Do homeschooled kids have more difficulty getting into college?

[fractalgal]

Hi, I'm new to HSing and I have heard cases where homeschoolers get recruited by colleges, and also seen where some schools give them a lot a hassle?

What has been your experience? Do you think homeschooling hurts their chances in some cases?

[merylvdm]

My dd has just graduated high school - she got accepted into all 8 colleges she applied to - and 4 are hard to get into - Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

I made sure it was obvious that the grades I had given her were a true reflection of her ability by getting her to take AP exams and also SAT 2 Subject tests.

I think homeschooling improved her chances as I was able to give her many opportunities our local schools don't offer - for example she took APs in subjects few schools in our area offer classes for (World History, Art History and Spanish). She also did every contest going (from Science OLympiad to AMC Math to Stock Market Game to Optimist Club Oratorical Contest to History Day and Scholastic Arts). Very few schools in our area offer any of these - and none offer them all. We would have had to convince some teacher to sponsor these - and I doubt we'd have had much success. As I was the 'teacher' it was easy for me to sponsor her and so she ended up with a very impressive list of awards by the end of her high school career.

Meryl

[dtsmamtj]

So far, no family that we know has had ANY problem getting into any college from a private to the local community. Our friend's daughter just this year was accepted with a full ride tuition scolarship to a private Catholic college. Another friend will attend the graduation of her oldest son from the Air Force Academy next year while that same year send her next son possiblty off to WestPoint Accdamey. I just attended a graduation this past weekend where 10 of the 13 graduates were off to a state or private college, one to Bible college, one to do pre-requisit classes at local community college and one going to the Philipines. So far the families that we know say it comes down to how well they did on their SAT test, community service, etc.

 

T

[Gwen in VA]

My older two kids have gotten in to a bunch of good schools and received a LOT of merit aid. My son was accepted into his first choice school, U Chicago, early action. For financial reasons, he will attend Washington & Lee this fall on a full-ride scholarship. (My dd is there on a full-tuition scholarship). Each of my kids received over $400,000 in merit aid offers.

 

We certainly haven't noticed any difficulty with college admissions!

 

Like Meryl, we used the flexibility of homeschooling so our kids could pursue lots of interests and activities that they either couldn't have pursued or couldn't have done in such depth if they had been in school -- debate, SERIOUS historic volunteering, pilot training, Civil Air Patrol, fife and drum, historic volunteering, reenacting.....

 

I made sure that my kids had enough standardized tests (SAT-II and AP) so the colleges could do some comparison between my kids and the other applicants.

 

We "outsourced" many classes (online, community college, and 4-year college) so my kids could experience real deadlines, teaching styles, and classroom settings; and so the colleges could see that my kids were strong students in a classroom setting.

 

Homeschoolers can do very well in college admissions. There are many reasons to homeschool and many reasons not to homeschool, but you can put aside any fears that a well-prepared homeschooler will not be competitive in college admissions!

 

BTW, my dd received an award for being the top freshman chemistry student this year, and the sophomore with the highest gpa at W&L this year is an ex-homeschooler. Homeschoolers can even do well in college!

 

Hang around these boards -- the ladies here have an amazing amount of wisdom about homeschooling high school!

[ereks mom]

We certainly haven't noticed any difficulty with college admissions!

 

ER was heavily recruited by several schools. He narrowed his choices to only two schools, applied to both, and was accepted by both. One offered him a full-tuition scholarship plus additional merit aid from that institution. The other offered him nearly $8000 per year in institutional merit aid. He applied to other scholarship programs -- "outside scholarships", as opposed to "institutional aid" -- and has gotten enough money from those to fund everything with money left over.

[mcconnellboys]

I've not heard of any problems in the almost 10 years I've been doing this. In fact, colleges seem to be becoming more and more open to homeschoolers. I think there's a yahoo group that's called something like "homeschool to college" where tons of folks talk about their experiences in getting their kids into the schools of their choice. You might like to take a look at it for more detailed info.

 

I just checked and I actually find two: Homeschool2College and Homeschool-High School-College....

[Tokyomarie]

My daughters went through the college admissions cycle in 2002-03 and 2006-07. Between them they applied to a total of 7 colleges. The private colleges had zero issue with homeschoolers. 3 of the 4 public colleges each had a different issue with special requests they wouldn't make of those from public schools. However we were able to meet each of those requests because of our excellent record keeping and willingness to take SAT Subject Tests. Their record for acceptance was 6 of 7. The seventh was for a program that accepts a mere dozen or so students each year from around the country, so getting in was a long shot and had nothing to do with being a homeschooler.

 

Keeping good records of our daughter's work, having them prep for and take the standardized tests, and being very, very careful to note all of the requirements for admission and keeping track of all the paperwork for admission gave our daughters all the chances they needed to be successful in college admissions. Our daughters' jobs were to work hard on their school work, stay engaged with community activities, be proactive in their search for colleges that would fit them & cooperate with the deadlines for submitting their paperwork.

 

Two down, one to go for us.

[Alyce]

The only difference I found was that some schools asked for more info than others. One of the schools my dd applied to told me up front that they didn't trust the grades of a homeschooler and wanted more to show that the grades were accurate. We had dd take several standardized tests and she took some community college courses to prove she could do it. The other school she applied to didn't ask for anything different, just a transcript and an application. This is the one my dd chose but there are few schools with her major. This two schools were the only ones to have her major. She also chose the latter school because it had a better reputation. I think someone already said the key and that is to keep good record, do lots of standardized tests like SAT and ACT and when possible AP tests &/or CC courses.

