Is It Harder for Homeschoolers To Get Into Colleges?

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There seems to be a preconceived notion that homeschoolers will have trouble getting admitted to colleges, especially Ivy League ones. Additionally, those new to homeschooling their children may assume the same thing, wondering if the choice to homeschool will hurt their children’s future aspirations.

Generally, it’s not harder for homeschoolers to get into colleges. While possibly true in the past when homeschooling started as a phenomenon, today’s homeschooled students are increasingly recruited by colleges and readily accepted into collegiate programs.

Read on to see why it’s not harder for homeschoolers to get into colleges. I’ll also give you some great tips on what colleges look for in a well-rounded student to help you check all the boxes on your child’s college application checklist.

Why Homeschoolers Do Not Have a Harder Time Getting Into College

Homeschooling offers the opportunity for children to have flexibility in their learning progress, courses and areas of interest, and the methods in which they receive instruction.

Homeschooling offers a physically and emotionally safe environment that supports their needs, values, and goals customized to their learning styles. This type of non-traditional schooling doesn’t take away college opportunities for students.

Let’s look at some of these reasons why homeschoolers are readily accepted into college:

Volunteerism/Community Action: Homeschooled students often have the time and commitment to volunteer and support local community efforts. These can develop a homeschooler’s career path and interests. Colleges prefer motivated students who have much to contribute to their college community through acts of service.
Unique Life Experiences: Homeschoolers often have experiences beyond the walls of a classroom, which leads to opportunities to give the homeschooler unique experiences. Colleges like to see diverse students in their programs, bringing differing views and experiences to campus life.
Regulations: A majority of the states in the U.S. have regulations that parents must follow for homeschooling. Homeschooled students take courses or study topics at the same level (or higher) as their public school counterparts, meeting college enrollment expectations.
Achievements: Homeschooled students achieve 15 – 30 percentile points higher on standardized exams than public school students. Homeschooled students also often take unique courses of study, including dual enrollment at community colleges. This demonstrates the homeschooler’s ability to tackle college-level material successfully.
Social and Emotional Maturity: Research has shown that homeschoolers are generally above average regarding social and emotional psychological development. This, in turn, supports leadership skills, positive self-esteem, and good peer interactions. These behaviors are desired on college campuses.

Colleges Look for Certain Characteristics in Applicants

All students, those from private, public, and homeschools, must present evidence that they have the necessary skills and foundation for success in college. College admissions personnel look for well-rounded students with a variety of experiences.

Homeschooling instills the ability to focus on studies, master content individually, and manage time effectively. These are excellent attributes that can lead to success in a college setting, and colleges are taking note and paying attention to those applying to study with them.

Today many college campuses will actively recruit homeschooled students for their work ethics and skills used in the academic setting. They may find homeschoolers’ applications intriguing due to the nature of the unique experiences they get to have.

Volunteerism and Community Service

Applicants who are active in volunteerism within their communities and also achieve well academically are desirable candidates. Volunteering demonstrates that a person has developed a skill set in the work done with an organization and made connections with community members.

Volunteering shows civic responsibilities and that a person is doing something to enrich the lives of others.

DoSomething.org is a digital platform where members can volunteer for social change and civic action to make real-world impacts. They offer suggestions for both in-person and online volunteer opportunities.

In-person options could be helping the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, or Meals on Wheels.

With an Internet connection, youth can volunteer with Catchafire, which connects volunteers with not-for-profit organizations with work such as writing thank you letters or Smithsonian Digital Volunteers who need help transcribing historical documents and editing articles about their artifacts and research.

DoSomething.org also hosts other volunteer projects such as Comeback Clothes to recycle and donate unwanted clothes and textiles for vulnerable populations or Tackle Hunger to collect and donate food items to a local food bank. They offer a search option to explore many causes by cause, action, and time involved.

Advanced or Diverse Classes and Coursework

Some colleges will look for those with a diverse set of classes taken or those done through a local college.

Transcripts with four years of study in Science, Mathematics, History, Foreign Language, and Language Arts are appealing. Consider adding courses that demonstrate your child’s unique interests, such as Computer Coding, Marine Science, or Creative Writing. If your child had an opportunity to do advanced coursework similar to those offered in public schools, be sure to notate that on their transcript.

