persist. Plus ds was homeschooled secularly while conservative christian homeschooling seems to be the default. 

 

the perception is one reason I gave our homeschool an official sounding name and issued a diploma. I wanted him to understand that his education was not mainstream, but it was still official. Only people very familiar with our area would realize his school was not a B&M school. 

 

If he were in more of a competitive school, I doubt he'd mention homeschooling at all. 

 

*I* actually didn't mention it for a long time at school to my friends or professors. If it came up in conversation, I might if I was getting to know them well. I didn't want to deal with the perception of me being unable to homeschool because I didn't have a degree. I prefer to not invite judgment on certain areas of my life, although I'm a bit cynical, so I don't trust people to assume the best. Homeschooling is one of those areas. 

[maize]

I think it is normal for kids, including young adults, to be very self conscious about anything that sets them apart.

[regentrude]

No, my DD has no issues. She only said that sometimes people are very astonished when she mentions that she was homeschooled. (Probably because anybody who meets DD would not assume that any of the possible stereotypes that exist about homeschoolers could apply to her.)

 

I am sorry your DS feels this way. That must feel hurtful to you - even though I am sure he does not mean it this way.

[snowbeltmom]

Not embarrassment, per say, but frustration at the assumptions made about them because they were homeschooled.  I told them to just go ahead and say that they enjoy being let of out the basement and talking to real people, because that is what is often assumed anyway.   :lol:

 

This. My kids have no problem telling peers their own age that they are homeschooled, but my kids will try to avoid disclosing that they are homeschooled with older adults because they don't like the reactions or stupid/insulting comments they receive. 

 

I named our homeschool.  This name is on their high school transcript and their high school diploma.  They use this name on their resumes and will use this name when filling out job applications. 

 

 

 

 

[Eos]

This caught my eye!  Oldest son was at WPI (chem engineering) and on his first ever date, first semester, the young lady was trying to ascertain "what kind" of homeschooler he had been.  I think the question was something like "what do you think of evolution?"  He was embarrassed for the first few years.  He shortened his slightly odd first name to sound more mainstream. His first summer home was the equivalent of those rebellious teen years we smugly thought we'd avoided by homeschooling with lots of arguing and accusations of what were we thinking, why had we made the choices we did, etc.  

 

As he got used to being around schooled kids and their ways, his views began to mellow.  

 

At graduation, he thanked me for homeschooling, admitted that he had tools available to him - self-discipline, playfulness, extreme tenacity - that many of his schooled peers did not.  Fast forward, he and that first (and only) date now married for three years, both happily employed in science, and my clock is ticking for grandchildren!  I can't imagine them homeschooling their kids, but you never know...

[FaithManor]

It has never come up for our guys. They do not talk about being homeschooled in class or with roommates and just go about their lives. But they are not particularly chatty about personal things until they know someone really well.

 

Eventually eldest DS admitted it to his German professor. His fault. Lol he went to the whiteboard, diagrammed a complex sentence in English, translated it into German, and then correctly diagrammed it in German. The professor was astonished and asked him what school he attended for high school because no one teaches grammar at that level anymore. He said he was homeschooled, and she told him to go home and say congratulations to his parents for doing a great job.

 

But the other thing that I should say is they are both at institutions that have a lot of top home school students so ths student body and faculty are very used tohomeschooled students doing well on campus both academically and socially.

[MysteryJen]

It has not really come up. Dd1 decided not to tell anyone, but then some people who knew let the cat out of the bag when she got a 4.0 last semester. She did find that no one really cared, except that now she is "smart homeschooler," and not just "jock homeschooler."

Ds1 said that that the homeschoolers at Hendrix seem to do (and finish!) more independent projects than others, but it is a small sample size. :lol:

Dd2, in her first year at public high school, said she is super grateful for having been homeschooled, and all her teachers (not sure how this rumor started) think she moved there from California. Land of good swimming and apparently good dyslexic tutoring. She only tells a few people, because her brothers are still homeschooling.

 

I really think that most people don't care, unless they use it to explain a difference. Good at writing? homeschooler. Like BBQ? from Texas. etc.

[TravelingChris]

Dd says most kids don't talk about where they went to school.  It seems that if they sort of assume she went to private school.  I am sure some of her friends know and one friend was homeschooled for a while when they lived in a certain state.