[Ellie]

Do you think homeschooling hurts their chances in some cases?

 

In fact, many colleges actively recruit hsers because they do so well, academically and socially. My guess would be that hsers who have trouble getting into college are not prepared with transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, etc.

[fractalgal]

I would like to do things the right way, and it helps to hear from you experienced homeschoolers. :)

[Lisa in TN]

My dd applied to 4 colleges and was accepted at all 4 with merit scholarships. Only one of them asked for anything extra from homeschoolers - a supplemental form similar to the homeschooling supplement on the current Common Application.

 

My dd had taken several dual-enrollment community college classes, and the teachers of those classes wrote recommendations for her, so she did have some external validation of her work.

[Zoraida]

I just graduated my first child out of 5. He was accepted to Our Lady of the Lake College without any kind of problems.

 

Blessings

 

Zoraida

[Niebski]

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/applying/extras/1_2a4_homeschooled.html

 

Check out this link on what Stanford asks of homeschool students... I thought it was quite interesting!

 

Sue

[sfernb]

We have one who has graduated from college and one attending now and found most schools welcomed their applications; both students received excellent merit scholarships. We found private schools were easier to deal with than state schools. Our state schools require the GED for scholarships, and a neighboring state school wanted a complete portfolio of work for high school.

 

It is helpful to have a professional looking transcript, SAT or ACT test scores, and references from teachers or leaders of some kind from outside of your home.

[Missouri Mama]

My 1st daughter applied & was accepted into a state university based on her ACT scores, parent-issued diploma, & GPA. However, they required a portfolio from homeschooled students demonstrating their ability to do college level work & a few letters of recommendation. The format of the portfolio was entirely up to the student. We initially met with someone in admissions. She had just attended a seminar about accepting homeschoolers, and they were extremely positive about reaching out to the homeschool community. My 2nd daughter was easilly accepted at the community college with a parent-issued diploma with no additional requirements.

[Mandy in TN]

It seems that these responses are regarding academically gifted/ accelerated students. There are plenty of high schoolers who simply are not ready for dual-enrollment, AP classes, etc. Has anyone sent an average homeschooled student to college? By average I mean one that takes Alg1, Alg2, Geom; Phys Science, Biology, Chemistry; etc. One that no matter what high school they went to would never be in advanced classes.

 

Anyone?

Mandy

[TravelingChris]

My son was accepted to a number of different colleges. I think it was 5 yes and 2 no. He did not do dual enrollment, AP, or any SAT II tests. He did do very well on his SAT (Commended scholar in the toughest state/group while being two years younger).

 

There are colleges for all kinds of kids. The main difference is that children who are average usually don't get merit aid. I would check what programs you have in your state. In the last two states we lived in, there have been programs to get 3/4 to full tuition by getting a certain GPA and doing community work. Also, check the financial aid calculators. I was surprised how much they expected us to pay (not an amount we have any ability to pay without depriving all other family members of such things as orthodontics, clothes, etc). However, your experience may be different.

[Guest collegebound coach]

I am a school counselor in a public high school. It is my experience that homeschool students have an advantage over the public school students in college admision with private schools. The reason is that homeschool students set themselves apart from the typical high school student. Homeschool students have a rich background and experiences in vast areas. The students are confident in their knowledge and can express themselves effectively. Public school students are like "cookie cutter" students, and homeschool students are "their own shape." Colleges want variety in their student body, and homeschool students are great matches.:auto:

[threetreasurs]

I do not think that the homeschooling hurt my son's chances. Though be aware that many schools require SAT Subject tests for homeschoolers. Only one school that my son applied to required them, but I am noticing that more and more are.

[Kanga]

I have heard of the occasional community college on a power trip but other than that - nope. Most universities have pages on their web sites about requirements for homeschoolers.

 

This has been our experience. The CC required much more from us than any of the universities that my dd applied to, but in their defense this might have been because she was still a high school student. We did not receive any special request from the universities that my dd applied to, but that might have been because she has very high SAT scores and had taken CC classes. In addition, my dd received quite a lot in merit based scholarships.

[Rhonda in TX]

I know of some who got scholarships from the school, so they seem to be treated equally with public/private school students.

 

I went to a small, Christian school, so that may play into it, but I don't foresee any problem with my children getting into college.

[Tokyomarie]

It seems that these responses are regarding academically gifted/ accelerated students. There are plenty of high schoolers who simply are not ready for dual-enrollment, AP classes, etc. Has anyone sent an average homeschooled student to college? By average I mean one that takes Alg1, Alg2, Geom; Phys Science, Biology, Chemistry; etc. One that no matter what high school they went to would never be in advanced classes.

 

Anyone?

Mandy

 

Mandy, my personal experience is with students who scored quite high on standardized tests. One dd was a National Merit Finalist. My second dd had a much more "average" appearance all the way through school, but ultimately scored quite nicely on her ACT and SAT during senior year. They had some good options for attending college with significant scholarships, though neither daughter chose to apply to an Ivy-type school.

 

I have been around more "average" students locally. I think the key to college admissions is to look for schools that are a match for their achievement level. As long as a student has an ACT/SAT score at or slightly above the national average (about 21-22 for the ACT), he/she should not have difficulty getting admitted to the lesser known state universities within your state system. There are also many smaller private colleges that a student with the "average" for collegebound students could get admitted to fairly easily.

 

As someone else said, the more "average" a student is compared to the rest of the student body for that school, the less likely it will be for a student to be offered merit scholarship assistance. Unless you're on the lower end of the income scale, it can become more challenging to figure out how to pay for college without merit aid.