Contact your area’s community college and find out their admissions process for high school-aged students. Often these institutions will require that students take a placement test for math and language arts to help determine what courses they should take first.

Many students will take college courses in their junior and senior high school years; however, it’s possible to attend younger. Take your child’s maturity and work ethic into consideration for younger ones. Some may need to spread the coursework from a community college out over more time rather than squeezing it all in over two years.

Community colleges are increasingly offering low-cost courses for high-schooled students that provide accreditation for a high school equivalency if specific courses are completed. These course credits may be transferable to other colleges as well. So, make sure to inquire about transferable credits when applying to post-high school colleges.

ACT and SAT Assessments

Many colleges ask for standardized assessment results and commonly request ACT and SAT exam results. The American College Testing (ACT) exam assesses competency in the following subjects:

English
Mathematics
Reading
Scientific reasoning

There’s also an optional writing section for students to take.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) measures reading, mathematics, and writing skills.

There’s evidence that homeschoolers statistically score higher on these exams than students in traditional school settings. Check with colleges your child wants to attend and determine if these exams are required for application and admission. It may be beneficial to take them anyway, as they can provide opportunities for scholarships.

It’s a good idea to prepare for the ACT and SAT for students to experience the style of questioning and the endurance needed for these lengthy tests. The ACT and SAT are generally taken starting in the spring of the junior year; however, your child should practice four or five times before taking these exams.

Powerscore.com offers official ACT and SAT practice tests, answer keys, and guides to simulate the timing and rigor of the actual exam. You can also contact your local school district to see if practice tests are available for your homeschooler to do as well.

Internships

Homeschoolers may have the added benefits of traveling, working, early internship experiences, and meeting a wider variety of people due to flexibility and approaches to learning and time management.

Some colleges offer internship programs, so search your local area to see available opportunities. Additionally, you can reach out to mentors and leaders in your community that perform work your child is interested in.

Internship opportunities provide an excellent experience and help your child determine if this is something that they want to do long-term.

For example, StandOutSearch LLC, founded at the University of Chicago, helps make internships accessible for high schoolers by partnering with universities and innovation hubs. Their goal is to help high-schoolers find real-world experiences to help them make major and career path choices.

Additional Opportunities for Homeschoolers

Since homeschoolers don’t follow rigid schedules nor stay in a classroom setting all day, like in traditional schools, they have the opportunity to go on more field trips to museums and historical places.

Many homeschoolers may have more life experiences before the age of 18 than those of the same age in a traditional school setting. Families do not have to follow financial, time, or curricular restraints like schools do.

Consider calling local businesses, such as karate classes, jump parks, museums, and more, to see if they’ll host a group of homeschooling families for a visit, use of facilities, or class during the day. You may also find that they will offer group discounted prices.

Examples of Colleges That Want Homeschoolers on Campus

As previously mentioned, homeschooled students need to fulfill specific requirements to attend college, as do their public school counterparts. Here are some examples of colleges that actively express interest in admitting homeschoolers.

Harvard University

Located in Connecticut, Harvard University views all applications regardless of educational background. Harvard doesn’t use homeschool enrollments in statistics because they do not view homeschoolers as different from traditional students. Homeschooled students have found much success at this college, feeling well prepared due to their homeschooling experiences.

University of Southern California

This private institution openly welcomes homeschoolers. They require that homeschoolers apply with scores from the SAT and three SAT II subject tests, one of which must be math. The university also requires a detailed record of courses and information about the curriculums used for the students’ education.

College of Charleston

This liberal arts college founded in South Carolina offers a quaint and historical location for college studies. Applying homeschoolers must have taken college-level courses (taken at a local community college) and at least three years of a foreign language.

They ask for a detailed transcript denoting courses and their levels of difficulty. Of particular interest, this college follows the accreditation and regulations of the state they come from. So, if their home state doesn’t require accreditation, they don’t either.

