Can a homeschooler enroll in high school classes at a community college?..

[Whitneyz]

My daughter doesn't want to go to the high school in our area. But she would like to take a subject in a classroom setting just to see what it's like. Will community colleges take homeschoolers? Could she take a Geometry or Chemistry from one and would it still count as a high school credit????

 

If anyone has done this or knows anything about it could you please tell me about how it's done???

[Jane in NC]

What state do you live in? It really is dependent on the state, I believe.

 

Here in NC, any high school student (homeschooled or traditional), age 16 or above, may take up to three CC courses per semester for free, providing that the student passes whatever test baselines are required for those courses.

 

My CC does not offer geometry. My son is currently enrolled in chemistry which would transfer to a NC university for credit toward a four year degree. Whether it will transfer to an out of state college depends on the school, but he is certainly getting high school credit for the course.

 

Jane

[LoriM]

There really isn't a "three course per semester" statewide limit; my older daughter took as many as six courses in one semester at the CC when she was dual enrolled. It varies by campus how many courses they'll allow.

[Chris in VA]

Check with your state requirements. Here in VA, you can take 11 hours per semester, if you pass the tests to get in (here in FFCounty, at NoVaCC, they use the Compass test, or you can give them SAT scores). Classes are dual credit--count towards high school and college. They have a document online that lets you see if the class you pick transfers to the particular 4 year college you are interested in.

 

Ds is taking two classes now, then will graduate in Dec, and take 3 or 4 more in what would have been Sp Semester of his senior year, had we decided to make him go all year instead of grad early.

[Whitneyz]

I'm in Rhode Island. You said you were allowed to take CC classes for FREE??? I guess I just need to call them and ask how to go about it. I looked on their web page and it doesn't mention anything about homeschoolers. The expectation is that to enroll in CC you would obtain an application from the "guidance office"

 

Any more suggestions or advice?

Thanks

[Chris in VA]

They probably have an online application. VA isn't free--it's $96 a credit, which is still cheaper than many co-op or online classes. Books were expensive, tho.

[Whitneyz]

What do you mean by check my state requirements? A state limits how many classes one can take for high school in a CC?

 

Thanks

[LoriM]

It's free to high schoolers in North Carolina. One of the many perks of living here! GRIN.

[Ellie]

What do you mean by check my state requirements? A state limits how many classes one can take for high school in a CC?

 

Thanks

 

Yes, this is often true. Or, sometimes the state doesn't specify, in its education code, how many credits high school student can take, but the individual c.c. do.

[Sandy in Indy]

And...word of caution... some college treat anyone with more than "x" number of credits as transfer students rather than incoming freshman. If my ds has 12 or more credits, he won't be eligible for the pharmacy program that he'd really like to get into.

 

Just something to keep in mind!

[Ailaena]

Some key words to use when searching for information are "concurrent enrollment" or "duel enrollment" or "running start". Here in Arizona, no one pays for anything, but in Colorado, if you are a junior or senior, the state will reimburse you the costs if you pass the classes with a C or better. I wonder if they will do that even at a private university...?

 

Just because I was curious, I tried to find admission information to CC in Rhode Island. I did. It is here. If nothing else, I would be willing to bet that whatever CC you are looking at will have similar rules.

 

 

HTH!

[Bev in B'ville]

homeschoolers are definitely not allowed to do dual enrollment unless they are with an umbrella school (an accredited school).

 

This is actually THE reason I sought accreditation as we have a CC 7 miles down the road that I would like my dc to take part in.

 

Just another perspective.

[mamato4]

in NJ. Each county has it's own county college. The county I live in welcomes homeschoolers with open arms into the county college. But the families I know sending their children there are only earning high school credits, not college credits. It's $100 for the first class and the regular college price for additional classes.

 

The county next to us has an admissions direction that is adamant against letting homeschoolers in. But my friend was able to meet someone in the library who managed to get her daughter to directly meet the chemistry professor who signed off that she can take his class and there was nothing the admisssion director could do but huff and puff.

 

So it all depends on the state regs, and the school itself. Start researching and I hope you'll be able to get her in!

 

HTH,

Anna

[Moni]

Sure she can take classes

Does she even need high school credit.

 

It's up to the CC, and CCs in the same state in the same county often have different rules, and these change too.

 

:-)

 

 

My daughter doesn't want to go to the high school in our area. But she would like to take a subject in a classroom setting just to see what it's like. Will community colleges take homeschoolers? Could she take a Geometry or Chemistry from one and would it still count as a high school credit????

 

If anyone has done this or knows anything about it could you please tell me about how it's done???

[Kris]

Our local CC accepts high school students and homeschoolers. They do have requirements. I haven't talked to the counselors yet, but their catalogue just says they want the logs that Missouri requires homeschoolers keep. I would imagine they'd want assessment tests as well, but we haven't gotten to that point yet.

 

You'd probably have to call the CC you're interested in and find out what kinds of requirements they might have.

 

Good luck!

[Pamela H in Texas]

Some colleges have programs for high schoolers to take high school classes at the college. You could check with your local college about that. If you want to start up something like that, you can see how Eastfield College (part of Dallas Comm. College district) has set theirs up by looking at their home page.

 

Many high schoolers (homeschoolers and traditionally schooled alike) take college level courses while still in high school. This is called, depending on the program, dual or concurrent enrollment. Sometimes the state even pays for these programs.

 

I have heard on these boards that some colleges allow high schoolers to take remedial courses even. To me this is ridiculous and I'm glad our colleges don't do that. There is already a state funded program in place for high school aged students to get a high school education. However, it may be something you are interested in and something available in your area.

 

You'll also want to check in with the college/university of choice. The one my daughter will attend considers a student a 17yo, just-finished-high-school, a freshman, even if they have an associate's degree. This allows them to get any Freshman perks, services, scholarships, etc. Their credits are added after the semester has begun so they would start the 2nd semester as a Junior. However, that isn't the case at every university and worth checking out.

 

HTHs a little,