[Melissa in NC]

My freshman just does not mention it until she gets to know someone. She is at a school where 60% of the students are from in state so she just tells them she is from out of state. Funny enough, she is now dating someone who has a best friend who was homeschooled. LOL.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ds is fine with having been homeschooled all the way through. He doesn't announce it but he doesn't hide it either. His first quarter in college he came home and told me that all 3 of his professors told him to thank me for the good education I gave him. He hadn't announced it but it came up as they were discussing things. For the most part it's a non issue.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[G5052]

My oldest (a sophomore) doesn't bring it up unless someone asks where he went to school.

 

His English 101-102 professor asked him multiple times and even raved about him in the faculty lounge with me (I used to work there). She said that he wrote so much better than even the kids who go to the $30,000/year prep schools. He's acing World Lit, and the professor asked there too because he commented that he had already read many of the selections. He did his research paper for that class on the "Song of Roland," and she was surprised that he had read it in high school.

[Gratia271]

No, my DD has no issues. She only said that sometimes people are very astonished when she mentions that she was homeschooled. (Probably because anybody who meets DD would not assume that any of the possible stereotypes that exist about homeschoolers could apply to her.)

 

 

 

This.

[Nan in Mass]

Some people prefer not to stand out when they start a new thing. Starting new things is scary enough without starting out different. No matter now much one might be glad one is different on the inside, it isn't always in one's (ones? Like its?) best interests to start out being that way on the outside. Later, when one has established that being different is not going to cause any problems, one might admit to it, providing one can do so in a way that doesn't seem like boasting or hurt anyone's feelings. : )

 

Nan

Edited April 12, 2017 by Nan in Mass

[Mom22ns]

Add my kids to the list who don't tell unless it is directly asked. Dd in particular found it awkward because of the assumptions. Ds actually fits some of the homeschool stereotypes (he is autistic spectrum and socially awkward) and he is far less shy about admitting his homeschool status. 

 

I don't think either one of them have found it to be an issue at all. It just isn't something they bring up right away. There are some pretty strange ideas about homeschoolers out there!

[Kareni]

I asked my post-college daughter if she'd told fellow students that she had been homeschooled.  She said that the topic rarely came up but that she told several people when it seemed relevant.  She was never embarrassed of having been homeschooled.

 

The only other college students she met who had been homeschooled had been homeschooled prior to high school.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Hoggirl]

The only other college students she met who had been homeschooled had been homeschooled prior to high school.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Since this was our situation, I'm going to assume it has never come up in college for ds. When he started his small charter school in high school, it was a non-issue as there were several students who had homeschooled (several of whom had grade-skipped, himself included when he enrolled).

 

I would imagine that most students over time develop a pretty good radar about homeschooling questions. After awhile it's pretty easy to discern if inquiring people have a genuine curiosity/interest or if they are just waiting to challenge homeschooling based on the typical stereotypes. I had more patience fielding questions with long-term friends than I did with random strangers. For the latter, I would not hesitate to throw out some snark.

 

We were at a party one Memorial Day, when a woman I did not know who was seated next to me at a long table started in on a line of negative questioning. When she mentioned ds not getting the same social interactions that he would at school, I replied, "Oh, don't worry, every day I steal his lunch and give him a wedgie." She looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and I followed up with, "You really shouldn't worry - me and Bubba learn him real good at home," and turned in the other direction. I thought her husband was going to choke he was laughing so hard. Confession - I might have had an adult beverage or two by that point. I wasn't usually *that* snarky about homeschooling - even to strangers.

[8filltheheart]

We were at a party one Memorial Day, when a woman I did not know who was seated next to me at a long table started in on a line of negative questioning. When she mentioned ds not getting the same social interactions that he would at school, I replied, "Oh, don't worry, every day I steal his lunch and give him a wedgie." She looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and I followed up with, "You really shouldn't worry - me and Bubba learn him real good at home," and turned in the other direction. I thought her husband was going to choke he was laughing so hard. Confession - I might have had an adult beverage or two by that point. I wasn't usually *that* snarky about homeschooling - even to strangers.

Lol!! Right out my dh's playbook! Thanks for the laugh this morning!