U.S. Military Academy

Also known as West Point, this institution represents the Army branch and accepts homeschoolers. Typically one to five homeschoolers are admitted annually, and this New York-based academy recommends that homeschoolers come prepared with some specific things for an increased chance of being accepted.

Admission requirements include taking advanced classes in math and science at a local community college and lab sciences and calculus in preparation for the curriculum at West Point. West Point additionally recommends that homeschoolers have involvement in athletics and community service activities to be well prepared for what the school asks of them.

Also, every applicant at West Point must obtain a congressional recommendation. Students need to contact their U.S. Senator and Representative’s district office for the necessary forms and recommendations to get this.

While these are colleges located all over the country, you can check with the nearby and desired colleges your child may also want to attend. Please find out more about their requirements while also ensuring that you follow your local high school requirements. It’s likely your homeschooler is already doing nearly everything they need to be accepted, just like a traditionally schooled student.

Homeschoolers Preparing To Apply to College

Homeschoolers have to apply in the same way that traditionally schooled students do. Search for college fairs in the area to get your child excited about the process and to define what they’re looking for. Start attending college open houses as well.

In a public or private school, students have direct access to prepared paperwork for transcripts, college fairs, and teacher-written letters of recommendation. Since homeschooling parents are the teachers, counselors, and administrators, they’re the ones that create and gather these documents for college applications.

What To Include in Applications

The parents will be responsible for creating transcripts and school reporting documents. College applications can also include approval or accreditation letters showing the completion of high school equivalency coursework from the local school district and community college.

Creating a Transcript

The Coalition for Responsible Home Education offers suggestions on how to prepare your child’s transcript:

List of all high school coursework completed. If any high school coursework was done in 7th or 8th grade, include this too.
Look up requirements for high school graduation on the website of your state’s Education Department. Typically, students need four years of English and social studies each, three to four years of mathematics, two to three years of science, plus physical education, fine arts, foreign language, and other electives.
Also, look up how your state calculates credits for courses taken. Most states require 20-24 credits for graduation, but some require much more, so it is essential to know this information.
Use this state information to create course names and assign credits to make the transcript. This should show that the student has met the requirements for high school graduation.
Input the information into a formal and professional transcript document. You can pay for a service to create or make one from scratch with a downloadable template. The transcript should include student and school information (your address and phone number) with graduation date, course names with correlating credits and grades, total credits earned and overall GPA with a grading scale and your signature with a date.

Other Items for College Applications

Other items your child may want to include with their college application include the following:

Volunteer work
Group activities
Work responsibilities
Internships that they have taken part in

You may have to ask people for letters of recommendation from volunteering or other activities they were involved in. The parents shouldn’t write these letters for their homeschoolers, so instead, academic letters can come from co-op leaders or college professors.

If standardized tests are required, such as the SAT or ACT, they’ll need to submit those scores. Additionally, students may need to respond to an essay prompt for an application. This essay could be an opportunity to highlight all of the benefits and unique opportunities that a homeschooled life gave them.

A benefit to finding all the information for a college application yourself demonstrates your motivation and independence. It shows that the homeschooler is a self-starter and finds opportunities.

Homeschooling prepares students for the future, including college and other career aspirations.

Scholarships for Homeschooled Students

Students in traditional schools have access to scholarship opportunities, and some may wonder if homeschoolers are left out of this opportunity.

They’re not! A quick search on the internet can show options for potential financial support and the financial aid a student may qualify for. Please note that many scholarships have requirements for their particular award and are for specific states or colleges to be considered.

Colleges may offer scholarships to those with outstanding leadership and community service or excellent ACT and SAT scores.

DoSomething.org offers $1,000 scholarships for volunteerism completed through their website.

Another U.S. scholarship opportunity comes from the Best Choice Schools Homeschoolers Scholarship, which offers a $5,000 award to a college attending homeschooler that demonstrates the strengths and achievements of being educated outside of a traditional school system.

Conclusion

With proper paperwork and state guidelines, it’s not harder for homeschoolers to get into colleges. Colleges actively seek and admit homeschooled students into their programs, often noting that this type of student offers diverse experiences and high academic abilities to the college community.