Homeschooling and College (universities, counselor, public schools, GPA)

[novanative75]

I have a question for the parents that homeschool. I am a guidance counselor and have worked with hundreds of kids through the college admissions process. I have worked with homeschooled kids, as I was the point of contact for them at the high school, but none went to four year colleges, all went to community college.

My question is this. What experience have you had, in the homeschool community, with kids applying to four year colleges and what information do they have to provide in their applications. I know that grades might be looked at as subjective (I do know that not all of them are) since they are given by parents and some homeschooled parents do not use grades. So, since colleges are looking at regularly schooled kids' grades, class rank, etc., how do homeschooled kids get to that level playing field?

The main reason I ask is that I am starting a private college counseling business and I think that the homeschooled population would be certainly one that could benefit from college counseling since they do not get it in school, etc.

Thanks for your help!!

[TouchOfWhimsy]

You might have a good idea there! I do know that most colleges accept homeschoolers and that some actively recruit them, but I don't know the specifics.

I know several homeschoolers whose children started off going to a community college at age 15 or 16, and then if they wanted to transfer to a 4-year college, they could go from there... I'm not sure of the details. My kids are young and I have not looked fully into the options, though that is what I assume we'd do.

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by novanative75

I have a question for the parents that homeschool. I am a guidance counselor and have worked with hundreds of kids through the college admissions process. I have worked with homeschooled kids, as I was the point of contact for them at the high school, but none went to four year colleges, all went to community college.

My question is this. What experience have you had, in the homeschool community, with kids applying to four year colleges and what information do they have to provide in their applications. I know that grades might be looked at as subjective (I do know that not all of them are) since they are given by parents and some homeschooled parents do not use grades. So, since colleges are looking at regularly schooled kids' grades, class rank, etc., how do homeschooled kids get to that level playing field?

The main reason I ask is that I am starting a private college counseling business and I think that the homeschooled population would be certainly one that could benefit from college counseling since they do not get it in school, etc.

Thanks for your help!!

My suggestion would be to call some of the college admissions offices of prominent universities with pro-homeschool attitudes -- Stanford and Harvard come to mind-- and ask them.

Part of the problem here is that homeschooling can encompass such a wide range of approaches, from school-in-a-box/distance learning where basically what you have is school at home, all the way to unschooling.

In my understanding, which may be somewhat limited here, admissions officers generally look at home-provided transcripts and grades, but also take what I'm guessing is a good, hard look at standardized test scores, including the SAT, ACT, and any AP scores the student might've gotten. I would tend to think that volunteer or community service would count for more, as would any kind of awards or achievements. That's just a guess, though -- the real experts are the ones on the other end of the application envelope, IYKWIM.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by novanative75

I have a question for the parents that homeschool. I am a guidance counselor and have worked with hundreds of kids through the college admissions process. I have worked with homeschooled kids, as I was the point of contact for them at the high school, but none went to four year colleges, all went to community college.

My question is this. What experience have you had, in the homeschool community, with kids applying to four year colleges and what information do they have to provide in their applications. I know that grades might be looked at as subjective (I do know that not all of them are) since they are given by parents and some homeschooled parents do not use grades. So, since colleges are looking at regularly schooled kids' grades, class rank, etc., how do homeschooled kids get to that level playing field?

The main reason I ask is that I am starting a private college counseling business and I think that the homeschooled population would be certainly one that could benefit from college counseling since they do not get it in school, etc.

Thanks for your help!!

If I am not mistaken, at our cc, they take the GED since either that or a HS diploma is required for admission. I have had experience with homeschooled children who do well in my classes and not-so-well, which mirrors the "traditional" secondary school graduates.

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by mm_mary73

If I am not mistaken, at our cc, they take the GED since either that or a HS diploma is required for admission. I have had experience with homeschooled children who do well in my classes and not-so-well, which mirrors the "traditional" secondary school graduates.

Yes, I know that about CC's but I was talking about four year schools and their admissions since grades, GPA are a factor.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by novanative75

Yes, I know that about CC's but I was talking about four year schools and their admissions since grades, GPA are a factor.

Some students "get around" that by completing their 2 year AA/AS/AFA and transfer directly into a senior institution - no SAT/ACT worries and a respectable (hopefully) college-level GPA. Or, the students take the SAT/ACT with their GED. Why not simply contact the university directly and ask an admissions counselor?

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by mm_mary73

Some students "get around" that by completing their 2 year AA/AS/AFA and transfer directly into a senior institution - no SAT/ACT worries and a respectable (hopefully) college-level GPA. Or, the students take the SAT/ACT with their GED. Why not simply contact the university directly and ask an admissions counselor?

Oh I could definitely contact admissions offices and I will. I was simply wanting to see what experiences people have had. Like I said, I am starting a private college counseling business and need to know these things. I know that the most important factors in college admissions, in this order are
1. Strength of curriculum, AP, honors courses, etc.
2. GPA
3. SAT/ACT scores
4. Extracurricular activities
5. Recommendations

Since homeschooled students have a very different 'transcript' when it comes to #1 and #2, I want to know what they do.

[twiggy]

Did you find anything out? Just curious. Something I would like to know more about myself. I know public high school won't transfer home school credits. If you come in as a 10th or 11th grade student from home school your not going to be accepted. I found that to be strange.

[moijohnson]

My son just sent his ACT score (28) and transcript to University of Arkansas. He was immediately accepted into their honors engineering program. He will receive a high school diploma through the umbrella school he is registered with. It is no different than if he was in a regular high school. They never asked for extra curricular activities. It is my understanding that if the GPA is consistent with the test scores the University accepts it at face value.

I do not think it is any different than a "tough" public school giving an A for AP Chemistry and an "easy" public school giving an A for AP Chemistry. If both students pass the test than they must have learned the material.

My local public schools accept homeschool students all the way through their senior year.

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by novanative75

I have a question for the parents that homeschool. I am a guidance counselor and have worked with hundreds of kids through the college admissions process. I have worked with homeschooled kids, as I was the point of contact for them at the high school, but none went to four year colleges, all went to community college.

My question is this. What experience have you had, in the homeschool community, with kids applying to four year colleges and what information do they have to provide in their applications. I know that grades might be looked at as subjective (I do know that not all of them are) since they are given by parents and some homeschooled parents do not use grades. So, since colleges are looking at regularly schooled kids' grades, class rank, etc., how do homeschooled kids get to that level playing field?

The main reason I ask is that I am starting a private college counseling business and I think that the homeschooled population would be certainly one that could benefit from college counseling since they do not get it in school, etc.

Thanks for your help!!

I live in the state of Washington and know the University of Washington has a separate criteria for home schoolers when they apply. I think over time and quite recently it is becoming more and more common than years ago. Here is a link from the University of Washington which I thought you might find to be interesting Homeschooled Applicants — Plan for College — University of Washington If the University of Washington has something like this in place, there are probably other colleges as well.
Sounds to me home schools students have the same opportunity as students from public schools and quite possibly an edge which I find very interesting.