Edited April 13, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[swimmermom3]

Some people prefer not to stand out when they start a new thing. Starting new things is scary enough without starting out different. No matter now much one might be glad one is different on the inside, it isn't always in one's (ones? Like its?) best interests to start out being that way on the outside. Later, when one has established that being different is not going to cause any problems, one might admit to it, providing one can do so in a way that doesn't seem like boasting or hurt anyone's feelings. : )

 

Nan

 

I think you have it, Nan, at least for Sailor Dude. I hadn't really thought about it that way.

 

[swimmermom3]

Since this was our situation, I'm going to assume it has never come up in college for ds. When he started his small charter school in high school, it was a non-issue as there were several students who had homeschooled (several of whom had grade-skipped, himself included when he enrolled).

 

I would imagine that most students over time develop a pretty good radar about homeschooling questions. After awhile it's pretty easy to discern if inquiring people have a genuine curiosity/interest or if they are just waiting to challenge homeschooling based on the typical stereotypes. I had more patience fielding questions with long-term friends than I did with random strangers. For the latter, I would not hesitate to throw out some snark.

 

We were at a party one Memorial Day, when a woman I did not know who was seated next to me at a long table started in on a line of negative questioning. When she mentioned ds not getting the same social interactions that he would at school, I replied, "Oh, don't worry, every day I steal his lunch and give him a wedgie." She looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and I followed up with, "You really shouldn't worry - me and Bubba learn him real good at home," and turned in the other direction. I thought her husband was going to choke he was laughing so hard. Confession - I might have had an adult beverage or two by that point. I wasn't usually *that* snarky about homeschooling - even to strangers.

 

Oh my, Cynthia, that is one of the very best responses I've heard! :lol:

 

[Colleen in NS]

Lisa, I read this awhile ago and never got back around to replying.  I think we've talked in the past about our sons having some commonalities?  Anyway, it has been interesting watching him this first year of university.  He did quickly make friends within a small circle on campus, due to having participated in a small mentoring program for first-year science students.   I was SO glad for that program - he made friends with others who "got" him and were like him - his mathy brain, his funny personality, his bluntness, his love of Star Trek.  However, sometimes it got him into hot water, and then a few times his friends would tell him he didn't know how to socialize because of being homeschooled.  GRRR!!!  But they are just as blunt and weird, from what I've heard; which is why they all clicked together!  A few times, when telling me these stories, he has seemed almost embarrassed - even implying sometimes that he believed them (about the socialization part).  But I asked him a few times, "Well, do you wish you had gone to public school?  Public high school?"  And he always thought about it and concluded, "no."

[swimmermom3]

Lisa, I read this awhile ago and never got back around to replying.  I think we've talked in the past about our sons having some commonalities?  Anyway, it has been interesting watching him this first year of university.  He did quickly make friends within a small circle on campus, due to having participated in a small mentoring program for first-year science students.   I was SO glad for that program - he made friends with others who "got" him and were like him - his mathy brain, his funny personality, his bluntness, his love of Star Trek.  However, sometimes it got him into hot water, and then a few times his friends would tell him he didn't know how to socialize because of being homeschooled.  GRRR!!!  But they are just as blunt and weird, from what I've heard; which is why they all clicked together!  A few times, when telling me these stories, he has seemed almost embarrassed - even implying sometimes that he believed them (about the socialization part).  But I asked him a few times, "Well, do you wish you had gone to public school?  Public high school?"  And he always thought about it and concluded, "no."

 

Colleen!

 

It's so good to hear from you and to hear that your son is doing well.  Yes, I do remember that our boys have some commonalities. I had forgotten about the bluntness. :tongue_smilie: My dh starts laughing every time he thinks about ds leading a tour of constituents through the Capitol. I am glad he can laugh, but I do worry slightly about both ds's bluntness and dry wit sliding though at an inappropriate moment.  I reminded him that he is bound to meet someone he knows from our state during the tours or after and to keep it professional.

 

My son too, while at times being embarrassed about homeschooling also says he wouldn't have had the opportunities he's had if he had been at the public high school.

 

You are not too far from being done with homeschooling either.  I can't believe that.

 

I am waiting to hear about  childrens' weddings now from some of our fellow boardies. It was weird enough when they graduated from college.

 

Take care and drop in more often!

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by swimmermom3

[Colleen in NS]

Colleen!

