The goal of many homeschooled students it to finish high school and head off to university. These days college entrance is fairly simple for homeschoolers. I am going to share some practical advice from my travels through the wilds of college admissions.
(1) Have your child prepared for the application process. Have them read and research online and in college catalogues.
(2)Every university I've explored has a clear outline of college preparatory classes that students are required to have taken before they will be considered for entrance.
(3) Have your child take the SATs late in their Jr year. This gives plenty of time to retake if the scores are too low for comfort regarding entrance to the school/s to which applications will be submitted.
(4) Check out the Princeton Review online for info on GPAs and SAT scores for the institutions your child has expressed interest in.
(5) Don't try to make your child attend a college because you think its best. Guidance is great, overbearing egotism is not. Back off and allow your (grown!) child to find the school that is the best fit.
(6) The College Board website provides links to online practice tests, information on SAT prep courses and tons of other information. Exploring there is a good idea.
(7) Get that FAFSA filed! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form that everyone hoping to receive any sort of financial aid must fill out. Give yourself some time; you will need to submit tax info and perhaps other financial documents. It can be time consuming.
(8) Are you looking for scholarship information? Go here for tons of scholarships. It's a sort of clearinghouse for scholarships. Once you create an account, you will receive emails informing you of scholarships you/your child may be eligible for as well as competitions for scholarship money. You should read about the different types of scholarships and familiarize yourself with the language. Chances are your university will have scholarships that are particular to that school and for which you can apply as well.
(9) Have a transcript of courses, either in a notebook or on your computer. There are templates online but you can make a fine one using Excel or any spreadsheet generator. Here is a starting point but you can Google around until you are comfortable making your own or until you find a template that you like. You will need course names, grades, the grade translated into a 4 point scale and totals for these. Grades 9-12 should be included.
(10) A diploma is nice if your state homeschooling statutes allow you to award one or do not expressly forbid it.
(11) Go look. Harvard and MIT sound great on the news and on TV shows, but the only way to get a real feel for the campus, the 'vibe', and whether or not your child will be comfortable there is to visit. Most (all?) universities have a program in which prospective students can stay the night on campus with a host student. This is a great way for a homeschooled Senior to get a feeling for what living away from home might be like. Your child may be better off at a less well-known school that provides the size, classes and activities that will mean a successful college experience.
(12) Community College is a wonderful place for homeschooled students to get some college experience and establish a real-world GPA while still living at home. A personal note: My daughter's 4.0 GPA at our local community college was key in her acceptance at both universities she applied to, as well as her being awarded a substantial merit scholarship. Don't underestimate the value of even 1 semester at your local CC.
(13) Be reasonable. The Admissions people are not out to get you because you homeschooled your child. If they ask for information you can't provide, tell them and offer them the alternatives you can provide. Example: My daughter applied to a University in New York but we live in North Carolina. The University requested some information that is available from a state agency for NY homeschoolers but which is unavailable in NC. I called, explained the differing homeschool statutes and requirements and told them what we had. They were fine with that. No problems.
Certainly there are a million other things you can do to help market your student to potential colleges such as academic, art and sports portfolios, AP exams, ACTs, etc. I hope this information will be helpful to some who are just beginning the exciting road to higher learning.
Bettina Colonna Essert is a native of the Virginia/North Carolina borderland. She currently lives on a 'farmette' in rural NE NC with her husband, 2 home schooled children and a menagerie of farm animals. Bettina is an Equine Sports Massage Therapist.