 

It's so good to hear from you and to hear that your son is doing well.  Yes, I do remember that our boys have some commonalities. I had forgotten about the bluntness. :tongue_smilie: My dh starts laughing every time he thinks about ds leading a tour of constituents through the Capitol. I am glad he can laugh, but I do worry slightly about both ds's bluntness and dry wit sliding though at an inappropriate moment.  I reminded him that he is bound to meet someone he knows from our state during the tours or after and to keep it professional.

 

My son too, while at times being embarrassed about homeschooling also says he wouldn't have had the opportunities he's had if he had been at the public high school.

 

You are not too far from being done with homeschooling either.  I can't believe that.

 

I am waiting to hear about  childrens' weddings now from some of our fellow boardies. It was weird enough when they graduated from college.

 

Take care and drop in more often!

 

 

The bolded:  YES!!!!!!!!!  And my son has very dry wit that people don't always see right away!!

 

I know; I can't believe I'm almost done homeschooling, either.  Dd aims to finish by her 18th birthday, which is in Oct. of what would be her Grade 12 year, so we are on an accelerated schedule.  She was pretty insistent about it, so I worked out a plan and she is following it.  About a year and a half to go!  I almost don't know what to do with myself, because I don't really *feel* like a "real" homeschooler anymore, lol.  I'm between identities right now, lol.

 

I will try to stop in more often, because I see that many of my "colleagues," though finishing or finished, are still around here.

[Miss Marple]

LOL!  Yes, my youngest has made it a point not to mention that he was home educated unless specifically asked.  Like another poster said, it's more about the assumptions.  But, he proudly displayed his academic prowess to a group of elite private schooled frat bros recently.  The exchange went like this:  The president of his frat is basically a lazy slug (my son's assessment) and ended up with a 1.7 ish gpa for fall semester.  At their weekly meeting this fella was lamenting how hard college is (note that this particular student said he got a 35 on the ACT).  My son took him to task saying that if he would pull his lazy a** out of bed, would quit drinking and smoking weed, he might do better.  The student made a derogatory comment about being called out by a homeschooler.  My son went on to inform him that he had a 3.8 gpa, was just invited to be president of an exclusive investment club, etc. etc.  Apparently there was silence in the room.  After the meeting quite a few of the kids spoke to him about not realizing he was doing so well...they just assumed that since he was home educated he wouldn't be doing as well as they were when in fact he seems to be outscoring them all.  

 

I will say, though, that this son has finally come to see that being home educated was perhaps a better choice than sending him to the expensive private school nearby.  He always thought he would have been better educated and would score better if he had gone there and seemed to be a bit resentful.  I think he's over that now.

 

Oh, and just a bit of excitement:  He was asked to chauffeur the Afghanistan Ambassador all over town a couple weeks ago.  He was able to sit in on a working meeting and he attended a banquet in the evening with the ambassador, mayor, supreme court justice and other dignitaries.  I had called him to see where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner...he told me he didn't know if he would be able to go because of his duties that day.  I was taken aback.  My first response was, "I hope you cleaned out your car" to which he replied that he was driving a brand new Yukon haha!.  Then I asked if he had nice shoes on lol.  I knew he would wear a suit, but the shoes were a possible problem.  And he even got a picture with the ambassador :)

Edited April 18, 2017 by Miss Marple

[Nan in Mass]

"...I do worry slightly about both ds's bluntness and dry wit sliding though at an inappropriate moment. ..." ...ARG Yes!!! I am hoping his techy gerky position comes with some tolerance for this.

 

Nan

Edited April 24, 2017 by Nan in Mass

[Guest]

My husband doesn't mind bringing up that he was homeschooled but a lot of people seem shocked that Christian homeschooling in the 80's and 90's plus a little Christian high school could produce a really well rounded, talented engineer. People have weird assumptions about homeschoolers, especially in the science fields.

 

I know he got some guff for it in college but by that point he was secure enough in his identity and ability to debate that it wasn't an issue. Fingers crossed my kids inherit that!

 

I keep hoping the stereotypes are going away but who knows.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Arctic Mama

[Miss Marple]

Maybe pertinent to this topic:  

DS was taking a final yesterday.  Apparently it was a "take it when you want to" kind of thing so he was the only one there.  Going into the final he had scored 100% or above on all this professor's tests. Once finished, she asked him to stay and tell her about his home education experience because she was considering it for her son!  They talked for about 45 minutes.  So maybe those stereotypes are being overcome?